Asked by: James McMurdock (Reform UK - South Basildon and East Thurrock)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what estimate he has made of the cost to (a) consumers and (b) the public purse of the Sustainable Industry Reward scheme in each of the next five years.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Clean Industry Bonus (CIB) has superseded Sustainable Industry Rewards. Like the rest of the Contracts for Difference scheme, it will be funded by the existing levy on consumer bills. It will drive much needed investment in supply chains, including into new factories. For the first round of CIBs (starting in 2025), aggregate consumer bill impact is estimated to be in the region of c.£1-2 per year for two years, giving rise to a total bill impact of around £2-4 for the round. Impact for future rounds will depend on the timing and scale of those rounds which has yet to be decided.
Asked by: James McMurdock (Reform UK - South Basildon and East Thurrock)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether the position of Head of Mission Control, Net Zero is a full-time role.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Head of Mission Control is a full-time role.
Asked by: James McMurdock (Reform UK - South Basildon and East Thurrock)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what discussions he has had with Ofcom on (a) the prevention of and (b) the number of instances of online bullying.
Answered by Feryal Clark - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
Government is committed to working with Ofcom to ensure the Online Safety Act is implemented quickly and effectively. Under the Act, platforms will need to remove illegal abusive content and, if children can access their site, protect children from harmful content, including abusive content.
Where anonymous abuse does not meet the criminal threshold, adult users of Category 1 services can choose to use user empowerment tools, which, when applied, will reduce the likelihood that they are exposed to certain legal content, including abusive content. Adults will also have the choice to filter out content from non-verified users.
Asked by: James McMurdock (Reform UK - South Basildon and East Thurrock)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to paragraph 3.52 of the Autumn Budget 2024, what the aggregate capital cost before subsidy is of the 11 projects.
Answered by Darren Jones - Chief Secretary to the Treasury
Approximately £413 million of capital will be invested in these projects, across the UK, between 2024-2026, in addition to over £90m of grant funding from the Net Zero Hydrogen Fund. This information is available on gov.uk via the following link:
The LCCC register includes details of every project which has signed a Low Carbon Hydrogen Agreement and can be found here: https://register.lowcarboncontracts.uk/?allocation_round=%7B%22operator%22%3A%22is%22%2C%22value%22%3A%22Hydrogen+Allocation+Round+1%22%7D
Asked by: James McMurdock (Reform UK - South Basildon and East Thurrock)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps her Department takes to hold to account councils that fail to comply with the Homelessness (Suitability of Accommodation) (England) Order 2003.
Answered by Rushanara Ali - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Too many children are spending years in temporary accommodation, at a point in their lives when they need space to play and develop, nutritious food to thrive and access to education. We must build more homes so we can reduce the number of households in temporary accommodation, which is why we will deliver the biggest increase to social and affordable housing in a generation.
MHCLG’s dedicated team of homelessness advisers continue to work closely with local authorities under the highest bed and breakfast (B&B) pressures, including to develop B&B elimination plans, to reduce families being placed in this accommodation for longer than six weeks.
The Government will also work with 20 local authorities with the highest levels of B&B use for temporary accommodation through a new programme of Emergency Accommodation Reduction Pilots, backed by £5 million to test innovative approaches and kickstart new initiatives.
All temporary accommodation must be safe and suitable for households with babies and children, and we are taking action to improve standards across the housing sector. The death of any child is devastating, and we must do all we can to prevent avoidable deaths. The Homelessness Code of Guidance is therefore clear that temporary accommodation should not be considered suitable for a family with children under 2 if there is not enough space for a cot and that housing authorities should support families to secure a cot where needed.
Housing authorities must, as a minimum, ensure that all temporary accommodation is free of Category 1 hazards as identified by the Housing Health and Safety Rating System (HHSRS). Housing authorities have a continuing obligation to keep the suitability of accommodation under review, and to respond to any relevant change in circumstances which may affect suitability. Households may request a review of their accommodation if they feel it is unsuitable.
