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 discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care on the potential merits of introducing a climate mitigation duty on mayoral strategic authorities.
Answered by Kerry McCarthy - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
My Rt hon Friend the Secretary of State and I have regular discussions with Ministerial Colleagues on a number of issues. We also both engage with Mayoral Strategic Authority leaders on the delivery of net zero regularly, including through roundtables.
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 planning to take to provide support to (a) low-income and (b) vulnerable households through the Warm Homes Plan.
Answered by Miatta Fahnbulleh - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
As part of the Warm Homes Plan, the Government has committed an initial £3.4 billion over the next 3 years towards heat decarbonisation and household energy efficiency, including £1.8 billion to support fuel poverty schemes.
There are multiple targeted schemes in place to deliver energy efficiency measures to low income and fuel poor households. Current schemes include the Energy Company Obligation (ECO) and the Great British Insulation Scheme (GBIS). The Government recently announced Wave 3 of the Warm Homes: Social Housing Fund to support social housing providers and tenants, and the new Warm Homes: Local Grant to help low-income homeowners and private tenants with energy performance upgrades and cleaner heating. Both schemes are expected to deliver in 2025.
Support is also available through the Warm Home Discount schemes which provide eligible low-income households across Great Britain with a £150 rebate off their winter energy bill.
Further details on the Warm Homes Plan will be set out 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 support the development of green technologies.
Answered by Kerry McCarthy - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
I refer the hon Member to the answer I gave to her on Question UIN 32430:
The Government is committed to supporting the growth and scaling-up of green technologies, including through the creation of GB Energy, as part of its Clean Energy Superpower Mission. A combined total of £1.3 billion has been committed through the 2021-25 Net Zero Innovation Portfolio (NZIP) to accelerate the commercialisation of green technologies supporting around 5,500 jobs and leveraging £750 million in private investment. The Government will set out its full approach to seizing the growth opportunities from clean energy industries in the forthcoming Industrial Strategy.
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 engage with landlords to (a) raise awareness of heat pumps and (b) reassure them on (i) installation, (ii) cost and (iii) tenant disruption.
Answered by Miatta Fahnbulleh - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Government has launched the ‘Warm and Fuzzy’ campaign to promote the Boiler Upgrade Scheme. The campaign seeks to build consumer awareness and understanding of heat pumps, as well as publicising the £7,500 government grant which is available to homeowners, including landlords.
The Government continues to provide advice and support for home upgrades, including the GOV.UK webpage ‘Find Ways to Save Energy in Your Home’ (https://www.gov.uk/improve-energy-efficiency) and the GOV.UK Heat Pump Suitability tool (https://www.gov.uk/check-heat-pump) which landlords can access.
All heat pump installations are expected to comply with Building Regulations. Heat Pumps installed under Government schemes are required to be installed by a Microgeneration Certification Scheme (MCS) certified installer.
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 introducing locational pricing in the electricity grid.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
As part of the Review of Electricity Market Arrangements or ‘REMA’ we are continuing to assess reforms for sending more efficient locational signals in the electricity market. This includes robustly assessing the costs and benefits of both locational (or zonal) pricing against improvements to locational signals in a reformed national pricing market. This will feed into the cost-benefit assessment of REMA reforms.
We have not made any decisions yet and aim to take a decision by around mid-2025.
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 work with Cabinet colleagues to introduce a national register of landlords to assist local authorities with identifying landlords to help by enforcing energy efficiency standards.
Answered by Miatta Fahnbulleh - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Enforcement is a critical aspect of the policy and is something we are working to address. Government will be increasing our engagement with local authorities to understand the impact and burden of the proposed policy to enable us to take steps to mitigate the impact and support local authorities. The development of the PRS Database in England and Rent Smart Wales will also greatly increase availability and ease of access to information for local authorities.
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 develop a national framework for developing local area energy plans.
Answered by Miatta Fahnbulleh - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Department has been undertaking work to explore how the future role of local energy planning might support net zero, clean power 2030 and efficient network planning. This includes engaging with Ofgem on Regional Energy Strategic Plans, as well as working closely with Innovate UK and the Local Net Zero Hubs.
Additionally, Great British Energy will partner with, and provide funding and support to, local and combined authorities, as well as community energy groups, to roll out a pipeline of local renewable energy projects and develop up to 8GW of cleaner power.
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 support landlords to improve energy efficiency in the private rented sector.
Answered by Miatta Fahnbulleh - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Government is now consulting on increasing minimum energy efficiency standards in the domestic private rented sector. The consultation sets out proposals on the maximum spend required from landlords and the exemptions regime to manage the cost burden placed on landlords and the impact on the rental market. We are considering how we can best support landlords to meet the new standards and welcome responses from landlords to the consultation.
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, with reference to the oil spill map published by the Ocean Alliance Against Offshore Drilling on 19 February 2025, what steps he is taking to help tackle the systematic and ongoing oil and chemical pollution that occurs in UK marine protected areas.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The data presented in the oil spill map overstates the number of permit breaches associated with oil or chemicals discharged to sea as a number of these report duplicate discharges while some relate to administrative failures to comply with permit conditions, such as sampling and late reporting. The UK has a comprehensive environmental regulatory regime for the offshore oil and gas sector which ensures that provisions are in place to minimise the chances of and, if required, respond to oil and chemical spills. Oil and chemical spills from offshore oil operations are of significant concern to OPRED which is why there is no minimum quantity for reporting. The number of oil and chemical spills reported to OPRED has almost halved since 2018 and the amount of oil and chemical spilled in 2023 is at a historic low. Every spill is investigated by OPRED proportionately and OPRED can take enforcement action against operators if needed, including the use of fines or referral for criminal prosecution. OPRED continues to work with industry to improve their performance and further reduce the occurrence of oil and chemical spills.
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, with reference to the oil spill map published by the Ocean Alliance Against Offshore Drilling on 19 February 2025, what steps he is taking to help tackle the cumulative impacts of chronic pollution from oil and gas activities in UK seas.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The data presented in the oil spill map overstates the number of permit breaches associated with oil or chemicals discharged to sea as a number of these report duplicate discharges while some relate to administrative failures to comply with permit conditions, such as sampling and late reporting. The UK has a comprehensive environmental regulatory regime for the offshore oil and gas sector which ensures that provisions are in place to minimise the chances of and, if required, respond to oil and chemical spills. Oil and chemical spills from offshore oil operations are of significant concern to OPRED which is why there is no minimum quantity for reporting. The number of oil and chemical spills reported to OPRED has almost halved since 2018 and the amount of oil and chemical spilled in 2023 is at a historic low. Every spill is investigated by OPRED proportionately and OPRED can take enforcement action against operators if needed, including the use of fines or referral for criminal prosecution. OPRED continues to work with industry to improve their performance and further reduce the occurrence of oil and chemical spills.