Written questions by Hayes.

If he will make an assessment of the potential merits of providing support for landlords with increasing the energy efficiency of properties that are difficult to retrofit.

Landlords can use our ‘Help for Households’ GOV.UK page to find available support via the Home Upgrade Grant and the Great British Insulation Scheme. In addition, there is a zero-rate of VAT until March 2027 on energy saving measures. Government will consult this year on increasing minimum energy efficiency standards in the domestic private rented sector. This consultation will set out proposals on maximum spend required from landlords and the exemptions regime to manage the cost burden placed on landlords, including those who own properties that are difficult to retrofit, whilst still achieving our ambition to lift households out of fuel poverty.

With reference to page 13 of the UK Green Buildings Council report entitled 100 days into Government: How Labour can build a better future, published on 15 October 2024, what steps he is taking to support local authorities to (a) address regional disparities, (b) drive sustainable change and (c) safeguard quality.

The Government recognises the importance of local authorities in driving net zero. Great British Energy’s Local Power Plan will support local authorities to increase their capability and capacity to build a pipeline of successful projects in their local areas. At Autumn Budget, Government introduced the first integrated settlements with Greater Manchester and West Midlands Combined Authorities, which include piloting the devolution of retrofit funding from 2025-26, which aims to support economic growth and the net zero transition. The Government will also partner with local authorities to deliver the Warm Homes Plan, which will support investment in insulation, low carbon heating and other home improvements to cut bills.

What estimate he has made of the number of households in Bournemouth East constituency who are in fuel poverty.

The latest estimate of the number of households in Bournemouth East constituency who are in fuel poverty is 6,812, which is 13.9% of households in the constituency. This estimate is taken from the published sub-regional fuel poverty statistics, in Table 4: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/fuel-poverty-statistics.

What steps he is taking to support (a) local authorities and (b) housing associations with the costs of increasing the energy efficiency of social housing.

The Warm Homes: Social Housing Fund (formerly SHDF) will provide grant funding for Housing Associations and Local Authorities to install retrofit measures to improve the energy efficiency ratings of a significant amount of social housing stock currently below EPC C up to that standard. Wave 3 of the fund is open for applications until midday on 25 November 2024. The scheme is expected to begin delivery in Spring 2025 following the allocation of funding to grant recipients. Additionally, the National Wealth Fund has worked with leading banks to make £1bn available to retrofit social housing, which we will build on.

If he will take steps to support (a) households, (b) businesses and (c) public sector organisations with the cost of installing heat pumps.

The Government is providing a range of support to encourage the adoption of heat pumps. The Boiler Upgrade Scheme (BUS), the Warm Homes: Social Housing Fund Wave 3 and the Warm Homes: Local Grant help to support privately owned, social and privately rented properties respectively. The BUS also supports businesses to install heat pumps and the Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme is supporting a wide range of public sector organisations to install low carbon heating, including heat pumps. The forthcoming Warm Homes Plan will also include additional measures to support investment in low carbon heating.

What steps he is taking to support local authorities to accelerate delivery of the Government’s warm homes programme.

We have kickstarted delivery of the Government's ambitious Warm Homes Plan, which will transform homes across the country by making them cleaner and cheaper to run, from installing new insulation to rolling out low carbon heating like solar and heat pumps. The plan will offer grants and low interest loans to support investment, and we will partner with combined authorities and local and devolved governments to roll out this plan. This includes the announcement of the Warm Homes: Local Grant which will provide energy performance measures and low carbon heating to low-income households in England.

What assessment he has made of the potential cost to (a) landlords and (b) housing providers of ensuring that (i) private and (ii) social rented homes achieve a minimum energy performance certificate rating of C by 2030.

The Government will consult on increasing minimum energy efficiency standards in the domestic private rented sector and on introducing a minimum energy efficiency standard for the social rented sector. The Government will work closely with both the private and socially rented sectors during the consultations and will consider potential costs for private landlords and social housing providers in our assessment of options for the minimum energy efficiency standards.

When he plans to bring forward legislative proposals to require landlords to achieve an Energy Performance Certificate rating of C by 2030.

The Government will consult this year on increasing minimum energy efficiency standards in the domestic private rented sector. The consultation will include proposals for rented homes to achieve Energy Performance Certificate C or equivalent by 2030. We encourage landlords and other key stakeholders to feed into this important consultation when published. We will set out a legislative timetable in due course following the consultation and consideration of the responses.

Whether his Department plans to take steps to update energy performance certificates to ensure they accurately reflect the actual energy performance of homes.

The Government is reviewing the building physics model and methodology underpinning EPCs to make it fit for purpose to support net zero. A public consultation on the new building physics model, the Home Energy Model, closed on 27 March 2024. We are now reviewing the responses and will publish a response in the coming months. We will also consult shortly on proposals to improve EPCs and aim to consult further on the underlying Home Energy Model for producing them in 2025.

With reference to page 12 of the UK Green Buildings Council report entitled 100 days into Government: How Labour can build a better future, published on 15 October 2024, if he will make it his policy to introduce retrofit officers in every council to (a) develop local plans, (b) attract wider investment, (c) engage with households and supply chains and (d) oversee local one-stop shop retrofit services.

