Tag: Paul Monaghan

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Monaghan on 2016-05-09.

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what steps she is taking to promote the development of biomass technologies.

Andrea Leadsom

Support is provided for biomass under a range of renewable financial incentives: the Renewables Obligation (RO), Feed in Tariff (FIT), Contracts for Difference (CfD) and Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI). The RO closed to co-firing and conversions last year and any future support will be via CfD.

The government announced it will hold three auctions for Contracts for Difference of up to £730 million this Parliament. Details of the future CFD allocation rounds will be published in due course.

The Government confirmed increased funding for the Renewable Heat Incentive scheme in November 2015 as part of the Spending Review, with the annual budget rising from £430m in 2015/16 to £1.15bn in 2020/21.

The Government has successfully supported innovation in biomass technologies such as through the Energy Technology Institute, the Research Councils, Innovate UK and in partnership with other European Countries through the Bioenergy Sustaining the Future (BESTF) network.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Monaghan on 2016-07-11.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment he has made of the potential policy implications for his Department of the UK leaving the EU.

Mr Nick Hurd

The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy will be responsible for helping to ensure that the economy grows strongly in all parts of the country, based on a robust industrial strategy. The Department will ensure the UK has secure energy supplies that are reliable, affordable and clean; encourage investment and innovation that fully utilises the UK science base; and enable a whole economy approach to deliver our climate change ambitions.

The UK remains a member of the European Union and all existing rules still apply. The negotiations to leave the UK will be a long, complicated process and in the meantime, Departments will continue working to deliver the Government agenda.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Monaghan on 2016-10-11.

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, how many households in (a) Scotland and (b) the Highland area of Scotland have their electricity supplies controlled by dynamically teleswitched meters.

David Mundell

We do not hold information on how many households in Scotland and the Highland area of Scotland have their electricity supplies controlled by dynamically teleswitched meters. In Ofgem’s response to the Competition Markets Authority’s Notice of Remedies published in August 2015, it was estimated that there were 160,000 households across Great Britain with dynamically teleswitched meters in operation at the end of 2014.

The Competition Markets Authority’s Notice of Remedies is available online at:

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/561e1fbaed915d39bc000013/Ofgem__revised_with_additional_material_.pdf.

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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Monaghan on 2015-10-28.

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what regulations apply to the size and colours of printed information on benefits published by his Department to ensure access to that information for people with visual impairments.

Justin Tomlinson

The Department has the following documented standards for printed information:
• Minimum type size of 10pt FS Me or 12pt Arial, based on recommended best practice from RNIB

• The majority of publications are printed in black and white.

• Where colour is used, we apply international standards for suitable contrast between text and background.

• The Department provides staff guidance explaining how to commission large print, Braille or audio versions of publications in response to individual requests.

• Publications can also be made available in electronic formats suitable for most computers equipped with screen reader software; or as Portable Document Format (PDF) files which have been optimised for the free-of-charge Adobe Reader built-in ‘Read out loud’ function.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Monaghan on 2015-11-17.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what her policy is on utilising the skills of animal welfare charities and voluntary organisations to monitor CCTV in slaughterhouses.

George Eustice

The Government welcomed the recent Farm Animal Welfare Committee (FAWC) Opinion on CCTV in slaughterhouses. FAWC did not recommend using animal welfare charities or voluntary organisations to monitor CCTV in slaughterhouses.

However, the report highlighted that CCTV was a useful management tool for food business operators and the Government is keen to see the minority of abattoirs still without any form of CCTV move quickly to voluntarily adopt its use. We welcome the recent industry statement which addresses one of the FAWC recommendations that the slaughter industry should produce a common set of good practice protocols for the review, evaluation and use of CCTV footage.

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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Monaghan on 2016-02-08.

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what assessment she has made of the effect on uptake of renewable energy production of increasing VAT on domestic solar photovoltaic installations.

Andrea Leadsom

A recent European Court ruling found that the reduced rate of VAT on certain ‘energy saving materials’ was in breach of EU law. As a result HMRC recently consulted on how that reduced rate of VAT is applied and are currently considering the responses to that consultation. If it is decided that a change to VAT is appropriate, we will consider options on how to maintain a suitable rate-of-return for investors.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Monaghan on 2016-02-29.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many applications for consent have been refused by the Marine Management Organisation since 2010.

George Eustice

The Marine Management Organisation (MMO) database was established in April 2011 and accurate data for marine licence applications determined by the MMO are limited to post 1 April 2011. However, I can confirm that since April 2011:

• 50 fully determined marine licence applications have required an appropriate assessment;
• 151 fully determined marine licence applications have required an environmental impact assessment;
• 44 marine licence applications have been refused; and,
• 3,849 fully determined marine licence applications have been approved, including 1,848 variations to an existing marine licence.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Monaghan on 2016-04-13.

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what the pension entitlement is of officers of the Civil Nuclear Constabulary.

Andrea Leadsom

Under the Energy Act 2004, it is the responsibility of the Civil Nuclear Police Authority to provide and maintain the pensions of the officers of the civil nuclear constabulary. These pensions are currently provided by the UK Atomic Energy Authority (UKAEA).

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Monaghan on 2016-05-09.

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what assessment she has made of the implications for her Department’s policies on green energy of the Paris Agreement on climate change.

Andrea Leadsom

The UK is already playing its part in delivering the Paris climate deal, through its contribution to meeting EU climate and energy targets and through its domestic climate framework set out in the Climate Change Act. In addition, the Government believes we need to take the step of enshrining the global goal of net zero greenhouse gas emissions into UK law. As a first step, our independent advisors, the Committee on Climate Change, are looking at the implications of the Paris commitments. The Committee has said that it will report in the autumn, and we will consider carefully the recommendations.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Monaghan on 2016-07-11.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment he has made of the effect of the outcome of the EU referendum on levels of overseas investment in the UK energy sector.

Jesse Norman

Since the EU referendum, the Government has been engaging with our key energy stakeholders, including overseas investors in the UK energy sector, to make it clear that we are open for business.

The UK remains an attractive environment for investors in energy.