theodi/ndl-core-corpus huggingface dataset:
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Mr Richard Holden:To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether civil servants who defer taking their Civil Service pension after the normal retirement age for that pension receive (a) a higher pension and (b) an actuarial enhancement; whether any unclaimed pension from normal retirement age is subsequently payable as a lump sum when the person retires and claims the pension; how the policy varies by Civil Service pension type; and what approach is applied to people who have more than one type of Civil Service pension. \p Georgia Gould: Civil servants may have benefits under several schemes, depending on their length of service. There are four closed (or legacy) schemes (Classic, Classic Plus, Premium and Nuvos) The fifth scheme (alpha) is the only defined benefit scheme open to civil servants at this time.

Civil Servants who defer taking their Civil Service pension after normal retirement age for the pension from which they are claiming benefits would receive:

Classic, Classic Plus & Premium Pension schemes: This group does not receive a higher pension or actuarial enhancement. Pension will be backpaid to normal retirement age without interest added.

Nuvos and alpha Pension schemes: This group would receive actuarial enhancement for late payment and this would apply to any lump sums taken at the time.

For Civil servants who are members of more than one scheme, each pension is dealt with separately and in line with the scheme rules.
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Mr Richard Holden:To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether the guidance entitled Civil Service Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Expenditure Guidance has been updated since 4 July 2024; and whether any other further guidance related to Diversity, Equality and Inclusion expenditure has been published since that date. \p Georgia Gould: The controls outlined in the Civil Service Equality Diversity and Inclusion Expenditure Guidance which was published on 14 May 2024 remain in place and no additional guidance has been published since then.
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Mike Wood:To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to his written statement of 14 May 2024 on Equality, Diversity and Inclusion in the Civil Service, whether his Department plans to issue guidance to civil service diversity networks. \p Georgia Gould: Guidance for Government Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) networks is currently being developed.
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Mr Richard Holden:To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 17 April 2025 to Question 42606 on Civil Servants: Remote Working, how figures are collated for overall workforce attendance in offices other than the departmental HQ; and whether such figures are reviewed centrally. \p Georgia Gould: Central data on Civil Service Headquarters (HQ) occupancy is collected and published quarterly on GOV.UK for all HQ buildings of Whitehall Departments, Office for Scotland, Office for Wales and Northern Ireland Office. Until May 2024 Departments provided data to the Cabinet Office on the average number of employees working in their departmental HQ buildings only, for each week. This moved to quarterly publishing from June 2024 with no change to the methodology of reporting.

Departments manage their own arrangements for monitoring workforce attendance. No other information on occupancy data or workforce attendance is gathered centrally.
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Mr Mark Francois:To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that (a) Gerry Adams and (b) others interned without trial in the 1970s do not receive compensation following the proposed repeal of sections 46 and 47 of the Northern Ireland Troubles (Legacy and Reconciliation) Act 2023. \p Hilary Benn: This is an issue that the previous Government failed to adequately address following the 2020 Supreme Court judgment in Adams.

Its belated attempt to do so via an amendment to the Legacy Act has been found by the Northern Ireland courts to be unlawful.

The Government is carefully exploring how to lawfully address this complex issue alongside our clear commitment to implement legacy mechanisms that are fully compliant with human rights.
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Dave Doogan:To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, how many vacant posts there are at Great British Energy. \p Michael Shanks: I can confirm that seventeen vacant posts have been advertised by Great British Energy either on or after 1st April 2025. The Great British Energy Bill received Royal Assent on 15th May 2025 which allows the company to now move forward with the set-up in Aberdeen including workforce planning.
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Anna Gelderd:To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what steps he is taking with Cabinet colleagues to ensure that sea users are not adversely impacted by offshore energy development. \p Michael Shanks: The Government is committed to accelerating to net zero, delivering clean power by 2030, and to restoring nature.

