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1202419

	registered interest
	date	10/06/2020
	answering body	Attorney General
	answering dept id	88
	answering dept short name	Attorney General
	answering dept sort name	Attorney General
	hansard heading	Intestacy
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Attorney General, whether she has made a recent assessment of levels of compliance among local authorities with the guidance issued by the Government Legal Department on the referral to the Bona Vacantia Division of estates of people who have died without (a) known entitled relatives and (b) leaving a will and instead passing the details directly to a single heir hunting firm.
	tabling member constituency	Bath
	tabling member printed	Wera Hobhouse
	uin	58045
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 24/06/2020 answer text <p>The Bona Vacantia Division (BVD) of the Government Legal Department (GLD) deals with the estates of people domiciled in England &amp; Wales who appear to have died without leaving a valid will or relatives entitled to share in their estates in priority to the Crown. Estates which potentially fall to be dealt with as bona vacantia may be referred to BVD by a variety of routes, for example, banks, other financial institutions, solicitors or members of the public.</p><p> </p><p>There is no statutory obligation to refer estates to BVD but guidance on the referral process and the circumstances in which a referral will be accepted are published on BVD’s website (<a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/bona-vacantia" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/bona-vacantia</a>). It is for local authorities to determine whether an estate should be referred to BVD.</p><p> </p><p>In 2017-2018, 2768 estates were referred to BVD of which 909 were referred by local authorities. In 2018-2019, 1971 estates were referred to BVD of which 575 were referred by local authorities.</p><p>In 2019-2020, 2336 estates were referred to BVD of which 561 were referred by local authorities</p><p> </p><p>GLD has no responsibility for overseeing local authorities or their compliance with guidance issued by GLD about the handling of estates. Such information – including whether an estate has been referred to the Bona Vacantia Division of GLD, or whether the local authority has instructed an heir hunter – will be held by the particular local authority concerned.</p> answering member constituency Northampton North answering member printed Michael Ellis question first answered 24/06/2020 16:20:38 answering member 4116 label Biography information for Sir Michael Ellis
	tabling member	4602 label Biography information for Wera Hobhouse

1220624

	registered interest
	date	03/07/2020
	answering body	Attorney General
	answering dept id	88
	answering dept short name	Attorney General
	answering dept sort name	Attorney General
	hansard heading	Administration of Estates
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Attorney General, how many estates of people who died without known entitled relatives and left a will were referred to the Bona Vacant Division of the Government Legal Department in (a) March, (b) April and (c) May in (i) 2019 and (ii) 2020.
	tabling member constituency	Bath
	tabling member printed	Wera Hobhouse
	uin	68760
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 10/07/2020 answer text <p>The Bona Vacantia Division (BVD) of the Government Legal Department (GLD) deals with the solvent estates of people domiciled in England &amp; Wales who appear to have died <strong>without</strong> leaving a valid will or relatives entitled to share in their estates in priority to the Crown. It therefore does not generally deal with estates where there is a valid will.</p><p> </p><p>If the referral contains information which suggests the deceased has left a valid will disposing of their entire estate, it will be returned to the person who referred it. The Division does not keep a record of these estates.</p><p> </p><p>If the deceased does not appear to have left a valid will or entitled relatives, the estate will be advertised on the Division’s website.</p><p> </p><p>Occasionally the Division determines that the deceased has left a valid will which disposes of the entire estate after it has been advertised. There were two such estates referred in March 2019; two in April 2019; none in May 2019; one in March 2020; one in April 2020 and one in May 2020.</p><p> </p><p>Estates where the deceased has left a valid will but it does not dispose of the entire estate are sometimes referred to the Division because the undisposed residue passes by intestacy to the Crown. One such estate was referred to the Division in March 2019 and one in April 2019. There have been no other referrals in the months concerned.</p><p> </p><p>During the corresponding period, the number of estates referred to the Division where there was no will or no will has subsequently come to light were: March 2019 = 296; April 2019 = 187; May 2019 = 160; March 2020 = 192; April 2020 = 204; May 2020 = 81.</p> answering member constituency Northampton North answering member printed Michael Ellis question first answered 10/07/2020 12:47:20 answering member 4116 label Biography information for Sir Michael Ellis
	tabling member	4602 label Biography information for Wera Hobhouse

