Asked by: Ian Lavery (Labour - Blyth and Ashington)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, if she will review the operation of the EPC eligibility criteria within ECO4 Flex where a local authority has accepted a referral under Article 19 on the basis of a medically certified health condition.
Answered by Martin McCluskey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
ECO4 Flex Route 3 supports medically vulnerable households not meeting standard benefits criteria, but does not disapply the property requirements. Article 19(1)(e) cross-refers to articles 13 and 14 while omitting only their household-eligibility requirement. Accordingly, owner-occupied homes must have a pre-project SAP band D to G and private-rented homes E to G. Band C homes are outside the scheme. This targets finite support at the least energy-efficient homes, where improvements can deliver the greatest heating-cost reductions and benefits. Equality impacts were considered in accordance with the Public Sector Equality Duty when ECO4 was designed. Eligibility for the scheme, which closes on 31 December 2026, does not guarantee installation of measures.
Asked by: Ian Lavery (Labour - Blyth and Ashington)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what is her policy on whether, under the Article 19 health route, households containing a person whose health is worsened by a cold home should be excluded because the property has an EPC rating of C.
Answered by Martin McCluskey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
ECO4 Flex Route 3 supports medically vulnerable households not meeting standard benefits criteria, but does not disapply the property requirements. Article 19(1)(e) cross-refers to articles 13 and 14 while omitting only their household-eligibility requirement. Accordingly, owner-occupied homes must have a pre-project SAP band D to G and private-rented homes E to G. Band C homes are outside the scheme. This targets finite support at the least energy-efficient homes, where improvements can deliver the greatest heating-cost reductions and benefits. Equality impacts were considered in accordance with the Public Sector Equality Duty when ECO4 was designed. Eligibility for the scheme, which closes on 31 December 2026, does not guarantee installation of measures.
Asked by: Ian Lavery (Labour - Blyth and Ashington)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether eligibility under the health route of the Electricity and Gas (Energy Company Obligation) Order 2022 is intended to provide support for medically vulnerable households that do not meet the standard benefits criteria.
Answered by Martin McCluskey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
ECO4 Flex Route 3 supports medically vulnerable households not meeting standard benefits criteria, but does not disapply the property requirements. Article 19(1)(e) cross-refers to articles 13 and 14 while omitting only their household-eligibility requirement. Accordingly, owner-occupied homes must have a pre-project SAP band D to G and private-rented homes E to G. Band C homes are outside the scheme. This targets finite support at the least energy-efficient homes, where improvements can deliver the greatest heating-cost reductions and benefits. Equality impacts were considered in accordance with the Public Sector Equality Duty when ECO4 was designed. Eligibility for the scheme, which closes on 31 December 2026, does not guarantee installation of measures.
Asked by: Ian Lavery (Labour - Blyth and Ashington)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of excluding homes with an EPC rating of C from ECO4 Flex support where the household otherwise satisfies the Article 19 health route on disabled and medically vulnerable households.
Answered by Martin McCluskey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
ECO4 Flex Route 3 supports medically vulnerable households not meeting standard benefits criteria, but does not disapply the property requirements. Article 19(1)(e) cross-refers to articles 13 and 14 while omitting only their household-eligibility requirement. Accordingly, owner-occupied homes must have a pre-project SAP band D to G and private-rented homes E to G. Band C homes are outside the scheme. This targets finite support at the least energy-efficient homes, where improvements can deliver the greatest heating-cost reductions and benefits. Equality impacts were considered in accordance with the Public Sector Equality Duty when ECO4 was designed. Eligibility for the scheme, which closes on 31 December 2026, does not guarantee installation of measures.
Asked by: Ian Lavery (Labour - Blyth and Ashington)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether her Department has undertaken an Equality Act assessment of the effect of ECO4 Flex eligibility criteria on households containing disabled persons whose health is adversely affected by living in a cold home.
Answered by Martin McCluskey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
ECO4 Flex Route 3 supports medically vulnerable households not meeting standard benefits criteria, but does not disapply the property requirements. Article 19(1)(e) cross-refers to articles 13 and 14 while omitting only their household-eligibility requirement. Accordingly, owner-occupied homes must have a pre-project SAP band D to G and private-rented homes E to G. Band C homes are outside the scheme. This targets finite support at the least energy-efficient homes, where improvements can deliver the greatest heating-cost reductions and benefits. Equality impacts were considered in accordance with the Public Sector Equality Duty when ECO4 was designed. Eligibility for the scheme, which closes on 31 December 2026, does not guarantee installation of measures.
