Asked by: Yvonne Fovargue (Labour - Makerfield)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what measures he has put in place to (a) assess and (b) control the release of silica dust into urban areas; and what steps he is taking to lower the risk of exposure to that dust among the general public.
Answered by Jane Hunt
This is not a matter for the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy.
Asked by: Yvonne Fovargue (Labour - Makerfield)
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 potential effect of loyalty penalties in the energy retail market on consumers.
Answered by Anne-Marie Trevelyan
The Government is tackling the loyalty penalty experienced by households who do not shop around for their energy supply, which the Competition and Markets Authority has estimated, creates a £1.4bn average annual detriment to those consumers. We legislated for a price cap in 2018, which saves households £75-£100 a year on average. Ofgem, the sector regulator, is working to make it easier and quicker for households to switch energy deal. As set out in our Energy White Paper, the Government will introduce an opt-in switching scheme and trial out-out switching to help more households get a better deal on their energy.
Asked by: Yvonne Fovargue (Labour - Makerfield)
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 exclusive tariffs on price comparison websites on competition in the energy retail market.
Answered by Anne-Marie Trevelyan
The offering of exclusive tariffs by price comparison companies enables them to exert competitive pressure on suppliers to offer consumers better energy deals. The ability to offer exclusive tariffs and the removal of the requirement to show whole of the market tariffs by price comparison companies followed the Competition Markets Authority’s recommendation in its market study of digital comparison tools in 2017. Consumers can access the exclusive tariffs via the price comparison companies’ websites or telephone comparison service.
Asked by: Yvonne Fovargue (Labour - Makerfield)
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 ensure consumers and businesses have access to redress and other consumer protections in emerging low-carbon markets.
Answered by Anne-Marie Trevelyan
As a Competent Authority, the energy regulator Ofgem, has an obligation to ensure Alternative Dispute Resolution is provided in the energy sector under the Alternative Dispute Resolution for Consumer Disputes (Competent Authorities and Information) Regulations 2015.
Ofgem has appointed Ombudsman Services: Energy as the redress provider in the energy sector and has set out the types of dispute that Ombudsman Services: Energy can resolve, including issues relating to billing, sales, switching, supply, micro-generation and Feed in Tariffs.
Consumer protection continues to be a central part of policy considerations in relation to new energy markets, for example we have recently consulted on extending access to redress to heat network customers.
Asked by: Yvonne Fovargue (Labour - Makerfield)
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 vulnerable consumers make the transition to net zero.
Answered by Anne-Marie Trevelyan
The Government has extended the Energy Company Obligation to 2026 and expanded the Warm Home Discount to £475 million per year from 2022 to 2025/2026. This will see targeted support continue to be provided to low-income and vulnerable households to install energy saving measures and heat their homes over the winter months, while making savings on their energy bills through having better insulated homes. The future Home Upgrade Grant scheme, due to commence in 2022, will support low-income households with upgrades to the worst-performing homes off the gas grid in England. These upgrades will create warmer homes at lower cost and support low-income families with the switch to low-carbon heating. This increased energy efficiency is complemented by the Government’s rollout of over 26 million smart meters, which help consumers see how much energy they are using in near real-time and make sure they are ready to take advantage of the next wave of flexible, low-carbon technologies and energy tariffs.
This Government is committed to getting the transition to net zero right for all consumers, including those in vulnerable circumstances, and will shortly publish a call for evidence to begin an ongoing strategic dialogue between consumers, industry and the Government on affordability in the energy system.
Asked by: Yvonne Fovargue (Labour - Makerfield)
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 tackle the loyalty penalty in the (a) mobile, (b) broadband and (c) mortgage market.
Answered by Paul Scully
In 2019, new rules for mobile phones were created by Ofcom which required companies to provide better upfront contract information on pricing for bundled handset and airtime services, and several companies voluntarily agreed to reduce bills for out-of-contract customers. In broadband, a number of major providers took steps to reduce the loyalty penalty, including capping prices. An updated review was published by Ofcom in July 2020.
Other telecoms interventions have been developed, including Ofcom’s new rules which require communication providers to send a notification to their customers when they are nearing the end of their contract. The Government and Ofcom continue to work on ‘Open Communications’ as part of the Smart Data project to help consumers access information and switch providers accordingly, for which Ofcom published a consultation in July 2020.
The Financial Conduct Authority conducted a mortgage market study in 2019 which noted that they are working with lenders to make it easier for borrowers to switch, where that is possible and would be of benefit, in light of the ‘loyalty penalty’. That work continues.
Asked by: Yvonne Fovargue (Labour - Makerfield)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps (a) his Department and (b) the Office for Product Safety and Standards are taking to raise public awareness on the safe charging of e-scooters in homes.
Answered by Paul Scully
Manufacturers are required to ensure the safety of their products under reasonably foreseeable use, and to issue instructions for safe use.
The Government is considering the requirements for electric scooters as part of its Future of Transport Regulatory Review. Following this review any necessary public awareness information or guidance will be issued.
Asked by: Yvonne Fovargue (Labour - Makerfield)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what steps his Department is taking to raise awareness of the dangers of purchasing counterfeit electrical goods.
Answered by Lord Vaizey of Didcot
The Intellectual Property Office does not undertake any awareness raising activities that specifically highlight the dangers of purchasing counterfeit electrical goods.
The Intellectual Property Office works with partners including trading standards, Border Force and industry on a range of initiatives to tackle IP crime. . These initiatives include outreach campaigns aimed at consumers and workplaces, as well as enforcement action and support for businesses. They are not however focused on counterfeit electrical goods in isolation.
Asked by: Yvonne Fovargue (Labour - Makerfield)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what meetings he has had with (a) Amazon, (b) eBay and (c) other online retailers on the prevention of the sale of counterfeit electrical goods in the UK.
Answered by Lord Vaizey of Didcot
Details of Ministerial meetings, are published quarterly on gov.uk at:
Asked by: Yvonne Fovargue (Labour - Makerfield)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, whether his Department uses government fire statistics to assess the effect of faulty electrical goods on the number of fires.
Answered by Anna Soubry
My Department uses Government fire statistics on the number of fires in faulty electrical products, as part of the evidence to inform policy on the safety of electrical products.