Asked by: Helen Morgan (Liberal Democrat - North Shropshire)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps his Department is taking to ensure adequate capacity in the rural electricity network to support the planned replacement of traditional boilers with heat pumps for off-grid properties.
Answered by Greg Hands - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Government and Ofgem jointly published an Electricity Networks Strategic Framework on 4 August 2022, which sets out a vision for the transformation of the electricity network as decarbonise and reduce dependence on fossil fuels. Network regulation, including ensuring that the rural electricity network has sufficient capacity to meet demand is a matter for Ofgem. The Government engages regularly with Ofgem and electricity network operators to discuss their plans to support connections of low carbon technologies, including heat pumps for off-grid properties.
Asked by: Helen Morgan (Liberal Democrat - North Shropshire)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how much funding his Department allocated to Shropshire Council under the Omicron Hospitality and Leisure Grant; and how much funding his Department allocated to that council under the Additional Restrictions Grant for businesses that were impacted by Omicron but not covered by that scheme.
Answered by Paul Scully
Since the start of the pandemic, the Government has delivered an unprecedented package of support for businesses. Nearly £27 billion has been allocated to Business Support Grants in England, including over £700 million announced in December for businesses most impacted by the Omicron variant.
The Omicron Hospitality and Leisure Grant (OHLG) scheme supports businesses in the hospitality, leisure and accommodation sectors. The third top-up to the Additional Restrictions Grant (ARG) discretionary scheme provides support for other businesses. Shropshire Council has been allocated £5,856,507 in OHLG funding, and £667,495 in further ARG funding. This brings the total ARG funding package for Shropshire to £12,766,827
All data on Government allocations and Local Authority payments is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/coronavirus-grant-funding-local-authority-payments-to-small-and-medium-businesses.
Asked by: Helen Morgan (Liberal Democrat - North Shropshire)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps his Department is taking to ensure homes in areas with poor mobile signal can access energy smart meters.
Answered by Greg Hands - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
Second generation smart meters use a dedicated national smart metering communications network, which deploys a variety of technologies to deliver connectivity to premises. These include cellular mobile technology, wireless mesh radio, and long-range radio.