Asked by: James McMurdock (Reform UK - South Basildon and East Thurrock)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if she will take steps to review the (a) effectiveness of the means testing process for and (b) maximum level of grant available through the Disabled Facilities Grant.
Answered by Rushanara Ali - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Government recognises how important home adaptations are in enabling disabled people to live as independently as possible in a safe and suitable environment. Disabled Facilities Grant (DFG) funding helps adapt around 55,000 homes annually, helping disabled people and their families to live independently and well in their own homes for longer.
Local authorities already have powers to waive the means test in line with a locally agreed Housing Assistance Policy. To ensure the DFG is as effective as possible, we will continue to keep different aspects of the grant under consideration, including the effectiveness of the means test process.
This Government is reviewing the suitability of the current grant upper limit. We expect the review to conclude later in 2025. Given that any rise in the upper limit will require additional funding, the Government will say more about its future approach after the Spending Review. In the meanwhile, local authorities have considerable discretion and may fund adaptations above the current £30,000 upper limit in line with a local policy or in exceptional circumstances.
Asked by: James McMurdock (Reform UK - South Basildon and East Thurrock)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what trading schemes are (a) operational and (b) planned under the terms of Part 3 of the Climate Change Act 2008.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The operational trading schemes under Part 3 of the Climate Change Act 2008 (CCA) are the UK Emissions Trading Scheme, launched in 2021, and the Vehicle Emissions Trading Schemes, launched in 2024. A review of the UK ETS was published in December 2023. A consultation on the Vehicle Emissions Trading Schemes was published in December 2024. The CRC Energy Efficiency Scheme (formerly the Carbon Reduction Commitment) was previously established under Part 3 of the CCA, but there have been no CRC surrender obligations since October 2019 and all legal requirements for the scheme regulator end on 31 March 2025.
Asked by: James McMurdock (Reform UK - South Basildon and East Thurrock)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what discussions her Department has had with Basildon Council on (a) their management of homelessness services and (b) the breaches recorded by that Council of the requirement to avoid placing (i) families with children, (ii) pregnant women and (iii) care leavers in temporary accommodation.
Answered by Rushanara Ali - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government is responsible for setting the national framework for housing, including the legislation and Homelessness Code of Guidance to which councils must have regard.
Compliance with legislation, guidance, and the statutory homelessness duties rests with local councils. It is the responsibility of the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman to investigate individual complaints and take action where they consider councils have not applied their duties correctly.
MHCLG’s homelessness advice and support team (HAST) continue to work closely with local authorities, such as Basildon Council, to develop B&B elimination plans to reduce families and vulnerable people being placed in bed and breakfast accommodation for longer than six weeks.
The Government recognises that homelessness levels are far too high and we will develop a long-term, cross government strategy, to put us on track to end homelessness.
Asked by: James McMurdock (Reform UK - South Basildon and East Thurrock)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what recent estimate his Department has made of the cost of delivering Net Zero.
Answered by Kerry McCarthy - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Net Zero transition is critical to sustainable UK growth because of the economic costs of unmitigated climate change.
The Office of Budget Responsibility (OBR) published its analysis of the cost of reaching net zero by 2050 in chapter 3 of the July 2021 edition of its UK Fiscal Risk Report. As the OBR has noted, “the costs of failing to get climate change under control would be much larger than those of bringing emissions down to net zero.
Asked by: James McMurdock (Reform UK - South Basildon and East Thurrock)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of her Department's steps to enforce pension provision by private companies.
Answered by Torsten Bell - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
Enabling people to achieve security in retirement is a key priority for this Government.
Automatic Enrolment has seen 88% of eligible employees saving into a workplace pension, with participation remaining high throughout the Cost of Living challenges of recent years.
The Pensions Regulator is responsible for maximising compliance with the Automatic Enrolment duties, with over 2.5 million employers doing so to date.