Asked by: Judith Cummins (Labour - Bradford South)
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 promote the availability of energy support schemes to eligible energy-intensive enterprises.
Answered by Amanda Solloway - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
The Department has worked with relevant trade associations and energy suppliers to promote awareness amongst energy trade and intensive industries (ETIIs), held engagement sessions to ensure that businesses understand their eligibility and the application process, and published guidance specific to ETIIs on GOV.UK.
The Government has a communications strategy for the Energy Bills Discount Scheme targeted at ETIIs and are working to ensure that as many customers as possible receive the support they are entitled to.
Asked by: Judith Cummins (Labour - Bradford South)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, how many businesses and what proportion of eligible businesses were participating in the Energy Intensive Industries Exemption Scheme as of 1 July 2023.
Answered by Nusrat Ghani - Minister of State (Minister for Europe)
As of 1 July 2023 there are 317 companies participating in the Energy Intensive Industries Exemption Scheme.
My department’s Energy Intensive Industries (EII) team carries out ongoing engagement with the Energy Intensive Users Group (EIUG) and directly with trade associations and companies to help ensure that as many of those companies that are eligible are aware of the scheme and able to apply for it.
Until individual companies undertake the application process it is not possible for government to make a decision on whether they are or are not eligible.
Asked by: Judith Cummins (Labour - Bradford South)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what recent assessment she has made of the potential impact of the Energy Intensive Industries Exemption Scheme on energy intensive industries.
Answered by Nusrat Ghani - Minister of State (Minister for Europe)
My department’s Energy Intensive Industries team carries out ongoing engagement with key energy intensive sectors to ensure that the schemes in question continue to provide appropriate financial support for the most affected companies.
We look for ways to take into account the feedback we receive to ensure we deliver the schemes in the most beneficial way. This includes a review of the analysis that underpins the eligibility criteria for the measures and we intend to complete this review in 2026.
Asked by: Judith Cummins (Labour - Bradford South)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of hypothecating revenue from the UK Emissions Trading Scheme revenue for spending on (a) industrial decarbonisation R&D, (b) industrial decarbonisation project grants and (c) subsidies for low carbon production.
Answered by Gareth Davies - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
Receipts from the UK Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) is not hypothecated towards specific projects. A floating carbon price means that revenue from the scheme is uncertain. Receipts currently help to fund public services including the Net Zero transition, such as:
Asked by: Judith Cummins (Labour - Bradford South)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to help facilitate the employment of dentists from overseas by NHS dental practices.
Answered by Neil O'Brien
To deliver National Health Service dental services, a dentist must be registered with the General Dental Council (GDC) and listed on the Dental Performers List (DPL) of the country in which they wish to practise.
We have recently introduced legislation that enables the GDC to improve its international registration processes. The GDC is identifying the ways it considers these processes can best be improved, while maintaining the necessary standards for public protection, and is working to implement any changes over the next 12 months. In the meantime, the GDC has announced that it has tripled the number of places for Part 1 of its Overseas Registration Exam (ORE) in response to the current demand, meaning there will be 600 places available for the August 2023 sitting of the ORE Part 1, instead of the usual 200.
As of 1 April 2023, NHS England manages all applications to join the England DPL. This means all applicants who have not completed Dental Foundation Training in the United Kingdom are invited by NHS England to engage in a structured conversation that assesses whether they have the knowledge, skills, and experience to perform NHS primary dental services.
The change is intended to accelerate the process for overseas dentists to join the DPL and start working in the NHS.
Asked by: Judith Cummins (Labour - Bradford South)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent steps he has taken to reduce the waiting time to be enlisted on a course accredited by Health Education England to enable dentists to perform clinical supervision of colleagues.
Answered by Neil O'Brien
NHS England are responsible for supervisors in recognised formal training programmes. Educational and clinical supervisors receive their training either before, or within three months, of the trainee commencing the programme.
Asked by: Judith Cummins (Labour - Bradford South)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of reducing fees for UK Regulation, Evaluation and Authorisation of Chemicals.
Answered by Rebecca Pow - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The current UK REACH fee structure was carried across from EU REACH using Withdrawal Act powers and given legal effect in secondary legislation. Work is underway to review our approach to this fee structure
Asked by: Judith Cummins (Labour - Bradford South)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of pursuing an agreement with the EU on data access to reduce the costs of UK Regulation, Evaluation and Authorisation of Chemicals for industrial enterprises.
Answered by Rebecca Pow - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Trade and Cooperation Agreement with the EU includes a Chemicals Annex to facilitate trade in chemicals. During negotiations the EU did not wish to progress discussions on data sharing. They view access to this data as only for members of the Single Market, and therefore any data sharing arrangement would require the EU to change their very clear position on the matter.
Asked by: Judith Cummins (Labour - Bradford South)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what guidance his Department provides local planning authorities on supporting (a) elderly and (b) disabled people with their housing needs.
Answered by Rachel Maclean
The National Planning Policy Framework sets out that local authorities should assess the size, type and tenure of housing needed for different groups in the community, including those who require supported housing, and reflect this in planning policies. We also published guidance in 2019 to help councils put policies in place to achieve this.
In addition, as part of our recent consultation on a revised National Planning Policy Framework, we proposed additional wording which would explicitly set out that local authorities should plan for the needs of older people, including for retirement, housing with care and care homes. We will be publishing a government response to the consultation in due course.
The Government has established an independent Older People’s Housing Taskforce and asked it to examine how to improve house options for people in later life and to make recommendations to Ministers. The taskforce is expected to make its report to Ministers in the spring of 2024.
Asked by: Judith Cummins (Labour - Bradford South)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what the high energy cost threshold for qualification for the Warm Homes Discount (a) is and (b) has been in each of the last 12 months.
Answered by Amanda Solloway - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
The Government sets the high-energy-cost threshold to expend the annual spending target. The threshold is set according to the number of rebates available and to prioritise low-income households living in properties estimated to be the highest cost to heat.
The Government uses data on the type, age, and size of properties to estimate relative heating costs and ranks households by the combinations of those property characteristics.
The Government set the threshold for the 2022/23 scheme year and will confirm over the summer whether there will be any adjustment for the 2023/24 scheme year.
Further information can be found here: