Asked by: Greg Knight (Conservative - East Yorkshire)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how many SMEs in East Yorkshire constituency have received Government financial support during the cost of living crisis.
Answered by Kevin Hollinrake - Shadow Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities
Businesses in East Yorkshire will have benefitted from the Government’s reversal of the National Insurance rise, which will save SMEs approximately £4,200 on average, cut fuel duty for 12 months and brought in the Energy Bill Relief Scheme, to protect small businesses from high energy costs over the winter. In addition, the Recovery Loan Scheme is available to SMEs across the UK. The government is also providing financial support for business through the Start Up loan scheme - 179 SMEs in East Yorkshire have received loans to the value of £1,629,934 as of October 2022.
Asked by: Greg Knight (Conservative - East Yorkshire)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what plans has has to bring forward new policy proposals to increase the use of wave energy generation; with reference to the Wave Hub marine renewable infrastructure project off the South coast, whether he plans to support new wave energy development in the North of England; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Greg Hands
Wave energy technologies remain at the pre-commercial stage of development. The Government continues to support research and innovation in wave and tidal energy, having allotted more than £80m to this field since 2010. The Government monitors very closely the progress of the sector and when wave energy technologies can demonstrate cost-efficiency and proof of scalability the Government will consider how best to further support the technology’s development and deployment.
Asked by: Greg Knight (Conservative - East Yorkshire)
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 (a) frequency of power surges when Distribution Network Operators erroneously supply electricity outside the allowed fluctuations and (b) potential effect of those fluctuations on the safety of electric vehicle charging points; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Greg Hands
The Electricity System Operator is responsible for keeping the overall frequency and voltage of the GB electricity network within the statutory limits and publishes annual data on system excursions. Conditions on the electricity distribution network, or internal wiring at a premises, can alter the voltage at a specific Electric Vehicle (EV) charging point. EV charging points are designed to operate over wide voltage and frequency ranges. They are also fitted with internal protective devices to limit damage should excursions exceed safe limits. Should any customers have concerns about voltage management at their premises, they can raise them with their Distribution Network Operator for investigation.
Asked by: Greg Knight (Conservative - East Yorkshire)
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 volume of debris and space junk including obsolete satellites that are orbiting the earth; what assessment he has made of the potential danger such items in orbit pose to (a) human life and (b) operational satellites in orbit; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by George Freeman
The UK is the leading contributor to the European Space Agency’s Space Safety programme, who estimate there may be more than 36,000 pieces of space debris in orbit larger than 10cm. This is just the number we can reliably track, there are likely to be many millions of smaller objects:
https://www.esa.int/Safety_Security/Space_Debris/Space_debris_by_the_numbers.
Debris and the risk it poses to UK satellites is monitored 365 days of the year by the UK Space Agency and Ministry of Defence. The UK is taking action on space debris by enhancing our national capabilities to warn of dangerous collisions in orbit and agree new international rules on sustainable operations in space.
Asked by: Greg Knight (Conservative - East Yorkshire)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, if he will take steps to bring into force the provisions of the Easter Act 1928 to fix the date of Easter from 2023 onwards.
Answered by Paul Scully
The Easter Act 1928 would set the date for Easter to fall between 9 and 15 April each year. The Easter Act 1928 remains on the Statute Book, but has not been brought into force. Doing so would require an Order in Council with the approval of both Houses of Parliament. The Act also requires that, before the Order is made, "regard shall be had to any opinion officially expressed by any Church or other Christian Body." There is no indication that the Churches are keen to move to a fixed Easter.
Asked by: Greg Knight (Conservative - East Yorkshire)
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 impact of biomass electricity subsidies on deforestation; what provisions are in place to minimise that impact; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Anne-Marie Trevelyan
The UK only supports biomass which complies with strict sustainability criteria, and electricity generators receive subsidies only for compliant biomass.