The Warm Homes Plan will be rolled out in partnership with local authorities, combined authorities and devolved governments. As a first step, the government has committed an initial £3.4 billion over the next 3 years towards heat decarbonisation and household energy efficiency.At Autumn Budget, the government introduced the first integrated settlements with Greater Manchester Combined Authority and West Midlands Combined Authority, which include piloting the devolution of retrofit funding from 2025-26.The upcoming English Devolution White Paper (due for publication in late 2024) will provide more detail on the government’s devolution plans, setting out an ambitious new framework for English devolution, moving power out of Westminster and back to those who know their areas best. It will give deeper powers for existing mayors as well as for new areas, including over house building and planning, as well as transport and skills.

What assessment he has made of the capacity of domestic ports to facilitate the (a) delivery and (b) maintenance of offshore wind.

Ports play a vital role in the deployment, operation, and maintenance of offshore wind, particularly for floating offshore wind. As it stands, the UK does not have the port capacity to enable the mass deployment of floating offshore wind. That is why the Government has taken the Port of Cromarty Firth and Port Talbot into due diligence and subsidy control assessment as part of the up to £160m Floating Offshore Wind Manufacturing Investment Scheme. Additionally, at least £5.8 billion of the National Wealth Fund’s capital will focus on the sectors announced in the manifesto, including ports.

What funding the Government is providing to support domestic manufacturing of offshore wind turbines.

The Government will soon be introducing supply chain support measures through the Contracts for Difference (CfD) scheme. These will initially apply to offshore wind for the next CfD allocation round and may be broadened out to other technologies in the future depending on prevailing market conditions.

What steps he is taking to increase the domestic ownership of UK-based offshore wind capacity.

Economic growth is Government's top priority and investment is a key pillar of our growth strategy. The UK is open to investment from around the world. Great British Energy, which is fully owned by the British people, will own, manage, and operate clean energy projects across the UK, generating homegrown electricity. By partnering with The Crown Estate, GBE will help maximise the delivery of clean energy infrastructure, which could include offshore wind. As Great British Energy will be operationally independent, the exact mix of technologies it chooses to invest in will be determined in due course.

What steps he is taking to help increase domestic production of wind turbines for use in the UK.

The Government will soon be introducing supply chain support measures through the Contracts for Difference (CfD) scheme. These will initially apply to offshore wind for the next CfD allocation round and may be broadened out to other technologies in the future depending on prevailing market conditions.

Whether he has had discussions with the Secretary of State for Transport on funding for UK ports to improve capacity for the delivery of offshore wind.

The Government recognises that ports play a vital role in the deployment, operation, and maintenance of offshore wind including floating offshore wind. The Department works closely with other government departments, including the Department for Transport, to understand the barriers to port investment and identify the most appropriate future levers to overcome them. Further, the department is supporting the National Wealth Fund to invest at least £5.8 billion of the fund’s capital in the five priority sectors announced in the Government’s manifesto, including ports.

If he will make it his policy to establish a retraining fund for workers currently employed in offshore oil and gas.

The Government's priority is a fair, orderly and prosperous transition for the oil and gas sector in line with our climate and legal obligations. High-skilled long-term jobs for the sector are in clean energy. The Clean Energy Mission will unlock good jobs, protect consumers, and ensure energy security. The Government recently set up the Office for Clean Energy Jobs to ensure we have the skilled workforce to meet the Clean Energy Mission and support workers through the transition. It is exploring interventions to reskill and upskill workers, and recently announced support for an industry-led Skills Passport for North Sea workers.

What estimate his Department has made of the investment by oil and gas operators in the UK’s energy transition.

We recognise that various oil and gas operators are part of integrated energy companies that invest across a range of technologies in the UK and elsewhere. The department does not measure or track investments in the energy transition made by private sector oil and gas companies operating in the UK Continental Shelf.

What steps his Department is taking to encourage offshore oil and gas companies to (a) transition from fossil fuels and (b) increase their level and proportion of investment in renewable carbon energy sources.

Making Britain a clean energy superpower is one of the five missions of this Government, and oil and gas companies will have an important role to play in the transition. We have begun the biggest ever investment in offshore wind and are moving ahead with new industries including carbon capture and storage, and hydrogen which will attract further private investment. Great British Energy will play a key role in driving the private investment needed to deliver our mission, acting as a partner to industry by co-investing in leading technologies of the future.

What proportion of North Sea operators invest solely in oil and gas extraction.

We recognise that various oil and gas operators are part of integrated energy companies that invest across a range of technologies in the UK and elsewhere. The department does not measure or track investments in the energy transition made by private sector oil and gas companies operating in the UK Continental Shelf.

What assessment he has made of the adequacy of the (a) availability and (b) reliability of information for consumers on the purchase of green home improvements.

The Government recognises that access to trusted and impartial information is an important enabler to consumers, when making choices about how to retrofit their homes. This is why the government delivers a number of digital services on GOV.UK to support consumers to take action. The government is going further to simplify the user journey for consumers, on GOV.UK, creating a single access point for all homeowners, landlords and tenants at varying points in their retrofit journey. It will bring together information, sources of funding and links to trusted installers, and simplify and expand the current government advice and information offer.