Bill Wiggin

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

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.

We recognise that these are very challenging conditions for businesses in the travel sector, including travel agents, which is why we have provided a range of measures to support the sector. On top of our wider economic support package, we have provided business rates relief and one-off grants for eligible hospitality and leisure businesses – and we have cut VAT for tourism and hospitality activities from 20% 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.

We are working closely with the Department for Transport and the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport to support the reopening of international travel, in line with the Government’s reopening roadmap and the work of the Global Travel Taskforce.

We know how difficult these continued restrictions are for the tourism sector, with businesses having already faced many months of reduced trade.

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.

The Government will continue to support businesses and individuals during this period - including through various Government-backed loans, new grants and the extended furlough and self-employed support schemes.

In the March Budget, my Rt. Hon. Friend Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer announced new ‘Restart Grants’ of up to £6,000 per premises for non-essential retail businesses and up to £18,000 per premises for hospitality, accommodation, leisure, personal care and gym businesses in England. The Government is also providing all Local Authorities in England with an additional £425 million of discretionary business grant funding, on top of the £1.6 billion already allocated.

We recognise that these are very challenging conditions for businesses in the travel sector, including travel agents, which is why we have provided a range of measures to support the sector.

Most of our support schemes do not end until September or after, to provide continuity and certainty for businesses and families.

Additionally, on 6 April, we introduced a new Recovery Loan Scheme, providing loans from £25,000 up to £10 million, with an 80% government guarantee, to replace existing loan schemes coming to an end.

While no specific assessment has been made by the Department of the potential merits of changing travel agencies from non-essential retail to part of the culture, tourism, leisure and sport category, we have provided a range of measures to support all types of businesses including non-essential retail.

In the March Budget, my Rt hon Friend Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer announced new ‘Restart Grants’ of up to £6,000 per premises for non-essential retail businesses and up to £18,000 per premises for hospitality, accommodation, leisure, personal care and gym businesses in England. The Government is also providing all local authorities in England with an additional £425 million of discretionary business grant funding, on top of the £1.6 billion already allocated.

The Government is working closely with industry to ensure there are enough installers to meet demand for the Green Homes Grant (GHG) scheme:

• We have changed the way the Simple Energy Advice (SEA) website displays installers so that consumers can find increased numbers of registered tradespeople that can deliver work in their area.

• We are working with TrustMark, scheme providers and certification bodies to support installers to get certified as quickly as possible, streamlining accreditation processes where possible.

• We are collecting feedback from installers to understand what may be limiting their participation in the scheme, so we can address these issues where possible.

• We have also made £6.9m available via the Green Homes Grant Skills Training competition to fund training to increase the number of installers available. The competition closed on 14 October, and the bids received are now being assessed.

The Green Homes Grant scheme will support tens of thousands of jobs, and we are working closely with industry to ensure there are enough installers to meet demand. More than 1,000 companies have signed up so far with more registering every day, including many businesses that operate nationally with substantial capacity to carry out work across the country.

We have also made £6.9m available via the Green Homes Grant Skills Training competition to fund training to increase the number of installers available.

The Government is working closely with industry to ensure there are enough installers to meet demand. More than 1,000 companies are registered with TrustMark and are able to carry out measures under the Green Homes Grant Scheme, with more registering every day. We have changed the way the Simple Energy Advice website displays installers so that consumers can find increased numbers of registered tradespeople that can deliver work in their area.

Officials are working actively with TrustMark scheme providers and certification bodies to support installers to get certified as quickly as possible. The Department also recently launched a £6.9m skills competition to provide training opportunities for the energy efficiency and low carbon heating supply chains to deliver works and scale up to meet additional consumer demand.

The time-limited nature of the scheme is determined by the nature of the funding. Any potential funding allocations for future years will be determined in the next Government spending review.

Applications for Green Homes Grant scheme vouchers are subject to thorough checks, to help protect against malpractice. These checks may take some time to complete but are vital to ensuring value for money and consumer protection. The first vouchers will be approved and issued shortly.

As of 15:00 on 14 October, the Green Homes Grant voucher scheme had received 17,218 grant applications.

There will be an evaluation of the processes and outcomes of the Green Homes Grant voucher scheme, with an independent research organisation due to commence work later this year.