The criteria ensure that the carbon stock and area of the forest, irrespective of its location, is not decreased. The evidence does not show that deforestation has occurred in the areas from where UK electricity generators source their biomass.
The sustainability criteria require that biomass fuels are sourced from forest waste wood and residues from commercial forestry operations, and that the forest owner adheres to the relevant legal requirements to protect biodiversity and the environment.
Suppliers must demonstrate to the regulators (Ofgem) that they meet the criteria, and their evidence is independently audited.
Asked by: Greg Knight (Conservative - East Yorkshire)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what plans he has to increase the uptake of heat pumps in domestic premises; when he plans to publish details of the new heat and buildings strategy; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Anne-Marie Trevelyan
In the Ten-Point Plan for a Green Industrial Revolution, my Rt. Hon. Friend the Prime Minister announced our ambition to grow the heat pump market to 600,000 installations per year by 2028 to put us on track for net zero by 2050.
The Government is developing a comprehensive package of policies to help meet this ambition. We have set out proposals for some parts of this package and will consult on others alongside the Heat and Buildings Strategy, which we will publish in due course.
The Future Homes Standard, for instance, will ensure that from 2025 new homes are built zero carbon-ready, with low-carbon heating systems such as heat pumps. We will also set out plans to improve the incentives for industry to invest in developing the UK heat pump market and we will consult on regulations to meet our commitment to phase out the installation of fossil fuel heating in homes off the gas grid this decade, in favour primarily of heat pumps.
We also currently provide financial support to consumers to install heat pumps through schemes such as the Renewable Heat Incentive, and we will continue to do so through the investments we are making in the Clean Heat Grant from next year, the Home Upgrade Grant and the Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund.
Asked by: Greg Knight (Conservative - East Yorkshire)
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 prevalence of shill bidding taking place at auctions; what his Department's policy is on preventing, deterring and detecting that matter; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Paul Scully
‘Shill bidding’ refers to the practice during an online auction of a seller or a seller’s acquaintance placing bids on his or her goods in order to drive up the price. Trading Standards have brought successful prosecutions against sellers engaging in these practices under the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008 and will continue to do so where appropriate.
Anyone who feels they have been the victim of a fraudulent sale should contact the Citizens Advice consumer service on 0808 223 1133 or 0808 223 1144 (Welsh speaking). They provide help and advice on consumers’ rights. Citizens Advice will refer cases to Trading Standards offices for enforcement action where necessary.
Asked by: Greg Knight (Conservative - East Yorkshire)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps he is taking with the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport to ensure that there is sufficient universal broadband network coverage to enable smart meters to function effectively and continuously; and when the Government plans for such network coverage to be made available throughout Yorkshire; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Kwasi Kwarteng
Second generation smart meters use a dedicated national smart metering communications network, which uses a variety of technologies to deliver connectivity to premises. These include cellular mobile technology plus wireless mesh radio, and long-range radio technology.
The Data Communications Company (DCC), which operates the national communications infrastructure for smart metering, is obligated under the conditions of its licence to provide communications coverage to at least 99.25% of premises across Great Britain by the end of 2020.
The DCC is required by licence conditions to assess opportunities to increase the overall level of coverage beyond its contractual requirements where it is practicable and cost proportionate.
Asked by: Greg Knight (Conservative - East Yorkshire)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what recent estimate he has made of the number of households in England that have insufficient broadband network coverage to support the functioning of smart meters.
Answered by Kwasi Kwarteng
Second generation smart meters use a dedicated national smart metering communications network, which uses a variety of technologies to deliver connectivity to premises. These include cellular mobile technology plus wireless mesh radio, and long-range radio technology.
The Data Communications Company (DCC), which operates the national communications infrastructure for smart metering, is obligated under the conditions of its licence to provide communications coverage to at least 99.25% of premises across Great Britain by the end of 2020.
The DCC is required by licence conditions to assess opportunities to increase the overall level of coverage beyond its contractual requirements where it is practicable and cost proportionate.