Asked by: Desmond Swayne (Conservative - New Forest West)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, pursuant to the Answer of 13 June 2025 to Question 58548 on Insulation: Housing, if he will hold discussions with mortgage providers on the provision of advances for properties with timber roofs insulated with sprayed foam.
Answered by Miatta Fahnbulleh - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Details of Ministers' and Permanent Secretaries' meetings with external individuals and organisations are published quarterly in arrears on GOV.UK.
Officials continue to engage with lenders and the industry to seek a resolution for those facing difficulties.
Asked by: Desmond Swayne (Conservative - New Forest West)
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 mortgage providers on making advances on properties with timber roofs insulated with sprayed foam.
Answered by Miatta Fahnbulleh - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Details of Ministers' and Permanent Secretaries' meetings with external individuals and organisations are published quarterly in arrears on GOV.UK.
Asked by: Desmond Swayne (Conservative - New Forest West)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what steps he is taking to inform the public about the level of risk of (a) moisture and (b) timber degradation following the application of sprayed foam insulant to typical domestic timber roofs.
Answered by Miatta Fahnbulleh - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Building Safety Regulator published research in March 2024 on the moisture risks from spray foam insulation, which showed that there are many situations where moisture risks are likely to be low, including when insulations are made in line with BS 5250:2021. This research did indicate there is a potential for risks to develop dependent on the specifics of roof assembly, temperature, and humidity conditions.
The research can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/moisture-risk-of-spray-foam-insulation-applied-to-timber-sloped-roofs.
All measures installed under government schemes must be installed by TrustMark registered installers and meet the industry standard for installation. If a product has been installed to the standard it should not require removal as a surveyor should be able to use the inspection protocol now available to make an assessment.
Where the measure has not been installed correctly, homeowners should contact their installer or use the TrustMark dispute resolution process to seek redress (https://www.trustmark.org.uk/homeowner/information-guidance/if-things-go-wrong).
Asked by: Desmond Swayne (Conservative - New Forest West)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, if he will implement an energy debt relief scheme available to all customers.
Answered by Miatta Fahnbulleh - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
In December, Ofgem published an updated debt strategy which included two consultations; one of which proposed an energy debt relief scheme for consumers who accrued debt during the energy crisis. The second consulted on ways to improve debt standards, guaranteeing high standards of care and customer service for those in debt. Both of these consultations have now closed and Ofgem will carefully consider the feedback received. We stand ready to work closely with them on their findings.
On 25 February, we announced that we will be working to accelerate work with Ofgem on this potential energy debt scheme, helping consumers in significant debt to bring down their level of debt down and support them to pay for their energy moving forward.
Asked by: Desmond Swayne (Conservative - New Forest West)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what steps he is taking to (a) mitigate the impact for consumers of the recent increase in the energy price cap and (b) ensure that retail energy costs fall in line with wholesale prices.
Answered by Miatta Fahnbulleh - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Energy bills are forecast to rise for the period 1 April to 30 June 2025 due to an increase in international gas prices.
The Government believes the only way to protect consumers permanently is to speed up the transition towards homegrown clean energy. The creation of Great British Energy will help us to harness clean energy and have less reliance on volatile international energy markets and help in our commitment to make Britain a clean energy superpower by 2030.
We continue to monitor energy prices and the price cap and are working to ensure bills are affordable for consumers in the long-term, including through our work with Ofgem to reform standing charges, and through our Warm Homes Plan which will upgrade millions of homes to make them warmer and cheaper to run.
Asked by: Desmond Swayne (Conservative - New Forest West)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, when he plans to launch a consultation on the growth of community-run renewable energy schemes.
Answered by Graham Stuart
We have been codesigning the consultation on the community energy sector via the Community Energy Contact Group (CECG). We intend to publish the consultation as soon as possible.