Through the cross-government Marine Spatial Prioritisation Programme (MSPri), the Department is engaging across government and with marine users to improve its understanding of future demands and identify opportunities for greater co-location.

The Department is working with Defra to bring together its ministerial colleagues, who share responsibilities for marine sectors, to discuss how best to consider wider demands on the seabed as we develop future offshore wind.
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Sir Roger Gale:To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what the average figure for energy production supplies to the grid was for (a) gas, (b) solar farms, (c) wind farms, (d) hydro-electric schemes, (e) nuclear, (f) biomass and (g) interconnectors for the last 12 months for which figures are available. \p Michael Shanks: Figures for the historic electricity generation mix supplied to the grid in Great Britain are available on NESO’s data portal.

The Department also publishes quarterly data on the total electricity supply in the UK by fuel in Energy Trends Table 5.1. This includes production from major power producers and other generators (mainly combined heat and power plants serving industrial and other users). As these data include electricity generated and consumed on-site, coverage is broader than electricity supplied to the grid.
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Gregory Stafford:To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of zonal electricity pricing on pensioners in the south of England. \p Michael Shanks: The Government is considering reforms through the Review of Electricity Market Arrangements (REMA) to transition to a secure and decarbonised electricity system at lowest cost and pass through the benefits of cheaper renewables to consumers.

We will provide an update in due course.
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Dave Doogan:To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what estimate he has made of when the Aberdeen headquarters of Great British Energy will be operational. \p Michael Shanks: Great British Energy is initially headquartered in DESNZ’s second headquarters in Aberdeen, Crimon Place, to ensure the organisation can get to work as quickly as possible. As a Government Property Agency (GPA) onboarded department, DESNZ is pursuing property options through the GPA. Due to the commercial sensitivity of any lease negotiations, specific details or timescales cannot be provided at this time.
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Harriet Cross:To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, when he plans to publish the outcome of his Department's consultation on draft supplementary guidance for assessing the effects of scope 3 emissions on climate from offshore oil and gas projects, which closed on 8 January 2025. \p Michael Shanks: We remain committed to having the supplementary Environmental Impact Assessment guidance in place as soon as possible and are cognisant of its importance for providing certainty to the offshore oil and gas industry. We needed to take the time to analyse the consultation responses thoroughly and to reflect them in the finalised guidance which must be robust. Once the guidance is published, assessments of environmental statements can resume.
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Martin Wrigley:To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what (a) risk assessment and (b) contingency plan his Department has produced for the National Grid in the event of a national blackout, in the context of the situation in Spain and Portugal in April 2025. \p Michael Shanks: Great Britain has a highly resilient energy system, and a total failure of power supplies is assessed in the National Risk Register as a high impact but low likelihood event. In its 75-year history, the National Electricity Transmission System has never experienced a complete shutdown.

As a responsible Government we prepare for all eventualities and work closely with industry to prepare for and exercise robust contingency plans. This includes the National Electricity System Operator’s established plans to restore the energy system in the event of a National Power Outage as set out in the Electricity System Restoration Standard.
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Rupert Lowe:To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, if they will make it their policy to not provide (a) translation and (b) interpretation for speakers of non-UK languages for services provided by their Department. \p Michael Shanks: Language service needs and spend are assessed to ensure these services offer good value for money for taxpayers while maintaining high standards of service delivery.
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James Naish:To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether his Department plans to increase its support for integrated heat, power and mineral co-production projects. \p Michael Shanks: The Government supports geothermal energy through multiple schemes and integrated projects can receive funding from more than one at a time. For example, United Downs in Cornwall will produce heat and was awarded a contract for difference to produce electricity. Automotive Transformation Fund has provided funding to support R&D into UK Lithium extraction and refining including in Cornwall. The Green Heat Network Fund can also support geothermal heat. Cornwall Council secured £22 Million for Langarth District Geothermal Heat Network. There are no plans to integrate schemes as there are few operational or planned commercial projects combining heat, power, and mineral production.
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James Naish:To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what plans his Department has to develop risk mitigation schemes for early-stage deep geothermal heat and power projects in line with international best practice. \p Michael Shanks: The Government recognises that risk mitigation schemes have helped develop the geothermal industry in some parts of Europe. It is considered premature to introduce a dedicated risk mitigation scheme at this time, given the current stage of development in the UK, associated costs, and funding priorities.

