Asked by: Virginia Crosbie (Conservative - Ynys Môn)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, in the context of the support being offered to households for gas and electricity costs, if he will take steps to cap the price retail consumers pay for heating oil.
Answered by Graham Stuart
The Government has no plans to introduce a price cap on alternative fuels.
Asked by: Virginia Crosbie (Conservative - Ynys Môn)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps he is taking to decouple the cost to the consumer of renewable energy from fossil fuel energy sources on energy bills so that households can see the cost of renewable energy.
Answered by Graham Stuart
The Government intends to act at pace to address extraordinary profits that certain renewable generators are receiving from high wholesale electricity prices. We will act to break the link between high global gas prices and charges for low carbon electricity generation, enabling consumers to benefit from low-priced clean electricity while ensuring fair returns for generators.
Asked by: Virginia Crosbie (Conservative - Ynys Môn)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps he is taking to help ensure that the recent reduction in wholesale petrol and diesel costs is passed onto consumers.
Answered by Dean Russell
On the 11th June, the then Secretary of State wrote to the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) to request an urgent review of the fuel market, as well as a longer-term market study under the Enterprise Act 2002, to explore whether the retail fuel market has adversely affected consumer interests.
The CMA published their report on 8 July. Their initial findings indicated that the market for the supply of retail fuel in the UK appeared to be relatively competitive. On that basis we would expect reductions in wholesale costs to be passed onto consumers. Previous BEIS analysis has shown that both falls and rises in costs are passed through over the course of a few weeks.
The CMA did find some areas that warrant further investigation, and immediately launched a Market Study into the supply of road fuel in the UK. The study will enable the CMA to consider what more can be done to improve outcomes for consumers. It has said that it aims to complete this work well within the statutory 12 month time limit.
Asked by: Virginia Crosbie (Conservative - Ynys Môn)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, in view of the Government's Net Zero Strategy, what steps he is taking to help facilitate the timely development of wind farms in the Irish Sea, such as Mona offshore windfarm.
Answered by Graham Stuart
The Growth Plan announced significant reforms to the planning system to accelerate delivery of major infrastructure projects. This builds on commitments to accelerate offshore wind deployment in the British Energy Security Strategy.
This will facilitate timely development of UK offshore windfarms including in the Irish Sea. Measures will reduce planning consent time from up to four years to one. They include a fast-track consenting route, strengthening Renewable National Policy Statements, streamlining habitats regulations assessments, and enabling strategic consideration of environmental issues. The Government will continue to work with the Offshore Wind Acceleration Task Force on further options for acceleration.
Asked by: Virginia Crosbie (Conservative - Ynys Môn)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what plans his Department have to identify oil and liquified petroleum gas users so that they can benefit from the £100 support announced by the Government.
Answered by Graham Stuart
The Government continues to work at speed to determine the most practical and tested routes to deliver this support and will provide more details in due course.
Asked by: Virginia Crosbie (Conservative - Ynys Môn)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps he is taking to encourage consumers to improve the insulation of their properties; and what recent assessment he has made of the potential contribution that reducing the demand for energy can make in helping the UK meet its climate targets.
Answered by Graham Stuart
The Government is investing over £6.6 billion over this parliament to improve energy efficiency and decarbonise heating. The Government will deliver upgrades to over half a million homes in the coming years through our Social Housing Decarbonisation, Home Upgrade Grant Schemes and Energy Company Obligation Scheme, delivering average bill savings of £500, based on recent price cap estimates.
The Government also launched a digital service providing impartial, tailored advice on energy efficiency. This will be supported by the launch of additional support for homeowners through telephone advice and specific local area advice for energy consumers.
Asked by: Virginia Crosbie (Conservative - Ynys Môn)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps he is taking to support people who live in rural areas and use (a) heating oil and (b) liquified natural gas for domestic heating.
Answered by Graham Stuart
The Government understands fuel prices are an important component of UK household and business expenditures, and understands the negative impact of domestic fuel costs on UK consumers.
The Government has announced a new energy price guarantee to reduce bills for households on gas and electricity by an average of £1,000 for the typical household. For households who do not use gas for domestic heating, the Government has committed to provide an additional payment of £100 to compensate for the rising costs of other fuels such as heating oil..
Asked by: Virginia Crosbie (Conservative - Ynys Môn)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps he is taking to (a) support a globally competitive heat pump manufacturing sector in the UK and (b) help ensure that the industry is supported in the upskilling and recruitment of engineers to install and maintain heat pumps.
Answered by Graham Stuart
In the British Energy Security Strategy, the Government announced a Heat Pump Investment Accelerator Competition worth up to £30 million. This aims to secure private investment to boost the competitive manufacturing of heat pumps and components in the UK, build supply chain resilience and support jobs in the green economy.
Training is available for existing heating engineers to install heat pumps, and can be completed in one week.
Asked by: Virginia Crosbie (Conservative - Ynys Môn)
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 help separate the link between the cost of gas and electricity.
Answered by Graham Stuart
The Review of Electricity Market Arrangements (REMA), first announced in the British Energy Security Strategy, will consider how the long-term role of gas as a price setter for electricity could be reduced.
Asked by: Virginia Crosbie (Conservative - Ynys Môn)
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 introduce a temporary price cap on the price of (a) domestic heating oil and (b) liquified natural gas for those in rural areas not connected to the mains gas supply.
Answered by Greg Hands - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Government has carefully considered the introduction of a price cap to help domestic fuel customers with high fuel prices, however the Government’s analysis indicates that a cap would not be in the long-term interests of consumers.
The existing gas and electricity price cap was designed to protect consumers on default tariffs from the loyalty penalty, which the Competitions and Markets Authority warned was causing customers to be overcharged. The structure of the heating oil and LPG markets are different and imposing a price cap below wholesale costs would drive companies out of the market, reducing competition and possibly result in supply shortages.