1202420

	registered interest
	date	10/06/2020
	answering body	Attorney General
	answering dept id	88
	answering dept short name	Attorney General
	answering dept sort name	Attorney General
	hansard heading	Intestacy
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Attorney General, if she will make it her policy to strengthen the guidance issued by the Government Legal Department to local authorities on handling the estates of people who have died without (a) known entitled relatives and (b) leaving a will to ensure that they refer all eligible estates as soon as possible after death to the Bona Vacantia Division and do not pass the details directly to a single heir hunting firm.
	tabling member constituency	Bath
	tabling member printed	Wera Hobhouse
	uin	58046
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 24/06/2020 answer text <p>The Bona Vacantia Division of the Government Legal Department (GLD) handles the estates of people who die without known entitled relatives, and without leaving a will. There is no statutory obligation to refer estates to GLD. However, GLD publishes guidance on the matter. In addition, local authorities can and do seek advice from GLD about the referral of specific cases.</p><p> </p><p>GLD does not provide advice to local authorities on the use of heir hunters.</p> answering member constituency Northampton North answering member printed Michael Ellis question first answered 24/06/2020 16:23:59 answering member 4116 label Biography information for Sir Michael Ellis
	tabling member	4602 label Biography information for Wera Hobhouse

1585088

	registered interest
	date	07/02/2023
	answering body	Department for Business and Trade
	answering dept id	214
	answering dept short name	Business and Trade
	answering dept sort name	Business and Trade
	hansard heading	Climate Change: International Cooperation
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, how much of the funding the UK committed to the NDC Partnership from 2019–25 has been disbursed.
	tabling member constituency	Bath
	tabling member printed	Wera Hobhouse
	uin	141560
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 20/02/2023 answer text <p>The amount of funding the that the UK has disbursed to NDC Partnership can be found at <a href="https://devtracker.fcdo.gov.uk/projects/GB-GOV-13-ICF-0008-NDCP/transactions" target="_blank">https://devtracker.fcdo.gov.uk/projects/GB-GOV-13-ICF-0008-NDCP/transactions</a>.</p> answering member constituency Thirsk and Malton answering member printed Kevin Hollinrake question first answered 20/02/2023 15:48:32 answering member 4474 label Biography information for Kevin Hollinrake
	tabling member	4602 label Biography information for Wera Hobhouse

1566537

	registered interest
	date	12/01/2023
	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	Octopus Energy: Prices
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, with reference to the debate that took place in the House of Lords on 19 December 2022, whether the Octopus energy local tariffs referred to by the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy at House of Lords Hansard vol 826 col 219GC, are community owned.
	tabling member constituency	Bath
	tabling member printed	Wera Hobhouse
	uin	122214
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 19/01/2023 answer text <p>As the licensed supplier, Octopus Energy is responsible for any energy tariffs offered to consumers, including the local ‘Fan Club’ tariffs currently available in Market Weighton, Caerphilly and Halifax. Octopus Energy owns the renewable energy generation associated with these local tariffs.</p> answering member constituency Beverley and Holderness answering member printed Graham Stuart question first answered 19/01/2023 15:01:27 answering member 1482 label Biography information for Graham Stuart
	tabling member	4602 label Biography information for Wera Hobhouse

1454183

	registered interest
	date	24/03/2022
	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	Drax Power Station: Timber
	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 the average age of trees used to produce wood pellets for the Drax power station is; and what estimate he has made of how long it takes before the replacement trees will sequester carbon at the same rate as those felled.
	tabling member constituency	Bath
	tabling member printed	Wera Hobhouse
	uin	146695
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 01/04/2022 answer text <p>BEIS does not hold this information. The UK only supports sustainable biomass and generators only receive subsidies for biomass that complies with strict sustainability criteria. Suppliers must demonstrate to the regulators (Ofgem) that they meet the criteria, and their evidence is independently audited. Ofgem make sustainability information publicly available on their website, with the latest dataset accessible here: <a href="https://www.ofgem.gov.uk/publications/biomass-sustainability-dataset-2019-20" target="_blank">https://www.ofgem.gov.uk/publications/biomass-sustainability-dataset-2019-20</a>.</p> answering member constituency Chelsea and Fulham answering member printed Greg Hands question first answered 01/04/2022 12:38:47 answering member 1526 label Biography information for Greg Hands
	tabling member	4602 label Biography information for Wera Hobhouse

