Asked by: Rupert Lowe (Reform UK - Great Yarmouth)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, how many (a) air miles and (b) flights he has completed since 5 July 2024.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Data on minister’s overseas travel and on senior civil servant’s business expenses is published on a quarterly basis. This can be found here https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/desnz-ministerial-gifts-hospitality-travel-meetings-april-to-june-2024
Asked by: Rupert Lowe (Reform UK - Great Yarmouth)
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 proportion of food provided in canteens in his Department that is produced in the UK.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Department is a customer of the Government Property Agency (GPA). GPA is the landlord or building manager at the Department’s office occupations, where the space is often shared with several other tenant organisations. The Department buys catering services, or a share of, from GPA alongside all other building services. This information is therefore not held by the Department.
Asked by: Rupert Lowe (Reform UK - Great Yarmouth)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, on what proportion of days is (a) meat and (b) dairy available in canteens in his Department.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Department is a customer of the Government Property Agency (GPA). GPA is the landlord or building manager at the Department’s office occupations, where the space is often shared with several other tenant organisations. The Department buys catering services, or a share of, from GPA alongside all other building services. This information is therefore not held by the Department.
Asked by: Rupert Lowe (Reform UK - Great Yarmouth)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what information his Department holds on the proportion of energy used by his Department, broken down by energy source.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Department collects data on its energy use, broken down by energy source, and reports this to Defra on a quarterly basis as part of the Greening Government Commitments.
Asked by: Rupert Lowe (Reform UK - Great Yarmouth)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, how many delegates the Government has sent to attend COP 29; and what the cost to the public purse is of the Government's involvement in COP 29.
Answered by Kerry McCarthy - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The final list of COP29 delegates should be published by the UNFCCC shortly. The UK delegation includes officials (some already based in Baku) and Ministers as well as businesses, Arm’s Length Bodies, Devolved Administrations, Crown Dependencies and Overseas Territories, parliamentarians and civil society speakers. Many attended at their own cost, with the UK providing accreditation. The Government currently estimates that nearly 470 people have attended COP29 in person with UK accreditation.
Until travel and expense claims are confirmed, the overall cost of Departmental attendance cannot be calculated. The Department will not hold this information for other Government departments.
The UK Pavilion and Delegation Office are fully funded through private sector sponsorship.
Asked by: Rupert Lowe (Reform UK - Great Yarmouth)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what the total number of (a) air miles and (b) flights conducted by his Department's staff was in each of the last ten years.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) was created in February 2023, so no information is held for periods prior to that date. For the information requested, anything prior to January 2024 was all still recorded as BEIS, so it mixes all three departments together and is unable to be split.
The total air miles conducted in DESNZ from January 2024 to September 2024 was 3,211,644 and the total number of flights was 1130. Some of these flights were single flights whilst others were round trips.
Asked by: Rupert Lowe (Reform UK - Great Yarmouth)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what the (a) value and (b) volume of coal imported into the UK was in each of the last five years.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Data showing the value and volume of coal imported into the UK is presented in the following table:
| 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 |
UK coal imports (million tonnes) | 5.4 | 3.7 | 4.5 | 6.6 | 2.9 |
Value of UK coal imports (£m) | 574 | 318 | 470 | 1,573 | 519 |
Source: HMRC trade data |
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Asked by: Rupert Lowe (Reform UK - Great Yarmouth)
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 assessment of the potential merits of reviewing the system of standing charges for utilities.
Answered by Miatta Fahnbulleh - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Government has worked constructively with the regulator on the issue of standing charges, and we are committed to lowering the cost of them.
The setting of standing charges is a commercial matter for suppliers. Ofgem’s recently published discussion paper sets out the options for how standing charges could be reduced, including by moving supplier operational costs off standing charges onto the unit rate, increasing the variety of tariffs available for consumer in the market, and in the longer term, reviewing how system costs are allocated.
We will continue to support Ofgem in this work and ensure that standing charges are reduced.
Asked by: Rupert Lowe (Reform UK - Great Yarmouth)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, how many positions in his Department included (a) diversity, (b) inclusion, (c) equity and (d) equality in their job title in each of the last five years; and what the total cost of the salaries of each such job was in each of those years.
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 routinely collate information on specific words and collating this information would come at a disproportionate cost. Information on spending and staffing can be found in the Department's annual report and accounts.
The Department is committed to promoting Equality, Diversity and Inclusion through its diversity networks.