Asked by: Jim McMahon (Labour (Co-op) - Oldham West, Chadderton and Royton)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what discussions he has had with Cabinet colleagues on improving the take up of roof mounted solar retrofit equipment on existing agricultural buildings.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Government is looking to facilitate and promote extensive deployment of rooftop solar on industrial and commercial property, including agricultural buildings.
Our Solar Roadmap, published in June, sets out cross-Whitehall engagement to deliver action in the commercial solar space. Delivery of this and the other 71 Solar Roadmap actions is being monitored and supported by the government/industry Solar Council.
Asked by: Jim McMahon (Labour (Co-op) - Oldham West, Chadderton and Royton)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what funding has been allocated to local authorities in England to lead local community energy schemes.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Great British Energy (GBE) and the UK government will turbocharge support for local and community energy projects across the UK.
As such, Local Government has a vital role to play in the energy transition. To support this, £6.8 million has been allocated to maintain Local Net Zero Hubs located across England, which provide free expertise and resources to help local authorities deliver clear energy projects.
GBE is in the process of developing its longer-term funding offer and strategic support for working with Local Government and Community Energy Groups, as well as working with devolved governments. This includes commercial, technical and project planning assistance to increase capability and capacity to build a pipeline of successful projects in local areas. As set out in their Strategic Plan, published on 4 December 2025, GBE aims to support over 1,000 local and community projects by 2030.
Asked by: Jim McMahon (Labour (Co-op) - Oldham West, Chadderton and Royton)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what progress he has made on rolling out gas and electric smart meters to properties in England.
Answered by Martin McCluskey - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The latest statistics on smart meters in operation across GB are available here: Smart meters in Great Britain, Smart meters in Great Britain, quarterly update September 2025 - GOV.UK.
Government recognises the vital role that smart metering plays in the operation of a flexible and decarbonised power system, whilst helping households to manage their energy use and reduce bills. The Department continues to drive the rollout and work closely with industry to ensure all households and small businesses can access a smart meter.
Asked by: Jim McMahon (Labour (Co-op) - Oldham West, Chadderton and Royton)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what assessment he has made of trends in the level of fuel poverty amongst home owning pensioners in (a) England, (b) Greater Manchester and (c) Oldham.
Answered by Martin McCluskey - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The latest national and regional fuel poverty statistics for England were published in March 2025 and include data for 2024. These provide breakdowns of fuel poverty separately by tenure, age and employment status, but do not include specific figures for home owning pensioners.
The latest sub-regional fuel poverty statistics were published in April 2025 and include data for 2023. These provide estimates of fuel poverty levels in Greater Manchester and Oldham. However, since these are modelled estimates based on a national survey, they are not available by household characteristics at the local level.
Asked by: Jim McMahon (Labour (Co-op) - Oldham West, Chadderton and Royton)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what assessment he has made of the potential implications for his policies of trends in the number of complaints made to Ofgem about solar installation and network feed in as previously experienced with companies such as A Shade Greener since 2015.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
We inherited a fragmented assurance framework for the installation of measures that improve the energy efficiency of homes. We are currently reviewing the broader consumer protection landscape and will bring forward wider system reforms to ensure consumers can have confidence in the quality of installations and protections when upgrading their homes.
Asked by: Jim McMahon (Labour (Co-op) - Oldham West, Chadderton and Royton)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, how much funding has been allocated to (a) Greater Manchester (b) Oldham for the installation of retrofit renewable energy.
Answered by Martin McCluskey - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The government implemented the first Integrated Settlements for Greater Manchester and West Midlands Combined Authorities at the start of the 2025-26 financial year, which includes cover for building retrofits.
For buildings’ retrofit, Greater Manchester and West Midlands Combined Authorities received the first allocation of their combined £302 million devolved retrofit funding in April 2025. This allocation draws from the Warm Homes: Local Grant, the Warm Homes: Social Housing Fund, and the Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme.
Oldham forms part of the Greater Manchester Combined Authority.
Asked by: Jim McMahon (Labour (Co-op) - Oldham West, Chadderton and Royton)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what role he expects local authorities to have in implementing community energy schemes.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Together with local and community energy groups and other key stakeholders from devolved governments to mayoral strategic authorities, Great British Energy and the UK government will turbocharge support for local and community energy projects across the UK.
Great British Energy will work closely with Local Authorities to provide commercial, technical and project-planning assistance to increase their capability and capacity to build a pipeline of successful projects in their local areas.
Mayoral Strategic Authorities also have a vital role in offering local expertise with their communities and in July, Great British Energy awarded all 14 mayoral strategic authorities in England a share of £10 million in grant funding to roll out clean energy projects at the heart of their communities.
Asked by: Jim McMahon (Labour (Co-op) - Oldham West, Chadderton and Royton)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of expanding (a) community and (b) co-operative ownership in the renewable energy sector.
Answered by Justin Tomlinson
Government recognises the role community groups play in our efforts to tackle climate change and offers support through the £10m Community Energy Fund, which enables both rural and urban communities across England to access grant funding to develop local renewable energy projects for investment.
In addition, a Call for Evidence on the barriers to community energy projects was published on 8 April 2024.