Bill Wiggin

The Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) offers a range of policies aimed at making houses, including historic houses, more energy efficient.

In addition, DECC is supporting the development of guidance from the Sustainable Traditional Buildings Alliance to help reduce the risks of unintended consequences when retro-fitting insulation to buildings, particularly older ones, including moisture risk guidance and an online tool to help installers assess the suitability of retrofit measures for traditional buildings.

The Climate Change Act 2008 commits the UK to cutting emissions by 80% by 2050, compared to 1990 levels. While the overall goal for 2050 is clear, there are huge uncertainties as to exactly which technologies we will need, and in what combination, to meet this target. In particular, predicting costs out to 2050 is very uncertain – we do not know exactly which technologies will reduce significantly in price over the next 35 years and which will remain the same, and which will turn out to be the easiest and most socially acceptable to deploy.

In order to take account of this uncertainty, the Government developed a range of illustrative scenarios for decarbonising the economy to 2050, including a central “cost effective” pathway based on current central cost estimates, which were set out in the 2011 Carbon Plan (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/the-carbon-plan-reducing-greenhouse-gas-emissions--2). It is clear from these scenarios that decarbonising the UK economy will not depend on any single technology: we will need a balanced mix of low carbon technologies to help tackle the threat of climate change while keeping the lights on and ensuring the best value for consumers. The Government will be updating this analysis during 2016 when we set the level of the Fifth Carbon Budget and report on proposals and policies for meeting this, as required under the Climate Change Act 2008.

We expect that the global price for solar PV will continue to fall over coming years but it is difficult to state with certainty when subsidies will no longer be required. Taking account of uncertainty, some UK projects may begin to reach parity with wholesale or retail electricity prices in the latter years of this decade, depending on the electricity price scenario used, the speed of cost reductions, and the geographical location.

The UK is the world’s leader in offshore wind with over 4GW of capacity installed. The UK is also a leader and one of the most attractive markets in the world for investment in tidal stream energy. It will be for developers to bring forward proposals if they wish to attempt to combine the two technologies. We are aware that there is some research in this area which is at an early stage.

Following the General Election the Church Commissioners plan to seek an early meeting with the Department for Communities and Local Government regarding changing the regulations on bat roosts. In recent years the Church of England has seen increased numbers of bats using church buildings as roosts. This increased usage of our church buildings by bats for roosting is causing considerable strain on the parish communities and volunteers who maintain the parish churches alongside the great expense in cleaning and restoration of items of great religious, cultural and historic significance. In extreme cases the presence of bats is preventing the building being used for worship or by its wider community.

The Church of England is working alongside Natural England on a substantial Heritage Lottery Fund bid which will seek to provide physical and long lasting solutions for the worst affected churches and create a wider support network for those with smaller or transient bat populations. Both St . Margaret of Antioch, Wellington and St Mary’s Church, Pembridge in my Hon Friend’s constituency have faced significant problems with bat populations. Both churches are part of the Heritage Lottery Fund bid and have already installed mitigation measures. We hope the bid for support will be successful and that this might then be able to bring some relief to churches across the country.

I refer the Hon. member to the answer given to PQ 46692 given on 29 May 2020.

The Government continues to work with the Accessibility of Elections Working Group to make an informed assessment of the most suitable options to take forward. Officials are due to hold a meeting on this topic with the Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB) very soon

Work has been undertaken to revise guidance to electoral administrators and, with input from RNIB, to research technical solutions which will be further discussed at a dedicated sub-group.

We are also starting to bring forward measures following the Government’s response to the 2018 Call for Evidence on Access to Elections. Proposals were announced during the Queen’s Speech. This will include increasing the range of support available to voters with disabilities in polling stations and allowing a wider range of people (such as carers) to assist disabled voters in polling stations if needed.

The Department currently provides support for heat pump deployment through a range of schemes including the Boiler Upgrade Scheme (BUS), the Energy Company Obligation (ECO4) and the Home Upgrade Grant (HUG2).

The BUS up to November 2023, has recorded 57% of grants for heat pumps being redeemed for rural properties.

Following full technical consultation, the Government introduced changes to permitted development rights for solar equipment in December 2023. These changes included the introduction of a new permitted development right that allows for the installation of solar canopies in non-domestic, off-street car parks.

