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

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of using biofuel heating oil to decarbonise off gas grid dwellings; and if he will make a statement.

As set out in the 2020 Energy White Paper, the Department will consult later this year on new regulations to phase out fossil fuel heating in off-grid homes, businesses, and public buildings.

We recognise that liquid biofuels may play a role in future off-gas-grid decarbonisation, particularly for properties that are not suitable for a heat pump. However, further evidence is needed to consider what role these biofuels could play. The Department will publish a new Biomass Strategy in 2022, which will review the amount of sustainable biomass available to the UK, including liquid biofuels, and how this could be best used across the economy to achieve our net zero target. It will also assess the UK’s current biomass sustainability standards, which are some of the most stringent in the world, to see where and how we can improve them even further.