Asked by: Lord Taylor of Warwick (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have, if any, to introduce a home heating support fund.
Answered by Lord Callanan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Government has expanded the Warm Home Discount from this year, providing rebates worth £150 to over 3 million households across Great Britain. The Government has also reformed the scheme in England and Wales, to provide more rebates automatically to households, without having to apply.
This support comes in addition to the cost-of-living support packages announced this year. Energy efficiency remains the best way to tackle fuel poverty in the long term, with support available through the Energy Company Obligation, Home Upgrade Grant, Local Authority Delivery scheme and Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund.
Asked by: Lord Taylor of Warwick (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to reduce energy bills for households.
Answered by Lord Callanan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Energy Price Guarantee has been in place to reduce the unit cost of electricity and gas for UK households. This is automatic and applies to all households. The Energy Bills Support Scheme provides £400 off energy bills for households.
Work continues to develop comparable schemes to deliver £400 to households which are not eligible for EBSS, as well as to households in Northern Ireland. Details for both schemes will be announced shortly.
The Government has also introduced the Alternative Fuel Payment of £200, delivering support for homes using fuels such as heating oil, liquified petroleum gas, coal or biomass which will be paid as soon as possible in the new year.
Asked by: Lord Taylor of Warwick (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask His Majesty's Government what support they are providing to people experiencing fuel poverty as a result of increased energy bills.
Answered by Lord Callanan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Government is committed to supporting all households, especially low income and vulnerable households.
This winter, the Government is providing direct support to millions of households through the Energy Price Guarantee and the Energy Bills Support Scheme.
This is in addition to targeted support through the cost of living support packages, announced in May (2022-23) and November (2023-24). Both packages target vulnerable and low income households, including those on means-tested benefits, pensioners and those with a disability.
Energy efficiency remains the best way to tackle fuel poverty in the long term, with support available through the Energy Company Obligation, Home Upgrade Grant, Local Authority Delivery scheme and Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund.
Asked by: Lord Taylor of Warwick (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask His Majesty's Government what support they are providing to local authorities to enable them to reduce scope 3 emissions in 2023.
Answered by Lord Callanan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Local Authorities have a combination of powers and assets which gives them autonomy to deliver net zero in ways that best suit their needs.
The Government provides a range of support which enables local areas to deliver net zero, as laid out in the Net Zero Strategy.
Asked by: Lord Taylor of Warwick (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to increase the number of Living Wage employers.
Answered by Lord Callanan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Government considers the expert and independent advice of the Low Pay Commission (LPC) when setting the statutory minimum wage rates. The LPC has gained international respect for their high-quality work. The key distinction between the statutory minimum rates and rates such as the Living Wage Foundation’s Voluntary Living Wage, is that LPC calculations consider the impact on businesses and the economy. We commend employers who pay above the National Minimum Wage/National Living Wage when they can afford to do so.
Asked by: Lord Taylor of Warwick (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask His Majesty's Government what further support they are giving to the renewable energy supply chain.
Answered by Lord Callanan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Government has made £160m available to support investment in major port and manufacturing infrastructure through the Offshore Wind Manufacturing Investment Support Scheme. The Government is also offering a further £31m, to be matched by industry funding, for research and development in floating offshore wind projects.
Asked by: Lord Taylor of Warwick (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to improve the (1) consistency, and (2) reliability, of data on (a) delivery, and (b) funding, of energy efficiency measures.
Answered by Lord Callanan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Government is committed to ensuring the consistency and reliability of data on the delivery and funding of energy efficiency measures.
The UK has a range of energy efficiency schemes, with different measures and delivery modes. BEIS reports against each scheme with the data aligned to the schemes’ rules and definitions. This data is then aggregated into Official Statistics publications produced against the Government Code of Practice for Statistics.
Asked by: Lord Taylor of Warwick (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask His Majesty's Government what progress they have made in encouraging employers to pay the real Living Wage.
Answered by Lord Callanan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Government has and will continue to encourage employers to pay their workers more than the National Minimum Wage/National Living Wage when they can afford to do so. In 2021, around 8 in 10 workers aged 16 to 22 earned above their age-related rate of the National Minimum Wage. However, we do recognise that the ability to pay workers more than the statutory minimum may vary across businesses and sectors.
Asked by: Lord Taylor of Warwick (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact on small businesses of early payment schemes.
Answered by Lord Callanan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Government has not made an assessment of the impact on small businesses of early payment schemes.
In July 2021, the Government published an independent review by Nigel Boardman into the development and use of Supply Chain Finance in government.
The Small Business Commissioner, Liz Barclay, has drawn awareness to the potential benefits of how technology can play a key role in managing cashflow and accelerating payments to small suppliers.
Asked by: Lord Taylor of Warwick (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to address reported labour shortages; and what assessment they have made of the impact of current immigration rules on workforce levels.
Answered by Lord Callanan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The labour market is strong by historical standards. The overall inactivity rate, a factor in labour shortages, remains historically low.
Where low pay is a barrier to certain sectors, the Government is supporting better pay by, for example, ensuring that all tips go to staff and increasing the National Living Wage to £10.42 an hour.
The Government is also investing £3.8bn into skills and further education over this Parliament to ensure workers can develop the skills that businesses need.
The Home Office meet regularly with a range of industry stakeholders to discuss immigration policy and the needs of each sector.