Asked by: Josh Babarinde (Liberal Democrat - Eastbourne)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what steps his Department is taking to support clean energy initiatives in Eastbourne constituency.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Department is supporting clean energy initiatives in Eastbourne through funding and regional delivery mechanisms. The Greater South East Net Zero Hub provides technical and coordination support to local authorities and community groups to develop renewable energy projects.
The Community Energy Fund offers grants of up to £140,000 for feasibility and business case development of community-led schemes. A further £1.28 million has been allocated to the Hub for 2025/26 through the Great British Energy Community Fund to continue supporting clean energy delivery in the region. Eastbourne-based projects are eligible to apply.
Asked by: Josh Babarinde (Liberal Democrat - Eastbourne)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what steps his Department is taking to support the energy efficiency of homes in Eastbourne.
Answered by Miatta Fahnbulleh - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Warm Homes Plan will help households, including those in Eastbourne, take up measures like solar panels, heat pumps, batteries and insulation, helping them save money on their bills and benefit from cleaner, cheaper heating. Support is available under current government schemes including the Energy Company Obligation, the Great British Insulation Scheme, the Warm Homes: Local Grant, the Warm Homes: Social Housing Fund and the Boiler Upgrade Scheme.
Recommendations for home energy improvements is also available at the GOV.UK ‘Find Ways to Save Energy in Your Home’ webpage.
Further detail on the Warm Homes Plan will be set out by October.
Asked by: Josh Babarinde (Liberal Democrat - Eastbourne)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what steps his Department is taking to support people living in fuel poverty in Eastbourne constituency.
Answered by Miatta Fahnbulleh - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Government's review of the 2021 fuel poverty strategy and the latest fuel poverty statistics confirm that a new plan is needed to accelerate progress to alleviate fuel poverty. We have therefore consulted on a revised fuel poverty strategy, with a focus on improving the energy performance of homes, supporting low-income households with energy affordability and protecting them from high prices. The consultation closed on 4 April and we are considering the responses received.
It is imperative that fuel poor homes benefit from the transition to net zero. We are investing £13.2bn in the Warm Homes Plan over the Spending Review period (up to 2029/30), in line with the Manifesto commitment. This is a major step forward in the Government’s plans to upgrade 5 million homes over this Parliament and cut energy bills for good.
Support is also available through the Warm Home Discount schemes which provide eligible low-income households across Great Britain with £150 off their winter energy bill. On 19 June we announced that we are expanding the Warm Home Discount to around an additional 2.7 million households. This means that from next winter, around 6 million low-income households will receive the £150 support to help with their energy bill costs.
Asked by: Josh Babarinde (Liberal Democrat - Eastbourne)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, if he will make an assessment with Cabinet colleagues of the potential merits of supporting sports and leisure facilities with energy costs.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Government is committed to making energy affordable for everyone, including non-domestic consumers. The best way to safeguard against spikes in bills is to speed up our transition towards clean power. In the short-term we will strengthen the measures in place to protect these consumers from unfair and expensive energy contracts.
Asked by: Josh Babarinde (Liberal Democrat - Eastbourne)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether he has plans to bring forward legislative proposals to require all wind turbines in England to use bio-based lubricants.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Department has no plans to require wind turbines to use bio-based lubricants. The small amounts of lubricants used in modern turbines means the environmental risks from release of lubricants are very small.
Asked by: Josh Babarinde (Liberal Democrat - Eastbourne)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what steps he plans to take to support (a) households and (b) organisations to reduce their carbon footprint.
Answered by Miatta Fahnbulleh - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Government’s Warm Homes Plan will transform homes across the country by making them cheaper and cleaner to run, rolling out upgrades from new insulation to solar and heat pumps. We have already announced the new Warm Homes: Local Grant to help low-income homeowners and private tenants with energy performance upgrades including insulation, as well as the Warm Homes: Social Housing Fund, to support social housing providers and tenants. More detail will be provided in due course.
Small and medium-sized organisations can visit the UK Business Climate Hub for advice and support, run in partnership with government. Climate Change Agreements provide tax discounts for businesses reducing their emissions, and the Industrial Energy Transformation Fund supports industrial sites with high energy use to transition. We are currently running a pilot in the West Midlands, providing energy audits and grants to small and medium businesses to support them in decarbonising.