Asked by: Neil Hudson (Conservative - Penrith and The Border)
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 to support low income households in Penrith and The Border constituency to transition to net zero.
Answered by Amanda Solloway - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
The Government is allocating around £20 billion over this Parliament and next improving energy efficiency and low carbon heating of homes, reducing reliance on fossil fuel heating and reducing household energy bills for low income households in Penrith and The Border constituency as well as other constituencies.
The Government will deliver upgrades to over half a million homes in the coming years through Social Housing Decarbonisation, Home Upgrade Grant Schemes and Energy Company Obligation Schemes.
The Government has spent over £2 billion to support transition to zero emission vehicles (ZEVs), focusing on reducing barriers to adopting ZEVs, including offsetting higher upfront cost, and accelerating rollout of chargepoint infrastructure.
Asked by: Neil Hudson (Conservative - Penrith and The Border)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what steps her Department has taken to improve the energy efficiency of older homes.
Answered by Amanda Solloway - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
The Government recognises the UK has some of the oldest housing stock in Europe, with over 35% of houses being built before 1945. We are committed to ensuring that no-one is left behind in the transition to Net Zero, supplying solutions that work for all buildings, income groups, and housing types.
The Government recently published its ‘Adapting Historic Homes for Energy Efficiency: A Review of the Barriers’, reviewing approaches to retrofitting complex-to-decarbonise homes, including historic and listed buildings.
Alongside this the Government is allocating £20 billion over this parliament and next on energy efficiency and low carbon heating, improving supply chains and enhancing the consumer advice offer to constituents.
Asked by: Neil Hudson (Conservative - Penrith and The Border)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what steps her Department has taken to support users of off-grid energy with energy costs.
Answered by Amanda Solloway - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
I refer my Hon. Friend to the answer I gave my Hon. Friend the Member for Ynys Môn on 22 January 2024 to Question 10266.
Asked by: Neil Hudson (Conservative - Penrith and The Border)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether her Department is taking steps to support hospices with energy costs.
Answered by Amanda Solloway - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
The Government recognises that organisations within the care sector including hospices have faced significant energy and other cost of living increases. The Government values the contribution that this sector makes in supporting the National Health Service and the wellbeing of vulnerable people. The Energy Bills Discount Scheme (EBDS) provides a baseline level of support to all eligible non-domestic energy users paying the highest energy prices starting from 1 April 2023 to 31 March 2024. The EBDS unit discount is capped at £6.97 per megawatt hour (MWh) for gas and £19.61 per MWh for electricity. This will be subject to a wholesale price threshold of £107/MWh for gas and £302/MWh for electricity. Suppliers will automatically apply the baseline reduction to the bills.
Asked by: Neil Hudson (Conservative - Penrith and The Border)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether her Department has made an assessment of the ability of the electrical power companies to respond to recent storm events.
Answered by Andrew Bowie - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Government annually reviews the electricity industry’s preparedness for a range of scenarios including severe weather events ahead of each winter. This is in addition to specific reviews after major disruptive events, the latest being the Storm Arwen Review in 2022.
Asked by: Neil Hudson (Conservative - Penrith and The Border)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what steps her Department has taken to help ensure that people who experience problems with work completed under the Sustainable Warmth Scheme can have their issues put right.
Answered by Graham Stuart
All work completed under the Sustainable Warmth Scheme must be installed to PAS (Publicly Available Specification) 2035 and lodged with Trustmark, the Government-endorsed Quality scheme for home improvements. TrustMark registration ensures installers have been vetted for technical competence, customer service and trading practices, and operate in accordance with the TrustMark Customer Charter and Framework Operating Requirements. This includes a comprehensive level of financial protection to customers. Information on the consumer protection offered by TrustMark can be found online at https://www.trustmark.org.uk/homeowners.
People who experience problems with work completed under the Sustainable Warmth scheme should follow Trustmark’s dispute resolution process.