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.
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 Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether he plans to accelerate the introduction of the Deposit Return Scheme.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
This Government remains committed to delivering the Deposit Return Scheme (DRS) for drinks containers in October 2027, as agreed with the devolved Governments of the UK, and in accordance with the Joint Policy Statement published in April 2024. There are no plans to accelerate this work – industry have been clear that this is the time they need to launch the scheme.
Defra intenda to lay the DRS regulations for England and Northern Ireland before Parliament later this year, assuming Parliamentary time allows. If so, the regulations would come into force in early 2025, before the Deposit Management Organisation (DMO), (who will run the scheme), would be appointed in April 2025.
Asked by: Josh Babarinde (Liberal Democrat - Eastbourne)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps she plans to take to support art galleries with financial pressures.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
Museums and galleries enrich communities, creating thriving places for people to live and visit.
We’re working with Arts Council England and others to understand the sector’s priorities and needs, looking at the sector as a whole: from our commitment to restoring stability to Local Government, to our forthcoming review of Arts Council England.
Regional art galleries are a major beneficiary of DCMS’s £86 million Museum Estate and Development Fund, with Round 4 currently underway.