Asked by: David Chadwick (Liberal Democrat - Brecon, Radnor and Cwm Tawe)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, how many former British Coal employees were recipients of the British Coal Staff Superannuation Scheme in (a) Brecon, Radnor and Cwm Tawe constituency, (b) Neath and Swansea East constituency, (c) Aberafan Maesteg constituency, (d) Merthyr Tydfil and Aberdare constituency and (e) Wales on 12 November 2024.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The number of members of the British Coal Staff Superannuation Scheme in the constituencies and in Wales is as follows:
(a) Brecon, Radnor and Cwm Tawe constituency - 151
(b) Neath and Swansea East constituency – 172
(c) Aberafan Maesteg constituency – 131
(d) Merthyr Tydfil and Aberdare constituency - 376, and
(e) Wales – 4,048.
This information is from the scheme trustees and correct as at 30 October 2024. Some of these scheme members will not yet be in receipt of their pension, but we do not have a breakdown of that information at constituency level.
Asked by: David Chadwick (Liberal Democrat - Brecon, Radnor and Cwm Tawe)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether he plans to improve the electricity grid to substation level to support the renewable energy transition.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Government’s clean energy superpower and growth missions will be enabled by a significant reinforcement of our electricity network, at all levels across the high voltage transmission and lower-voltage distribution networks. This is underway and includes working with Ofgem, the National Energy System Operator and industry to halve the development time for new transmission infrastructure and to reform the grid connections process.
Asked by: David Chadwick (Liberal Democrat - Brecon, Radnor and Cwm Tawe)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether his Department provides guidance to local planning authorities on (a) assessing the potential noise impact of proposed wind turbines and (b) the consideration of potential noise impact in planning applications for (i) individual wind turbines and (ii) wind farms.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Noise from onshore wind turbines is limited and in most instances well sited onshore wind turbines will not be built in close proximity to dwellings and will therefore have minimal noise impacts. Nevertheless, we recognise that there can be exceptions to the rule, and that noise can be a concern for communities when this is the case. That is why we work closely with acoustic experts and leading scientists to ensure that planning authorities from across the UK have access to the best guidance, so that they can measure and take account of noise emissions when making decisions on onshore wind infrastructure.