These changes simplify planning processes and enable more solar installations to benefit from the flexibilities and planning freedoms permitted development rights offer.

The Government currently has no plans to provide funding for urban photovoltaics, but we are exploring options in the Solar Taskforce for facilitating low-cost finance from retail lenders to help households and businesses with the costs of installation. This builds on a commitment made in the British Energy Security Strategy.

Government does not provide funding for connection of photovoltaics to the grid. However, the independent energy regulator, Ofgem, has reduced connection costs where distribution network reinforcement is required for connection applications from 1 April 2023.

The Energy Bill Relief Scheme review assessed qualitative and quantitative evidence and contributions from businesses and stakeholders on sectors that may be most affected by energy price increases, based on energy and trade intensity (ETII). To qualify for ETII support, the sector has to be in the top 20% for energy intensity and top 40% for trade intensity. The horticulture, pig and poultry farming sectors do not meet these criteria.

The Energy Bills Discount Scheme will provide a baseline discount to eligible non-domestic customers, including the horticulture, pig and poultry sectors, until March 2024. The unit discount is capped at £19.61/MW for electricity, and £6.97/MW for gas.

The Department has set out an ambitious set of measures to promote energy security both in the short and longer term. The Government funding for these measures has been allocated through the Spending Review 2021 settlement. Future Departmental expenditure limits will be agreed with HM Treasury at the next Spending Review.

The Department works closely with the Office of Gas and Electricity Markets (Ofgem) to monitor consumer experience of smart meters.

The smart meter rollout has high levels of consumer satisfaction: evidence shows that nearly 8 in 10 consumers are satisfied with the smart meter installation process. Research from Ofgem has found that smart meter-related complaints make up a very small proportion of total complaints to energy suppliers, relative to the level of smart meter take-up across Great Britain.

Industry is funding the rollout of smart meters. The latest estimates of the costs and benefits can be found in the 2019 Cost Benefit Analysis of the smart meter rollout in Great Britain: www.gov.uk/government/publications/smart-meter-roll-out-cost-benefit-analysis-2019

The Department regularly engages with energy suppliers to monitor rollout progress and identify and share good practice on operational and consumer engagement issues.

The Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy is responsible for setting government policy and obligations relating to the rollout of smart meters, whilst the Office of Gas and Electricity Markets (Ofgem) is responsible for regulating energy suppliers against their smart metering obligations. Ofgem has a range of tools available for doing this under its Enforcement Guidelines.

The Government’s new four-year smart meter Targets Framework commenced on 1 January 2022 after consultation with industry and consumer groups. The Department will closely monitor smart meter installations, ahead of a mid-point review of the Framework in 2023.

The Department works closely with the Office of Gas and Electricity Markets (Ofgem) to monitor consumer experience of smart meters.

The smart meter rollout has high levels of consumer satisfaction; evidence shows that nearly 8 in 10 consumers are satisfied with the smart meter installation process. Research from Ofgem has found that smart meter-related complaints make up a very small proportion of total complaints to energy suppliers, relative to the level of smart meter take-up across Great Britain.

The Office of Gas and Electricity Markets (Ofgem) is responsible for regulating energy suppliers against their smart metering obligations and has a range of tools available for doing this under its Enforcement Guidelines, including financial penalties.

The Government works closely with National Grid Electricity System Operator to ensure there is adequate capacity available to meet peak demand in a range of scenarios, now and in the future.

Each year how much capacity will be necessary to meet demand in the years ahead is evaluated. This assessment is used to determine targets for the annual Capacity Market auctions. Auctions held to date have secured the majority of Great Britain’s capacity needs out to 2024/25.  A further two Capacity Market auctions will take place later this winter which will secure electricity supply out to 2025/26.

The electricity network companies work closely with developers and the independent energy regulator, Ofgem, to ensure that the electricity system can accommodate new generation capacity.

In total, over £25bn has been provided to the tourism, leisure and hospitality sectors in the form of grants, loans and tax breaks. On top of the Government’s wider economic support package, we have extended business rates relief and introduced new Restart Grants of up to £18,000 for many in the sector.

We have also extended the cut in VAT for tourism and hospitality activities to 5% until the end of September. In order to help businesses manage the transition back to the standard rate, a 12.5% rate will then apply for a further six months.