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 timeline is for rolling out the trial for discounted energy bills in areas of high wind generation.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The trial will launch this winter and we anticipate that it will run until Spring 2028. Measures will be brought forward when parliamentary time allows to enable the government to make enduring changes based on the results of the trial.
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 benefit of encouraging the use of (a) smart energy tariffs and (b) consumer-led flexibility to lower bills for households and businesses.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Consumer Led Flexibility (CLF) can play a key role in lowering household and business electricity bills. CLF, including that facilitated through the uptake of smart tariffs, gives those who choose to participate greater control over their energy usage, and the opportunity to save money.
The Clean Flexibility Roadmap includes a chapter on CLF with 42 actions to support it which are being delivered. It also set out on pages 8-9 typical electricity bill savings for those participating in it based on prices current at the time.
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 his counterparts in the Department for Work and Pension and the Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government about data sharing to offer targeted support for vulnerable households with heating oil.
Answered by Martin McCluskey - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
My Rt Hon Friend the Secretary of State has regular discussions with ministerial colleagues on a number of issues.
DESNZ officials worked closely with the Department for Work and Pensions, the Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government and His Majesty’s Treasury ahead of the recent announcement of £50m for low-income families, who heat their homes with oil to help tackle surging prices. This funding will be available to the Northern Ireland Executive, Wales, and Scotland.
In England, funding will be distributed by local authorities via the Crisis and Resilience Fund (CRF), which comes into effect from 1 April.
In addition, DESNZ is working closely with other Government Departments on the National Data Library (NDL) energy bill support ‘kickstarter’ project to test how public sector data can be better joined up to improve access to government programmes.
The Kickstarter project will pave the way for better targeted help, ensuring those who are struggling to pay their bills get the support they need
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 European Union officials about the UK joining the EU's Internal Electricity Market since the exploratory discussions for the UK's possible participation.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Since the exploratory discussions concluded, the Secretary of State has continued constructive engagement with European Union counterparts on regional energy cooperation, including on the United Kingdom’s possible future participation in the Internal Electricity Market. These engagements have underlined shared ambitions to accelerate the development of clean, secure, and lower cost energy sources in the North Seas, which will enable us to reduce our reliance on expensive and volatile fossil fuel imports.
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.