Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of a bespoke heat pump installer certification scheme, similar to the gas safe register, to protect consumers who are purchasing heat pumps.
Answered by Greg Hands - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Government oversees authorisation of a number of competent person schemes, including the Gas Safe Register. This includes schemes which allow heat pump installers to self-certify compliance with Building Regulations in England. Contractors installing heat pumps within UK Government schemes, such as the Boiler Upgrade Scheme, are additionally required to be certified by the Microgeneration Certification Scheme (MCS). MCS certification provides additional protections to consumers getting a heat pump installed.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
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 there is sufficient network capacity for the increased demand for (a) electric heating from 2025 and (b) electric vehicle charging from 2023.
Answered by Greg Hands - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
As set out in its British Energy Security Strategy, the Government is committed to accelerating the process of building and connecting electricity network infrastructure to accommodate both new clean, affordable generation and demand. This includes working with Ofgem, network companies and the supply chain to dramatically reduce timelines for delivering strategic onshore transmission infrastructure and to speed up connections to the local distribution networks.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what proportion of heat pumps sold in the UK were (a) manufactured and (b) imported to the UK in the most recent 12 months for which data is available.
Answered by Greg Hands - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The latest data available is from the BEIS commissioned Heat Pump Manufacturing Supply Chain Research Project, which found that approximately 30 per cent of heat pumps sold in the UK in 2019 were manufactured domestically. The report also noted that this is expected to increase over time as the market matures.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
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 support the development of tidal power projects; and if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of developing those projects in Strangford Lough.
Answered by Greg Hands - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Government announced in November that the fourth Contracts for Difference allocation round will feature a £20m annual ringfenced budget for tidal stream energy. This builds on a long and continuing history of government support for the tidal power sector and opens up possibilities for Britain’s marine energy sector to play a key role in strengthening energy security and reducing our dependency on fossil fuels.
Energy policy is a transferred matter to the Northern Ireland Assembly and Northern Ireland Executive so tidal stream deployment in Strangford Lough is principally a matter for Northern Ireland Departments.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
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 help ensure that small businesses are able to operate in the context of rising energy costs; and if he will hold discussions with the Chancellor of the Exchequer on tax reductions for small businesses.
Answered by Greg Hands - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Government recognises the impact rising energy prices is having on small businesses. Extensive engagement continues across government at both ministerial and official level on this situation to understand, and to help mitigate the impacts of, high global energy prices. The Government’s priority is to ensure costs are managed and energy supplies maintained.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
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 train new heat pump installers in the UK in preparation for the future homes standard being implemented in 2025.
Answered by Greg Hands - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Government is working with industry to ensure that sufficient installers are trained to install heat pumps in advance of the Future Homes Standard being implemented in England in 2025. In 2020 and 2021, the Government spent almost £6 million on the BEIS Skills Training Competition which delivered around 7,000 training opportunities for energy efficiency and low carbon heating supply chains in England. This scheme included training for over 2,000 heat pump installers.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
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 has taken to launch a public campaign to increase awareness of heat pumps as a low carbon heating technology.
Answered by Greg Hands - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Government recognises public engagement as a vital element for successful decarbonisation of heat and buildings.
The Simple Energy Advice service has had over 1.7 million users, providing homeowners with personal, tailored advice for improving and decarbonising their homes and links to local, accredited, trusted installers. The Government is currently reviewing this service to identify potential improvements and will shortly publish a new heat pump suitability tool and use case studies to help consumers make informed choices about installing heat pumps.
The Boiler Upgrade Scheme launched recently, with information published across consumer-facing websites to raise awareness of the benefits of the scheme.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment he has made of the potential contributions to energy security of the Jackdaw Field Development in the North Sea.
Answered by Greg Hands - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
Shell’s February 2022 Environmental Statement notes that at its peak, the Jackdaw development is expected to deliver 6.5% of UK Continental Shelf gas production for less than 1% of UK Continental Shelf emissions and produce an amount of energy equivalent to heating over 1.4 million UK homes.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
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 in the response to the campaign to raise awareness of the dangers of button batteries.
Answered by Paul Scully
The Government takes the dangers associated with button batteries seriously and is leading a range of action to tackle this issue.
The Office for Product Safety and Standards (OPSS) established a working group last year, drawn from a wide range of stakeholders representing consumers, business, medical professionals and enforcing authorities to take forward work to improve safety outcomes related to button batteries.
This includes work with The Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents, the Chartered Trading Standards Institute, the Child Accident Prevention Trust, and the British and Irish Portable Battery Association to raise awareness amongst parents and carers.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
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 (a) large fuel firms and (b) other stakeholders on the impact of the rise in the cost of living.
Answered by Greg Hands - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Government understands that fuel prices are an important component of UK household and business expenditures and is sympathetic to the impact of domestic fuel costs on UK consumers.
BEIS Ministers are in regular contact with the fuel industry at all levels and have made it clear operators should do everything they can to reduce the cost to end users.
The Government has asked the Competition and Markets Authority to conduct an urgent review of the fuel market, as well as a longer-term market study under the Enterprise Act 2002, to explore whether the retail fuel market has adversely affected consumer interests.