Written questions by Carden.

What steps his Department is taking to support people with rising fuel costs in Liverpool Walton constituency.

Fuel markets are governed by competition and consumer law, overseen by the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA). The Government and the CMA are closely monitoring petrol and diesel prices in light of instability in the Middle East, and the Chancellor and Secretary of State recently met with fuel retailers to set out a clear message: unfair practices will not be tolerated. We are also engaging regularly with refiners, importers and distributors to ensure any emerging risks are identified and managed promptly. The government has also introduced the statutory Fuel Finder scheme, which will increase transparency for UK road fuel prices and the CMA have the power to take enforcement action for non-compliance.

Whether a transitional scheme will be implemented following the conclusion of ECO4; and what steps his Department is taking to ensure continuity for businesses and protection of jobs following the conclusion of ECO4.

The Government has taken the decision not to replace ECO4 when it ends. We recognise this presents immediate challenges for the supply chain. In the Warm Homes Plan, we committed to supporting the workforce to access opportunities through £15bn of funding and through regulations in the rented sector and for future homes, benefitting millions of households. The Government has established the Warm Homes Plan Workforce Taskforce with trade unions and industry to facilitate transition to clean energy sectors. The Taskforce will consider how to build workforce resilience to meet evolving demand, including assessing the knock-on effects of ECO4 closure.

What recent assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of abolishing standing charges for energy.

Standing charges recover ‘fixed’ costs that do not vary by energy use. This includes suppliers’ fixed operational costs of serving each customer, the cost of network upgrades and maintenance necessary to keep all consumers connected and fund investment in clean energy infrastructure. It also includes the cost of providing Warm Home Discount payments to eligible customers. However, we are committed to lowering the cost of standing charges and have worked constructively with the regulator, Ofgem, on this issue. As part of their update on standing charges, Ofgem announced it will be undertaking a broad review of system costs considering how costs are allocated and recovered across domestic and non-domestic consumers. On 20 February, Ofgem launched a consultation ‘Introducing a zero standing charge energy price cap variant’ - https://www.ofgem.gov.uk/consultation/introducing-zero-standing-charge-energy-price-cap-variant. The consultation seeks views on the introduction of an option - within the price cap – for a tariff that does not have a standing charge, providing households with more choice over how they pay for their energy. It also explores different ways a zero standing charge tariff could work, with options on a single unit rate, as well as block tariff options where the unit rates go up or down once a certain amount of energy is consumed. Ofgem has not proposed moving people automatically onto a zero standing charge tariff because of the risks to vulnerable groups, such as people with disabilities, who have high energy use. We were clear that we would not support changes to standing charges that would disproportionately affect people with higher energy costs. The consultation closed on 20 March and we stand ready to continue to work with Ofgem on this matter.

What assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of the clean energy transition on (a) workers and (b) communities.

The government’s initial assessment of the challenges of building the skilled workforce to deliver the Clean Energy Superpower Mission has been outlined in the Clean Power Action Plan. The Plan includes an Evidence Annex which provides a basis for government to better understand the 2030 workforce requirements and support targeted skills planning. By 2030, the clean energy transition could create hundreds of thousands of new jobs, benefiting communities across the UK representing the economic opportunity of the century.

What assessment he has made of the potential implications for his Department's policies of Common Wealth's report, entitled Public Coordination of a Just North Sea Transition, published on 10 January 2025.

The Government is committed to a fair, orderly and prosperous transition in the North Sea to boost Britain’s energy security and ensure good, long-term jobs. That is why we have already launched Great British Energy, begun the biggest ever investment in offshore wind, and are moving ahead with new North Sea industries like carbon capture and storage and hydrogen.

What recent discussions his Department has had with the British Coal Staff Superannuation Scheme (BCSSS) on proposals to transfer the BCSSS investment reserve to members.

I refer the honourable member to my response on 29 January 2025 (UIN 25410).

What assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of reforming the Smart Export Guarantee to set minimum terms of tariffs.

The Smart Export Guarantee (SEG) is a market-led mechanism in which energy suppliers, not government, set both tariff levels and structure. This is to encourage innovation and competition between suppliers. The Government keeps the SEG under regular review to ensure it continues to meet our objectives. The latest SEG report shows registered generators more than tripled between 2022/23 to 2023/24, from 92,946 to 283,666.

What steps his Department is taking to provide transition pathways for oil and gas workers.

The Clean Energy Mission will create hundreds of thousands of jobs across the country. The UK has a highly skilled oil and gas workforce, with high transferability of skills to these new roles. The Office for Clean Energy Jobs (OCEJ) has been created to ensure that clean energy jobs are abundant, high quality, paid fairly, and have favourable terms and good working conditions. The OCEJ will also set out targeted interventions to support specific skills needs in the clean energy workforce. It recently announced support for the Energy Skills Passport to support oil and gas workers into new roles in the clean energy sector.

How much his Department has spent on consultancy fees in each year since 2021.

The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) was created in February 2023, so no information is held for periods prior to that date. The Departments spend on Consultancy Fees in financial year 23/24 can be found in the 2023/24 Annual Report, available here.