Asked by: Chris Kane (Labour - Stirling and Strathallan)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what steps her Department is taking to provide advice and support to households that are off the gas grid and reliant on domestic heating oil to transition to low-carbon heating.
Answered by Martin McCluskey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Government expects majority of off-gas grid properties to switch to heat pumps as they are a cost-effective, proven technology that are generally three times as efficient as tradition fossil fuel boilers, saving the average household that uses one with a suitable smart tariff around £130 a year.
In response to the Middle East situation, the Government increased grant support through the Boiler Upgrade Scheme to up to £9,000 for homes heated by oil or LPG. The scheme itself has increased funding year on year up to 2030 – a total of £2.7 billion overall.
Off-gas grid households on lower incomes can access fully funded support through grant schemes like the Warm Homes: Local Grant and the Warm Homes: Social Housing Fund.
Advice and support is available through Government-backed retrofit and energy-efficiency guidance services on gov.uk and through the Government’s Clean Energy public campaign.
Asked by: Chris Kane (Labour - Stirling and Strathallan)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what role Great British Energy will have in supporting communities that are off the gas grid in the transition to low-carbon energy.
Answered by Martin McCluskey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
GBE's purpose is to accelerate clean energy and by 2030 it will support over 1,000 local and community energy projects with up to £1 billion of funding, driven by the needs of local areas and communities.
Alongside the work of GBE, the Government’s £15 billion Warm Homes Plan is supporting individual households, including those off the gas grid, to transition to low-carbon energy.
The Government recently increased the grant level for heat pump installations through the Boiler Upgrade Scheme to up £9,000 for homes heated by oil or LPG.
Low-income households can access fully funded measures through the Warm Homes: Local Grant and Warm Homes: Social Housing Fund.
Asked by: Chris Kane (Labour - Stirling and Strathallan)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what plans she has to support households that are off the gas grid and use domestic heating oil as their primary source of heating in Stirling and Strathallan constituency.
Answered by Polly Billington - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Department has regular discussions with the Devolved Administrations on a range of issues, including heating oil support. Fuel poverty is a devolved matter, and assessments of fuel poverty in Scotland are therefore a matter for the Scottish Government.
However, the Government understands that many households, particularly in rural and off-gas-grid areas in constituencies such as Stirling and Strathallan, rely on heating oil as their primary source of heat. The UK Government provided £53 million of targeted support for vulnerable households struggling with higher heating oil costs, with £4.6 million allocated to the Scottish Emergency Heating Oil Scheme.
The Government also continues to monitor heating oil supply and prices and engage with industry to support resilient supply and fair pricing.
Eligible low-income households may also receive support with their electricity costs through the Warm Home Discount, including households that use heating oil as their primary source of heating.
The Government’s action to cut VAT from bills from 1 October and at the last Budget to remove £150 costs from energy bills means that all households with a domestic electricity contract will benefit from bill savings, including those who use oil to heat their homes.
Asked by: Chris Kane (Labour - Stirling and Strathallan)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what recent discussions her Department has had with the devolved Administrations on tackling fuel poverty among households reliant on domestic heating oil.
Answered by Polly Billington - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Department has regular discussions with the Devolved Administrations on a range of issues, including heating oil support. Fuel poverty is a devolved matter, and assessments of fuel poverty in Scotland are therefore a matter for the Scottish Government.
However, the Government understands that many households, particularly in rural and off-gas-grid areas in constituencies such as Stirling and Strathallan, rely on heating oil as their primary source of heat. The UK Government provided £53 million of targeted support for vulnerable households struggling with higher heating oil costs, with £4.6 million allocated to the Scottish Emergency Heating Oil Scheme.
The Government also continues to monitor heating oil supply and prices and engage with industry to support resilient supply and fair pricing.
Eligible low-income households may also receive support with their electricity costs through the Warm Home Discount, including households that use heating oil as their primary source of heating.
The Government’s action to cut VAT from bills from 1 October and at the last Budget to remove £150 costs from energy bills means that all households with a domestic electricity contract will benefit from bill savings, including those who use oil to heat their homes.
