Asked by: Richard Tice (Reform UK - Boston and Skegness)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, how many staff in his Department are responsible for (a) processing and (b) responding to Freedom of Information Act requests; and if he will make an estimate of the annual cost to the public purse of this work.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero does not have a specific number of staff tasked with processing and responding to Freedom of Information (FOI) requests. On receipt, FOI requests are allocated to officials in the area of the Department relevant to the subject of the request, who then provide the response.
The Department’s Information Rights Team (IRT) provides advice and assistance to staff on the application of information rights legislation. The IRT consists of seven members of staff.
FOI requests vary considerably from case-to-case in terms of complexity and effort required to provide a response. It is not possible to estimate the annual cost of responding to all the FOI requests the department receives.
Asked by: Richard Tice (Reform UK - Boston and Skegness)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what the total installed capacity is of combined-cycle gas turbine power stations in the UK; how much of that capacity is from plants commissioned in the last (a) five and (b) 20 years; and what the projected total capacity requirement is expected to be by 2029.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Data on combined-cycle gas turbine (CCGT) power stations are published in the Digest of UK Energy Statistics.
Modelling analysis from the National Energy System Operator, which covers Great Britain, suggests around 35GW of unabated gas capacity, which includes CCGTs as well as other types of gas generators, will need to be available by 2030 to maintain security of supply.
Asked by: Richard Tice (Reform UK - Boston and Skegness)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, how much his Department has spent on measures to achieve net zero targets in the last five years.
Answered by Kerry McCarthy - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Office of Budget Responsibility (OBR) published its analysis of the cost of reaching net zero by 2050 in chapter 3 of the July 2021 edition of its UK Fiscal Risk Report. As the OBR has noted, “the costs of failing to get climate change under control would be much larger than those of bringing emissions down to net zero.” Spending Review 2021 set out £26 billion of public capital investment in net zero over four years across Government.
Asked by: Richard Tice (Reform UK - Boston and Skegness)
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 ensure that people who received grants for heat source pumps under (a) the Green Homes Grant and (b) similar schemes are supported when systems prove unfit for purpose and the installation company goes into liquidation.
Answered by Miatta Fahnbulleh - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Green Homes Grant Voucher Scheme required that consumers seek advice from a suitably qualified TrustMark registered installer before they applied for a voucher. It also required that installations meet Publicly Available Standard (PAS) 2035.
If a homeowner believes that any installation work carried out in their home under a Government scheme is faulty, they should first contact the installer. Where the installer has failed to adequately resolve the issue or have ceased trading, they may refer to TrustMark’s website which contains further guidance on steps consumers can take if things go wrong and the dispute resolution process: (https://www.trustmark.org.uk/homeowner/support/complaints-process).
Asked by: Richard Tice (Reform UK - Boston and Skegness)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what the annual subsidy is for renewable energy projects; and what the average increase in consumer energy bills was in each of the last five years.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
This data is published by the Office for Budgetary Responsibility and Ofgem.
Renewables provide energy security by reducing our exposure to gas price volatility, as well as providing significant savings for those households and businesses directly benefitting from small-scale renewable measures, such as solar panels.
Asked by: Richard Tice (Reform UK - Boston and Skegness)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what the total expenditure was on achieving net zero targets in each year since 2015 by sector; and what the corresponding estimated total reduction in global emissions was in the same period.
Answered by Kerry McCarthy - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Office of Budget Responsibility (OBR) published its analysis of the cost of reaching net zero by 2050 in chapter 3 of the July 2021 edition of its UK Fiscal Risk Report. As the OBR has noted, “the costs of failing to get climate change under control would be much larger than those of bringing emissions down to net zero.
Asked by: Richard Tice (Reform UK - Boston and Skegness)
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 impact of (a) mining and (b) processing rare earth minerals required for renewable technologies including (i) wind turbines and (ii) solar panels on the environment.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The criticality of minerals, including Rare Earth Elements (REEs), are evaluated through the Critical Minerals Intelligence Centre (CMIC), led by the British Geological Survey. CMIC determines criticality on the basis of economic vulnerability and supply risk, through indicators including Environmental, Social and Governance standards.
Building on this assessment, the Department for Business and Trade will work with industry to publish a new Critical Minerals Strategy this year. This will help secure our supply chains, including for Rare Earth Elements, for the long term and support the green industries of the future.
Asked by: Richard Tice (Reform UK - Boston and Skegness)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what data his Department holds on (a) the annual costs incurred to date in implementing Net Zero policies and (b) the measurable reductions in greenhouse gas emissions achieved as a direct result of those policies.
Answered by Kerry McCarthy - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Office of Budget Responsibility (OBR) published its analysis of the cost of reaching net zero by 2050 in chapter 3 of the July 2021 edition of its UK Fiscal Risk Report. As the OBR has noted, “the costs of failing to get climate change under control would be much larger than those of bringing emissions down to net zero.”
The UK has halved its emissions, having cut them by around 53% between 1990 and 2023.
Each year the department publishes updated energy projections, analysing and projecting future energy use and greenhouse gas emissions in the UK. They take into account climate change policies where decisions on policy design and funding are sufficiently advanced to allow robust estimates of policy impacts to be made. These projections allow us to monitor progress towards meeting the UK’s carbon budgets.
The latest published projections can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/energy-and-emissions-projections-2022-to-2040
Final estimates of UK greenhouse gas emissions are also published annually.
Asked by: Richard Tice (Reform UK - Boston and Skegness)
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 (a) is taking and (b) plans to take to ensure energy security during periods where renewable energy sources do not meet demand.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The UK’s diverse power mix reduces dependence on one generation source, ensuring security of supply in a range of conditions. Transitioning away from fossil fuels and towards a range of home-grown clean energy technologies will reduce the UK’s vulnerability to unstable energy prices while ensuring energy security. The Government is accelerating the development and deployment of low-carbon flexible energy generation and storage, including batteries and pumped hydro, to manage the intermittency of wind and solar. The Clean Power 2030 action plan, set for release by year-end, will detail the Government's strategy for achieving a secure, clean power system by 2030.
Asked by: Richard Tice (Reform UK - Boston and Skegness)
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 an estimate of the potential cost to the public purse of compensation for loss of property value as a result of proposed pylon installations in Boston and Skegness constituency.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Landowners, businesses and homeowners that have electrical equipment, such as pylons or towers, sited on their land have the right to compensation for the value of their land, as well as for any losses or expenses incurred. Acquiring authorities can also put in place discretionary schemes offering additional compensation. As compensation is provided by the electricity network licence holders, not the Government, we cannot provide an estimate of potential costs.
More broadly, the Government is committed to ensuring that communities who live near new clean energy infrastructure can see the benefits and is currently considering how to deliver this most effectively.