Asked by: Simon Opher (Labour - Stroud)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, which organisations received funding through the Industry Initiative component of the Warm Home Discount scheme in the last 12 months; and how much each organisation received.
Answered by Miatta Fahnbulleh - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Department sets the overall policy and spending targets for the scheme but the financial responsibility for delivering these initiatives lies with energy suppliers.
For more detailed information on the latest assessment of WHD delivery (2023/24), including data on industry initiatives, please visit https://www.ofgem.gov.uk/publications/warm-home-discount-annual-report-scheme-year-13 . The data for Scheme Year 14 (2024/25) will be published in due course.
Asked by: Simon Opher (Labour - Stroud)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, which services accessed funding through the Industry Initiative component of the Warm Home Discount scheme in the most recent year where data is available; how much funding was received by each supplier; and what the value was of support accessed by consumers through each service.
Answered by Miatta Fahnbulleh - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Ofgem administer the Warm Home Discount Scheme Industry Initiatives of behalf of the Department. Their most recent assessment was for winter 2023/24 where Industry Initiatives delivered £76.4 million in support (£65.5 million in England & Wales and £10.9 million in Scotland) – an increase of £44.3 million compared with winter 2022/23. These initiatives supported over 2.8 million consumers across Great Britain by providing a range of services, including energy efficiency measures, energy and smart meter advice, debt assistance, benefit checks, and financial assistance payments.
The Department sets the overall policy and spending targets for the scheme, but the financial responsibility for Industry Initiatives lies with the suppliers. In 2023/24, 47 Industry Initiatives were funded in England & Wales and 25 in Scotland. The services and their associated consumer support values included:
For more detailed information on this latest assessment, please visit https://www.ofgem.gov.uk/publications/warm-home-discount-annual-report-scheme-year-13
Asked by: Simon Opher (Labour - Stroud)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what estimate he has made of the value of support accessed through the Industry Initiative component of the Warm Home Discount scheme in the most recent year where data is available.
Answered by Miatta Fahnbulleh - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Ofgem administer the Warm Home Discount Scheme Industry Initiatives of behalf of the Department. Their most recent assessment was for winter 2023/24 where Industry Initiatives delivered £76.4 million in support (£65.5 million in England & Wales and £10.9 million in Scotland) – an increase of £44.3 million compared with winter 2022/23. These initiatives supported over 2.8 million consumers across Great Britain by providing a range of services, including energy efficiency measures, energy and smart meter advice, debt assistance, benefit checks, and financial assistance payments.
The Department sets the overall policy and spending targets for the scheme, but the financial responsibility for Industry Initiatives lies with the suppliers. In 2023/24, 47 Industry Initiatives were funded in England & Wales and 25 in Scotland. The services and their associated consumer support values included:
For more detailed information on this latest assessment, please visit https://www.ofgem.gov.uk/publications/warm-home-discount-annual-report-scheme-year-13
Asked by: Simon Opher (Labour - Stroud)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what recent assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the Industry Initiative component of the Warm Home Discount scheme.
Answered by Miatta Fahnbulleh - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Ofgem administer the Warm Home Discount Scheme Industry Initiatives of behalf of the Department. Their most recent assessment was for winter 2023/24 where Industry Initiatives delivered £76.4 million in support (£65.5 million in England & Wales and £10.9 million in Scotland) – an increase of £44.3 million compared with winter 2022/23. These initiatives supported over 2.8 million consumers across Great Britain by providing a range of services, including energy efficiency measures, energy and smart meter advice, debt assistance, benefit checks, and financial assistance payments.
The Department sets the overall policy and spending targets for the scheme, but the financial responsibility for Industry Initiatives lies with the suppliers. In 2023/24, 47 Industry Initiatives were funded in England & Wales and 25 in Scotland. The services and their associated consumer support values included:
For more detailed information on this latest assessment, please visit https://www.ofgem.gov.uk/publications/warm-home-discount-annual-report-scheme-year-13
Asked by: Simon Opher (Labour - Stroud)
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 merits of creating a legal duty on councils to (a) meet climate targets and (b) tackle the loss of wildlife.
Answered by Kerry McCarthy - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Government recognises the importance of local places in driving net zero action. Local government has autonomy and flexibility in how they deliver net zero, according to each local area’s varying needs and opportunities. DESNZ regularly engages with local government on key net zero issues, including through the Local Net Zero Delivery Group.
The Government’s strengthened biodiversity duty was introduced through the Environment Act 2021. This duty requires all public authorities to consider actions to conserve and enhance biodiversity. The strengthened duty will ensure public authorities make the conservation and enhancement of biodiversity a core part of the delivery of their functions.
Asked by: Simon Opher (Labour - Stroud)
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 help low income households access renewable energy solutions.
Answered by Miatta Fahnbulleh - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
We are decarbonising the energy system with utility-scale solar, rooftop solar, and offshore wind allowing households to benefit from reduced electricity bills and cleaner energy.
For homes, we have kickstarted delivery of the Government’s ambitious Warm Homes Plan, which will transform homes across the country by making them cleaner and cheaper to run. This includes grant support through the Boiler Upgrade Scheme (BUS), and targeted support for low income and fuel poor households, namely GBIS, ECO. The Warm Homes: Social Housing Fund, and Warm Homes: Local Grant will also begin delivery this year.
Asked by: Simon Opher (Labour - Stroud)
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 decarbonise the power system.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Government published the Clean Power 2030 Action Plan ‘a new era of clean electricity’ on 13 December 2024 detailing our plan to achieve deliver clean power by 2030.
More recently, we have introduced the Planning and Infrastructure Bill, reinforcing our commitment to ensuring that billpayers and communities hosting energy infrastructure see meaningful benefits through lower energy bills and local project investment.
Asked by: Simon Opher (Labour - Stroud)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether he will visit the decommissioning power stations at (a) Oldbury and (b) Berkeley (Severn Edge); and if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of (i) deploying Small Modular Reactors at Oldbury and (ii) developing a Science & Technology Park at Berkeley.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Great British Nuclear is driving forward its Small Modular Reactor competition and has separately acquired the site at Oldbury-on-Severn. No decisions have yet been taken on deployment of technologies at specific sites but the merits of any projects would be considered. We will also consider where the UK's science and innovation infrastructure is best placed to deliver new nuclear’s needs.
Asked by: Simon Opher (Labour - Stroud)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, if he will publish a timeline for the implementation of his local power plans policy.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
We are progressing the Great British Energy (GBE) Bill through Parliament, and in October’s Spending Review the Chancellor announced £25 million to establish the company, with a further £100 million of capital funding to spend in 2025/26 so that GBE can start its important work to drive forward clean energy deployment this year.
GBE, once fully operational, will provide funding and support to local and combined authorities, and community energy groups, to roll out renewable energy projects. Plans are under development and further details will be announced in due course.
Asked by: Simon Opher (Labour - Stroud)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of enabling community-owned small-scale energy generators to sell electricity directly to local consumers on (a) energy prices, (b) grid stability and (c) the transition to net zero.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Small-scale generation sites, including many community energy groups, can benefit from an exemption, which means that they do not require a licence from Ofgem to generate electricity or to supply to local customers.
Local energy is unlikely to impact national energy prices, because these are driven by wholesale markets. In addition, given the scale of generation, local energy is unlikely to have a significant impact on grid efficiency overall. The Government recognises that local energy will play an important role in achieving the Government’s mission to make Britain a clean energy superpower by 2030. To help deliver this, Great British Energy will support the development of up to 8GW of local and community energy projects.