Asked by: Chris Kane (Labour - Stirling and Strathallan)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential impact of domestic heating oil prices on levels of fuel poverty.
Answered by Polly Billington - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Department has regular discussions with the Devolved Administrations on a range of issues, including heating oil support. Fuel poverty is a devolved matter, and assessments of fuel poverty in Scotland are therefore a matter for the Scottish Government.
However, the Government understands that many households, particularly in rural and off-gas-grid areas in constituencies such as Stirling and Strathallan, rely on heating oil as their primary source of heat. The UK Government provided £53 million of targeted support for vulnerable households struggling with higher heating oil costs, with £4.6 million allocated to the Scottish Emergency Heating Oil Scheme.
The Government also continues to monitor heating oil supply and prices and engage with industry to support resilient supply and fair pricing.
Eligible low-income households may also receive support with their electricity costs through the Warm Home Discount, including households that use heating oil as their primary source of heating.
The Government’s action to cut VAT from bills from 1 October and at the last Budget to remove £150 costs from energy bills means that all households with a domestic electricity contract will benefit from bill savings, including those who use oil to heat their homes.
Asked by: Chris Kane (Labour - Stirling and Strathallan)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, how many households her Department expects to use domestic heating oil as their primary source of heating in each of the next ten years.
Answered by Polly Billington - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
For those homes off the gas grid, where affordable, we want to encourage households to transition to low-carbon heating solutions.
For households in Scotland, where the policy is devolved, the Home Energy Scotland Grant and Loan is available to support the transition to low-carbon heating solutions.
In the meantime, we will also work with industry to strengthen consumer protection measures in existing Codes of Conduct, as set out in our response to the CMA's heating oil market study.
Asked by: Chris Kane (Labour - Stirling and Strathallan)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what recent discussions he has had with the Competition and Markets Authority on potential reforms to regulation of the heating oil market.
Answered by Martin McCluskey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
We welcome the Competition and Markets Authority’s (CMA) commitment to urgently investigate reports from consumers about their experiences in the heating oil market. The CMA is working to publish the findings of its market study later in June.
Ministers continue to meet regularly with the CMA and will work jointly to understand the finding of the market study and develop options to increase consumer protections if required.
The CMA will not hesitate to take action if companies are found to have breached consumer protection law.
Asked by: Chris Kane (Labour - Stirling and Strathallan)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what discussions he has had with the Competition and Markets Authority on alleged breaches of consumer law in the heating oil market.
Answered by Martin McCluskey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
We welcome the Competition and Markets Authority’s (CMA) commitment to urgently investigate reports from consumers about their experiences in the heating oil market. The CMA will publish the findings of its market study in June.
Ministers continue to meet regularly with the CMA and we will work together to understand its finding and develop options to increase consumer protections in the sector if required.
The CMA will not hesitate to take action if companies are found to have breached consumer protection law.
Asked by: Chris Kane (Labour - Stirling and Strathallan)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what discussions he has had with the Fuel Distribution Industry Federation on the supply of heating oil to vulnerable households.
Answered by Martin McCluskey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
My Rt hon Friend the Secretary of State has written to the UK and Ireland Fuel Distributors Association (UKIFDA) reminding distributors of their obligations under the UKIFDA Code of Practice, which includes provisions on the fair treatment of vulnerable customers. Industry schemes, such as UKIFDA’s Cold Weather Priority scheme, help to identify and prioritise vulnerable households. The Government continues to monitor heating oil supply and market conditions, as well as any impact on those most at risk.
Asked by: Chris Kane (Labour - Stirling and Strathallan)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what recent discussions his Department has had with the devolved Administrations on tackling fuel poverty in the context of recent heating oil price increases.
Answered by Martin McCluskey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Department has been in discussion with the Devolved Administrations on the matter of heating oil price increases. My Rt. Hon. Friend the Chancellor has announced £53 million for low-income families, who heat their homes with oil to help tackle surging prices, with the Scottish Government receiving £4.6 million. Fuel poverty in Scotland is a devolved matter for the Scottish Government. The Department is also working with the CMA to review the UK heating oil market, including greater consumer protections: https://www.gov.uk/cma-cases/heating-oil-market-study.