This conclusion was informed by discussions on the role that these mechanisms fulfil in encouraging deep geothermal investment. Experts, including those from France and the International Energy Agency were consulted. We continue to monitor and engage with the market and experts.
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James Naish:To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether he plans to include geothermal energy within the strategic remit of GB Energy. \p Michael Shanks: Geothermal energy is a clean energy source and therefore falls within the group of technologies that are included within Great British Energy’s (GBE) remit, as set out in the GBE Bill.

The Secretary of State will prepare a Statement of Strategic Priorities (SSP) for GBE within six months of the date the Bill comes into force. The SSP will steer GBE on its approach to future investments.
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James Naish:To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what recent assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of geothermal energy on the UK’s (a) ability to reach net zero and (b) energy security objectives. \p Michael Shanks: In 2023, the Department co-funded a study with the Northeast Local Enterprise Partnership on the UK’s deep geothermal potential. Based on its recommendations, the British Geological Survey was commissioned to develop the UK Geothermal Platform—an open-access, web-based tool launching in summer 2025 to help developers and investors identify geothermal opportunities and conduct pre-feasibility assessments. Further research on the levelised costs of geothermal heat and power will also be published in summer 2025. The UK government continues to engage with the geothermal sector, academia, and international partners to improve understanding of geothermal energy’s role in achieving net zero.
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Dr Scott Arthur:To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what assessment he has made of the potential contribution of drone technology to the net zero strategy. \p Kerry McCarthy: Drones are useful in inspecting energy infrastructure such as offshore wind turbines and overhead electrification lines which are difficult to reach using other means. As part of DESNZ’s Net Zero Innovation Programme, we have funded UK companies looking to develop drones for these types of inspections.
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Susan Murray:To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what fiscal steps he is taking to incentivise the uptake of heat pumps. \p Miatta Fahnbulleh: The Boiler Upgrade Scheme (BUS) provides grants to property owners to enable them to transition away from fossil fuel to low carbon heating. The grant available under the scheme for air source heat pumps and ground source heat pumps is £7,500, and £5,000 is available for biomass boilers. Funding for the BUS has increased to £295 million for this financial year.

The Warm Homes: Local Grant (WH:LG) and Warm Homes: Social Housing Fund (WH:SHF) provides funding to support low carbon heating, including heat pumps, and the installation of energy efficiency measures.

The grants are in addition to the 0% rate of VAT on the installation of heat pumps and biomass boilers, which will last until March 2027.
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Mr Will Forster:To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether his Department plans to extend Ofgem’s regulatory powers to include heat networks. \p Miatta Fahnbulleh: DESNZ is introducing heat network regulation which aims to provide consumers with comparable protections to existing gas and electricity regulations.

This new regulatory framework was signed into law earlier this year, establishing Ofgem as the market regulator with consumer interests as its highest priority.

When Ofgem formally commence this role in January 2026, they will require suppliers to institute protections for vulnerable consumers and will have powers to collect pricing data, conduct investigations into instances of disproportionately high prices, and intervene when there is sufficient evidence. They will also establish guaranteed standards of performance to ensure that a minimum quality of service is provided.
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Jack Rankin:To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of providing support for smart thermostats as part of the Warm Homes Plan. \p Miatta Fahnbulleh: The Warm Homes Plan will help people find ways to save money on energy bills and transform our ageing building stock into comfortable, low-carbon homes that are fit for the future. We will upgrade up to 5 million homes across the country by accelerating the installation of efficient new technologies like heat pumps, solar, batteries and insulation. By enabling consumers to utilise electricity when it is cheaper, deploying smart electric heating can help reduce consumer bills.

