Asked by: Sam Tarry (Labour - Ilford South)
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 bring forward legislative proposals to set legally binding targets to 2030 to align with the timeframe for the UK’s nationally determined contribution targets and (b) set interim targets for 2025.
Answered by Anne-Marie Trevelyan
The UK Government has legislative targets already in place covering the period 2023-2027 (carbon budget 4) and 2028-32 (carbon budget 5). In April, the Government laid legislation for the UK’s sixth carbon budget, proposing a world-leading target which would reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 78% by 2035 compared to 1990 levels. This builds on the momentum of our Nationally Determined Contribution under the Paris Agreement, to reduce emissions in 2030 by at least 68% compared to 1990 levels.
Asked by: Sam Tarry (Labour - Ilford South)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how the funding that replaces the Green Homes Grant allocation for local authorities will tackle fuel poverty in Ilford South constituency; and what assessment he has made of the sufficiency of resources available to make the Ilford South housing stock energy-efficient in the next ten years.
Answered by Anne-Marie Trevelyan
The Government is funding a number of schemes as part of its commitment to retrofit homes to cut energy bills for households and to make them greener on the path to Net Zero.
The Local Authority Delivery Scheme (LAD), which supports projects to install energy efficiency measures such as various types of insulation, and low-carbon heating systems for low-income households, has already provided £500million to Local Authorities for upgrades to low-income households across England, and is being delivered up to December 2021. The London Borough of Redbridge has already been allocated £2.2 million of funding through the first phase of LAD, as well part of the £6.8 million of the Greater London Authority’s successful consortium-led bid in that phase.
On 16th June 2021, the Government launched the Sustainable Warmth Competition enabling Local Authorities to apply for further funding under the £200million Local Authority Delivery Phase 3 scheme and from an initial allocation of £150million for the Home Upgrade Grant Phase 1 scheme, for delivery up to March 2023.
In addition, the Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund Demonstrator has awarded £62million of funding to social landlords across England and Scotland to test innovative approaches to retrofitting at scale, seeing over 2300 social homes improved to at least EPC band C. The Government has announced around a further £160million for the first wave of the £3.8bn manifesto commitment in financial year 21/22, delivering up to March 2023.
The Government announced in the Sustainable Warmth Strategy a four-year, £4 billion successor scheme to ECO, to accelerate our efforts to improve homes to meet fuel poverty targets. ECO will continue to be an obligation on suppliers.
Asked by: Sam Tarry (Labour - Ilford South)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, when shisha businesses will be allowed to open under the roadmap for easing covid-19 restrictions.
Answered by Paul Scully
From Step 3 which took place on 17 May, indoor areas of hospitality venues reopened. Venues are prohibited from providing smoking equipment such as shisha pipes, for use on the premises.
The Government’s COVID-19 Response – Spring 2021 set out that the Government aims to reopen the remaining closed settings by Step 4. We have always said that we would be led by data, not dates. We have looked at the data very closely and assessed it against the four tests. It is on the basis of worsening data that we have taken the difficult call not to proceed with Step 4 reopening at this point, but to pause for four weeks until 19 July.
Asked by: Sam Tarry (Labour - Ilford South)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether the Heat and Building Strategy will include a carbon saving of at least 71 million tonnes of CO2 between 2023 and 2032 as a minimum target in order to align with the UK’s nationally determined contribution for COP26.
Answered by Anne-Marie Trevelyan
In order to meet our Net Zero by 2050 target, we must act now to tackle the emissions produced by heating. in order to ensure continued progress, we have set a series of legally binding “carbon budgets”, which are amongst the most stringent climate targets in the world.
The Government is planning to publish a Heat and Buildings Strategy in due course, which will set out the immediate actions we will take for reducing emissions from buildings, setting out the interventions required to meet our ambitious carbon budget targets, with a particular focus on carbon budgets 4 and 5. These actions include the deployment of energy efficiency measures and low carbon heating as part of an ambitious programme of work required to enable key strategic decisions on how we achieve the mass transition to low-carbon heat and set us on a path to decarbonising all homes and buildings.
We will also publish a comprehensive Net Zero Strategy ahead of COP26, setting out the Government’s vision for transitioning to a net zero economy. This will raise ambition as we outline our path to meet net zero by 2050, our Carbon Budgets and Nationally Determined Contribution.
Asked by: Sam Tarry (Labour - Ilford South)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what software is approved for the 50 per cent discount voucher for companies using the Help to Grow Scheme; and what routes are open for a software company to apply for approval to be a supplier for that scheme.
Answered by Paul Scully
Help to Grow: Digital is seeking to encourage small businesses to adopt software which will help them save time, money and grow.
Further detail covering the software the voucher can be used on and how vendors eligible for the scheme can apply will be published prior to the Autumn launch date.
Asked by: Sam Tarry (Labour - Ilford South)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what software is approved for the 50 per cent discount voucher for companies using the Help to Grow Scheme; and what routes are open for a software company to apply for approval to be a supplier for that scheme.
Answered by Paul Scully
It has not proved possible to respond to the Hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.
Asked by: Sam Tarry (Labour - Ilford South)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what guidance the Government has published for construction sites to ensure that companies are adhering to covid-19 workplace rules.
Answered by Anne-Marie Trevelyan
Construction workers play a crucial role in supporting our public services, maintaining vital infrastructure, and providing and maintaining safe, decent homes for people to live in. Throughout the pandemic, the Government has been clear that construction activity should continue, where it can take place safely.
The Government has worked with the Construction Leadership Council’s Coronavirus Task Force, construction firms, and other stakeholders to develop guidance on safer working on construction sites. This is available at:
The construction industry has also developed Site and Branch Operating Procedures for firms and merchants, as well as guidance for small firms and mineral products suppliers. These provide advice as to how construction firms can apply the Government guidance on safer working.
Asked by: Sam Tarry (Labour - Ilford South)
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 potential effect of the deadline for the Green Homes Grant Local Authority Delivery Scheme on the development of sustainable jobs and skills.
Answered by Anne-Marie Trevelyan
The Green Homes Grant Local Authority Delivery (LAD) scheme which supports energy efficiency and low carbon heat projects for low-income households is being delivered in three phases:
- Phase 1A; over £74million was allocated to 55 Local Authorities in October 2020 to be delivered by June 2021.
- Phase 1B: around £126million has been allocated to 81 Local Authorities for delivery by September 2021.
- Phase 2: funding of £300m has been allocated to the five Local Energy Hubs, who will work with Local Authorities in their region to deliver projects by December 2021.
BEIS estimates the LAD Scheme will support on average 8,000 jobs per annum over the years 2020/21 and 2021/22.
Asked by: Sam Tarry (Labour - Ilford South)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what plans he has to support medical research charities through a life sciences-charity partnership fund.
Answered by Amanda Solloway
The Government is aware of the challenges, caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, that medical research charities are currently facing. We appreciate the globally recognised expertise of these charities, and the substantial contributions they make to our world-leading life sciences sector.
BEIS and DHSC regularly discuss the impacts of Covid-19 on charity-funded research with the Association of Medical Research Charities. We are continuing to engage with them and receive intelligence on the impacts facing the sector, such as the challenges facing fundraising activities.
The Government already provides significant funding to charities’ research, for example through Research England’s Quality Related (QR) charity support funding. This year charity QR will amount to £204m, to support charity funded research in universities in England and equivalent support is provided in Scotland through devolved funding arrangements.
The Government has demonstrated its ambitions for research by committing £14.6bn to R&D in 2021/22. This funding will support the life sciences sector within which Medical Research Charities operate alongside other research areas.