theodi/ndl-core-corpus huggingface dataset:
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Mr James Frith:To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of the two-child limit policy on recent trends in the levels of child poverty. \p Alison McGovern: The Households Below Average Income (HBAI) statistics show trends in poverty, including child poverty. The latest statistics cover years up to and including 2023/24: Households below average income: for financial years ending 1995 to 2024 - GOV.UK

Delivering our manifesto commitment to tackle child poverty is an urgent priority for this Government, and the Ministerial Taskforce is working to publish a Child Poverty Strategy which will deliver lasting change.

The Strategy will look at all available levers across four key themes of increasing incomes, including considering social security reforms, reducing essential costs, increasing financial resilience; and better local support especially in the early years. This will build on the reform plans underway across Government and work underway in Devolved Governments.
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Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi:To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the median age is of computers issued to officials in their Department. \p Andrew Western: The median age of computers issued to officials in DWP is 2 years.
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Navendu Mishra:To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps she is taking to reduce the proportion of children in relative poverty in Stockport constituency. \p Alison McGovern: Delivering our manifesto commitment to tackle child poverty is an urgent priority for this Government. The Ministerial Taskforce is working to publish a Child Poverty Strategy looking at levers across four key themes of increasing incomes, reducing essential costs, increasing financial resilience; and better local support especially in the early years. This will build on the reform plans underway across government and work underway in Devolved Government

The Taskforce is listening to experts and campaigners and ensuring the voices of families and children with experience of poverty are brought into policy thinking and decision making as part of the development of the Child Poverty Strategy. This includes three key stands of work – a Parents and Carers Forum, engagement with the Changing Realities Project and research with children and young people.

The vital work of the Taskforce comes alongside our commitments to triple investment in breakfast clubs to over £30 million, introduce a Fair Repayment Rate for deductions from Universal Credit, improve the adequacy of the standard allowance with the first sustained above inflation rise in the basic rate of Universal Credit since it was introduced and increase the National Living Wage to £12.21 an hour from April to boost the pay of three million workers.
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Fabian Hamilton:To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps she is taking to improve the PIP assessment process for (a) all claimants and (b) claimants with fluctuating conditions. \p Sir Stephen Timms: It is important that all people claiming Personal Independence Payment (PIP) are able to access our services and that they do not face obstacles in applying and communicating with the Department and its providers.

In the Green Paper Pathways to Work: Reforming Benefits and Support to Get Britain Working published on 18 March we outline plans to improve the experience for people who use the health and disability benefits system, including exploring ways to use evidence from eligibility for other services to reduce the need for some people with very severe conditions to undergo a full PIP functional assessment, digitalising the transfer of information from the NHS (with consent) to speed up the process of assessment, and look at recording assessments as standard to increase trust in the process.

We also announced plans to launch a process to review the PIP assessment. We will bring together a range of experts, stakeholders and people with lived experience to consider how best to do this and to start the process as part of preparing for a review. We will provide further details as plans progress.

The Health Transformation Programme is also transforming the entire PIP service, including introducing the option to apply and track applications online. The transformed service will improve how we gather health information, and tailor the process to the customer’s needs and circumstances, offering a better customer experience and improving trust in our services and decisions.
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Joe Robertson:To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps her Department is taking to provide longer-term support for local services via the Household Support Fund. \p Alison McGovern: This Government is committed to a sustainable, long-term approach to drive up opportunity and drive down poverty across the UK.

That is why we are providing £742 million in England to extend the Household Support Fund (HSF) by a further year, from 1 April 2025 until 31 March 2026. This will enable Local Authorities to continue to provide vulnerable households with immediate crisis support towards the cost of essentials, and develop their schemes to help prevent poverty locally and build local resilience.

To support Local Authorities, we have clarified what is meant by both crisis and preventative support, updating the schemes’ objectives to include both types of support, and providing definitions and examples of each eligible spend category in the guidance.