Further details on the Warm Homes Plan will be set out in due course.
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Martin Wrigley:To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what steps he is taking to increase the number of homes with heat pumps in Newton Abbot constituency. \p Miatta Fahnbulleh: The Warm Homes Plan will help upgrade homes across the country, including in Newton Abbot, by accelerating the installation of efficient new technologies like heat pumps, solar, batteries and insulation.

The Government is helping make heat pumps more efficient and easier to install. This includes increasing funding for the Boiler Upgrade Scheme (BUS) to £295 million for this financial year, removing outdated planning rules and consulting on product efficiency standards.

As the first step towards the Warm Homes Plan, the Government has committed an initial £3.4 billion over the next 3 years towards heat decarbonisation and household energy efficiency. Further details on the Warm Homes Plan will be set out in due course.
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Martin Wrigley:To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, if he will make it is policy to commit to the pump watch petrol price comparison platform. \p Miatta Fahnbulleh: The Government response to the road fuels consultation, published on 30 October 2024, confirmed that the Government will implement the recommendation made by the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) in its Final Road Fuel Market Study to set up a statutory open data scheme for fuel prices, called Fuel Finder.

Fuel Finder will increase price transparency and help drivers easily compare prices and find the best deals. This will increase pressure on fuel retailers to compete strongly to attract customers. Subject to legislation and parliamentary timings, we aim to launch Fuel Finder by the end of 2025.
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Helen Maguire:To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what discussions he has had with energy companies on policy cost rebalancing on energy bills to incentivise the uptake of low-carbon technologies. \p Miatta Fahnbulleh: Details of Ministers’ and Permanent Secretaries’ meetings with external individuals and organisations are published quarterly in arrears on GOV.UK.
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Susan Murray:To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, if he will take steps through the spending review to reduce electricity costs. \p Miatta Fahnbulleh: The Government believes that our mission to deliver clean power by 2030 is the best way to break our dependence on global fossil fuel markets and protect billpayers permanently. This, combined with our Warm Homes Plan to upgrade millions of homes to make them warmer and cheaper to run is how we will drive down energy bills and make cold homes a thing of the past.

We recognise that we need to support households struggling with bills whilst we transition to clean power by 2030. This is why we delivered the Warm Home Discount to around 3 million eligible low-income households last winter. On 25 February, we published a consultation on the expansion of the Warm Home Discount, giving more eligible households £150 off their energy bills. These proposals would bring around 2.7 million households into the scheme – pushing the total number of households that would receive the discount next winter up to around 6 million. The consultation has now closed, and the Department is evaluating the responses.

The Government is continuing to work with Ofgem and energy suppliers to ensure energy bills remain fair and affordable while we transition to clean power by 2030.
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Cat Eccles:To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what steps he is taking to help prevent rogue energy brokers from targeting small businesses. \p Miatta Fahnbulleh: The Government wants to provide all businesses with better protection from being locked into unfair and expensive energy contracts, and more redress when they have a complaint.

Last year, the Government launched a consultation on introducing regulation of Third-Party Intermediaries (TPIs), such as energy brokers. This is aimed at enhancing consumer protections, particularly for non-domestic consumers. The consultation has now closed, and a Government response will follow in due course once all feedback has been reviewed.
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Martin Wrigley:To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether he plans to support the re-training of oil and gas workers to help them transition to renewable energy. \p Sarah Jones: By 2030, the clean energy transition could create hundreds of thousands of good new jobs across the UK, with evidence demonstrates that there is a high degree of transferability of skills between oil and gas and renewables roles.

The Government recently launched a consultation setting out the next steps in its overarching objective for the North Sea, to make it a world leading example of an offshore clean energy industry. The consultation seeks views on how we can best support North Sea oil and gas workers into clean energy industries and other high-growth sectors. The consultation closed on 30 April and we are now considering responses.

