Asked by: Thangam Debbonaire (Labour - Bristol West)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how many homes in the UK are in Energy Performance Band E or lower.
Answered by Claire Perry
Latest figures for the number of homes (thousands) in Energy Performance Band D or higher and Band E or lower for England and the Devolved Nations.
| England (2016) | Scotland (2016) | Northern Ireland (2016) | Wales (2008) |
Band D or higher (thousands) | 18,290 | 2,031 | 643 | 558 |
Band E or lower (thousands) | 4,707 | 422 | 99 | 711 |
Total number of homes (thousands) | 22,996 | 2,452 | 742 | 1,268 |
Figures may not sum to totals due to rounding | ||||
Please note, these figures should not be summed to give a UK total, or compared between nations due to the following differences:
(1) The latest data available for Wales is from 2008, 2016 data will be published in November 2018.
(2) Figures for Wales relate to number of dwellings (which includes vacant properties) whereas figures for England, Scotland and Northern Ireland relate to number of households (excluding vacant properties).
(3) Each nation uses a different methodology for calculating Energy Performance. The main difference being Welsh figures are based on SAP 2005, whereas figures for England, Scotland and Northern Ireland are based on SAP 2012.
Data sources
MHCLG. (2016). English Housing Survey.
Scottish Government. (2016). Scottish House Condition Survey.
Housing Executive. (2016). Northern Ireland House Condition Survey.
Welsh Government. (2008). Living in Wales Survey.
Asked by: Thangam Debbonaire (Labour - Bristol West)
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 make an assessment of the potential merits of a legal requirement for property companies to provide (a) a breakdown of monies requested from companies operating from their properties, and (b) receipts for expenditure.
Answered by Kelly Tolhurst
The Government has no current plans to do so.
Asked by: Thangam Debbonaire (Labour - Bristol West)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, with reference to the Climate Change Act 2008, what assessment he has made of the potential performance of the UK in relation to the (i) third, (ii) fourth and (iii) fifth carbon budget.
Answered by Claire Perry
The UK is projected to overachieve against the third carbon budget. Current projections for the fourth and fifth carbon budgets suggest that we could deliver 97 per cent and 95 per cent of our required performance against 1990 levels, and we are working to implement the ambitious policies and proposals set out in our Clean Growth Strategy to enable us to meet our future carbon budgets.
Asked by: Thangam Debbonaire (Labour - Bristol West)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment his Department has made of the effect of fracking on the UK meeting the targets of the (a) fourth carbon budget for 2023-2027 and (b) fifth carbon budget for 2028-2032.
Answered by Claire Perry
Our approach to meeting the fourth and fifth Carbon Budgets is set out in the Clean Growth Strategy. Continued use of natural gas from offshore and onshore sources is compatible with meeting our carbon budgets, and innovations in technologies such as Carbon Capture Usage and Storage have the potential to decarbonise this energy supply still further.
Asked by: Thangam Debbonaire (Labour - Bristol West)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how many feed-in tariff applications have been made in respect of houses with an Energy Performance Certificate of (a) D or higher and (b) E or lower in the most recent 12 months for which data are available.
Answered by Claire Perry
In the period June 2017 to June 2018, 13,428 applications for the Feed-in-Tariff scheme were made in respect of premises where Ofgem know that it had an Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) of level D or above. Ofgem does not hold data in relation to premises with FIT installations which have an EPC of level E or below
Asked by: Thangam Debbonaire (Labour - Bristol West)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what the feed-in tariff rate for solar PV is for (a) houses with Energy Performance Certificates (EPCs) of D or higher and (b) houses with EPCs of E or lower.
Answered by Claire Perry
The Feed-In Tariff rates are published by Ofgem at https://www.ofgem.gov.uk/environmental-programmes/fit/fit-tariff-rates. The current higher PV tariff of 3.93p per kWh is available for houses with EPCs of D or higher. The lower tariff of 0.25p per kWh is available for houses with EPCs of E or lower and those houses with an EPC of level D or above that was not issued before the commissioning date of the installation.
Asked by: Thangam Debbonaire (Labour - Bristol West)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what his policy is on support for the UK offshore wind industry’s ambition to produce one third of UK electricity from offshore wind by 2030; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Claire Perry
The UK has the largest installed offshore wind capacity in the world, with around 7GW operational. This will rise to around 10GW by 2020.
As set out in the Clean Growth Strategy, the Government is working with industry as they develop an ambitious Sector Deal for offshore wind, which could result in 10 gigawatts of new capacity, with the opportunity for additional deployment if this is cost effective, built in the 2020s.
Asked by: Thangam Debbonaire (Labour - Bristol West)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what recent assessment he has made of the potential for offshore wind to deliver significant electricity system cost reductions by 2030.
Answered by Claire Perry
Offshore wind costs have fallen significantly over the last few years. The cheapest offshore wind projects in the 2017 Contract for Difference Allocation Round cleared 50% lower than the cheapest offshore wind project in the 2015 Contract for Difference Allocation Round. Going forward, the industry expects offshore wind costs to continue to fall.
Asked by: Thangam Debbonaire (Labour - Bristol West)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what guidance has been issued to businesses to help them prepare for the effect on their ability to trade with the EU of changes to the regulatory system in the EU after the UK has left the EU.
Answered by Andrew Griffiths
Since the referendum, the Department has engaged with over 2500 businesses and representative organisations across sectors, both here and in Europe, to deepen our understanding of the key business priorities and opportunities after our withdrawal; including on important issues such as the need for an Implementation Period.
Our agreement on the Implementation Period gives business the clarity and confidence that market access and common regulatory rules will remain in place until the end of 2020, meaning businesses will be able to trade on the same terms as now.
The Government recognises the importance of minimising disruption to businesses and will continue to engage on these issues as we progress to negotiating our deep and ambitious future economic partnership with the EU.
Asked by: Thangam Debbonaire (Labour - Bristol West)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps his Department is taking to support the wave and tidal energy sector in the South West.
Answered by Claire Perry
In October 2017, the Government confirmed that up to £557 million of annual support would be available for further Contracts for Difference (including projects such as wave and tidal stream) with the next competitive allocation round planned for Spring 2019. In addition, the Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy also provides grant funding for the wave and tidal stream sector through the BEIS Energy Entrepreneurs’ Fund.
The Government is currently assessing the Hendry Review into tidal lagoons and is considering how this technology delivers against its priorities, as set out in the Clean Growth Strategy and the Industrial Strategy. This will ensure that the response to the Hendry Review takes into account the best interests of the UK as a whole and represents value for money for the UK taxpayer and the consumer.