Asked by: Mark Menzies (Independent - Fylde)
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 effectiveness of steps taken to help extend the Energy Bills Support Scheme to households without a direct relationship with their energy supplier.
Answered by Graham Stuart
The Energy Bills Support Scheme Alternative Funding is being provided to around 900,000 households without a direct relationship with a domestic electricity supplier. This will be a payment of £400 per eligible household. The application will be open on or by Monday 27th February, with a dedicated customer helpline available to assist customers without online access. Further details will be published shortly.
Asked by: Mark Menzies (Independent - Fylde)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what his planned timetable is for payments to begin under the Energy Bills Support Scheme Alternative Funding in England.
Answered by Graham Stuart
Applications for the Energy Bills Support Scheme Alternative Funding (EBSS AF) are expected to open later in January and will remain open until the end of April. Those who are eligible for the EBSS AF will need to submit a short form via the government's GOV.UK pages, and their details will be shared with local authorities across England, Scotland, and Wales who will deliver the one-off, non-repayable support this winter. The exact date that an eligible household will receive support will depend on when the application is made and when the payment can be processed by the relevant local authority.
Asked by: Mark Menzies (Independent - Fylde)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, when he plans to issue Local Authorities with guidance on making payments through the Energy Bills Support Scheme Alternative Funding.
Answered by Graham Stuart
The Energy Bill Support Scheme Alternative Funding (EBSS AF) is due to be launched later this month, and local authorities will be provided with guidance ahead of this. The Government will also be hosting webinars ahead of the scheme launch to provide additional information to Local Authorities on the role they will play in delivering the EBSS AF.
Asked by: Mark Menzies (Independent - Fylde)
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 to support households who pay their energy bills through an intermediary during this winter fuel crisis.
Answered by Graham Stuart
Energy suppliers are delivering the Energy Bill Support Scheme (EBSS) to households with a domestic electricity contract in monthly instalments over six months from October. The Energy Prices Act 2022 includes provisions to require landlords and other intermediaries to pass this to end users.
Alternative Funding will provide a £400 discount off energy bills for the small percentage of households who are not reached through the main EBSS fund, including those who do not have a direct relationship with an electricity supplier. Further details on eligibility, timescales and method of delivery will be announced shortly.
Asked by: Mark Menzies (Independent - Fylde)
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 to ensure that the £400 energy bill rebate reaches (a) those living in residential park homes or (b) in other forms of accommodation who do not pay their energy bills directly to their energy provider.
Answered by Greg Hands
The Government is aware that not all households have electricity provided through a domestic electricity supply contract. Households without a domestic electricity supply contract are not eligible for the Scheme and the Government are exploring options for other ways in which they might receive similar support. This was raised in our technical consultation (Energy Bills Support Scheme – Managing the impact of the energy price shock on consumer bills) which closed the 23 May. Responses to the consultation are being analysed and the Government response will be published in the summer.
Asked by: Mark Menzies (Independent - Fylde)
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 (a) review and (b) implement the findings of the consultation on the technical proposals for the Energy Bills Support Scheme which closed on 11 April 2022; and how his Department will ensure payment of that support to people who pay their energy bills through third parties.
Answered by Greg Hands
The Energy Bills Support Scheme consultation closed on 23 May. Responses are being analysed and the government response will be published in the summer.
There will be different considerations for consumers depending on their circumstances.
All domestic electricity customers who have a direct relationship with a licensed electricity supplier will be automatically eligible for this Scheme.
The Government continues to work with consumer groups and suppliers on the delivery of the scheme to domestic electricity customers and is exploring options for other ways in which customers who do not have a domestic electricity contract might receive similar support.
Asked by: Mark Menzies (Independent - Fylde)
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 potential contribution of nuclear energy in (a) improving the UK’s energy security and (b) achieving net zero; and what steps he plans to take to raise awareness of that contribution.
Answered by Greg Hands
Analysis published by BEIS with the Energy White Paper (EWP) [1] in 2020 shows that, alongside significant amounts of wind and solar, a stable, low-cost electricity system to meet net zero will also require other forms of low-carbon power, including nuclear, to complement the intermittency of those technologies.
As outlined in the Net Zero Strategy[2] published in October 2021, we need to continue to deploy all known low-carbon technologies at scale over the next decade to ensure optionality is maintained, whilst developing new options to mitigate delivery risk and reduce costs. The Government has confirmed that it aims to reach a Final Investment Decision on at least one large-scale nuclear project this Parliament and recently announced £210m for Rolls-Royce’s Small Modular Reactor design. We will also publish a roadmap for new nuclear in 2022. It will focus on what is needed to support the deployment of further new nuclear in the UK. I was proud to host an event about nuclear energy in the UK Pavilion at COP26 and my officials are working with industry to build on that momentum.
[1] https://www.govuk/government/publications/energy-white-paper-powering-our-net-zero-future.
[2] https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/net-zero-strategy.
Asked by: Mark Menzies (Independent - Fylde)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what policy framework his Department plans to implement to support the development of modular reactors to ensure that nuclear energy is part of a low-carbon hydrogen production mix.
Answered by Greg Hands
My Rt. Hon. Friend the Prime Minister’s Ten Point Plan for a Green Industrial Revolution included a commitment of up to £385 million for an Advanced Nuclear Fund to develop a domestic Small Modular Reactor (SMR) design and to demonstrate innovative Advanced Modular Reactors (AMR) by the early 2030s. Both of these reactor technologies have the potential to produce low carbon hydrogen using electricity and/or heat via increasingly efficient electrolysis, or in the case of AMRs via higher temperature additional production routes.
Asked by: Mark Menzies (Independent - Fylde)
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 to increase the production of green hydrogen from nuclear energy.
Answered by Greg Hands
In the Hydrogen Strategy, the Government noted that both existing and future nuclear technologies have the potential to provide low-carbon hydrogen. The Government consulted in 2021 on a range of policies to support low-carbon hydrogen production and will publish relevant responses in 2022.
Asked by: Mark Menzies (Independent - Fylde)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, if his Department will commit to using UK fuel for reactors in the UK and provide certainty to organisations through the nuclear supply chain.
Answered by Greg Hands
The UK is a world leader in the nuclear fuel cycle, and this is testament to the highly skilled workforce currently employed at the Springfields and Capenhurst sites, and the wider UK supply chain. Earlier this month, I visited Springfields to see first-hand the important work taking place, including at the Oxide Fuels Complex.
The Government recognises the importance of continued commercial operation of such facilities to deliver low carbon energy. In the recent Spending Review we confirmed up to £75 million, to be used alongside sector co-investment, to preserve and develop the UK’s nuclear fuel production capability. With this funding we will move a programme forward to address all our fuel-related priorities, helping to develop the UK fuel supply chain to power the reactors of today and advanced nuclear in the future.