Asked by: Damien Moore (Conservative - Southport)
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 financial effect on his Department of moving to net zero carbon emissions; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Kwasi Kwarteng
The Department is committed to becoming net zero by 2050 at the latest and work is in progress to meet that target. It is too early to give an estimate of the financial effect on the department.
The Department undertook an energy audit in 2019 and we are currently undertaking a range of works, including installation of LED lighting, to reduce our energy consumption. We have established a sustainability board to oversee our planning on net zero. Since 2010 we have:
- Reduced carbon emissions by 65%
- Reduced waste production by 72%
- Eradicated the majority of single-use plastics, including preventing 120,000 single use coffee cups from going to landfill in 2019.
Asked by: Damien Moore (Conservative - Southport)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment he has made of the non-financial effect on his Department of changes required for his Department to move to net zero carbon emissions; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Kwasi Kwarteng
The Department is committed to becoming net zero by 2050 at the latest and work is in progress to meet that target. It is too early to give an assessment of the non-financial effect on the Department.
The Department undertook an energy audit in 2019 and we are currently undertaking a range of works, including installation of LED lighting, to reduce our energy consumption. We have established a sustainability board to oversee our planning on net zero. Since 2010 we have:
- Reduced carbon emissions by 65%
- Reduced waste production by 72%
- Eradicated the majority of single-use plastics, including preventing 120,000 single use coffee cups from going to landfill in 2019.
Asked by: Damien Moore (Conservative - Southport)
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 developed a strategy for the implementation of new on-shore wind farms.
Answered by Kelly Tolhurst
The Government has not developed a strategy for the implementation of new onshore wind farms. We do not believe that more large-scale onshore wind power is right for England, but projects can be developed where there is public support and the projects are located in an area identified as suitable for wind energy development in a Local
or Neighbourhood Plan.
The Government has committed up to £557 million for future Contracts for Difference, which is our main mechanism for supporting new renewables. The scheme is open to less established technologies, such as offshore and remote island wind. The Government has also committed £2.5bn for investment in low carbon innovation up to 2021.
Asked by: Damien Moore (Conservative - Southport)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what data the Land Registry holds on which domestic properties have gardens; and whether the INSPIRE Index Polygon or National Polygon Service hold spatial data on gardens.
Answered by Kelly Tolhurst
HM Land Registry does not hold any data on which domestic properties have gardens. Neither the INSPIRE Index Polygon dataset or National Polygon Service hold spatial data on gardens.
Asked by: Damien Moore (Conservative - Southport)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what the Ordnance Survey's estimate is of the total area given over to domestic gardens in each local authority in England and Wales.
Answered by Kelly Tolhurst
Ordnance Survey estimates the total area given over to domestic gardens (including estate/national trust/heritage gardens) of any size in each local authority in England and Wales is 3,592.96 km2 (359,296.22 hectares). A breakdown for each authority can be viewed in the attached spreadsheet (1).
In addition, Ordnance Survey have looked at the distribution of these garden areas in England and Wales to compare the spread of area ranges to the number of residential properties. This was compared with average garden sizes for new build and large residential houses to get an upper limit for garden area to use for more standard domestic gardens. From this data set Ordnance Survey estimates the total area given to domestic gardens which are below 200m2 in each local authority in England and Wales is 1,301.54 km2 (130,154.27 hectares). A breakdown for each authority can be viewed in the attached spreadsheet (2).
Asked by: Damien Moore (Conservative - Southport)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what the Ordnance Survey's estimate is of the total area given over to domestic gardens in (a) England and (b) Wales.
Answered by Kelly Tolhurst
Ordnance Survey estimates the total area given over to domestic gardens (including estate/national trust/heritage gardens) of any size in a) England to be 3,415.67 km2 (341,566.64 hectares) and b) Wales to be 177.30 km2 (17,729.57 hectares).
In addition, Ordnance Survey have looked at the distribution of these garden areas in England and Wales to compare the spread of area ranges to the number of residential properties. This was compared with average garden sizes for new build and large residential houses to get an upper limit for garden area to use for more standard domestic gardens. From this data set Ordnance Survey estimates the total area given to domestic gardens which are below 200m2 in size in a) England to be 1,231.72 km2 (123,171.75 hectares) and b) Wales to be 62.54 km2 (6,253.74 hectares).
Asked by: Damien Moore (Conservative - Southport)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what progress he has made on negotiations with Welsh Assembly Government on the Swansea Tidal Lagoon Project; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Claire Perry
The Department has had a number of constructive discussions with the Welsh Government in relation to the Swansea Bay Tidal Lagoon project.
Asked by: Damien Moore (Conservative - Southport)
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 potential merits of the construction of further tidal lagoons.
Answered by Claire Perry
A response to the Hendry Review into the strategic case for tidal lagoons will be published shortly.