We encourage Local Authorities to consider how their provision of crisis support could have a longer-term, sustainable impact, and to offer some level of preventative support to stop vulnerable households from falling into, or falling further into, crisis.
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Graeme Downie:To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to the Pathways to Work: Reforming Benefits and Support to Get Britain Working Green Paper, published on 18 March 2025, how she plans to introduce more active (a) engagement and (b) support for new claims for Universal Credit health rate. \p Sir Stephen Timms: We announced in the Pathways to Work Green Paper that we would establish a new guarantee of support for all disabled people and people with health conditions claiming out of work benefits who want help to get into or return to work, backed up by £1 billion of new funding

As the Green Paper notes, we are keen to engage widely on the design of this guarantee and the components needed to deliver it. To get this right, we will be seeking input from a wide range of stakeholders including devolved governments, local health systems, local government and Mayoral Strategic Authorities, private and voluntary sector providers, employers and potential users. We will confirm further details in due course after we have completed our consultation process.

In addition, Help to Claim provides tailored practical support to anyone who needs it. It enables individuals requiring additional support to make and maintain their Universal Credit claim, up until their first correct Universal Credit payment. It is also available to those moving from legacy benefits because of managed migration, voluntary moves, or a change of circumstances.
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Euan Stainbank:To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps her Department is taking to protect (a) low-paid civil servants and (b) civil servants affected by recent increases to Skilled Worker visa salary thresholds who might be at risk of losing their right to live and work in the UK. \p Andrew Western: Part (a)

The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) will implement, where applicable, the new National Living Wage rate of £12.21 per hour with effect from 1 April 2025. DWP annual salaries will reflect this new hourly rate regardless of age and working pattern.

DWP offers a comprehensive range of employee benefits, including enhanced discounts that make both essential and leisure purchases more affordable for our colleagues. Our Cycle-to-work salary sacrifice scheme promotes health and sustainability by making commuting more cost effective. Employees can also apply for salary advances to assist with budgeting, covering expenses like travel, rentals deposits, bike and safety equipment. We are committed to continuously enhancing our benefits offer, including the launch of a colleague dental insurance scheme next month.

Part (b)

Whilst employees who have a current time limited work visa should have an expectation that they may be unable to work beyond the date their visa expires, we realise this situation in relation to potential sponsorship via a skilled worker visa is extremely unsettling for those affected.

DWP takes the welfare of its staff very seriously and continue to provide a range of support to colleagues employed on time limited visas who may be impacted by the uplift to salary thresholds introduced in April 2024.

This support includes ensuring they understand their responsibilities in establishing whether they will be eligible to apply for other visas to enable them to remain in employment with DWP and signposting to wider employee assistance support that is available to them via departmental contracts.
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Helen Whately:To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to the Pathways to Work: Reforming Benefits and Support to Get Britain Working Green Paper, published on 18 March 2025, with which organisations she has held discussions on the proposed changes in rate of Universal Credit components. \p Sir Stephen Timms: We urgently need reform to stop people from falling into inactivity, restore trust and fairness in the system and promote the interests of disabled people. Therefore, there are some measures announced in the Pathways to Work Green Paper on the 18 March 2025 that we will not be consulting on.

The Pathways to Work Green Paper sets out our wider plan to reform the system by rebalancing the levels of the UC standard allowance and the UC health element. Our objective is a social security system which is pro-work but provides adequate financial support for people when they are not working, regardless of the reason. The changes to UC payment rates will be introduced in primary legislation, and so will be fully debated in Parliament, and are not subject to consultation.

No additional engagement on the changes to UC payment rates was sought before the publication of the Green Paper. We are, however, consulting on a number of other measures in the Paper. We would like to hear views from disabled people and representative organisations, and encourage responses to the consultation through the online form, email and post.
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Pippa Heylings:To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment she has made of trends in the level of claims made to the Health and Safety Executive that are subsequently referred by the HSE to local authorities for resolution. \p Sir Stephen Timms: The Health and Safety at Work Act establishes a co-regulatory partnership between the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) and local authorities (LAs). This co-regulatory partnership sees HSE and LAs working closely to ensure consistent enforcement of health and safety legislation.

