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628092

registered interest
date	03/11/2016
answering body	Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
answering dept id	201
answering dept short name	Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
answering dept sort name	Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
hansard heading	Energy: Meters
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment he has made of the effect on the smart meter rollout in the North of Scotland of Arqiva providing signal coverage to 80 per cent of customers in that area.
tabling member constituency	Orkney and Shetland
tabling member printed	Mr Alistair Carmichael
uin	51760
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 08/11/2016 answer text <p>As the Data and Communications Company’s communications service provider for the north region (which includes Scotland), Arqiva is contracted to provide Wide Area Network (WAN) coverage of at least 99.5% of GB premises by the end of 2020. This level of coverage compares favourably with other technologies, such as mobile and broadband networks.</p><p> </p><p>Arqiva is on track to deliver its contractual coverage commitments, having already achieved coverage of more than 80% of premises in the north region. Energy suppliers will be made aware of the areas in which WAN is available at any point in time, and can plan their rollout accordingly.</p> answering member constituency Hereford and South Herefordshire answering member printed Jesse Norman question first answered 08/11/2016 16:10:49 answering member 3991 label Biography information for Jesse Norman
tabling member	1442 label Biography information for Mr Alistair Carmichael

628198

registered interest
date	03/11/2016
answering body	Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
answering dept id	201
answering dept short name	Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
answering dept sort name	Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
hansard heading	Energy: Conservation
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps he is taking to encourage more people to make energy-saving home improvements.
tabling member constituency	East Devon
tabling member printed	Sir Hugo Swire
uin	51779
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 08/11/2016 answer text <p>The Government has made a commitment to insulate 1 million more homes this Parliament, with 276,000 homes insulated already since May 2015 to end July 2016.</p><p>Our proposals to reform the Energy Company Obligation scheme will increase support for low income and vulnerable households from £310 million to £450 million in 2017, with an intention to increase this to £640m each year from 2018 to 2022.</p><p>The Government has also introduced regulation for minimum energy efficiency standards for the private rented sector, which will come into force from April 2018, and will help consumers to reduce their energy bills and have warmer, more energy efficient properties.</p><p>We are also rolling out smart meters, with more than 4.2 million meters now operating across homes and businesses in Great Britain, helping consumers to understand and take control of their energy use.</p> answering member constituency Hereford and South Herefordshire answering member printed Jesse Norman question first answered 08/11/2016 14:57:06 answering member 3991 label Biography information for Jesse Norman
tabling member	1408 label Biography information for Lord Swire

628199

registered interest
date	03/11/2016
answering body	Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
answering dept id	201
answering dept short name	Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
answering dept sort name	Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
hansard heading	Housing: Insulation
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, if he will make an estimate of the rate of uptake of home insulation improvements in the last five years.
tabling member constituency	East Devon
tabling member printed	Sir Hugo Swire
uin	51801
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 08/11/2016 answer text <p><strong> </strong></p><p>The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy only holds data on the number of insulation measures installed though central Government Schemes. This includes measures delivered through the Carbon Emission Reduction Target (CERT), Community Energy Saving Programme (CESP), Warm Front, Energy Company Obligation (ECO) and the Green Deal.</p><p> </p><p>Between the start of July 2011 to the end of June 2016 through Government schemes, there have been 1.61 million cavity wall insulation installations, 2.7 million lofts insulated, and 267,000 solid wall insulation installations.</p><p> </p><p>Delivery since April 2013 is reported in Table 4.3 in the latest Household Energy Efficiency National Statistics Release here:</p><p><a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/household-energy-efficiency-national-statistics-headline-release-october-2016" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/household-energy-efficiency-national-statistics-headline-release-october-2016</a></p><p>Delivery statistics since April 2008 is available in Table 4.3 here: <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/household-energy-efficiency-national-statistics-detailed-report-2015" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/household-energy-efficiency-national-statistics-detailed-report-2015</a></p><p> </p><p>Less prevalent insulation measures, such as under floor insulation, delivered under ECO since January 2013, are available In Table 2.1.1 here:</p><p><a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/household-energy-efficiency-national-statistics-headline-release-october-2016" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/household-energy-efficiency-national-statistics-headline-release-october-2016</a></p><p><strong> </strong></p> answering member constituency Hereford and South Herefordshire answering member printed Jesse Norman question first answered 08/11/2016 17:57:03 answering member 3991 label Biography information for Jesse Norman
tabling member	1408 label Biography information for Lord Swire

