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Written Question
Firewood: Imports
Tuesday 19th March 2024

Asked by: Alex Sobel (Labour (Co-op) - Leeds North West)

Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what estimate she has made of the average annual tonnage of wood imported for burning in (a) industrial and (b) domestic settings; which (i) countries and (ii) sites in those countries that wood is imported from; and how many tonnes on average comes from each of those countries each year.

Answered by Andrew Bowie - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)

Figures on the amount of imported wood and waste wood by country is published in The Digest of UK Energy Statistics (DUKES) Table 6.6, but information on sites is not collected. Imports of waste wood are used in the industrial, commercial and agricultural sectors and all imports of wood are burnt in the domestic sector; of the 2,319 thousand tonnes of wood consumed in the domestic sector in 2022, 198 thousand tonnes were imported.


Written Question

Question Link

Tuesday 19th March 2024

Asked by: Kenny MacAskill (Alba Party - East Lothian)

Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, pursuant to the Answer of 14 March 2024 to Question 17929 on Energy: Overseas Companies, which overseas energy companies registered in the UK have received funding from her (a) Department and (b) predecessor Department in excess of £50 million in each year since 2021.

Answered by Andrew Bowie - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)

2021 – No overseas energy companies registered in the UK received funding from BEIS in excess of £50 million in the calendar year of 2021.

2022 – EDF Energy Customers Ltd, EDF Energy Holdings Ltd, EON Next Energy Ltd and Scottish Power Energy Retail LTD all received funding in excess of £50 million from BEIS in the calendar year of 2022.

2023 – EDF Energy Customers Ltd, EON Next Energy Ltd and Scottish Power Energy Retail LTD all received funding in excess of £50 million from BEIS/DESNZ in the calendar year of 2023. Up until August 2023, DESNZ data was still being published under BEIS. Separating these transactions for each department would be at a disproportionate cost.

2024 - no overseas energy companies registered in the UK have received funding from DESNZ in excess of £50 million in the calendar year of 2024 to date.

Please note, these companies are being categorised as overseas, at they are all overseas owned. Some of them may be situated and operate in the United Kingdom but are categorised as being overseas in our data due to their ownership.

These figures include the unprecedented payments made to energy suppliers to reduce consumer bills in 2022 and 2023 through the Energy Price Guarantee.


Written Question
Oldbury Power Station and Wylfa Power Station: Land
Tuesday 19th March 2024

Asked by: Alan Brown (Scottish National Party - Kilmarnock and Loudoun)

Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, with reference to paragraph 4.53 of the Spring Budget 2024, HC 560, how much land the Government is acquiring in its purchase of the (a) Wylfa and (b) Oldbury-on-Severn sites; what method the Government used to estimate the value of each of those sites; and what criteria the Government used to determine the sites to be purchased.

Answered by Andrew Bowie - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)

The Wylfa and Oldbury sites have inherent characteristics that make them suitable for consideration for nuclear development. Those characteristics, the previous development work and the terms of agreement were all factors in progressing with the purchase. Independent valuations were obtained for both sites and the purchase secures access to approximately 600 acres at Wylfa and approximately 400 acres at Oldbury.


Written Question

Question Link

Tuesday 19th March 2024

Asked by: Neil Hudson (Conservative - Penrith and The Border)

Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what steps her Department has taken to support users of off-grid energy with energy costs.

Answered by Amanda Solloway - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury

I refer my Hon. Friend to the answer I gave my Hon. Friend the Member for Ynys Môn on 22 January 2024 to Question 10266.


Written Question
Firewood: Housing
Tuesday 19th March 2024

Asked by: Alex Sobel (Labour (Co-op) - Leeds North West)

Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what estimate she has made of the average annual tonnage of wood burnt in homes in the UK.

Answered by Andrew Bowie - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)

Figures on the amount of imported wood and waste wood by country is published in The Digest of UK Energy Statistics (DUKES) Table 6.6, but information on sites is not collected. Imports of waste wood are used in the industrial, commercial and agricultural sectors and all imports of wood are burnt in the domestic sector; of the 2,319 thousand tonnes of wood consumed in the domestic sector in 2022, 198 thousand tonnes were imported.


Written Question

Question Link

Tuesday 19th March 2024

Asked by: Angus Brendan MacNeil (Independent - Na h-Eileanan an Iar)

Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, how many energy planning applications she has approved.

Answered by Graham Stuart - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)

All decisions taken by the Secretary of State relating to energy planning applications for development consent are published on the Planning Inspectorates web-site and are publicly available. Since the Secretary of State's appointment in August 2023, a total of six decisions have been published and development consent was granted in all cases.


Written Question
Electric Cables: Rural Areas
Monday 18th March 2024

Asked by: John Hayes (Conservative - South Holland and The Deepings)

Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether she has had recent discussions with National Grid on the installation of large electricity pylons in the countryside.

Answered by Graham Stuart - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)

The Government does not plan or develop energy infrastructure and the regulatory framework for the UK's independent energy industry is set by Ofgem. Ministers and officials engage with National Grid Electricity Transmission regularly as part of the usual policy making process. This includes but is not limited to discussing network infrastructure. My Rt Hon Friend the Secretary of State last met senior representatives from National Grid on Tuesday 12th March at a stakeholder reception.


Written Question
Energy: Disability and Low Incomes
Monday 18th March 2024

Asked by: Angela Crawley (Scottish National Party - Lanark and Hamilton East)

Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what steps she is taking to reduce energy bills for (a) disabled households and (b) households on low incomes.

Answered by Amanda Solloway - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury

Over the last two years, the Government has demonstrated its commitment to supporting the most vulnerable with one of the largest support packages in Europe. Taken together, total support between 2022 and 2025 to help households with the cost of living is worth £108 billion – an average of £3,800 per UK household.

The Government is continuing to support those most in need with millions of vulnerable households who have received up to £900 in further Cost of Living Payments, with an extra £150 to those on eligible disability benefits. An extra cost of living payment is being paid to pensioner households worth up to £300 through the Winter Fuel Payment, meaning eligible individuals will receive between £250 - £600.

The Government continues to provide support through the Warm Home Discount, which provides low-income households with an annual £150 rebate off their energy bill every winter.


Written Question
Warm Home Discount Scheme
Monday 18th March 2024

Asked by: Kenny MacAskill (Alba Party - East Lothian)

Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what estimate she has made of the number of awards granted via the Warm Home Discount Scheme per regional electricity area since 2011.

Answered by Amanda Solloway - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury

Figures are not available for the number of households receiving Warm Home Discounts by regional electricity area. National level information on the number of households receiving Warm Home Discounts since 2011 can be found in Table 17 of the Warm Home Discount data tables (https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/warm-home-discount-statistics-2022-to-2023).


Written Question
Aquind: Electricity Interconnectors
Monday 18th March 2024

Asked by: Stephen Morgan (Labour - Portsmouth South)

Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what estimate she has made of constraint costs associated with the AQUIND Interconnector Project.

Answered by Graham Stuart - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)

The regulatory approval process for interconnectors in Great Britain is run by Ofgem. Details of Ofgem's consideration of the AQUIND project can be found in Ofgem's Initial Project Assessment for this application round, which was published on 1 March 2024. The Ofgem regulatory process is independent from Government and therefore the Secretary of State has not assessed constraint costs associated with the project.