DESNZ has also established the Office for Clean Energy Jobs (OCEJ) to coordinate work that clean energy jobs are abundant, high quality, paid fairly, and have favourable terms and good working conditions. DESNZ is supporting a number of initiatives to support workers to retrain, transfer and be retained in clean energy sectors such as the Energy Skills Passport and series of Regional Skills Pilots the department launched earlier this year.
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Martin Wrigley:To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether his Department plans to allocate funds toward supporting the re-training of oil and gas workers. \p Sarah Jones: DESNZ has established the Office for Clean Energy Jobs (OCEJ) to ensure that clean energy jobs are abundant, high quality, paid fairly, and have favourable terms and good working conditions.

Through OCEJ we have launched several pilot initiatives, including a series of Regional Skills Pilots. These pilots will help government and local and devolved partners develop a better understanding of what local interventions are the most successful in building the skilled workforce needed to meet the UK’s Clean Energy Superpower Mission. Aberdeen, Lincolnshire, Cheshire and Pembrokeshire have all been identified as key regions for clean energy and we are working, with local and devolved partners to empower them to develop their own plans for how best to target the funding.
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Martin Wrigley:To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether he plans to (a) end fossil fuel subsidies and (b) provide support for people working in the oil and gas industry to transition to other sectors. \p Sarah Jones: The UK joined the Coalition on Phasing out Fossil Fuel Subsidies (COFFIS) at COP29, which demonstrates the UK’s continued engagement on fossil fuel subsidy reform. The UK has recognised for a long time that our economy will need to become less reliant on fossil fuels to reach our net zero targets. That’s why we’ve taken steps including abolishing an investment allowance for oil and gas production from 1 November 2024 and phasing out coal power in Great Britain as of October 2024.

We know net zero requires a wide-reaching transformation of the UK economy, but equally, it will be an incredible opportunity for jobs and growth all across the country. There is a huge opportunity for reskilling and transferability of skills across the economy. The Office for Clean Energy Jobs (OCEJ) will support efforts to enable workers from high carbon sectors, including oil and gas, to move to clean energy jobs by targeting skill interventions to reskill and upskill workers.
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Andrew Gwynne:To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what steps he has taken to help support (a) energy and (b) decarbonisation industries in the North West. \p Sarah Jones: On 24th of April 2025, the HyNet Carbon Capture and Storage transport and storage network (Liverpool Bay CCS) which spans Northwest England and Wales, announced financial close, with a substantial pipeline of projects lining up to join the network. Along with the East Coast Cluster, these networks of green industry, backed by £21.7 billion in funding, will deliver thousands of jobs, billions of investment, and enable clean homegrown energy for years to come. Equally in 2024, the Stakehill Industrial Estate was granted £612,376 in support under the Local Industrial Decarbonisation Plan (LIDP) scheme, to develop a decarbonisation plan that includes the adoption of green technologies, energy efficiency upgrades and infrastructure solutions.
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Charlie Dewhirst:To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what budget her Department has allocated to local government arts financing for (a) 2025-26 and (b) 2026-27. \p Chris Bryant: Local authorities play a vital role in supporting arts and cultural institutions, but they operate independently of central government and make their own decisions about expenditure on the arts.

The Settlement for 2025-26 makes available over £69 billion for local government, which is a 6.8% cash terms increase in councils’ Core Spending Power on 2024-25. The majority of funding in the Local Government Finance Settlement is not ringfenced, recognising that local leaders are best placed to identify local priorities.

The Arts Council England, which is supported by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, also has multiple funding programmes where Local Authorities can apply on behalf of their cultural assets, including the National Portfolio Investment Programme, National Lottery Project Grants and the Museum Estate and Development Fund.

