Asked by: Shaun Davies (Labour - Telford)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, pursuant to the Answer of 3 December to Question 16276 on Warm Homes Plan: Insulation, if he will make an assessment of the adequacy of (a) public awareness of and (b) access to loft insultation protection.
Answered by Miatta Fahnbulleh - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Government’s retrofitting tool ‘find ways to save energy in your home’ (https://www.gov.uk/improve-energy-efficiency), provides tailored guidance to help consumers make their homes greener and cheaper to run.
All businesses installing measures under Government schemes and initiatives must be certified to Publicly Available Specification (PAS) 2030 and follow PAS 2035 standards. In the next review of the standards, the British Standards Institute (BSI), who publish PAS 2030 and 2035, will consider how to address more innovative products that do not fit within existing annexes, subject to steering group consensus.
Asked by: Shaun Davies (Labour - Telford)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, pursuant to the Answer of 3 December to Question 16276 on Warm Homes Plan: Insulation, whether the Warm Homes Plan will support investment in loft insulation protection.
Answered by Miatta Fahnbulleh - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Government’s Warm Homes Plan will support investment in insulation, low carbon heating and other home improvements to cut bills. We will set out full details in due course.
Asked by: Shaun Davies (Labour - Telford)
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 improve public (a) awareness of and (b) access to loft insulation protection to improve energy efficiency.
Answered by Miatta Fahnbulleh - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
There are several Government schemes offering loft insulation as a measure to improve energy efficiency. The Government’s retrofitting tool ‘find ways to save energy in your home’ (https://www.gov.uk/improve-energy-efficiency), provides tailored guidance to help consumers make their homes greener and cheaper to run.
All businesses under Government schemes and initiatives must be TrustMark registered. These businesses must be certified to Publicly Available Specification (PAS) 2030 and follow PAS 2035 standards. TrustMark's role under Government schemes is to ensure compliance with the overarching PAS 2035 process, setting clear requirements to protect consumer.
Asked by: Shaun Davies (Labour - Telford)
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 roll out loft insulation protection through the Warm Homes Plan.
Answered by Miatta Fahnbulleh - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Government is committed to protecting homeowners across the UK who have clean heating and energy efficiency products installed. The Government’s Warm Homes Plan will support investment in insulation, low carbon heating and other home improvements to cut bills. We will set out full details in due course.
As the first step towards the Warm Homes Plan, the Government has committed an initial £3.4 billion over the next 3 years towards heat decarbonisation and household energy efficiency, with £1 billion of this allocated to next year.
Asked by: Shaun Davies (Labour - Telford)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what the average length of paternity leave taken by staff in his Department was in each of the last three years.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The average length of paternity leave in days taken by staff in the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) was 9.6 during 2023 and 9.8 during 2024.
The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) was established in February 2023. Data before this time is unavailable.
Asked by: Shaun Davies (Labour - Telford)
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 help households reduce energy bills.
Answered by Miatta Fahnbulleh - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Government believes the only way to protect billpayers permanently is to speed up the transition towards homegrown clean energy and remove our dependence on volatile international fossil fuel markets.
Whilst we transition to clean power by 2030, we will help families reduce their energy bills through our Warm Homes Plan which will upgrade homes across the country to make them warmer and cheaper to run. The Government will continue to provide additional support to vulnerable households struggling to pay their bills through our Warm Homes Discount.
Asked by: Shaun Davies (Labour - Telford)
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 energy companies on expanding the social tariff to include all pensioners.
Answered by Miatta Fahnbulleh - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Government has no plans to introduce an energy social tariff this winter. However, we are committed to ensuring vulnerable households are supported with their energy bills and we are looking at all options on how to support these households.
The Government is continuing to deliver the Warm Home Discount which provides a £150 rebate off energy bills to over 3 million eligible low-income households. We are also working with energy suppliers to ensure they are providing additional support to vulnerable customers.
The Government has also extended the Household Support Fund for an additional 6 months until 31 March 2025 with an extra £500 million in funding, and I encourage any individual who is struggling to pay their bills contacts their local authority to see if they are eligible for this support.