Asked by: Mark Hendrick (Labour (Co-op) - Preston)
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 strengthen regulations on biomass energy production and waste incineration companies, including to ensure the sector takes responsibility for reducing its carbon emissions.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Biomass electricity generators receiving support must comply with strict sustainability criteria covering supply chain greenhouse gas emissions. The government is developing a cross-sector biomass sustainability framework to further strengthen these requirements and enable consistency between government supported sectors.
Waste incineration facilities are regulated through the relevant environmental permitting regime, which sets emissions limits and monitoring requirements. The government is committed to expanding the scope of the UK Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) to waste incineration. This will price emissions from the sector and incentivise decarbonisation. The UK ETS Authority will set out final policy design in due course.
Asked by: Mark Hendrick (Labour (Co-op) - Preston)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what assessment he has made of trends in the level of rollout of heat pumps by boiler manufacturers.
Answered by Martin McCluskey - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
UK heat pump sales hit a record high in 2025, and the government expects to see continued growth over the coming years.
Manufacturers of a range of heating technologies, including fossil fuel boilers, are among the leading players in this growing market.
The government will continue to keep developments in the market under close review as heat pump uptake in existing and new homes continues to gather pace.
Asked by: Mark Hendrick (Labour (Co-op) - Preston)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what steps he is taking to (a) expand and (b) ensure resiliency of the UK’s gas (i) infrastructure and storage systems and (ii) reserves.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Government works continuously with industry to improve and maintain the resilience and security of energy infrastructure to a range of evolving risks and future system changes. In 2026, DESNZ will publish an Energy Resilience Strategy to set out Government’s long-term priorities to maintain energy resilience now and in the future.
The UK benefits from diverse gas supply sources. This limits our reliance on any one type of infrastructure - in winter 24/25, gas storage provided ~8% of GB’s total gas use. We are confident this diverse portfolio will continue to meet GB’s energy needs. However, Government recognises the energy transition may change future infrastructure requirements. We recently consulted on options to safeguard gas security of supply, including measures to encourage investment in additional storage capacity if needed. A response will follow in due course.
Asked by: Mark Hendrick (Labour (Co-op) - Preston)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what steps he is taking to ensure that the green workforce is expanding at a pace sufficient to meet the growing demands of an accelerated energy transition.
Answered by Chris McDonald - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
In October 2025, the Government published the Clean Energy Jobs Plan (CEJP). The CEJP sets out the workforce needed to deliver our clean energy superpower mission, and how the government will work in partnership with industry and trade unions to deliver it.
This month we have announced 5 new Clean Energy Technical Excellence Colleges to support delivery of this workforce. We have also committed to implement a Fair Work Charter alongside the Clean Industry Bonus, to help ensure that clean energy jobs are good jobs.
Asked by: Mark Hendrick (Labour (Co-op) - Preston)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what steps he is taking to (a) encourage the installation of heat pumps and (b) ensure that homes are properly insulated to support the effective operation of those heat pumps.
Answered by Miatta Fahnbulleh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The Government is making is easier for households to install heat pumps. This includes increasing the budget for the Boiler Upgrade Scheme and amending Permitted Development Rights in England to give households greater flexibility to install a heat pump.
Our schemes such as the Warm Homes: Local Grant, Warm Homes: Social Housing Fund and Energy Company Obligation provide support for energy efficiency measures and low carbon technologies like heat pumps.
The Warm Homes Plan (WHP) will focus on ensuring homes are more comfortable to live in and cheaper to heat. In many cases, that will mean improvements to the fabric of the building in order to maximise the bill savings and thermal comfort, alongside switching to low carbon heat. Further detail on the WHP will be announced by October.
Asked by: Mark Hendrick (Labour (Co-op) - Preston)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what information her Department holds on the number of reports of faulty smart meters in (a) the North West, (b) Lancashire and (c) Preston in the last 12 months; and what steps her Department is taking to ensure energy companies are accountable for the quality of smart meters they install.
Answered by Amanda Solloway
Almost 9 in 10 smart meters are sending automatic readings, but those that don’t will still be accurately measuring consumers’ energy, like a traditional meter.
The Government is working closely with industry to drive down the number of smart meters not sending automatic readings. The numbers are improving but more progress is needed.
Energy suppliers have an obligation to take all reasonable steps to operate smart meters in smart mode and Ofgem are responsible for regulating suppliers against this obligation.
The Government does not hold geographic data on smart meters that aren’t sending automatic readings.
Asked by: Mark Hendrick (Labour (Co-op) - Preston)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what steps she is taking with Cabinet colleagues to reduce the incidence of circulatory and respiratory diseases as a result of poor insulation in (a) Preston and (b) Lancashire.
Answered by Amanda Solloway
Insulation is the most common and cost-effective means of improving energy efficiency in people’s homes.
Installers under current government schemes must be registered with TrustMark and comply with Publicly Available Specification 2035, which adopts a whole house approach to ensure appropriate ventilation when retrofit work is being carried out. This minimises the risks of unintended consequences such as mould and damp. Installers must also be PAS 2030 certified.
Should a consumer and a TrustMark registered business have a dispute about the installation which cannot be resolved through their own resolution mechanism then TrustMark provides a further dispute resolution process.
Asked by: Mark Hendrick (Labour (Co-op) - Preston)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of providing home insulation to low-income households who have have poorly insulated homes.
Answered by Amanda Solloway
The Government considers energy efficiency as the best way to tackle fuel poverty, contributing to the long-term reduction of energy bills as well as reducing carbon emissions in line with Net Zero. There are multiple targeted schemes in place to deliver energy efficiency measures to low income and fuel poor households. Schemes include the Energy Company Obligation (ECO), the Great British Insulation Scheme and the Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund.
Asked by: Mark Hendrick (Labour (Co-op) - Preston)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what assessment her Department has made of the potential of rooftop solar panels to help (a) tackle climate change, (b) cut energy bills, and (c) create jobs.
Answered by Andrew Bowie - Shadow Minister (Energy Security and Net Zero)
Rooftop solar panels can play a significant role in helping to mitigate climate change and reducing energy bills, while creating jobs.
That is why the Government is aiming for 70 gigawatts of solar capacity by 2035 and has established a joint Government-industry taskforce, with a subgroup focussed specifically on rooftop solar, to drive forward deployment.
The Government is also working to publish a solar roadmap this spring, setting out a clear step by step deployment trajectory.
Asked by: Mark Hendrick (Labour (Co-op) - Preston)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether she has made an estimate of the number of people living in fuel poverty in (a) Preston, (b) Lancashire, (c) the North West and (d) England; and what steps she is taking to help tackle fuel poverty.
Answered by Amanda Solloway
The latest official Fuel Poverty Statistics for England were published in February 2023 on gov.uk here: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/fuel-poverty-statistics#2022-Statistics
The latest statistics for the number of households in fuel poverty at administrative levels in England, are published here: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/sub-regional-fuel-poverty-data-2022
Updated statistics on fuel poverty in England and its regions will be published on 15 February 2024.
The Government sees energy efficiency as a key way to tackle fuel poverty and measures are delivered through targeted schemes including the Energy Company Obligation.