Asked by: Kim Johnson (Labour - Liverpool, Riverside)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, on what date his Department will require landlords to pass benefits they receive from energy price support onto tenants as set out in the provisions in the Energy Prices Act.
Answered by Graham Stuart
The Energy Prices Act 2022 contains a provision requiring intermediaries to pass on energy price support to end users. Further detail will be set out in regulations and guidance in due course, however, the requirement will be retrospective which means landlords will be required to pass on payments from October onwards.
Asked by: Kim Johnson (Labour - Liverpool, Riverside)
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 Cabinet colleagues on bringing forward legislative proposals to replace retained EU law on environmental protections following the passage of the Retained EU Law (Revocation and Reform) Bill 2022.
Answered by Dean Russell
Policy on environmental protections is owned by the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, and any decisions regarding retained EU law on environmental protections are for Defra Ministers to take.
The Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy has not held discussions with Cabinet colleagues on the content of Defra policy.
The UK is a world leader in environmental protections. In reviewing our retained EU law, we want to ensure that environmental law is fit for purpose for the United Kingdom’s unique environment, enabling us to drive improved environmental outcomes and deliver on our commitment to halt nature’s decline by 2030.
Asked by: Kim Johnson (Labour - Liverpool, Riverside)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether he plans to consult (a) environmental and (b) public health organisations on the potential implications of the Retained EU Law (Revocation and Reform) Bill 2022.
Answered by Dean Russell
Policy on the environment is owned by the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra), and any decisions regarding retained EU law on the environment are for Defra ministers to take.
Policy on public health is owned by the Department for Health & Social Care (DHSC), and any decisions regarding retained EU law on public health are for DHSC Ministers to take.
We are working through how best to involve stakeholders in this process and we will want to hear the views of environmental organisations as we develop the REUL programme.
Asked by: Kim Johnson (Labour - Liverpool, Riverside)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, if he will take steps to accelerate the replacement of animal experiments with techniques such as the use of organ-on-a-chip technology and computer modelling.
Answered by Nusrat Ghani - Minister of State (Minister for Europe)
The Government actively supports and funds the development and dissemination of techniques that replace, reduce, and refine the use of animals in research (the 3Rs). This is achieved primarily through funding from UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) for the National Centre for the 3Rs (NC3Rs), which works nationally and internationally to drive the uptake of 3Rs technologies and ensure that advances in the 3Rs are reflected in policy, practice, and regulations on animal research. Since the NC3Rs was launched in 2004, it has committed £100 million in research to develop 3Rs technologies.
In addition to funding the NC3Rs, UKRI also funds a portfolio of research projects involving humans, human materials, animal models, and non-animal technologies. The Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) and NC3Rs have recently launched a £4 million joint funding call focussed on supporting next generation non-animal technologies, such as organ-on-a-chip and computer modelling, to work towards providing more reliable and applicable alternatives to reduce the use of animals in research.
Asked by: Kim Johnson (Labour - Liverpool, Riverside)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, with reference to the announcement of 27 January 2020 entitled Boost for UK science with unlimited visa offer to world's brightest and best, what estimate he has made of when the £300 million ringfenced additional funding for research into mathematical sciences will be received by UKRI.
Answered by Jane Hunt
UKRI’s council level allocations were published on 30 May. The total UKRI allocation is £25.1 billion for 2022-25 and will reach its highest ever level in 2024-25 (over £8.8 billion). This multi-year settlement provides UKRI and its constituent research councils with stability and certainty to deliver world class research and innovation across their portfolio, including in mathematical sciences.
As part of the Additional Funding Programme for Mathematical Sciences, UKRI have committed £124 million out to 2028-29. UKRI will seek further opportunities to support mathematical research as it moves towards greater collective management of its funding, creating a portfolio of investments.
Asked by: Kim Johnson (Labour - Liverpool, Riverside)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what additional funding his Department is making available to local authorities to help enable them to meet decarbonisation targets.
