Asked by: Anne McGuire (Labour - Stirling)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what proportion of calls made to the Tax Evasion Hotline was from parents with care who receive statutory child maintenance reporting alleged tax evasion by a non-resident parent in (a) 2011-12, (b) 2012-13 and (c) 2013-14.
Answered by David Gauke
The information requested can only be provided at a disproportionate cost.
Asked by: Anne McGuire (Labour - Stirling)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what mechanisms HM Revenue and Customs has in place to investigate allegations of tax evasion by non-resident parents reported by parents with care following advice from the Child Maintenance Service.
Answered by David Gauke
HM Revenue & Customs assess all contacts made and a decision is made as to the appropriate course of action.
Asked by: Anne McGuire (Labour - Stirling)
Question
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what assessment has been made of the potential contribution of biomass to meeting the 2020 targets of the Climate Change Act 2008; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Amber Rudd
Biomass is an important part of the UK’s energy mix, playing a central, transitional role in decarbonising the electricity grid. Our support for biomass is part of our wider ambition for a mix of renewable energy sources. Our 2012 Bioenergy Strategy analysis indicated that sustainably-sourced bioenergy could contribute 8-11% to the UK’s total primary energy demand by 2020.
Asked by: Anne McGuire (Labour - Stirling)
Question
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what assessment he has made of the implications of his Department's report on the Life Cycle Impacts of Biomass Electricity published in July 2014, for the life cycle assessment of the Renewable Energy Directive; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Amber Rudd
The Department has recently tendered a research contract to assess the plausibility of scenarios in the report with the highest potential net greenhouse gas emissions occurring in the period to 2030 that result from increased demand from the UK biomass electricity sector.
DECC is committed to supporting sustainably produced biomass, that delivers real greenhouse gas savings, is cost effective, takes account of wider impacts across the economy and manages possible risks such as to food security and biodiversity. The Department is seeking to bring forward proposals for mandatory sustainability requirements this year. The UK has been at the forefront of developing criteria to ensure that biomass used in energy generation is sustainable and we will have some of the toughest sustainability criteria in the world.
Asked by: Anne McGuire (Labour - Stirling)
Question
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, if he will apply the same criteria for industries which qualify for relief under the Climate Change Agreement to the industries eligible for relief from the indirect costs of renewables.
Answered by Matt Hancock
The Government has acted to provide relief for energy intensive industries and is targeting its limited resources at those energy intensive products that are exposed to competition in the international markets.
However, we are bound by the European Commission’s state aid rules in this regard and cannot, therefore, simply use climate change agreements as the basis for eligibility for these schemes.
We have issued a consultation on a proposed methodology and are currently analysing the results. We expect to publish a Government response to the consultation shortly and final conclusions on which sectors will be eligible once we have state aid approval, which we expect to receive by summer 2015.
Asked by: Anne McGuire (Labour - Stirling)
Question
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, when he expects to publish the final recommendations from the consultation on the Electricity Intensive Industries - Relief from the Indirect Costs of Renewables.
Answered by Matt Hancock
I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave her in my capacity as Minister of State for Business, Enterprise and Energy on 7 January 2015 to Question 219138:
Asked by: Anne McGuire (Labour - Stirling)
Question
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, when he expects to publish final recommendations following his Department's consultation, the Electricity Intensive Industries - Relief from the Indirect Costs of Renewables.
Answered by Matt Hancock
The Government is committed to providing relief from the indirect costs of renewables to the most electricity intensive industries that operate in global markets. We are bound by the European Commission’s state aid rules in this regard and cannot, therefore, simply use climate change agreements as the basis for eligibility for these schemes. We have issued a consultation on a proposed methodology and are currently analysing the results. We expect to publish a Government response to the consultation early in the New Year and final conclusions on which sectors will be eligible once we have state aid approval which we expect to receive by summer 2015.
