Asked by: Ian Mearns (Labour - Gateshead)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, pursuant to the Answer of 30 November to Question 84872 on Energy Bills Rebate: District Heating, by which date he plans to announce the method of delivery for the Energy Bill Support Scheme Alternative Funding payments.
Answered by Graham Stuart
The Government is working in partnership with local authorities to finalise the details of the Alternative Funding. The Government is aiming to launch the scheme in January and will make a further announcement on delivery mechanism details soon.
Asked by: Ian Mearns (Labour - Gateshead)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, when he plans to publish guidance on the Energy Bills Support Scheme for households who receive their energy through private heat and power networks.
Answered by Graham Stuart
The Energy Bill Support Scheme Alternative Funding will provide a £400 discount on energy bills for the small percentage of households who will not be reached through the Energy Bills Support Scheme. This includes those who do not have a domestic electricity meter or a direct relationship with an electricity supplier. Eligibility, timescales and method of delivery will be announced in the coming weeks.
Asked by: Ian Mearns (Labour - Gateshead)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, when he plans to publish details on the additional £100 Energy Bills Support payment for households who are part of a local domestic heat network.
Answered by Graham Stuart
Heat network customers are benefiting from the Energy Bill Relief Scheme. These customers will therefore not receive the Alternative Fuel Payment of £200, which has been designed to support households using fuels such as oil, LPG or coal.
My Rt. Hon. Friend Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer has said that the EBRS will be reformed from April 2023. The Government will bring forward a route to deliver bespoke support for on heat network consumers from this date.
Asked by: Ian Mearns (Labour - Gateshead)
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 publish the (a) data, (b) evidence and (c) reasoning which supports the findings that the Valneva covid-19 vaccine in trial would not receive UK regulatory approval prior to the end of that trial.
Answered by Paul Scully
The response given by my Rt. Hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care to a question raised by the hon. Member for Livingston (Hannah Bardell) has been clarified [1] to make clear that Valneva’s Covid-19 vaccine has not yet gained approval by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) here in the UK, and that the outcome of that approval process will be a matter for the MHRA once the trials have been concluded and the data has been submitted.
Asked by: Ian Mearns (Labour - Gateshead)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, with reference to the Green Homes Grant scheme and the latest data release of 24 June 2021, what assessment he has made of the reasons for the difference between the number of vouchers issued and the number of measures actually installed; and what assessment he has made of the main challenges with delivery of measures under that scheme once a voucher has been issued.
Answered by Anne-Marie Trevelyan
Official statistics published on 24 June for the Green Homes Grant Voucher scheme describe installations completed prior to 03 June. More installations are being completed every day.
As per the release, 59,704 vouchers, worth over £273 million, have been issued (excluding those that have expired). 20,557 measures have been installed, giving a conversion rate of 34.4%.
Once a voucher has been issued, it is the responsibility of the customer and installer to schedule the installation and ensure work is undertaken. Installations for some measures will take longer and vary based on the size and structure of the property, along with the timing of the installation.
Vouchers continue to be issued with a three-month validity period. To ensure measures are installed as quickly as possible, we have also updated voucher extension policy for the scheme.
The Department regularly reviews information about the number of vouchers that have been issued and how many installations have been completed and vouchers paid. We are in frequent discussion with the scheme administrator in relation to this and maintain regular contact with stakeholders to understand possible issues and delays.
Asked by: Ian Mearns (Labour - Gateshead)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of reviewing every three years the Debt Relief Order monetary eligibility criteria to ensure that those criteria are appropriate.
Answered by Paul Scully
No assessment has been made of the potential merits of reviewing the Debt Relief Order monetary eligibility criteria every three years. However, the Government does keep the legislative framework for insolvency under regular review.
Asked by: Ian Mearns (Labour - Gateshead)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether he plans to increase the financial cap for eligibility for a Debt Relief Order; and whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of increasing that financial cap to £50,000.
Answered by Paul Scully
The Government has recently consulted on proposals to increase the eligibility criteria for Debt Relief Orders to help more people deal with their financial difficulties and to provide a fresh start. The consultation includes increasing the total amount of debt allowable in a Debt Relief Order. The consultation proposes an increase from the current debt limit of £20,000 to £30,000 but also seeks views on whether a different limit should be implemented. The consultation closed on 26 February 2021 and the Government is currently reviewing the responses.
Asked by: Ian Mearns (Labour - Gateshead)
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 to introduce more stringent supply chain employment requirements for the offshore wind industry ahead of the next Contract for Difference auction process.
Answered by Kwasi Kwarteng
The Government is eager to deliver supply chain investment and jobs from CfD contracts. We have confirmed our intention to align the Supply Chain Plan process with government priorities, and we are currently consulting[1] on proposals to introduce consequences for non-delivery of commitments that developers put forward in their Supply Chain Plans, which are approved before they enter the CfD Allocation Round. We are also strengthening the Supply Chain Plan monitoring process to support compliance.
These measures should be seen alongside my Rt. Hon. Friend the Prime Minister’s announcement on £160 million of new funding towards investment to upgrade ports and infrastructure and long-term ambitions to increase renewable energy capacity in the next CfD auction, which, together, will support new UK content, jobs and investment.
[1] https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/contracts-for-difference-cfd-changes-to-supply-chain-plans-and-the-cfd-contract - Closing date 18th January 2021.
Asked by: Ian Mearns (Labour - Gateshead)
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 to ensure that the next Contract for Difference auction process assists the offshore wind industry in meeting its commitment to 60 per cent UK content in the supply chain for offshore wind farms on the UK Continental Shelf before 2030.
Answered by Kwasi Kwarteng
The Government is eager to deliver supply chain investment from CfD contracts. We have confirmed our intention to align the Supply Chain Plan process with government priorities, and we are currently consulting[1] on proposals to introduce consequences for non-delivery of commitments that developers put forward in their Supply Chain Plans, which are approved before they enter the CfD Allocation Round. We are also strengthening the Supply Chain Plan monitoring process to support compliance.
These measures should be seen alongside my Rt. Hon. Friend the Prime Minister’s announcement on £160 million of new funding towards investment to upgrade ports and infrastructure and long-term ambitions to increase renewable energy capacity in the next CfD auction, which, together, will support new UK content, jobs and investment.
[1] https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/contracts-for-difference-cfd-changes-to-supply-chain-plans-and-the-cfd-contract - Closing date 18th January 2021.
Asked by: Ian Mearns (Labour - Gateshead)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Transport on regulatory measures in the coastal shipping sector to increase domestic employment in the supply chain roles for (a) offshore wind, (b) decommissioning and (c) Carbon Capture, Utilisation and Storage projects on the UK Continental Shelf.
Answered by Kwasi Kwarteng
I regularly meet my colleagues in the Department for Transport to discuss a wide range of issues, including on how we deliver the aims of the Industrial Strategy.