628200

registered interest
date	03/11/2016
answering body	Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
answering dept id	201
answering dept short name	Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
answering dept sort name	Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
hansard heading	Nuclear Power Stations
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of using thorium rather than plutonium in nuclear power plants.
tabling member constituency	East Devon
tabling member printed	Sir Hugo Swire
uin	51802
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 08/11/2016 answer text <p>BEIS maintains an interest in the global potential of thorium nuclear fuels.</p><p>In 2012, DECC published an initial comparative assessment of thorium and uranium technologies in nuclear power electricity generation. This is available online from:</p><p><a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/thorium-and-uranium-fuel-cycles-comparison-by-the-national-nuclear-laboratory" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/thorium-and-uranium-fuel-cycles-comparison-by-the-national-nuclear-laboratory</a></p><p>BEIS also draws on the expertise of its national laboratories to model nuclear scenarios that include the use of thorium. These are used to inform research and development needs on future nuclear fuel cycles. An overview of these are included in the document “Nuclear Energy Research and Development Roadmap: Future Pathways”, which is available from: <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/nuclear-energy-research-and-development-roadmap-future-pathways" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/nuclear-energy-research-and-development-roadmap-future-pathways</a></p><p>Plutonium plays a different functional role in the design of proposed nuclear fuels than thorium does and would only be used in conjunction with thorium, rather than in place of it. For this reason, BEIS has undertaken no assessment of replacing plutonium with thorium.</p> answering member constituency Hereford and South Herefordshire answering member printed Jesse Norman question first answered 08/11/2016 14:57:20 answering member 3991 label Biography information for Jesse Norman
tabling member	1408 label Biography information for Lord Swire

628201

registered interest
date	03/11/2016
answering body	Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
answering dept id	201
answering dept short name	Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
answering dept sort name	Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
hansard heading	Minimum Wage
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, if his Department will amend the definition available in his Department's guidance on calculating the minimum wage, published in October 2016, so that it does not include any periods when a worker is asleep.
tabling member constituency	Waveney
tabling member printed	Peter Aldous
uin	51803
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 08/11/2016 answer text <p><strong> </strong></p><p>There are no plans to amend the guidance in the <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/calculating-the-minimum-wage" target="_blank">calculating the minimum wage</a> document in relation to the national minimum wage and sleeping time.</p><p><strong> </strong></p> answering member constituency Stourbridge answering member printed Margot James question first answered 08/11/2016 16:08:33 answering member 4115 label Biography information for Margot James
tabling member	4069 label Biography information for Peter Aldous

628204

registered interest
date	03/11/2016
answering body	Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
answering dept id	201
answering dept short name	Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
answering dept sort name	Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
hansard heading	Living Wage
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, if he will publish guidance to clarify whether overnight sleep-in shifts are exempt from the national living wage rate; and if he will make a statement.
tabling member constituency	Dudley South
tabling member printed	Mike Wood
uin	51842
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 08/11/2016 answer text <p><strong> </strong></p><p>The Government has published guidance to help employers meet national minimum wage legislation. The <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/calculating-the-minimum-wage" target="_blank">calculating the minimum wage</a> document sets out on page 29 the guidance relating to National Minimum Wage (NMW) and National Living Wage (NLW) and sleeping time.</p><p><strong> </strong></p> answering member constituency Stourbridge answering member printed Margot James question first answered 08/11/2016 16:04:45 answering member 4115 label Biography information for Margot James
tabling member	4384 label Biography information for Mike Wood

628208

registered interest
date	03/11/2016
answering body	Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
answering dept id	201
answering dept short name	Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
answering dept sort name	Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
hansard heading	ACAS: Liverpool
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment he has made of the effect of the proposed closure of ACAS's Liverpool office on access to justice; and if he will make a statement.
tabling member constituency	Liverpool, Riverside
tabling member printed	Mrs Louise Ellman
uin	51823
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 08/11/2016 answer text <p><strong> </strong></p><p><strong> </strong></p><p>Acas assesses that there will be no impact on access to justice arising from the closure of the Liverpool Office. Acas is committed to maintaining the service it provides to users of its services in Merseyside. Most customer contact is by telephone and is unaffected. Acas will continue to offer face-to-face meetings in Merseyside as required.</p><p><strong> </strong></p> answering member constituency Stourbridge answering member printed Margot James question first answered 08/11/2016 16:18:55 answering member 4115 label Biography information for Margot James
tabling member	484 label Biography information for Dame Louise Ellman