Asked by: Ian Lavery (Labour - Blyth and Ashington)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what evidence was used to determine that households qualifying under the Article 19 health route should remain excluded from ECO4 Flex assistance where the property has an EPC rating of C.
Answered by Martin McCluskey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
ECO4 Flex Route 3 supports medically vulnerable households not meeting standard benefits criteria, but does not disapply the property requirements. Article 19(1)(e) cross-refers to articles 13 and 14 while omitting only their household-eligibility requirement. Accordingly, owner-occupied homes must have a pre-project SAP band D to G and private-rented homes E to G. Band C homes are outside the scheme. This targets finite support at the least energy-efficient homes, where improvements can deliver the greatest heating-cost reductions and benefits. Equality impacts were considered in accordance with the Public Sector Equality Duty when ECO4 was designed. Eligibility for the scheme, which closes on 31 December 2026, does not guarantee installation of measures.
Asked by: Ian Lavery (Labour - Blyth and Ashington)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what plans his Department has to accelerate domestic renewable generation, including offshore wind, tidal energy, green hydrogen and geothermal.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Accelerating renewable generation is one of this Government’s missions and that’s why we published the Clean Power Action Plan.
There are a range of interventions this Government made since coming to power, including lifting the onshore wind ban in England and the significant progress already made to deliver a solar rooftop revolution.
The Contracts for Difference (CfD) mechanism is one of our main levers to intervene and in Allocation Round 7, we secured a record 14.7GW of renewable capacity, including 8.4GW of offshore wind, and four new tidal stream projects totalling 20.9MW. We look forward to more capacity being released under future CfDs.
We are supporting 10 green hydrogen projects across England, Scotland and Wales through the first Hydrogen Allocation Round.
The Government recognises the renewable resource that the UK has for geothermal energy and is pleased to see innovation in both heat and power applications.
Asked by: Ian Lavery (Labour - Blyth and Ashington)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what assessment his Department has made of UK energy resilience to disruption to global gas or electricity markets.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The UK benefits from a strong and diverse security of supply and we continue to monitor the situation in the Middle East closely.
The Government works with Ofgem, the National Energy System Operator and the Gas and Electricity System Operators to monitor the energy supply horizon and ensure industry continues to have the tools required to manage supply and demand.
The Government is strengthening energy security by reducing dependency on volatile global fossil fuel markets and delivering a diverse, secure and clean energy system based on renewables and nuclear, backed up by unabated gas to be used only when essential.
Asked by: Ian Lavery (Labour - Blyth and Ashington)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, how many contracts his Department has awarded to Altrad since 2022; what the value of those contracts is; and how many of those contracts relate to the removal of asbestos.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
We do not hold any contracts for this supplier “Altrad”.
Asked by: Ian Lavery (Labour - Blyth and Ashington)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether he has had recent discussions with Ofgem on (a) the level of standing charges for (i) gas and (ii) electricity in the North East and (b) regional variations in standing charges.
Answered by Miatta Fahnbulleh - Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero
Although standing charges are a commercial matter for suppliers, and are regulated by Ofgem, we know that too much of the burden of the bill is placed on them. The Government has worked constructively with the regulator on the issue of standing charges, and we are committed to lowering the cost of them.
The Government understands that there is a degree of variance in electricity standing charges across the country. This arises from a regional variation in electricity distribution costs and reflects the different costs of maintaining and upgrading the distribution network in a specific area, and the number of consumers those costs are spread across.
Ofgem’s recently published discussion paper sets out the options for how standing charges could be reduced, including by moving some supplier operational costs off standing charges onto the unit rate, increasing the variety of tariffs available for consumer in the market, and in the longer term, reviewing how system costs are allocated. Ofgem's publication can be found here: https://www.ofgem.gov.uk/call-for-input/standing-charges-domestic-retail-options. The Government will continue to support Ofgem in this work and ensure that standing charges are reduced.