The saw-milling sector was not included in the proposed eligibility list because, based on the data available, it does not pass the proposed UK sector-level test of requiring an electricity-intensity of at least 7%. Department for Business, Innovation and Skills officials are content to discuss this with the association further in the New Year.
It is worth noting that the Government has already increased the discount on the Climate Change Levy on electricity to 90% for those sectors, like sawmilling, that are in receipt of a climate change agreement and that we are also capping the cost of the Carbon Price Floor at £18 per ton of CO2 – 60% of the original 2020 target price – to reduce the indirect cost to industry.
Asked by: Anne McGuire (Labour - Stirling)
Question
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what assessment he has made of the potential effect on the UK sawmilling sector of its exclusion from the provisions of the Electricity Intensive Industries - Relief from the Indirect Costs of Renewables scheme.
Answered by Matt Hancock
The Government is committed to providing relief from the indirect costs of renewables to the most electricity intensive industries that operate in global markets. We are bound by the European Commission’s state aid rules in this regard and cannot, therefore, simply use climate change agreements as the basis for eligibility for these schemes. We have issued a consultation on a proposed methodology and are currently analysing the results. We expect to publish a Government response to the consultation early in the New Year and final conclusions on which sectors will be eligible once we have state aid approval which we expect to receive by summer 2015.
The saw-milling sector was not included in the proposed eligibility list because, based on the data available, it does not pass the proposed UK sector-level test of requiring an electricity-intensity of at least 7%. Department for Business, Innovation and Skills officials are content to discuss this with the association further in the New Year.
It is worth noting that the Government has already increased the discount on the Climate Change Levy on electricity to 90% for those sectors, like sawmilling, that are in receipt of a climate change agreement and that we are also capping the cost of the Carbon Price Floor at £18 per ton of CO2 – 60% of the original 2020 target price – to reduce the indirect cost to industry.
Asked by: Anne McGuire (Labour - Stirling)
Question
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what estimate he has made of the cost of including (a) the UK sawmilling sector and (b) all industries eligible for relief under the Climate Change Agreement in the scope of the Electricity Intensive Industries - Relief from the Indirect Costs of Renewables scheme.
Answered by Matt Hancock
The Government is committed to providing relief from the indirect costs of renewables to the most electricity intensive industries that operate in global markets. We are bound by the European Commission’s state aid rules in this regard and cannot, therefore, simply use climate change agreements as the basis for eligibility for these schemes. We have issued a consultation on a proposed methodology and are currently analysing the results. We expect to publish a Government response to the consultation early in the New Year and final conclusions on which sectors will be eligible once we have state aid approval which we expect to receive by summer 2015.
The saw-milling sector was not included in the proposed eligibility list because, based on the data available, it does not pass the proposed UK sector-level test of requiring an electricity-intensity of at least 7%. Department for Business, Innovation and Skills officials are content to discuss this with the association further in the New Year.
It is worth noting that the Government has already increased the discount on the Climate Change Levy on electricity to 90% for those sectors, like sawmilling, that are in receipt of a climate change agreement and that we are also capping the cost of the Carbon Price Floor at £18 per ton of CO2 – 60% of the original 2020 target price – to reduce the indirect cost to industry.
Asked by: Anne McGuire (Labour - Stirling)
Question
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what role is played by Ofgem in the calculation and recovery of the renewable obligation certificate from customers.
Answered by Matt Hancock
The Renewables Obligation (RO) places an obligation on UK electricity suppliers to source a specified proportion of the electricity they supply to customers from renewable sources. This proportion – called ‘the Obligation’ – is set each year by government in line with legislation. The scheme is administered by Ofgem, who issue Renewables Obligation Certificates (ROCs) to generators in relation to the renewable electricity they generate. Further details of how the scheme operates can be found on Ofgem’s website:
It is assumed that the cost of the RO to suppliers is passed on to consumers through their energy bills. The total cost that can be levied on consumers through the RO is controlled through DECC’s Levy Control Framework.