Asked by: Ruth George (Labour - High Peak)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
What recent discussions she has had with the Secretary of State for Transport on rail stations that are inaccessible to people with disabilities; and if she will make a statement.
Answered by Nusrat Ghani - Minister of State (Minister for Europe)
We are committed to improving accessibility at rail stations, and have recently extended the Access for All programme with £300m to provide accessibility improvements at even more stations. This is in addition to improvements required whenever infrastructure work is carried out at a station by the industry.
Asked by: Ruth George (Labour - High Peak)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether her Department plans to include carbon emissions from UK Overseas Territories in its carbon accounting processes for the Paris Agreement.
Answered by Kwasi Kwarteng
The Department is consulting with UK Overseas Territories as to whether they would like to have the UK’s ratification of the Paris Agreement extended to them. For those UK Overseas Territories that so choose, the Department will work with them to ensure they are ready to implement the Paris Agreement and to regularly report to the Department on that implementation.
Under the accounting and transparency rules for the Paris Agreement agreed at COP24 in December 2018, any UK Overseas Territories included in the geographic scope of UK’s ratification of the Paris Agreement in future will also need to be included in the UK’s accounting for and regular reporting on emissions under the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change.
The UK was the first major economy in the world to legislate for a net zero target. The target is enshrined under the Climate Change Act 2008 which does not apply to UK Overseas Territories.
Asked by: Ruth George (Labour - High Peak)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, if her Department will work with the UK Overseas Territories to reduce their carbon emissions as part of the UK’s (a) contribution towards the Paris Agreement and (b) Net Zero commitment.
Answered by Kwasi Kwarteng
The Department is consulting with UK Overseas Territories as to whether they would like to have the UK’s ratification of the Paris Agreement extended to them. For those UK Overseas Territories that so choose, the Department will work with them to ensure they are ready to implement the Paris Agreement and to regularly report to the Department on that implementation.
Under the accounting and transparency rules for the Paris Agreement agreed at COP24 in December 2018, any UK Overseas Territories included in the geographic scope of UK’s ratification of the Paris Agreement in future will also need to be included in the UK’s accounting for and regular reporting on emissions under the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change.
The UK was the first major economy in the world to legislate for a net zero target. The target is enshrined under the Climate Change Act 2008 which does not apply to UK Overseas Territories.
Asked by: Ruth George (Labour - High Peak)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
What recent assessment his Department has made of the equity of employment contract terms and conditions in the supermarket sector.
Answered by Kelly Tolhurst
The Government is committed to upgrading workers’ rights and protecting the most vulnerable workers. Our legal framework already ensures that employers should always treat their employees fairly, and our Good Work Plan will introduce the biggest upgrade to workers’ rights in a generation.
In the retail sector specifically, the industry-led Retail Sector Council has identified employment as a priority workstream and this will be discussed at our next meeting on 20 June.
Asked by: Ruth George (Labour - High Peak)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what the scientific reasons are for not continuing the Cardiff Bay Tidal Power scheme.
Answered by Claire Perry
In his statement on Monday 25th June 2015, my rt. hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy informed Parliament that a value for money assessment if the proposed Swansea Bay Tidal Lagoon and the subsequent programme of lagoons (including the proposed Cardiff Bay lagoon) did not represent value for money for the tax payer and consumer.
The summary value for money statement can be read at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/swansea-bay-tidal-lagoon-value-for-money-assessment.
Asked by: Ruth George (Labour - High Peak)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of workplace support provided to pregnant women and new mothers.
Answered by Kelly Tolhurst
There is a range of advice and guidance available for pregnant women and new mothers and their employers. This sets out legal rights and obligations, and good practice - supporting pregnant women and new mothers in the workplace.
It is periodically reviewed – for instance, we are currently looking at the advice and guidance on GOV.UK regarding pregnancy and maternity discrimination to see how we can improve it.
Asked by: Ruth George (Labour - High Peak)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how many Energy Company Obligation measures have been delivered to off-gas grid homes using (a) heating oil and (b) liquefied petroleum gas.
Answered by Claire Perry
The Energy Company Obligation delivered approximately 69,000 measures to oil heated homes and 8,000 measures to liquefied petroleum gas heated homes that are not thought to have a mains gas supply between January 2013 and March 2018.
Asked by: Ruth George (Labour - High Peak)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how many Energy Company Obligation measures have been delivered to off-gas grid homes using (a) heating oil and (b) LPG in the High Peak constituency.
Answered by Claire Perry
The Energy Company Obligation delivered approximately 30 measures to oil or liquefied petroleum gas heated homes in High Peak constituency that are not thought to have a mains gas supply between January 2013 and March 2018. Due to the small sample we are not able to provide a breakdown between oil and liquefied petroleum gas, due to disclosure issues.
Asked by: Ruth George (Labour - High Peak)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how obligated Energy Company Obligation suppliers identify off-gas grid homes for the purposes of the rural sub-obligation of the Energy Company Obligation.
Answered by Claire Perry
Obligated suppliers can identify off-gas grid homes through off-grid maps. There are several maps and data available online that suppliers could use. Maps such as those found on Xoserve.com and nongasmap.com can be detailed enough to show postcodes in off-gas grid areas. Government also publishes local authority area statistics of households not connected to the gas network.
Those off-gas grid could be supported under ECO with the installation of a first time central heating system, and this support can be linked to connection to the gas grid under the Fuel Poverty Network Extension Scheme. This scheme requires gas distribution companies to extend their network to communities where fuel poverty is high.
Asked by: Ruth George (Labour - High Peak)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, if he will mandate ECO3-obligated suppliers to deliver a minimum number of energy efficiency measures to off-grid homes under the rural sub-obligation of the Energy Company Obligation.
Answered by Claire Perry
Department has recently consulted on the future ECO scheme that will run from October 2018 until March 2022.
This consultation proposed that the future scheme have a 15% rural sub-obligation to safeguard delivery for rural homes. Within that sub-obligation, the consultation also proposed that measures delivered to off-grid homes continue to receive an uplift (i.e. increased score) to encourage delivery to off-grid homes.
The response to the consultation will be published shortly.