Spending decisions beyond 2025-26 are a matter for the upcoming Spending Review.
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Sir John Hayes:To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps she is taking to increase the number of apprenticeship starts in her Department. \p Stephanie Peacock: We remain committed to supporting the use of apprenticeships across all government departments to break down barriers to opportunity. This includes supporting the Government's commitment to 2,000 digital apprenticeships through its TechTrack scheme by 2030 to improve digital skills and drive improvements and efficiency in public services.

Additionally, a new cross-Government Level 3 apprenticeship programme in Business Administration, The ‘Civil Service Career Launch Apprenticeship’ (CLA), will see new apprentices kickstart their careers, across various departments, starting from January 2026.

The Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) is increasing apprenticeship starts through targeted external recruitment and we are commencing a pilot ‘social mobility program’ utilising the Cabinet Office ‘Going Forward In Employment’ apprenticeships. DCMS will also be involved with the ‘Civil Service Career Launch apprenticeship’, exploring Levy transfer options and broadening its internal apprenticeship offer in professions such as Digital.
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Mr Gregory Campbell:To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether she plans to hold discussions with Ofcom on potential changes to its oversight role of the broadcast media. \p Stephanie Peacock: Ofcom is the UK’s regulator for broadcasting and by law carries out its duties independently of the Government.
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Rupert Lowe:To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if they will make it their policy to not provide (a) translation and (b) interpretation for speakers of non-UK languages for services provided by their Department. \p Stephanie Peacock: Language service needs and spend are assessed to ensure these services offer good value for money for taxpayers while maintaining high standards of service delivery.
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Charlie Dewhirst:To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if she will make an estimate of the potential impact of charging overseas tourists £10 to visit museums on the public purse. \p Chris Bryant: No.
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Ben Obese-Jecty:To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 7 April 2025 to Question 42678 on F-35 Aircraft: Procurement, how many F-35Bs will receive the Block 4 upgrade. \p Maria Eagle: I can confirm the Department intends to upgrade the UK F-35B Lightning fleet with Block 4 modifications.
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Lee Pitcher:To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many units of service family accommodation are located in Doncaster East and the Isle of Axholme constituency. \p Luke Pollard: There are no Service Family Accommodation properties in Doncaster East and the Isle of Axholme constituency.
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Rupert Lowe:To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if they will make it their policy to not provide (a) translation and (b) interpretation for speakers of non-UK languages for services provided by their Department. \p Luke Pollard: No, translation and interpretation for a range of languages other than English (‘non-UK’ languages) is, and will continue to be, required to provide a wide variety of services across multiple areas of Defence.

Language service needs and spend are assessed to ensure these services offer good value for money for taxpayers while maintaining high standards of service delivery.
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Ben Obese-Jecty:To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether (a) Marine 11 and (b) Marine 12 have been used for ministerial travel by any Department since 5 July 2024. \p Luke Pollard: Marine Helicopter Squadron One (HMX-1) assets, which are responsible for transferring the President and Vice President for the United States, have not been used to transport UK Ministers during the period in question.
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Jim Shannon:To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to the Written Statement of 6 May 2025 on Veterans Support: A New Approach HCWS619, how much of the £50milllion funding for new support system for veterans will be allocated to the devolved institutions. \p Luke Pollard: I repeat the lines that my Ministerial colleague, the Minister for Veterans and People gave that VALOUR is a new commitment to establish the first-ever UK-wide approach to veteran support. The detailed structures and processes that will underpin VALOUR will be designed in collaboration with relevant partners and further details will be announced in due course. on 12 May to Questions 50185, 50186, 50187, 50189, 50190, and 50191 to the hon. Member for South Suffolk (Mr Cartlidge), and Question 50424 to the Gallant and hon. Member for Spelthorne (Mr Jopp).

