Asked by: Bill Grant (Conservative - Ayr, Carrick and Cumnock)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether his Department has assessed the potential merits of introducing a financial incentive for processes which change timber into renewable heat products.
Answered by Claire Perry
Renewable heat is currently supported under the Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI). The RHI has funding agreed out to 2021. Beyond this, the Department is developing policy proposals for a clear framework to phase out high carbon fossil fuels for domestic and non-domestic buildings off the gas grid in the 2020s.
From 19 March to 11 June 2018 we held a public Call for Evidence as a first step in developing this policy framework. The Department aims to publish a response to the Call for Evidence in due course.
Asked by: Bill Grant (Conservative - Ayr, Carrick and Cumnock)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether his Department plans to continue the Domestic Renewable Heat Incentive beyond 2020.
Answered by Claire Perry
Renewable heat is currently supported under the Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI). The RHI has funding agreed out to 2021. Beyond this, the Department is developing policy proposals for a clear framework to phase out high carbon fossil fuels for domestic and non-domestic buildings off the gas grid in the 2020s.
From 19 March to 11 June 2018 we held a public Call for Evidence as a first step in developing this policy framework. The Department aims to publish a response to the Call for Evidence in due course.
Asked by: Bill Grant (Conservative - Ayr, Carrick and Cumnock)
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 make it his policy to introduce an exemption for charities from authorised supply capacity charges relating to smart meters.
Answered by Claire Perry
The Government’s Smart Meter Programme applies to all domestic consumers and small businesses, who do not currently pay these charges regardless of whether they have a smart meter. Currently only certain larger businesses or organisations pay capacity charges.
Asked by: Bill Grant (Conservative - Ayr, Carrick and Cumnock)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how his Department plans to allocate the two million pounds for assessing options for horizontal spaceports in the UK.
Answered by Sam Gyimah
As part of Farnborough International Airshow on 15th August 2018, the UK Space Agency announced £2m of funding in support of horizontal spaceflight and spaceports, to further accelerate this early-stage market. The UK Space Agency is working closely with colleagues from several government departments, including the Scotland Office, to finalise the details of this scheme.
We must, of course, ensure that any use of public funds provides value for money and will benefit the UK. We plan to make further announcements, subject to business case, later in 2018.
Asked by: Bill Grant (Conservative - Ayr, Carrick and Cumnock)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether his Department has made an assessment of the effect on the economy of the steam railway in Doon Valley; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Kelly Tolhurst
Transport, culture and tourism in Scotland are devolved matters, and so as a heritage railway issue, any assessment would be the responsibility of the Scottish Government.
Asked by: Bill Grant (Conservative - Ayr, Carrick and Cumnock)
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 bring forward legislative proposals to compensate people for their loss of property value arising from close proximity to wind farms.
Answered by Claire Perry
We have no plans at this time to bring forward legislative proposals to compensate residents for loss of property value.
Asked by: Bill Grant (Conservative - Ayr, Carrick and Cumnock)
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 make an assessment of the potential merits of requiring onshore windfarm developers to offer property owners within a set proximity to a windfarm the option of having their property purchased at market value by those developers.
Answered by Claire Perry
We have no plans at this time to bring forward legislative proposals to compensate residents for loss of property value.
Asked by: Bill Grant (Conservative - Ayr, Carrick and Cumnock)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps he can take to ensure that community benefits which are the result of an agreement to establish a wind-farm are honoured when that wind-farm changes owner or operator; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Claire Perry
Community benefit funds for onshore wind farms are industry led, voluntary initiatives, which are agreed between developers and local communities in line with protocols that have been established in England and Scotland. Trade associations are responsible for ensuring that the protocols they have created are honoured by their signatories.
We have been clear that we expect developers to provide a fund for local communities in the vicinity of their wind farms. Whilst in Coalition we worked with industry to implement a new community benefit protocol for projects in England, to ensure communities receive a greater level of benefit, and established an online register of English community benefits to aid transparency and accountability. A similar protocol and register has been established for onshore wind projects in Scotland.
Guidance has been produced by the UK Government to aid engagement between developers, communities and local authorities when negotiating community benefit fund arrangements, which is available online at:
This recommends that the agreement to provide a community fund should be documented as a legal contract between the wind farm developer and the Fund Administrator, and that a mechanism for ensuring that the community benefit provisions continue should be included, irrespective of who owns the wind farm.