628270

registered interest
date	03/11/2016
answering body	Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
answering dept id	201
answering dept short name	Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
answering dept sort name	Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
hansard heading	Fracking
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty’s Government, in developing their policy on fracking, whether they have taken into account the number of earthquakes which measured 3.0 on the Richter Scale in Oklahoma and other places in the US where fracking has been carried out.
tabling member printed	Lord Hunt of Chesterton
uin	HL3005
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 08/11/2016 answer text <p>We have ensured that strong controls are in place to mitigate seismic risks. Operators in the UK must avoid hydraulically fracturing near faults, and must monitor seismic activity before, during and after operations. Operations will halt if seismic activity exceeds a magnitude of 0.5 or greater on the Richter scale, and the pressure of fluid in the well will be reduced immediately.</p><p>Studies in the United States<sup>(1)</sup> have shown that most induced seismicity is caused by re-injection of waste and produced waters from oil and gas operations, both conventional and unconventional. Re-injection of waste and produced waters will not be permitted from shale gas wells in the UK.</p><p><em>(1) </em><em>http://earthquake.usgs.gov/research/induced/myths.php</em></p> answering member printed Baroness Neville-Rolfe question first answered 08/11/2016 15:53:38 answering member 4284 label Biography information for Baroness Neville-Rolfe
tabling member	2543 label Biography information for Lord Hunt of Chesterton

627482

registered interest
date	02/11/2016
answering body	Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
answering dept id	201
answering dept short name	Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
answering dept sort name	Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
hansard heading	Fuel Poverty
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how many people are deemed to live in fuel poverty; and how this figure has changed over the last three years.
tabling member constituency	Westmorland and Lonsdale
tabling member printed	Tim Farron
uin	51747
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 07/11/2016 answer text <p><strong> </strong></p><p>Fuel poverty is measured at household level. The official statistics for the past three years for which data is available show that the number of households living in fuel poverty has remained relatively stable.</p><p> </p><p>There were 2.36 million households living in fuel poverty in England in 2012, this fell slightly to 2.35 million households in 2013, then increased to 2.38 million households in 2014.</p><p> </p><p>We believe the most sustainable way to address fuel poverty is by improving the energy efficiency of homes occupied by those living in fuel poverty. Between 2012 and 2014 the number of fuel poor homes with an energy efficiency rating of E, F or G reduced by approximately 350,000.</p><p> </p><p><strong> </strong></p> answering member constituency Hereford and South Herefordshire answering member printed Jesse Norman question first answered 07/11/2016 18:00:29 answering member 3991 label Biography information for Jesse Norman
tabling member	1591 label Biography information for Tim Farron

627483

registered interest
date	02/11/2016
answering body	Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
answering dept id	201
answering dept short name	Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
answering dept sort name	Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
hansard heading	Innovation
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps his Department is taking to promote innovation in (a) south east England and (b) nationally.
tabling member constituency	Crawley
tabling member printed	Henry Smith
uin	51661
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 09/11/2016 answer text <p>Innovate UK has invested around £1.8 billion in innovation; supporting 7,600 UK businesses and creating around 55,000 new jobs. We are supporting more companies to innovate through R&amp;D Tax Credits; with claims rising to £2.45bn in 2014-15.</p><p>In London and South East England, the Cell and Gene Therapy; Future Cities; and the Digital Catapults have been established to commercialise new and emerging technologies where there are large global market opportunities. And companies are already benefitting from our support. For example; Dearman, based in Croydon, won an inspirational SME innovation award recently for its clean cold and power technologies.</p> answering member constituency Stourbridge answering member printed Margot James question first answered 09/11/2016 15:37:36 answering member 4115 label Biography information for Margot James
tabling member	3960 label Biography information for Henry Smith