Draft Warm Home Discount (Scotland) Regulations 2022

Debate between Greg Hands and Nick Smith

Wednesday 7th September 2022 General Committees

[The Minister for Energy, Clean Growth and Climate Change (Greg Hands)]

I beg to move,

That the Committee has considered the draft Warm Home Discount (Scotland) Regulations 2022.

I welcome you to the Chair, Mr Efford. It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship.

The draft regulations were laid before the House on 29 June 2022. We have already passed legislation for the warm home discount scheme in England and Wales. The Scottish Government have devolved powers under the Scotland Act 2016 to design and implement a warm home discount in Scotland, while the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy reserves certain powers. Earlier this year, Scottish Ministers requested that the UK Government make provision for a continuation of the scheme in Scotland. In May, the UK Government consulted on such proposals, which were supported by most respondents.

This draft statutory instrument extends and expands the warm home discount scheme in Scotland until March 2026. The scheme will be worth about £49 million per annum in Scotland, an increase of some £13 million. About 280,000 vulnerable Scottish households will receive a rebate, which is 50,000 more than last winter. The apportionment of spending to Scotland—9.4% of the total—is based on the number of domestic gas and electricity meters across Great Britain. The proportion of spending in Scotland will exceed Scotland’s share of the population.

The scheme participation threshold for energy suppliers is lowered to 50,000 domestic consumer customer accounts in 2022-23 and to 1,000 from 2023-24. As requested by Scottish Government Ministers, the scheme will largely be a continuation of what was in place previously.

Under the core group, about 90,000 pensioners in receipt of pension credit guarantee credit will continue to receive their rebate automatically. Under the broader group, about 190,000 low-income and vulnerable households will receive a rebate following an application to their energy supplier.

[Nick Smith (Blaenau Gwent) (Lab)]

I wonder whether the Minister would help me. The explanatory notes state that the

“process requires data matching activities by DWP which can only take place once the instrument is in force and takes several weeks before suppliers can start to provide the rebates.”

This could be a complex process, so has he got an estimate for when the rebates will be applied, please?

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Greg Hands and Nick Smith

Tuesday 11th January 2022 Commons Chamber

[Greg Hands]

We always listen to Rutlanders and to my excellent hon. Friend who represents them. I very much agree that we want to bring communities with us when it comes to all renewables, but I think she knows that I cannot comment further at this stage. She can reassure her residents that she has been heard.

[Nick Smith (Blaenau Gwent) (Lab)]

The Treasury has benefited hugely from the miners pension surplus over the years. Even though the Prime Minister pledged in the 2019 election that no miner would be left behind and out of pocket, they have been. Will the Government look again at giving miners their fair share or is that another example of the Prime Minister saying one thing and doing another?

Net Zero Strategy and Heat and Buildings Strategy

Debate between Greg Hands and Nick Smith

Tuesday 19th October 2021 Commons Chamber

[Greg Hands]

My hon. Friend and I spent many happy, productive years working together in the Department for International Trade to market our technological breakthroughs in clean energy, particularly in offshore wind. He makes an extremely strong point about CCUS. When I talk to people in the sector, one of the points they make most frequently is about the UK’s ability to be an early mover, to get in quickly and to take advantage of export capabilities. I completely agree and commend my hon. Friend for the work he did over quite some time as our exports Minister.

[Nick Smith (Blaenau Gwent) (Lab)]

The steel industry’s transition to net zero requires £6 billion of investment, yet the clean steel fund provides only 4% of that. Does the Minister really think that is enough?

[Greg Hands]

We are in constant dialogue with the steel sector, and the hon. Gentleman and I both know that half of steel production and half the jobs in the sector were lost under the last Labour Government. Steel has been facing worldwide pressure for some years, but we are strongly supportive of the UK steel sector. The Secretary of State and the Under-Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, my hon. Friend the Member for North East Derbyshire (Lee Rowley), who now has responsibility for steel, frequently engage with the sector. We continually speak to the sector and will keep the House informed. Personally, I think our £350 million industrial energy transformation fund is a considerable commitment to the sector.