In order to meet the anticipated global demand for batteries for electric vehicles, production needs to increase significantly worldwide. Lithium and associated Li-ion technology is a key component. The Faraday Battery Challenge is supporting the increase in production of current Li-ion technology - from early stage research, through innovation, to scale-up - to help position the UK to best capture this market.

The Faraday Battery Challenge is looking at the feasibility of extracting lithium in the UK, including in Scotland and Cornwall. Research suggests that domestic sources of lithium have the potential to provide a substantial portion of the UK’s future demand, allowing us to develop a domestic, environmentally responsible, lithium supply. In order to ensure that the full value that we expect this new industry to generate is captured in the UK, it is essential to build the rest of the downstream supply chain domestically, so that battery-quality chemicals and batteries can also be produced here.

In order to meet the anticipated global demand for batteries for electric vehicles, production needs to increase significantly worldwide. Lithium and associated Li-ion technology is a key component. The Faraday Battery Challenge is supporting the increase in production of current Li-ion technology - from early stage research, through innovation, to scale-up - to help position the UK to best capture this market.

The Faraday Battery Challenge is looking at the feasibility of extracting lithium in the UK, including in Scotland and Cornwall. Research suggests that domestic sources of lithium have the potential to provide a substantial portion of the UK’s future demand, allowing us to develop a domestic, environmentally responsible, lithium supply. In order to ensure that the full value that we expect this new industry to generate is captured in the UK, it is essential to build the rest of the downstream supply chain domestically, so that battery-quality chemicals and batteries can also be produced here.

The Government is working with the energy industry to plan for electric vehicle uptake, and the market is already set up to bring forward investment in new generation capacity; for example the Contracts for Difference scheme supports investment in new low carbon generation, and additional demand can be managed through adjustments to the amount of capacity secured through the Capacity Market auctions.

Electric vehicles also present an opportunity for consumers to contribute to the efficient management of electricity supply and demand, and share the benefits of doing so through smart technologies.

The Faraday Institution, which supports UK battery development, estimates that the UK will be producing nearly 1.6 million electric vehicles (EVs) per year by 2040. The report ‘UK electric vehicle and battery production potential to 2040’ can be downloaded from the Faraday Institution’s website at: https://faraday.ac.uk/publications/.

The Government continues to create the right environment to support an increase in the production of EVs in the UK. We have announced up to £1 billion through the Automotive Transformation Fund to develop UK supply chains for the large-scale production of EVs and for further research and development (R&D). £10 million of funding will enable the first wave of innovative R&D projects to scale-up manufacturing of the latest technology in batteries, motors, electronics, and fuel cells. The Government is also encouraging industry to put forward investment proposals for gigafactories and to support supply chains to mass manufacture cutting-edge batteries for the next generation of EVs, as well as for other strategic electric vehicle technologies.

The Faraday Institution, which supports UK battery development, estimates that the overall industry workforce in the automotive and electric vehicle battery ecosystem could grow by 29% from 170,000 employees in 2020 to 220,000 employees by 2040. The report ‘UK electric vehicle and battery production potential to 2040’ can be downloaded from the Faraday Institution’s website at: https://faraday.ac.uk/publications/.

There is a significant package of financial support currently available to businesses in the hospitality sector to help the difficulties caused by Covid-19 and the associated social distancing measures the Government has put in place. The wide range of schemes include:

• grants under the Retail, Hospitality and Leisure Grant Fund (RHGLF) scheme, the Small Business Grant Fund (SBGF) scheme, and the Local Authority Discretionary Grant Fund scheme for eligible businesses
• government-backed loans through schemes such as the Bounce Back Loan Scheme (BBLS), the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CBILS) and the Coronavirus Large Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CLBILS)
• access to the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS) to furlough workers, which will continue in its current form until 31 July and then in a more flexible form from August until 31 October
• a business rates holiday for retail, hospitality and leisure businesses for the 2020 to 2021 tax year
• the option to defer VAT payments due between 20 March and 30 June until 31 March 2021

• access to the Self-Employed Income Support Scheme (SEISS)

We continue to keep our support for pubs, restaurants and other businesses under review and to listen to feedback from businesses, and their representatives, in affected sectors.