Answered by Greg Hands - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The National Audit Office recently identified £1.2 billion in grant funding made available to Local Government in 2020-2021 targeted on specific net zero actions, such as building retrofit. These figures do not include the extensive funding that enable local authorities to incorporate net zero action into their wider delivery, such as the £4.8 billion Levelling Up Fund, where projects need to be aligned to net zero goals.
In addition, the Local Government Finance Settlement makes available £54.1 billion in 2022/23 for local government in England. The majority of this funding is not ringfenced so local authorities decide spending priorities, including on decarbonisation.
Asked by: Kim Johnson (Labour - Liverpool, Riverside)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, if he will publish his estimates for the amount of (a) lost carbon sequestration and (b) greenhouse gas emissions resulting from the decomposition of the roots of trees burnt at Drax power station.
Answered by Greg Hands - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Government does not hold this information.
Asked by: Kim Johnson (Labour - Liverpool, Riverside)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, for what reason only 70 per cent of the wood pellets burnt in UK power stations need to be sustainably sourced in order to qualify for renewable subsidies; and what discussions he had with stakeholders in developing that policy.
Answered by Greg Hands - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The land criteria for woody biomass, which includes the definitions of legal and sustainable sourcing, were transposed into the requirements of support schemes from the Timber Standard for Heat and Electricity (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/timber-standard-for-heat-electricity) at the time of the schemes’ developments. Stakeholders have been consulted repeatedly during the development and enhancement of the UK’s biomass sustainability criteria, and the outcomes of the consultations can be found on gov.uk. This includes the last consultation on adjustments to sustainability and reporting provisions for biomass under https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/biomass-sustainability
The Government is currently reviewing its existing biomass sustainability criteria across the transport, heat and energy sectors and intends to set out recommendations for further enhancements to these in the Biomass Strategy, set to be published in late 2022.
Asked by: Kim Johnson (Labour - Liverpool, Riverside)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what estimate he has made of (a) the number of trees felled in the US in 2021 to provide fuel for UK power stations and (b) the number of trees which were replanted in the same forests.
Answered by Greg Hands - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Government does not hold this information. In accordance with the government’s strict sustainability criteria, where biomass is sourced from forests, it needs to be sourced from areas managed in a way that is consistent with sustainable forest management practices, irrespective of the sourcing location.
Asked by: Kim Johnson (Labour - Liverpool, Riverside)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what renewable subsidies for burning wood pellets were paid to Drax in each of the last 10 years under the (a) Renewables Obligation and (b) Contracts for Difference scheme.
Answered by Greg Hands - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
Information is not available on the support given specifically for the generation of electricity from the burning of wood pellets.
The figures in the table below give the value of the support under the Renewables Obligation for generation from all the types of biomass used by Drax.
Year | Notional value of support under the Renewables Obligation[1] |
2011/12 | £50.5m |
2012/13 | £21.3m |
2013/14 | £181.3m |
2014/15 | £399.1m |
2015/16 | £548.1m |
2016/17 | £547.9m |
2017/18 | £399.2m |
2018/19 | £513.3m |
2019/20 | £508.9m |
2020/21 | £508.5m[2] |
Drax has received support under the Contracts for Difference scheme since 21 December 2016. Payments to individual projects are published by the Low Carbon Contracts Company on their Data Portal[3].
[1] Support under the Renewables Obligation is through tradeable certificates. The figures give the notional value of the support, based on Ofgem’s certificate report as at 14 January 2022 from their Renewables and CHP Register at: https://www.renewablesandchp.ofgem.gov.uk/Public/ReportViewer.aspx?ReportPath=/DatawarehouseReports/CertificatesExternalPublicDataWarehouse&ReportVisibility=1&ReportCategory=2
[2] Provisional figure as all the certificates for 2020/21 may not have been issued yet.
[3] The Low Carbon Contracts Company’s Data Portal is at: https://www.lowcarboncontracts.uk/dashboards/cfd/actuals-dashboards/historical-dashboard