Asked by: Mark Hendrick (Labour (Co-op) - Preston)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps his Department is taking to increase the number of customers with older prepayment meters that redeem energy bills vouchers.
Answered by Graham Stuart - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Customers with traditional prepayment meters should have received their first and second Energy Bills Support Scheme (EBSS) discount vouchers. These have been sent by SMS text, email or post.
Suppliers are reporting to BEIS on scheme delivery, including the redemption of traditional prepayment meter vouchers. Data for October indicates all vouchers have been dispatched by suppliers and take up so far is over 60%. The Government will continue to issue communications via a broad range of channels and stakeholders, seeking to increase awareness of the vouchers and how to redeem them and will address any issues identified with redemption.
Asked by: Mark Hendrick (Labour (Co-op) - Preston)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps he is taking with Cabinet colleagues to help (a) tackle gender disparities and (b) increase female representation in the science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) workforce.
Answered by George Freeman
The Government funds programmes, delivered by UK Research and Innovation (UKRI), to support STEM and the creation of a more diverse STEM workforce now and in the future.
STEM Inspiration programmes such as STEM Ambassadors particularly focus on engaging with under-represented groups, including young women, to develop their skills and interest in STEM careers.
UKRI is also working with funders and the wider sector to co-design a joined-up talent offer that is open to the full diversity of people in the UK across all career stages.
Asked by: Mark Hendrick (Labour (Co-op) - Preston)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what recent steps he has taken to support small and medium businesses to recruit and retain suitably qualified employees.
Answered by Paul Scully
Throughout the pandemic the Government provided historic levels of support to the economy – a total of £370 billion. At the heart of this was the Plan for Jobs programme – a comprehensive and ambitious plan to help people back into work and develop the skills they need to thrive.
The Plan for Jobs supported people throughout the pandemic and continues to do so as we see sustained economic improvement with unemployment returning to pre-pandemic levels. Accompanied with this recovery were record levels of vacancies and as a result, the Government launched the new Way to Work campaign in January 2022 to focus on supporting unemployed and work-ready claimants into work quickly.
Asked by: Mark Hendrick (Labour (Co-op) - Preston)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether he has had recent discussions with his counterparts in (a) Europe, (b) the Middle East and (c) Asia on procurement of the (i) Eurofighter Typhoon and (ii) other defence aircraft which were designed and manufactured in the UK.
Answered by Lee Rowley - Minister of State (Minister for Housing)
The procurement of defence equipment by other countries is a matter for the Ministry of Defence, and the Department for International Trade. Matters relating to these subjects should be directed to those Departments.
Asked by: Mark Hendrick (Labour (Co-op) - Preston)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment he has made of the impact of the Russian invasion of Ukraine on the supply of (a) steel, (b) zinc and (c) other metals necessary for the aerospace industry in the UK.
Answered by Lee Rowley - Minister of State (Minister for Housing)
The invasion of Ukraine has created uncertainty in the global economy. The sanctions and strong response by the UK and its allies are vital in supporting the Ukrainian people, but these decisions will inevitably have an impact on the supply of goods, both in the UK and in other economies.
We have been in close contact with the UK aerospace sector to understand the implications of the invasion of Ukraine by Russia on the supply of metals, and their timelines for finding alternative sources where needed. We are aware of the sector’s priorities and are looking to work with them whilst, at the same time, ensure HM Government’s policy stance reflects the unacceptability of Russia’s action towards Ukraine.
The resilience of critical supply chains is a priority for the Government. The UK benefits from an open international trading system and our priority is to work with allies and international partners, including Japan, to promote it.
Asked by: Mark Hendrick (Labour (Co-op) - Preston)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what (a) assessment he has made of the impact of the Russian invasion of Ukraine on titanium supplies for the aerospace industry in the UK and (b) discussions he has had with his counterparts in Japan and other supply countries on the meeting the UK demand for titanium.
Answered by Lee Rowley - Minister of State (Minister for Housing)
The invasion of Ukraine has created uncertainty in the global economy. The sanctions and strong response by the UK and its allies are vital in supporting the Ukrainian people, but these decisions will inevitably have an impact on the supply of goods, both in the UK and in other economies.
We have been in close contact with the UK aerospace sector to understand the implications of the invasion of Ukraine by Russia on the supply of metals, and their timelines for finding alternative sources where needed. We are aware of the sector’s priorities and are looking to work with them whilst, at the same time, ensure HM Government’s policy stance reflects the unacceptability of Russia’s action towards Ukraine.