Veterans: Government Assistance (docx, 16.2KB)
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James Cartlidge:To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, when the defence suppliers forum executive group last met. \p Maria Eagle: The Defence Suppliers Forum (DSF) has been replaced by the new Defence Industrial Joint Council (DIJC). The DSF Main last met on 15 November 2023 and the DSF Executive Group on 25 September 2024.
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James Cartlidge:To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, when he expects the defence industrial joint council to first meet. \p Maria Eagle: On 2 December 2024, as part of the Defence Industrial Strategy Statement of Intent, it was announced by the Secretary of State that the Defence Suppliers Forum (DSF) will be replaced by a new Defence Industrial Joint Council (DIJC). At this point the Defence Suppliers Forum was disbanded, but strategic engagement with Industry and the Defence Sector has continued via the Defence Industrial Strategy Consultation and at Official level to continue delivering relevant work managed under the DSF. The inaugural DIJC meeting is planned to take place in June 2025.
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James Cartlidge:To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the requirements are for membership of the defence industrial joint council. \p Maria Eagle: The Defence Industrial Joint Council (DIJC) incorporates representation from the breadth of the defence sector, including defence primes, Small and Medium Enterprises, mid-tiers, investors, academia, trade unions and trade associations. The membership composition of the DIJC includes subject matter experts that reflect the diversity of the defence sector. An announcement of the initial membership composition for the Top Level Council will be provided in due course.
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Dave Doogan:To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, on what date the Strategic Defence Review will be published. \p Luke Pollard: As the Prime Minister said in his Statement on Defence and Security in the House of Commons, the Strategic Defence Review is advanced and we will bring it to the House as soon as we can.
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Mr Gregory Campbell:To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the Defence Gardens Scheme for veterans. \p Luke Pollard: We recognise the work of the Defence Gardens Scheme, along with so many others working hard to support our Armed Forces community and make a difference to the wellbeing of veterans. The Minister for Veterans and People saw first hand the Defence Gardens Scheme on a visit earlier this year to Northern Ireland.

The Office for Veterans’ Affairs works closely with many Armed Forces charities and organisations who play a vital part of the wider support system for veterans, and the Minister for Veterans and People is actively exploring ways of simplifying and cohering access to Government support, working in partnership with the charity sector, via VALOUR, which was announced on 5 May 2025.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-05-20)

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Fabian Hamilton:To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether a VALOUR-recognised support centre will be located in Leeds. \p Luke Pollard: I repeat the lines that my mMnisterial colleague, the Minister for Veterans and People gave: that VALOUR is a new commitment to establish the first-ever UK-wide approach to veteran support. The detailed structures and processes that will underpin VALOUR will be designed in collaboration with relevant partners and further details will be announced in due course. on 12 May to Questions 50185, 50186, 50187, 50189, 50190, and 50191 to the hon. Member for South Suffolk (Mr Cartlidge), and Question 50424 to the Gallant and hon. Member for Spelthorne (Mr Jopp).

Veterans: Government Assistance (docx, 16.2KB)
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Mr Andrew Snowden:To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what recent progress he has made on achieving full gigabit coverage by 2030. \p Chris Bryant: According to the independent website ThinkBroadband.com, over 87% of UK premises now have access to a gigabit-capable connection.

More than £2.3 billion in Project Gigabit contracts have now been signed to connect over 1 million more premises. This includes the latest contract in Scotland we announced with Openreach earlier this month.

In the last few months, the first premises have been connected as part of Project Gigabit contracts in areas including Norfolk, West Yorkshire and South Wiltshire, and build has now started in earnest in other parts of the country too. In March, we announced the Project Gigabit contract for Cumbria, being delivered by Fibrus, had been extended to connect an additional 21,000 premises.
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Jim Shannon:To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what estimate he has made of the number of cyber attacks on large shops in the last 5 years. \p Feryal Clark: The government’s Cyber Security Breaches Survey 2025 estimates that 43% of UK businesses suffered a cyber breach or attack in the past 12 months, equivalent to 612,000 organisations. In the retail/wholesale sector, this figure is 32%. The proportion of businesses in the retail/wholesale sector suffering a cyber breach or attack in each of the past five years are as follows:

