Asked by: Grahame Morris (Labour - Easington)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what steps she is taking to ensure that lower-income families are not priced out of decarbonisation.
Answered by Martin McCluskey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Government's Warm Homes Plan, published earlier this year, represents the biggest public investment in home upgrades in British history, rolling out cost-effective, clean energy technologies that reduce bills including solar, batteries, and heat pumps.
Low-income households can access fully-funded grant support through the Warm Homes: Local Grant, delivered through local authorities, and the Warm Homes: Social Housing Fund, delivered through social housing providers.
Additionally, universal grants of up to ÂŁ9,000 are available for heat pump installations through the Boiler Upgrade Scheme, and the Warm Homes Plan also committed to brand-new scheme offering low interest, government-backed consumer loans supported with ÂŁ2 billion of public funding, providing further help with upfront costs.
More widely, the Government’s recent Clean Energy public campaign showed a range of low carbon technologies including the likes of electric vehicles increasingly represent the more affordable and practical choice for all consumers, offering significant financial advantages over their fossil fuel counterparts.
Asked by: Grahame Morris (Labour - Easington)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether she will commit to providing a ÂŁ7,500 grant for heat batteries.
Answered by Martin McCluskey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Government response to last year’s public consultation on the Boiler Upgrade Scheme set out that the scheme will begin to provide grants of £2,500 to support the installation of heat batteries once appropriate product and installation standards are in place. There are no plans to alter the grant level at this time.
However, as with all technologies eligible for support under the scheme, the Government continually reviews whether the level of financial support available to consumers remains sufficient, appropriate and aligned with our wider heat decarbonisation objectives.
Asked by: Grahame Morris (Labour - Easington)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether she agrees with ADE: Demand’s "No Home Left Behind" report findings that public policy should actively support households to install the clean-heat technology, such as compact heat batteries, that best fits their specific home.
Answered by Martin McCluskey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Government is committed to ensuring that there is a good solution for every building and that consumers have access to a range of suitable low-carbon heating technologies.
Through the Warm Homes Plan, which was published earlier this year and represents the biggest public investment in home upgrades in British history, the Government is rolling out cost-effective, clean energy technologies that reduce bills and carbon emissions including solar, batteries, and heat pumps.
Universal grants of up to ÂŁ9,000 are available for heat pump installations through the Boiler Upgrade Scheme, and we recently expanded eligibility for the scheme to include grants of up to ÂŁ2,500 for both air-to-air heat pumps and heat batteries.
Low-income households can access fully-funded grant support for various technologies through the Warm Homes: Local Grant, delivered through local authorities, and the Warm Homes: Social Housing Fund, delivered through social housing providers.
Asked by: Grahame Morris (Labour - Easington)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, with reference to ADE: Demand’s "No Home Left Behind" report, what role she sees for heat batteries in easing grid pressure and supporting Clean Power 2030.
Answered by Martin McCluskey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The government recognises that heat batteries can play a role in decarbonising domestic heating, noting their ability to take advantage of time-of-use electricity tariffs through charging at off-peak times. The government has committed to provide grants through the Boiler Upgrade Scheme, with a value of ÂŁ2,500, that can support the installation of heat batteries, once appropriate product, design and installation standards have been implemented, including robust consumer protections.
Officials within DESNZ are in regular contact with Association for Decentralised Energy, engaging with them on bringing heat batteries onto the Boiler Upgrade Scheme and the potential role heat batteries can play within the government’s overall aims.
Asked by: Grahame Morris (Labour - Easington)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, if he will make an assessment of the potential for former coal mining communities to benefit from the estimated ÂŁ86.5 billion in electricity system savings from heat networks as identified in the ADE: Heat Network's report, Electricity System Benefits of Heat Networks.
Answered by Martin McCluskey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
We welcome the research by ADE: Heat Networks, and agree that appropriate deployment of heat networks has the potential to reduce future electricity system costs by billions as we accelerate to net zero. We set out our long-term strategy for heat networks in the Warm Homes Plan, and our plan to increase flexible capacity on the grid through the Clean Flexibility Roadmap. Avoided electricity system investment will benefit all consumers through their electricity bill. Our focus is to explore all options to enable low-carbon heat networks, including in former coal mining communities, to compete fairly with their gas equivalent to boost energy security and lower consumer bills
Asked by: Grahame Morris (Labour - Easington)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of using heat networks with thermal storage to provide cheaper flexibility for the electricity system in comparison with lithium battery storage, in the context of the ADE: Heat Network's report “Electricity System Benefits of Heat Networks”.
Answered by Martin McCluskey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
We welcome the research by ADE: Heat Networks, and agree that appropriate deployment of heat networks has the potential to reduce future electricity system costs by billions as we accelerate to net zero. We set out our long-term strategy for heat networks in the Warm Homes Plan, and our plan to increase flexible capacity on the grid through the Clean Flexibility Roadmap. Thermal storage in heat networks is location-specific whereas lithium battery storage can be deployed across a range of locations so both technologies will be needed and can offer benefits for the electricity system.
Asked by: Grahame Morris (Labour - Easington)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, if he will direct the National Energy System Operator to account for the reduced need for offshore wind and solar capacity resulting from heat network expansion in its future strategic planning scenarios, in light of the findings of the ADE: Heat Networks report Electricity System Benefits of Heat Networks.
Answered by Martin McCluskey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
I have met ADE to discuss their research. We welcome the research by ADE: Heat Networks, and agree that appropriate deployment of heat networks has the potential to reduce future electricity system costs by billions as we accelerate to net zero. We set out our long-term strategy for heat networks in the Warm Homes Plan in January, and the Department is already working with the National Energy System Operator to ensure its scenarios align with the latest Government policy.
Asked by: Grahame Morris (Labour - Easington)
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 help mitigate potential job losses in the energy efficiency sector and associated supply chains following plans to close the Energy Company Obligation scheme.
Answered by Martin McCluskey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
We recognise that for those within the ECO supply chain, the decision to close the scheme presents immediate challenges. In the Warm Homes Plan, we committed to supporting the workforce to access opportunities through the ÂŁ15bn funding and through regulations in the rented sector and for future homes which will support millions of households. We will engage the retrofit supply chain, housing associations and local authorities to agree an appropriate regime, in line with procurement law and their existing contractual arrangements, for awarding this new capital funding from April 2026.
We have also established the Warm Homes Plan Workforce Taskforce, with the trade unions and the industry, to facilitate the transition to clean energy sectors.
The Taskforce will consider how to build resilience in the workforce to meet evolving demand in the market, which includes assessing the knock-on effects of the ECO4 closure.
Asked by: Grahame Morris (Labour - Easington)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what delivery mechanisms will be used to implement the Warm Homes Scheme to ensure effective and timely delivery of funding.
Answered by Martin McCluskey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Warm Homes Agency will consolidate the existing delivery landscape and take on delivery of some of the existing schemes. The full scope of the Agency, including delivery mechanisms, is being finalised and will be confirmed in due course.
Asked by: Grahame Morris (Labour - Easington)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, if he will consider the potential merits of a specific grant scheme for mine water heat projects.
Answered by Martin McCluskey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The government is accelerating deployment of low-carbon technologies, including geothermal. Water from coal mines and sewer systems offers strong potential for heat networks. Projects can apply to the Green Heat Network Fund for support. The Mining Remediation Authority has published opportunity maps for geothermal deployment.