Asked by
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of
the report from the Social Market Foundation Zeroing in: Net Zero
disruption and opportunity at a local level, published on 14
September.
The Minister of State, Home Office and Department for Levelling
Up, Housing & Communities () (Con)
My Lords, the Government welcome the report and its conclusions.
The net-zero transition will bring many challenges at the local
level, but it will also create vital opportunities to level up.
The Government are already doing many of the things that the
report recommends. The net-zero strategy sets out our approach to
maximising the opportunities that exist and how local and
devolved administrations can contribute and benefit from the
transition.
(LD)
The report highlights some of the challenges that will be faced
by rural areas in the transition to net zero. Does the Minister
accept that solutions tailored to urban areas may very well not
be appropriate in the countryside? Can he consider the
recommendation that there should be a bespoke net-zero approach
to rural areas to ensure that they do not get left behind?
(Con)
My Lords, the Government are absolutely committed to rural areas
not being left behind and take the point that they are
essentially very different from urban areas. However, we do not
consider that we should have a separate rural strategy but
consider it to be part of all our activities.
(Lab)
My Lords, I declare my interest as chair of the National Housing
Federation. I know from talking to housing associations over the
last few months how determined and ambitious they are to make
homes greener and warmer for residents and to tackle climate
change, but it cannot be done alone. They are already planning to
invest £70 billion in future-proofing, but our new estimates,
produced by Savills, show that it will cost an extra £36 billion
to reach full decarbonisation by 2050. I welcome the additional
£800 million announced last week, together with the heat and
buildings strategy—a great step forward—but neither addresses the
long-term funding gap to 2050. Can the Government work with the
sector to bridge this gap and to achieve the country’s net-zero
ambitions?
(Con)
My Lords, we recognise that there are considerable challenges in
decarbonising our homes. I made a commitment that we will work
together to help housing associations address those
challenges.
(Con)
My Lords, by how much is it estimated that the cost of energy
will increase for identified UK user groups as the result of
achieving net zero?
(Con)
Price and bill impact will depend on electricity market
developments and consumption patterns. Policies that improve
energy efficiency of homes will reduce bills and benefit
fuel-poor households. My noble friend will be pleased to know
that we expect wholesale prices under a renewable-based
electricity system to be lower than our current one, which is
based on fossil fuels.
(Lab Co-op)
My Lords, I refer the House to my interests, as set out in the
register. I will follow up on the Question of the noble Baroness,
Lady Scott of Needham Market. Rural areas, communities and local
authorities face a range of problems, such as a reliance on
private cars, a lack of charging points and distance from the
decarbonisation of industrial clusters. Does the noble Lord agree
that the specific, unique issues of the countryside need
addressing to ensure that no one is left behind? If he does—he
said that the Government do not plan to have a separate
strategy—what is he doing to meet this challenge?
(Con)
The Government are providing many mechanisms to support rural
areas. I point to the community energy projects, through the
rural community energy fund, which is a £10 million fund to
support community-run projects in England that benefit the
transition to net zero. Net zero is half the story; adaptation to
the consequences of climate change is equally important, and the
Government are committing £2.8 billion in a six-year capital
investment plan to reduce flood and coastal erosion risk.
(LD)
My Lords, local authorities are critical to achieving the
Government’s net-zero target, but will struggle to do so without
sufficient resources. Some 95% of local authorities have said
that funding is a barrier to them tackling climate change. The
Climate Change Committee recommended increased resourcing for
local government as a priority. Can the Minister say whether and
when the Government intend to give local authorities new
capital-raising and revenue-raising powers to support the
transition to net zero, as recommended in the SMF report?
(Con)
My Lords, I point out that the Government have committed £1.2
billion for local action on climate change. There are currently
no plans to devolve additional tax-raising powers, but the
Treasury will keep this under review.
(Lab)
My Lords, this follows the questions of my noble friend Lord
Kennedy and the noble Baroness, Lady Scott of Needham Market, on
the report that is the subject of this Question. Does the
Minister agree that there is an enormous difference in the
levelling-up agenda because there are problems in the north,
particularly the north-east, where 90% of new-build houses are
still heated by gas? Where is the policy to convert this to
something more meaningful and at lower cost, whether electricity
or hydrogen, and what are the Government doing about it? This
will be a serious problem. London seems all right, but the rest
of the country is going to suffer serious extra costs as a
result.
(Con)
My Lords, it is right that it is easier for London to hit the
target of net zero by 2050, given its starting point. But
levelling up is about improving living standards and unleashing
enterprise and growth across all parts of the UK, and spreading
opportunity. It is important to see how the £4.8 billion
levelling-up fund is allocated to deal with the noble Lord’s
point, but we also need to leverage private sector funding. Our
estimates are that the fund will leverage substantial private
sector income to achieve the green revolution that we all want.