2021: 37%

2022: 29%

2023: 28%

2024: 43%

2025: 32%

The cyber security of the UK is a priority for the government. Organisations of any size, in any sector, can use the government's Cyber Essentials scheme to protect themselves against the majority of cyber threats. 92% fewer insurance claims are made by businesses and organisations with these controls in place. Further, the new Cyber Governance Code published in April sets out how boards and directors how to effectively manage digital risks. Beyond these, companies and public organisations can help protect themselves against ransomware and other cyber threats by using the wide range of free advice, training and tools available on the National Cyber Security Centre website.
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Anna Gelderd:To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, whether he plans to maintain the level of financial support for research to achieve the (a) replacement, (b) refinement and (c) reduction of animals in research and (d) develop non-animal alternatives. \p Feryal Clark: The Government is committed to the development of non-animal alternatives. UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) has a diverse portfolio of investments that support research which can lead to alternatives, such as organ on a chip and computer modelling. They invest £10m annually to the National Centre for the Replacement, Refinement and Reduction of Animals in Research (NC3Rs). UKRI also supports ‘human-specific’ research, for example a £15m call on Novel human in vitro models of disease with NC3Rs and Wellcome.

The government will publish a strategy to support the development, validation and uptake of alternative methods later this year.
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Mr Andrew Snowden:To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what steps he is taking to increase broadband access for (a) residents and (b) businesses in (i) Fylde constituency and (ii) Lancashire. \p Chris Bryant: According to the independent website Thinkbroadband.com, over 99% of homes and businesses in the Fylde constituency can access superfast broadband speeds (>=30 Mbps) and over 94% have access to a gigabit-capable broadband connection (>1000 Mbps). In Lancashire, over 98% of homes and businesses can access superfast broadband speeds, and over 90% have access to a gigabit-capable connection.

To improve this coverage further, Openreach is delivering a Project Gigabit contract across Lancashire, targeted at bringing gigabit-capable broadband to homes and businesses in hard-to-reach areas that are unlikely to be otherwise reached by suppliers’ commercial rollout. Approximately 11,450 homes and businesses in Lancashire are currently expected to benefit from this contract, including in Fylde.
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Rupert Lowe:To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, if they will make it their policy to not provide (a) translation and (b) interpretation for speakers of non-UK languages for services provided by their Department. \p Feryal Clark: Services which DSIT offers to the public are set out on GOV.UK. Language service needs and spend are assessed to ensure these services offer good value for money for taxpayers while maintaining high standards of service delivery.
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Andrew Gwynne:To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, if he will take steps to help support industrial research in the North West. \p Feryal Clark: The North West has unique industrial and scientific strengths that the government is committed to continue to grow as part of our ambition to drive the development of high-potential science and technology clusters across the UK.

Between the financial years 2021/22 and 2023/24 UK Research and Innovation’s (UKRI) annual investment in the North West rose from £671 million to £903 million. UKRI’s investments have supported key industrial research projects in the region including the Medicine Discovery Catapult, pioneering the next generation of complex medicines through the development of cutting-edge technologies and assay.
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Andrew Gwynne:To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, whether his Department plans to provide funding for projects relating to (a) energy, (b) life sciences, (c) advanced materials and (d) other scientific fields in the North West in the 2025-26 financial year. \p Feryal Clark: The government is committed to protecting record levels of R&D investment, having allocated £20.4 billion for the 2025/26 financial year. This substantial funding underpins a broad spectrum of scientific research and innovation, supporting areas such as energy, life sciences, and advanced materials.

In April 2025, DSIT confirmed UKRI’s allocation for 2025-26 of £8.8bn, this will support investments in the North West across these important scientific fields including the Henry Royce Institute – the UK National Institute for advanced materials research and innovation. The hub for the institute is at The University of Manchester, with University of Liverpool also a partner.