The resilience of critical supply chains is a priority for the Government. The UK benefits from an open international trading system and our priority is to work with allies and international partners, including Japan, to promote it.
Asked by: Mark Hendrick (Labour (Co-op) - Preston)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how much the Government is (a) paying and (b) receiving for Feed-in Tariffs (FiT) by (i) KWh, (ii) total payments and resale, (iii) various forms of FiT renewables and (iv) commercial and domestic generation.
Answered by Greg Hands - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
Feed in Tariffs is a scheme designed to promote the uptake of small-scale renewable and low-carbon electricity generation technologies. The scheme is funded through Energy suppliers who levy the costs onto consumers.
In Year 11 (20/21) of the FiT scheme, the overall capacity was approximately 6.43 GW, which generated 9.14 TWh of renewable electricity with the annual value of the scheme costing £1.76 billion.
Eligible technologies for FiT include photovoltaic, onshore wind, anaerobic digestion, hydro and Micro CHP. Installed microgeneration (0 – 50 kW) accounted for an installed capacity of 3,484 MW with larger installations (>50 kW) totalling an installed capacity of 2,942 MW.
Details of the tariff structure for each technology can be found here: https://www.ofgem.gov.uk/publications/feed-tariff-fit-tariff-table-1-april-2022.
Asked by: Mark Hendrick (Labour (Co-op) - Preston)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of providing support to users of prepayment energy meters who are unable to make prepayment.
Answered by Greg Hands - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
Ofgem has rules in place that require energy suppliers to provide extra support for customers using prepayment meters. These include an obligation on suppliers to make emergency and friendly-hours credit available to all pre-payment meter customers. Where a supplier identifies that a prepayment customer is self-disconnecting or self-rationing their supply, they must also offer additional support credit. When assessing how a customer will repay any credit offered, suppliers must consider their ability to pay.
The Government is already taking action to support households with rising energy bills through a package of support worth £9.1 billion in 2022-23. This includes a £150 Council Tax rebate for bands A-D for properties in England, with funding provided to the Devolved Administrations for comparable provision, £144 million discretionary funding for local authorities and a £200 energy bill reduction from October 2022 to be recouped over 5 years from 2023. This support is available to customers with prepayment meters.
As announced in the Spring Statement, the Government continues to provide targeted cost of living support for households most in need. From April, an additional £500 million will be provided to help households with the cost of essentials, bringing total funding for this support to £1 billion. In England, £421 million will be provided to extend the existing Household Support Fund, whilst the devolved administrations will receive £79 million through the Barnett formula.
Asked by: Mark Hendrick (Labour (Co-op) - Preston)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps his Department is taking to increase investment in (a) solar, (b) nuclear, and (c) hydrogen power, as well as offshore and onshore wind capacity.
Answered by Greg Hands - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Contracts for Difference (CfD) scheme is the Government’s flagship scheme for supporting new renewable electricity generation projects in Great Britain. The latest round is the largest yet and aims to secure more capacity than the three previous rounds combined by supporting an expanded number of renewable technologies including onshore and offshore wind and solar. In February the Government also announced that the next CfD allocation round will be brought forward to March 2023, and future rounds will run annually, rather than every two years, thereafter. These steps will help drive forward the deployment of renewable power.
Government support for investment in nuclear energy includes:
On hydrogen power, the Government is exploring the need and case for further market intervention to support low carbon capacity deployment and ensure unabated gas capacity has clear decarbonisation pathways. In summer 2022, the Government intends to publish a consultation expanding existing Decarbonisation Readiness requirements for new build and refurbishing combustion power plants to demonstrate they have viable decarbonisation plan by converting to either hydrogen generation or Carbon Capture, Utilisation and Storage (CCUS) technology.
Asked by: Mark Hendrick (Labour (Co-op) - Preston)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether his Department plans extend the warm home discount.
Answered by Greg Hands - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Government consulted on expanding and reforming the Warm Home Discount Scheme from 2022 until 2026 in the Energy White Paper. Under the plans, the total spending will increase from around £350 million to £475 million per year, and the value of the rebates will increase to £150. As a result of the additional funding, 780,000 more low-income and vulnerable households will receive rebates on their energy bills every winter, with the majority receiving the money automatically and without having to apply.