Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps the Government has taken to support the oil heating industry in their work to develop a low carbon liquid fuel alternative to kerosene.

The Government is supportive of the development of low carbon bioliquids as part of our commitment to growing the UK's bioeconomy. For instance, the Department has funded innovation on bioliquid technologies, targeting applications such as low-carbon transport fuels.

In the Clean Growth Strategy, Government committed to phase out high-carbon fossil fuels such as oil for heating, which will create a market for alternatives. Beyond the Renewable Heat Incentive, which has funding agreed out to 2021, the Department intends to design and implement a clear framework through to the 2030s for domestic and non-domestic buildings off the gas grid. Bioliquids may be of interest in this transition, and the Department sought further evidence from the public in a Call for Evidence which ran from 19 March to 11 June 2018. The Department is now analysing the evidence received and aims to publish a response to the Call for Evidence later in 2018. We have engaged with the oil heating industry throughout this process and will continue to do so, in line with broader Government priorities on delivering clean air.