The Enforcing Authority Regulations (EA Regulations) 1989 determine allocation of enforcement responsibility. LAs are responsible for enforcing health and safety requirements at 65% of business premises in Great Britain, which employ 46% of the national workforce. In general, LAs are the enforcing authority for retail, wholesale distribution and warehousing, hotel and catering premises, offices, and the consumer/leisure industries. HSE has the policy lead for all other sectors, and enforcement responsibilities for those sectors that traditionally have higher hazards/risks, e.g. factories, construction, agriculture, and off-shore industries.

Regulation 5 of the EA Regulations allows enforcement responsibility for any premises or any activity carried on there, to be transferred from HSE to the LA or vice versa. A transfer may be made only by agreement between the two enforcing authorities involved. The number of transfers under Regulation 5 from HSE to LAs show no discernible trend.
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Steve Witherden:To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, in reference to the Pathways to Work: Reforming Benefits and Support to Get Britain Working Green Paper, published on 18 March 2025, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of the proposals costs for disabled people. \p Sir Stephen Timms: The Department published a Policy Rationales Impact report “Spring Statement 2025 health and disability benefit reforms – Impact” alongside the Spring Statement on 26 March 2025.

A further programme of analysis to support development of the proposals in the Green Paper will be developed and undertaken in the coming months.
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Steve Witherden:To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether her Department plans to meet disabled people to discuss the proposals set out in the Pathways to Work: Reforming Benefits and Support to Get Britain Working Green Paper, published on 26 March 2025. \p Sir Stephen Timms: We have set out proposals to reform the health and disability benefits proposals in the Pathways to Work Green Paper published on 18 March 2025. A full 12-week consultation will begin from the point all accessible versions are published on GOV.UK. We would like to hear views from a wide group of people, in particular disabled people and people with health conditions and disability organisations, and encourage responses to the consultation through the online form, email and post.

We also intend to run a number of accessible virtual and face-to-face events on the Green Paper to hear from stakeholders, including disabled people and their representative organisations, directly. More information on these events and registration will be advertised on the consultation pages on GOV.UK in due course.

In the Green Paper, we have also announced that we will set up collaboration committees to develop parts of our reforms further. This will involve bringing together disabled people and other experts with civil servants around specific issues to collaborate, provide ideas, challenge, and input into recommendations.
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Paula Barker:To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of her Department's proposed social security reforms to PIP on trends in the levels of child poverty. \p Alison McGovern: The government's impact assessment regarding Health and Disability Reform is available at Spring Statement 2025 health and disability benefit reforms - Impacts.
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Paula Barker:To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether her Department has commissioned an impact assessment on the proposed PIP reforms on household income with (a) at least one person in work and (b) at least one recipient of PIP, whether that be the person working or not. \p Sir Stephen Timms: Information on the impacts of the Pathways to Work Green Paper will be published in due course, with some information published alongside the Spring Statement. These publications can be found here ‘Pathways to Work: Reforming Benefits and Support to Get Britain Working Green Paper’.

A further programme of analysis to support development of the proposals in the Green Paper will be developed and undertaken in the coming months.
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Paula Barker:To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what proportion of PIP recipients were in some form of (a) work and (b) training on 25 March 2025. \p Sir Stephen Timms: You can find the proportion of PIP recipients in employment in the evidence pack that was provided alongside the ‘Pathways to Work: Reforming Benefits and Support to Get Britain Working Green Paper’, which shows that 17% of PIP claimants were in employment in March 2024.

