Asked by: Philippa Whitford (Scottish National Party - Central Ayrshire)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, if she will have discussions with local authorities on the provision of utilities for areas with multiple large net zero projects planned.
Answered by Graham Stuart
The Government works with local authorities through the Local Net Zero Forum, which brings together national and local government on a regular basis to discuss policy and delivery options on net zero; this provides a way for local government to raise issues they wish to discuss.
Asked by: Philippa Whitford (Scottish National Party - Central Ayrshire)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what support he plans to provide to rural households to help reduce the purchase and installation costs of heat pumps.
Answered by Graham Stuart
The Boiler Upgrade Scheme provides grants to encourage property owners to replace fossil fuel heating with more efficient, low carbon systems. This includes up to £6,000 off a heat pump, in addition to the 0% rate of VAT on these technologies.
For homes off the gas grid, funding is also available through the Home Upgrade Grant. These schemes are part of a comprehensive policy package to grow the heat pump market and work with industry to bring down costs to consumers. Further details are set out in the Powering Up Britain publications (2022) and Heat and Buildings Strategy (2021).
Asked by: Philippa Whitford (Scottish National Party - Central Ayrshire)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, if he will make it his policy to provide incentives for rural households dependent on oil to heat their homes to change to a renewable liquid.
Answered by Graham Stuart
The Government has no current plans to provide incentives for the use of renewable liquid fuels in rural households. Sustainable biomass is a limited resource and must be prioritised for use where there are the fewest options to decarbonise and the potential emissions reductions are greatest. The Biomass Strategy, which will be published later this year, will improve the Government's understanding of the supply of renewable liquid fuels. Policy decisions on the role of renewable liquid fuels in heating will need to reflect this Strategy.