Asked by: Alicia Kearns (Conservative - Rutland and Stamford)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, how many solar companies based in the UK his Department has assessed to have supply chain links to forced labour.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The UK Government does not hold data about the supply chains of individual companies.
The Solar Roadmap, to be published in Spring 2025, will outline the actions required develop supply chains that are resilient, sustainable, and free from forced labour.
The UK’s main solar industry trade association – Solar Energy UK, who co-chair the Solar Taskforce - is leading the industry’s response on this matter by developing and launching the Solar Stewardship Initiative (SSI), in partnership with Solar Power Europe. Members of the SSI have committed to applying its traceability standards and audits, while encouraging its adoption throughout their supply chain.
Asked by: Alicia Kearns (Conservative - Rutland and Stamford)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what assessment process his Department uses to determine if solar companies operating in the UK have supply chain links to forced labour.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Government opposes all forms of forced labour and is determined to ensure that all UK business do everything in their power to remove any instances of it from their supply chains. However, the UK Government does not hold data about the supply chains of individual companies.
Solar Energy UK, who co-chair the Solar Taskforce, is leading the industry’s response on this matter by developing and launching the Solar Stewardship Initiative (SSI), in partnership with Solar Power Europe. Members of the SSI have committed to applying its traceability standards and audits, while encouraging its adoption throughout their supply chain.
Asked by: Alicia Kearns (Conservative - Rutland and Stamford)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether the Solar Taskforce plans to take steps to (a) assess the prevalence of and (b) tackle the use of Uyghur forced labour in solar supply chains.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
No company operating in the UK should have forced labour in its supply chain. We are working with colleagues across Government to tackle the issue of Uyghur forced labour in supply chains.
The Solar Taskforce is focussed on identifying and taking forward the actions needed to develop supply chains that are resilient, sustainable and free from forced labour. This will support the significant increases in deployment of solar panels needed to meet our ambition of radically increasing solar deployment by 2030. Recommendations from the Solar Taskforce will be contained in the Solar Roadmap, which will be published in due course.
Asked by: Alicia Kearns (Conservative - Rutland and Stamford)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether he plans to respond to the consultation entitled Home Energy Model: Future Homes Standard assessment which closed on 27 March 2024.
Answered by Miatta Fahnbulleh - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero officials are analysing the responses received for the Home Energy Model: Future Homes Standard assessment consultation. The Government will publish the government response to the consultation in due course.
Asked by: Alicia Kearns (Conservative - Rutland and Stamford)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what steps he is taking to (a) help tackle reductions in the effectiveness of loft insulation during its lifetime and (b) increase (i) awareness of and (ii) access to new technologies to help improve energy efficiency within homes.
Answered by Miatta Fahnbulleh - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Loft insulation installed under government schemes must be compliant with the Publicly Available Specification (PAS) 2030 and 2035 standard documents to reduce the risks and unintended consequences associated with poor-quality installations. The British Standards Institute (BSI), who publish PAS 2030 and 2035, will consider how to address more innovative products that do not fit within existing annexes in their next update.
Independent impartial government advice in relation to energy efficiency measures and clean heat technologies is available at https://www.gov.uk/improve-energy-efficiency, a national phoneline and over 30 in-person advice projects across England.
Asked by: Alicia Kearns (Conservative - Rutland and Stamford)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether his Department (a) monitors and (b) plans to monitor the (i) area, (ii) type by agricultural grade and (iii) geographical location of land proposed for solar development.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Department currently monitors the geographical location of solar developments through the Renewable Energy Planning Database. We plan to broaden the scope of this database to provide information on the area and types of agricultural land used by existing solar projects and those in the planning pipeline.
Asked by: Alicia Kearns (Conservative - Rutland and Stamford)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, pursuant to the Answer of 22 July 2024 to Question 384 on Solar Power: Supply Chains, which section of the Decision Letter sets out the Secretary of State’s views on the adequacy of the measures in the Mallard Pass Solar Farm Outline Employment, Skills, and Supply Chain Plan (Clean) published on 19 September 2023 on the ethical sourcing of solar panels.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Secretary of State’s conclusions are set out at paragraphs 4.107 and 4.109 of the Decision Letter.
It is important to note that the question for the Secretary of State was whether this issue was a relevant planning matter, which is a different question from whether, as Ministers agree, this is an important matter more broadly. The Decision Letter references other regulatory routes that are available to control the ethical and legal sourcing of solar panels.
Given the Secretary of State’s quasi-judicial role in taking such decisions and the fact that a legal challenge to the decision could be made, Ministers cannot comment on this case beyond what is in the Decision Letter. This approach is set out in the Planning Propriety Guidance on nationally significant infrastructure decisions.
Asked by: Alicia Kearns (Conservative - Rutland and Stamford)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, pursuant to the Answer of 22 July 2024 to Question 373 on Solar Power: Supply Chains, which section of the Decision Letter addresses the (a) ethical sourcing of solar panels for the Mallard Pass development and (b) issues raised in section 3.9.92 of the report by the Planning Inspectorate entitled Mallard Pass Solar Farm: Examining Authority’s Report of Findings and Conclusions and Recommendation to the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, published on 16 February 2024.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
(a) The issue of ethical sourcing of solar panels for the Mallard Pass development are set out in paragraphs 4.104 to 4.107 of the Secretary of State’s Decision Letter.
(b) Issues raised in section 3.9.92 of the Examining Authority’s Report are considered in paragraphs 4.104 to 4.107 of the Secretary of State’s Decision Letter.
Asked by: Alicia Kearns (Conservative - Rutland and Stamford)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, if he will make it his policy to bring forward legislative proposals to require the solar industry to pay a standardised level of compensation to affected communities.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
It is important for this Government that where communities host clean energy infrastructure, they should directly benefit from it.
We are aware that solar and other renewable developers currently offer a range of community benefit schemes including providing funding for environmental enhancements, job schemes, energy discounts, and investment in local infrastructure such as faster broadband, EV charging points or energy efficiency measures.
Government does not currently have a formal role with regards to community benefits for solar.
Asked by: Alicia Kearns (Conservative - Rutland and Stamford)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, if he will take steps with Cabinet colleagues to help tackle the use of Uyghur forced labour in the supply chains of the solar industry.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
No company in the UK should have forced labour in its supply chain. We will be working with colleagues across Government to tackle the issue of Uyghur forced labour in supply chains.
We are also relaunching the Solar Taskforce, which will focus on identifying and taking forward the actions needed to develop supply chains that are resilient, sustainable and free from forced labour. This will support the significant increases in deployment of solar panels needed to meet our ambition of tripling the UKs solar power capacity by 2030.