(https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/pathways-to-work-reforming-benefits-and-support-to-get-britain-working-green-paper)

Data for March 2025 is not currently available for analysts to access; the latest relevant data is for the financial year ending March 2024.

The department does not hold data regarding PIP recipients in training.
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Callum Anderson:To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, how many museums have received funding from Arts Council England in (a) Buckinghamshire and (b) Milton Keynes. \p Chris Bryant: The Secretary of State announced a new £270 million Arts Everywhere Fund on 20 February. This will include support to museums, arts and music venues across the country and is a critical step that this Government is taking to help create jobs, boost local economies, and expand access to arts and culture for communities.

This is in addition to steps already being taken to support arts and culture via Arts Council England (ACE). In Buckinghamshire, ACE has provided over £19 million of funding between 2021-2025, of which over £11 million has gone to organisations in Milton Keynes.

For example, organisations receiving ACE funding include local 2023-2026 ACE National Portfolio Organisations, such as the Milton Keynes islamic Arts Heritage and Culture Organisation (£195,000 per annum), Milton Keynes Arts Centre (£99,803 per annum) and Milton Keynes Gallery (£390,360 per annum).

The Museum Estate and Development Fund is also part of the support provided by ACE: Bletchley Park received just under £3m from the fund between 2021-2025 towards building modernisation works.

Separately, DCMS has directly supported Discover Bucks Museum through the DCMS/Wolfson Museums and Galleries Improvement Fund, awarding grants totalling £260,000 between 2018-2024.
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Mr Louie French:To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what estimate she has made of the number of problem gamblers not receiving treatment between the ending of the voluntary gambling levy period and the distribution of funds collected under the statutory levy. \p Stephanie Peacock: It is a priority that in this crucial transition period, valuable support and treatment services for those experiencing gambling-related harm are protected. To ensure there is no disruption, operators must continue to provide financial contributions at their current levels until the levy is in force, and we have received reassurances from the industry that this will be delivered.

In addition, following the end of the current funding arrangement in line with the Gambling Commission’s Licence Conditions and Codes of Practice (LCCP) SR code 3.1.1, the levy will come into force in April this year with funding flowing for research, prevention and treatment as soon as possible. We will ensure funding is directed in a way which protects key services as the new support and treatment system is established.
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Dr Scott Arthur:To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps she is taking to support local independent journalism. \p Stephanie Peacock: Sustainability of the local media sector across the country is an area of particular concern for this Government. We are developing a Local Media Strategy, in recognition of the importance of this vital sector. Our vision is a thriving local media that can continue to play an invaluable role as a key channel of trustworthy information at local level, reporting on the issues that matter to communities, reflecting their contributions and perspectives, and helping to foster a self-confident nation in which everyone feels that their contribution is part of an inclusive national story.

Officials have met with the Public Interest News Foundation, founders of the Local News Commission, as part of our continued engagement with key external stakeholders. Government welcomes the publication of the Commission’s report and will consider its recommendations as part of our wider work on the Strategy. Our work is also being informed by the range of studies conducted into the state of local journalism in the UK in recent years.
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Callum Anderson:To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps her Department is taking to increase participation in youth sport in (a) Buckinghamshire and (b) Milton Keynes. \p Stephanie Peacock: This Government puts children and young people at the heart of our priorities. This includes breaking down barriers to opportunity for every child to access high-quality sport and physical activity, especially those who are less likely to be active. We are committed to protecting time for physical education in school and supporting the role grassroots clubs play in expanding access to sport.

We provide the majority of our funding for grassroots sport through our Arm’s Length Body, Sport England, which invests over £250 million in Exchequer and Lottery funding each year. In the 2024/25 Financial Year, Buckinghamshire and Milton Keynes received over £3.9 million from Sport England to enhance sport and physical activity opportunities for local communities.

The expansion of Sport England’s Place Partnerships will invest up to £250 million of National Lottery and Exchequer funding and enhance engagement in areas of greatest need to tackle inactivity levels through community-led solutions. Sport England recently announced Milton Keynes as one of their 53 Place Partnerships.

