Asked by: Angus MacDonald (Liberal Democrat - Inverness, Skye and West Ross-shire)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of using renewable liquid fuels as an alternative to mains gas for households unable to connect to the grid.
Answered by Miatta Fahnbulleh - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
As sustainable biomass is a limited resource, the Government expects to prioritise its use in sectors like aviation which have fewest options to decarbonise. Renewable liquid heating fuels (RLHF) are also much more expensive to use than other heating solutions
However, the Government recognise that RLHFs could play a limited role in decarbonising heat off the gas grid.
Asked by: Siân Berry (Green Party - Brighton Pavilion)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if she will make an assessment of the potential implications for his Department's policies on food production of the report by the Royal Society entitled Net zero aviation fuels: resource requirements and environmental impacts, published on 28 February 2023.
Answered by Mike Kane - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The report in question concluded that a significant proportion of the UK’s land would be required for fuel production if crops were used to decarbonise aviation. The UK’s Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) Mandate, which is designed to increase the amount of sustainable fuels used in aviation, prevents the diversion of resources away from food production. The Mandate includes strict sustainability criteria and SAF produced from food, feed or energy crops are not eligible under the scheme.
Asked by: Kim Johnson (Labour - Liverpool Riverside)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what recent estimate she has made of the annual cost to the public purse of people serving imprisonment for public protection sentences.
Answered by Nicholas Dakin - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
It is right that the sentence was abolished. The Government is determined to make further progress towards a safe and sustainable release for those serving the IPP sentence, but not in a way that impacts public protection.
For 2022/23, the average Overall Resource Expenditure cost per prisoner was £51,108. The annual cost for IPP prisoners is not collected or published.
To improve the prospects of release for the unreleased cohort of IPP Prisoners, we published the updated IPP Action Plan on 15 November 2024. The Updated Plan puts stronger emphasis on effective frontline delivery in our prisons ensuring that those serving IPP sentences have a sentence plan tailored to their needs, and that they have access to the right interventions or services to address their offending behaviour.
Asked by: Rachel Gilmour (Liberal Democrat - Tiverton and Minehead)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what steps his Department is taking to deliver a consultation on technical issues associated with renewable liquid heating fuel under Section 159 of the Energy Act 2023.
Answered by Miatta Fahnbulleh - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
As sustainable biomass is a limited resource, the Government expects to prioritise its use in sectors like aviation which have fewest options to decarbonise. Renewable liquid heating fuels (RLHF) are also much more expensive to use than other heating solutions.
Before taking decisions on whether to support the use of RLHFs, like hydrotreated vegetable oil, in heating, the Government would require stronger evidence on their affordability for consumers, and the availability of sustainable feedstocks.
Asked by: Liz Saville Roberts (Plaid Cymru - Dwyfor Meirionnydd)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what plans his Department has to bring forward a consultation on a Renewable Heating Fuel Obligation as required by section 159 of the Energy Act 2023.
Answered by Miatta Fahnbulleh - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
As sustainable biomass is a limited resource, the Government expects to prioritise its use in sectors like aviation which have fewest options to decarbonise. Renewable liquid heating fuels (RLHF) are also much more expensive to use than other heating solutions.
Before taking decisions on whether to support the use of RLHFs, like hydrotreated vegetable oil, in heating, the Government would require stronger evidence on their affordability for consumers, and the availability of sustainable feedstocks.
Asked by: James MacCleary (Liberal Democrat - Lewes)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, when he plans to launch the consultation on technical issues for the renewable liquid heating fuel obligation under Section 159 of the Energy Act 2023; and what steps he is taking to support rural households using oil for heating to transition to (a) hydrotreated vegetable oil and (b) other lower-carbon alternatives.
Answered by Miatta Fahnbulleh - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
As sustainable biomass is a limited resource, the Government expects to prioritise its use in sectors like aviation which have fewest options to decarbonise. Renewable liquid heating fuels (RLHF) are also much more expensive to use than other heating solutions.
Before taking decisions on whether to support the use of RLHFs, like hydrotreated vegetable oil, in heating, the Government would require stronger evidence on their affordability for consumers, and the availability of sustainable feedstocks.
Asked by: Jayne Kirkham (Labour (Co-op) - Truro and Falmouth)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of taking steps to encourage rural off-grid households to switch to hydrogenated vegetable oil in heating.
Answered by Miatta Fahnbulleh - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
As sustainable biomass is a limited resource, the Government expects to prioritise its use in sectors like aviation, and potentially the small number of homes unsuitable for heat pumps, as these sectors have fewest options to decarbonise. The cost of renewable liquid heating fuels is currently much higher than other fuels available to off grid customers. Before taking decisions on whether to support the use of renewable liquid fuels, like hydrotreated vegetable oil, in heating, the Government would require stronger evidence on their affordability for consumers, and the availability of sustainable feedstocks.
Asked by: David Smith (Labour - North Northumberland)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, when he plans to make a decision on the use of hydrotreated vegetable oil fuel in homes.
Answered by Miatta Fahnbulleh - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
As sustainable biomass is a limited resource, the Government expects to prioritise its use in sectors like aviation, and potentially the small number of homes unsuitable for heat pumps, as these sectors have fewest options to decarbonise. The cost of renewable liquid heating fuels is currently much higher than other fuels available to off grid customers. Before taking decisions on whether to support the use of renewable liquid fuels, like hydrotreated vegetable oil, in heating, the Government would require stronger evidence on their affordability for consumers, and the availability of sustainable feedstocks.
Asked by: Daisy Cooper (Liberal Democrat - St Albans)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if she will conduct a review of public notices advertising to ensure that those notices are distributed in (a) printed and (b) online news outlets.
Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
Public notices are important for ensuring that the public is kept informed of decisions made by their council which may affect their quality of life, local services or amenities, or their property. The independent 2019 Cairncross Review into sustainable journalism found that public notices are also an important source of revenue for local newspapers. However, the Government is aware of feedback from some sectors about the audience reach of these notices and the desire for greater digitalisation. In this context, the sector’s Public Notice Portal is a welcome innovation, intended to take advantage of print publishers’ growing digital audiences and provide a centralised resource for all types of public notice. We are monitoring the progress of the Portal, and the effect that it has on the audience reach of public notices.
Asked by: Steve Barclay (Conservative - North East Cambridgeshire)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what plans his Department has to reduce the amount of waste sent for incineration; and what estimate he has made of the volume of waste that will be incinerated in each of the next five years.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Our current use of resources has been set on a trajectory that is economically, environmentally and socially unsustainable. This Government will be creating a roadmap to correct course towards a circular economy, supporting sustainable economic growth by driving up resource efficiency and reducing our emissions and waste. As part of this we will consider the role of waste incineration, including Energy from Waste, and any implications for circularity, economic growth, and net zero.