1418851

	registered interest
	date	01/02/2022
	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: Heat Pumps
	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 the Government is taking to assess the suitability of the UK’s existing housing stock for heat pump installation.
	tabling member constituency	Bath
	tabling member printed	Wera Hobhouse
	uin	116014
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 09/02/2022 answer text <p>BEIS modelling on the energy efficiency of homes and their electrical connections suggests it would be feasible to install heat pumps in around 80 per cent of homes, potentially rising to around 90 per cent with fabric upgrades. Furthermore, the £14.6 million Electrification of Heat Demonstration Project has successfully demonstrated that heat pumps are a viable and effective heating solution across the diverse housing archetypes in the UK.</p> answering member constituency Chelsea and Fulham answering member printed Greg Hands question first answered 09/02/2022 17:59:16 answering member 1526 label Biography information for Greg Hands
	tabling member	4602 label Biography information for Wera Hobhouse

1539251

	registered interest
	date	03/11/2022
	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	Small Businesses: Energy
	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 is the average gas and electricity consumption of small and medium sized businesses broken down into non-domestic EPC bands.
	tabling member constituency	Bath
	tabling member printed	Wera Hobhouse
	uin	78805
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 14/11/2022 answer text <p>BEIS publishes information on the gas and electricity consumption of non-domestic buildings, including splits by occupying business size, in England and Wales. This is available for total gas/electricity consumption, as well as the median gas/electricity intensity (which accounts for the size of the building, which can vary considerably). This is available in tables 12 and 13 of the Non-Domestic National Energy Efficiency Data-framework (2022): <a href="https://eur02.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.gov.uk%2Fgovernment%2Fstatistics%2Fnon-domestic-national-energy-efficiency-data-framework-nd-need-2022&amp;data=05%7C01%7CParliamentary.PQ%40BEIS.gov.uk%7C1f70def4b848466d987f08dac3d788ee%7Ccbac700502c143ebb497e6492d1b2dd8%7C0%7C0%7C638037627716111424%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000%7C%7C%7C&amp;sdata=WOLX3IgieO%2BhsWcpRqebZ0zd0s1nNqIUlf%2F9%2Bt%2BNQNU%3D&amp;reserved=0" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/non-domestic-national-energy-efficiency-data-framework-nd-need-2022</a>.</p><p> </p><p>Total consumption figures are given only for non-domestic buildings which have occupying business information (around 50%), so will be underestimated. These figures also exclude any businesses working from domestic premises.</p><p> </p><p>Average consumption and splits by EPC band are not available due to data limitations.</p> answering member constituency Beverley and Holderness answering member printed Graham Stuart question first answered 14/11/2022 17:03:22 answering member 1482 label Biography information for Graham Stuart
	tabling member	4602 label Biography information for Wera Hobhouse

819863

	registered interest
	date	10/01/2018
	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	Biofuels: Subsidies
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, with reference to the Clean Growth Strategy, whether he has made an assessment of the effect of subsidising biomass conversion.
	tabling member constituency	Bath
	tabling member printed	Wera Hobhouse
	uin	121935
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 17/01/2018 answer text <p>Biomass conversions play an important transitional role in decarbonising the grid and helping to meet carbon targets. 2.98 GW of capacity is currently supported under the Renewables Obligation or has been awarded a contract under the Contracts for Difference scheme.</p><p> </p><p> </p> answering member constituency Watford answering member printed Richard Harrington question first answered 17/01/2018 14:39:57 answering member 4068 label Biography information for Lord Harrington of Watford
	tabling member	4602 label Biography information for Wera Hobhouse

1462158

	registered interest
	date	11/05/2022
	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	Drax Power Station: Timber
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, with reference to the Answer of 21 December 2021 to Question 93001, what methodology his Department uses to assess the impact on climate change of burning trees at the Drax power station if it does not collect data on replantation of trees.
	tabling member constituency	Bath
	tabling member printed	Wera Hobhouse
	uin	915
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 20/05/2022 answer text <p>Biomass operators are only subsidised for feedstocks from forests that are managed sustainably and whose carbon stock is constant or increasing. In order to mitigate the risk of underestimating carbon emissions, forest carbon stock changes are set to zero in the Government’s assessment of the climate change impact of unabated biomass combustion, even though forest carbon stock can increase when sustainable forestry practices are utilised.</p> answering member constituency Chelsea and Fulham answering member printed Greg Hands question first answered 20/05/2022 09:37:06 answering member 1526 label Biography information for Greg Hands
	tabling member	4602 label Biography information for Wera Hobhouse