Asked by: Pippa Heylings (Liberal Democrat - South Cambridgeshire)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether recent developments in Iran will affect the Government’s commitment to meeting its existing climate targets, including the UK’s net zero target and carbon budgets.
Answered by Katie White - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Making Britain a clean energy superpower is one of this government’s five missions - delivering clean power by 2030 and accelerating progress towards net zero.
The government remains committed to meeting its carbon budgets and net zero by 2050, as required by the Climate Change Act. This is the most effective way to reduce our exposure to volatile fossil fuel markets, protect bill payers and strengthen our energy independence.
Asked by: Pippa Heylings (Liberal Democrat - South Cambridgeshire)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, if he will publish the (a) minutes and (b) summaries of meetings held with representatives of the European Union on oil and gas prices since 1 March 2026.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Details of the Secretary of State’s meetings are published quarterly in arrears on GOV.UK.
Asked by: Pippa Heylings (Liberal Democrat - South Cambridgeshire)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what his proposed timeline is for the introduction of community benefits applied to energy infrastructure.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
In the Clean Power Action Plan, we made it clear that where communities host clean energy infrastructure, they should feel tangible and enduring benefit of doing so.
The Government has already announced bill discounts for communities living nearest to new electricity transmission infrastructure and published guidance on community funds from electricity transmission infrastructure and onshore wind in England.
Last year, the government published a working paper setting out proposals for mandatory community benefits. We will publish a response to the working paper shortly.
Asked by: Pippa Heylings (Liberal Democrat - South Cambridgeshire)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, if his department will make a formal recommendation to HM Treasury on extending VAT relief to heat batteries for domestic heating.
Answered by Martin McCluskey - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Tax treatment is the responsibility of HM Treasury and they keep all taxes under review.
This government has invested £15 billion in the Warm Homes Plan to help upgrade British homes and cut bills. Whilst we expect heat pumps to be suitable for the vast majority of properties, some may be less suitable and so we are supporting alternative low carbon technologies like heat batteries, air-to-air heat pumps, and biomass boilers. We are also expanding the Boiler Upgrade Scheme to provide more options, including heat batteries.
Asked by: Pippa Heylings (Liberal Democrat - South Cambridgeshire)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether recent developments in Iran will impact the timetable for the introduction of legislation relating to UK energy independence.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
In an unstable world, the government is committed to driving for energy sovereignty with clean homegrown power. Conflict in the Middle East is yet another reminder that the only route to energy security and sovereignty for the UK is to get off our dependence on fossil fuel markets we do not control and onto clean homegrown power.
Where necessary, and subject to parliamentary time, we intend to pursue the primary legislative changes needed to deliver on our mission to make the UK a clean energy superpower. We will set out our plans in due course.
Asked by: Pippa Heylings (Liberal Democrat - South Cambridgeshire)
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 commitments to grid upgrades and decarbonisation are not overlooked due to the demand for data centres to be rapidly connected to the grid.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Government is working closely with Ofgem, NESO and network companies to ensure network capacity is available to support data centre growth, in a way that balances the needs of the energy system and ensures delivery of clean power. This includes taking actions announced in the November 2025 ‘Delivering AI Growth Zones’ publication to manage speculative data centre demand and ensure the most strategic and credible projects are prioritised for connections. Government expects to consult on these measures in due course.
Asked by: Pippa Heylings (Liberal Democrat - South Cambridgeshire)
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 the potential merits of offering loans or a cashback scheme to SMEs to implement energy efficiency measures; and if he will make an assessment of the potential impact of this on levels of (a) emissions, and (b) SME energy costs.
Answered by Martin McCluskey - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Several pilots are running to better understand how we can support SMEs to reduce energy demand, bills and carbon.
The Pilot Business Energy Advise Service, providing energy audits and grants in the West Midlands, could have annual saving of £24m in bills and 51,000 tonnes of carbon based on all recommendations being implemented.
The ZCS Hospitality Trial, will support c600 hospitality SMEs through online carbon and energy reduction tools, with potential to save over £3m in bills and 2,700 tonnes of carbon annually.
The British Business Bank’s pilot Green Growth Guarantee Scheme will facilitate up to £30m of investment in green tech for SMEs and help understand SME appetite for green finance.
Asked by: Pippa Heylings (Liberal Democrat - South Cambridgeshire)
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 identify skills gaps in the retrofit industry; and what assessment he has made of the potential merits of (a) supporting the expansion of high-quality training and (b) providing funding for long-term capacity.
Answered by Martin McCluskey - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Government’s Warm Homes Plan will deliver growth to our economy, good jobs for our communities, and opportunities for innovation. The number of additional jobs supported in energy efficiency and clean heating is projected to be up to 180,000 by 2030. The Plan outlines the actions the government is taking to support retrofit skills development including launching the £8 million Warm Homes Skills Programme, extending the Heat Training Grant by allocating a further £21 million until March 2029, and establishing a Workforce Taskforce to facilitate the transition to a diverse, skilled and resilient workforce for existing workers and new entrants.
Asked by: Pippa Heylings (Liberal Democrat - South Cambridgeshire)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of modifying future Contracts for Difference rounds to reward system value, benefits, and services, in addition to procuring energy at the lower possible cost per unit.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
We keep the Contracts for Difference scheme under review and consult on potential reforms ahead of each allocation round. We have also introduced the Clean Industry Bonus which allows for other factors such as supply chain investments to be taken into account as part of the process.
Asked by: Pippa Heylings (Liberal Democrat - South Cambridgeshire)
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 the potential merits of promoting and planning the co-location of load-following small modular reactors with stable demand sources, such as data centres or electric arc furnaces, to reduce grid congestion and maximise the flexibility and surplus capacity delivered to the grid.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Government is aware of the growing interest in private offtake agreements, particularly from energy-intensive sectors, and will explore options brought forward by privately led projects that supporting such arrangements as part of the Advanced Nuclear Framework.