Asked by: Apsana Begum (Labour - Poplar and Limehouse)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how many and what proportion of tenants on heat networks experience (a) per kWh tariffs and (b) standing charges for heat that are more than 1.5 times the capped price for gas.
Answered by Anne-Marie Trevelyan - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
It is challenging to directly compare gas and heat network bills. This is because heat network bills tend to include additional system costs such as system maintenance, whereas these additional costs are typically paid by gas consumers through other means.
Whilst there is currently no requirement for heat networks owners or operators to formally report details on their pricing practices, studies have been carried out which provide useful insight into heat network pricing from a sample of the market, namely the 2017 Heat Networks Consumer Survey (HNCS) and the 2018 CMA heat networks market study (CMA).
Government is committed to implementing the Heat Networks Market Framework, which will introduce price transparency requirements on heat network operators. The future heat networks regulator will also have powers to protect consumers from disproportionately high pricing and monopoly power.
Asked by: Apsana Begum (Labour - Poplar and Limehouse)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what estimate he has made of the number of customers of heat networks that pay for heat at more than double the price of fuel if using a gas boiler at prices governed by the cap on standard variable tariffs.
Answered by Anne-Marie Trevelyan - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
It is challenging to directly compare gas and heat network bills. This is because heat network bills tend to include additional system costs such as system maintenance, whereas these additional costs are typically paid by gas consumers through other means.
Whilst there is currently no requirement for heat networks owners or operators to formally report details on their pricing practices, studies have been carried out which provide useful insight into heat network pricing from a sample of the market, namely the 2017 Heat Networks Consumer Survey (HNCS) and the 2018 CMA heat networks market study (CMA).
Government is committed to implementing the Heat Networks Market Framework, which will introduce price transparency requirements on heat network operators. The future heat networks regulator will also have powers to protect consumers from disproportionately high pricing and monopoly power.
Asked by: Apsana Begum (Labour - Poplar and Limehouse)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what estimate he has made of the number of homes allocated to social housing under section 106 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 that are on heat networks where the social landlord has no mechanism for control in relation to performance, reliability and pricing.
Answered by Anne-Marie Trevelyan - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
We do not hold data on the exact number of social homes under Section 106 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 that are on a heat network. However, the results of the 2017 Heat Networks Consumer Survey (HNCS) found that heat network consumers were more likely to be renting from a housing association or local authority (32% and 34%) compared with the wider population (8% and 9%).
The ability for landlords to have control over the performance, reliability and pricing of a heat network will in part depend on the network’s delivery model. This is based on whether it is the leaseholder or the heat supplier who holds the right to use the network. The CMA heat networks study found that where the consumers have the right to use the network as part of their leaseholder or tenancy agreement, this provides them with more protection and control. In addition, leases can state that supply of heating and hot water is the responsibility of the landlord, and the Landlord and Tenant Act places requirements on landlords to maintain a property and its associated assets, such as heating. The CMA report found that the types of business models found in the heat networks market vary significantly.
Asked by: Apsana Begum (Labour - Poplar and Limehouse)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, if he will change the classification of travel agents to strand two of the restart grant in the context of ongoing restrictions being placed on international travel and the emergence of novel covid-19 variants in India.
Answered by Paul Scully
Travel agents are eligible for strand 1 of Restart Grants as they are classified as non-essential retail.
Strand 2 of Restart Grants is for hospitality, leisure, accommodation, personal care and gym & sport businesses, most of which will not fully reopen until step 3 of the Roadmap out of lockdown and which are likely to continue to be most significantly affected by social distancing rules, cleaning protocols and other measures in place to tackle Covid-19.
There are currently no plans to change the eligibility criteria for the Restart Grant scheme.
Asked by: Apsana Begum (Labour - Poplar and Limehouse)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how many and what proportion of applications to the Future Fund scheme have been processed by the British Business Bank as at 24 March 2021; and how many and what proportion of those applicants have been notified of the decision taken by the British Business Bank on their applications as at that date.
Answered by Paul Scully
As of 24 March 2021, 1,851 applications to the Future Fund had been received of which 100% had been processed. On that same date, 1,766 applicants (96% of the total) had been notified. ‘Processed’ in this context means that an application has been completed by a lead investor and the proposed investee company and has entered the next stage of checks.
Asked by: Apsana Begum (Labour - Poplar and Limehouse)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, pursuant to the Answer of 29 June 2020 to Question 61822 on Coronavirus: Ethnic Groups, what recent assessment the Government has made of the effect of the easing of covid-19 lockdown restrictions on people from (a) Black, Asian and minority ethnic backgrounds and (b) other groups with protected characteristics.
Answered by Paul Scully
The Government continues to monitor the impact of easing Covid-19 lockdown restrictions on Black, Asian and minority ethnic backgrounds, and other groups with protected characteristics.
Guidance to help employers, employees and the self-employed understand how to work safely during the coronavirus pandemic has been developed by the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) with input from firms, unions and industry bodies, and in consultation with Public Health England (PHE) and the Health and Safety Executive (HSE): www.gov.uk/workingsafely
The Government has also developed a tool to help businesses in England to reopen safely during coronavirus. The tool encourages businesses to carry out a risk assessment and helps to identify the workplace adjustments that they should make. Employees can also use the tool to check what their workplace needs to do to keep people safe: https://www.gov.uk/coronavirus-business-reopening.
Asked by: Apsana Begum (Labour - Poplar and Limehouse)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what proportion of people working in sectors that have had covid-19 lockdown restrictions eased are from Black, Asian and minority ethic backgrounds.
Answered by Paul Scully
The Government continues to monitor the impact of easing Covid-19 lockdown restrictions on Black, Asian and minority ethnic backgrounds, and other groups with protected characteristics. The Race Disparity Unit’s Ethnicity Facts and Figures website publishes data on the percentage of workers in each ethnic group employed by different sectors.
This can be found at:
Asked by: Apsana Begum (Labour - Poplar and Limehouse)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what plans his Department has to hold meetings with (a) employer organisations and (b) trade unions on a strategy to manage the potential effect on workers of further covid-19 infection.
Answered by Nadhim Zahawi
The Government is closely monitoring the impacts on the UK economy, including on individuals, businesses, supply chains, and for consumers. We are working with key industry partners, employer organisations, and trade unions to understand the effect of Covid-19 on employees, employers, and businesses, and to share the latest guidance and information.
On 17 March, the Government announced an unprecedented package of Government-backed and guaranteed loans to support businesses,?making available an initial £330 billion of guarantees – equivalent to 15% of GDP.