Asked by: Paul Holmes (Conservative - Eastleigh)
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 the Government has taken to ensure that businesses, including hospices, are supported with their energy costs.
Answered by Graham Stuart - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Energy Bill Relief Scheme (EBRS) provides a discount on the wholesale element of gas and electricity bills to ensure that all eligible businesses, including hospices, who receive their energy from licensed suppliers, are protected from high energy costs over the winter period. Following a HMT-led review into the EBRS, the new Energy Bill Discount Scheme will run from April until March 2024 and continue to provide a discount to all eligible non-domestic customers, including hospices.
Asked by: Paul Holmes (Conservative - Eastleigh)
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 or its Arm's Length Bodies has a working relationship, including on contractual or commercial terms, with BGI Group or any of its subsidiaries.
Answered by George Freeman
BEIS does not have any contractual or commercial terms with BGI Group (BGI) or any of its subsidiaries.
Asked by: Paul Holmes (Conservative - Eastleigh)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what preparations his Department has made for the COP26 climate summit.
Answered by Kwasi Kwarteng
The Department is working closely with the COP26 unit in Cabinet Office and other government departments to bring the world together and commit to urgent action on climate change, supporting in particular work on energy transition, zero emissions vehicles, finance, innovation and nature.
Asked by: Paul Holmes (Conservative - Eastleigh)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what support his Department is providing to new projects for wind-based renewable energy generation.
Answered by Kwasi Kwarteng
Wind-based renewable energy is a key part of the government strategy for the decarbonisation of the UK energy sector. Latest figures indicate we now have 14.2GW installed onshore wind (ONW) capacity and we are already a world leader with the largest Offshore Wind (OFW) capacity of 10.1GW (which will rise to 19.5GW by mid 2020s).
In the Clean Growth Strategy published in October 2017, the Government confirmed that we would be making up to £557m of annual support available for further Contracts for Difference (CfD) - the government’s main scheme for supporting renewable energy projects.
In the last CfD allocation round (AR3) result in September 2019, 10 out of the 12 contracts awarded were wind based renewable energy projects. The next CfD allocation round (AR4) is planned for 2021 and both onshore and offshore wind projects will be able to bid for contracts.
The OFW Sector Deal published in March 2019 set out a strategic approach to deliver increased capacity of OFW and in partnership with the Sector to increase supply chain competitiveness, develop new technologies and boost the UK export potential.