More widely, the Government recently announced £100 million additional funding for the UK-wide Multi-Sport Grassroots Facilities Programme which funds new and upgraded pitches, facilities, and equipment. Funding will ensure that sites can provide a more inclusive and sustainable offer throughout the year for local communities, including for children and young people.
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Stuart Anderson:To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps she is taking to help public libraries expand outreach work. \p Chris Bryant: Public libraries are funded by local authorities. Each local authority is responsible for assessing the needs of their local communities and designing a delivery model to meet those requirements within available resources. This could include a mobile and or a home library service, as well as other outreach services.

The government is committed to getting local government back on its feet. The final Local Government Finance Settlement for 2025-26 makes available over £69 billion for local government, which is a 6.8% cash terms increase on 2024-25.

The Libraries Improvement Fund (LIF) has enabled library services across England to invest in a range of projects to upgrade buildings and technology so they are better placed to respond to the changing ways people are using them. £20.5 million across three rounds has already supported 95 projects which includes investment in outreach services, such as electric tuk-tuks in Portsmouth. On 20 February the Secretary of State announced a further £5.5 million round 4 of LIF for 2025/26.
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Lee Anderson:To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what the total cost was of providing translation services in her Department in the last year. \p Stephanie Peacock: DCMS does not hold information to the level of detail requested within its finance system or procurement system.
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Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi:To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what the median age is of computers issued to officials in their Department. \p Stephanie Peacock: The median age of laptop computers in the Department for Culture, Media and Sport is 2.3 years.
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Munira Wilson:To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether Poland's President will be invited to the 80th VE celebrations. \p Stephanie Peacock: The Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) is leading the Government’s contribution to the VE and VJ Day 80 and is working closely with the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) to ensure appropriate representation at official events. The guest list for the commemorations has not been finalised.
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Rachael Maskell:To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether she has made an assessment of the potential merits of increasing the number of teams promoted to from National League into the English Football League. \p Stephanie Peacock: I recognise the strength of feeling within the National League regarding promotion arrangements to the EFL and understand the desire for greater opportunities for clubs to progress through the football pyramid. The competitiveness and sustainability of the league system are important considerations, and the Government appreciates the views of all stakeholders on this issue.

While promotion and relegation structures are ultimately a matter for the leagues themselves, we remain engaged with the football authorities on broader discussions about the future of the game.
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Jack Rankin:To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that the Office for Health Improvement and Disparities avoids conflicts of interest in the allocation of funds under the statutory levy. \p Stephanie Peacock: The government’s priority is to ensure funding is being directed where it is needed most to deliver on our objective to reduce gambling-related harms. The Gambling Act 2005 is clear that DCMS and HM Treasury have powers to approve levy spending. To guarantee sufficient accountability and transparency within the new system, we will ensure robust governance arrangements are in place for the levy, including a Levy Board for central government oversight. Governance arrangements will be designed to manage conflicts of interest, while recognising that a wide spectrum of views and insights will be needed to shape our objectives and monitor the outcomes of the levy system.
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Lee Anderson:To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what the total cost was of providing translation services in his Department in the last year. \p Feryal Clark: The total for procured translation services for DSIT Commercial last year was £97848.94.
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Mark Pritchard:To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, if he will commission research into (a) the types of (i) messages and (ii) videos promoted by TikTok to UK children and teenage users and (b) the role of promoting such content by malign state actors . \p Feryal Clark: Child online safety is of the utmost importance to the government. Under the Online Safety Act, user-to-user services likely to be accessed by children must protect them from harmful content. Ofcom’s draft codes of practice include recommendations for services to meet these duties, including ensuring that algorithms do not target children with harmful content.

Any attempt by malign state actors to interfere in the UK’s information environment is unacceptable. The Foreign Interference Offence is a priority offence in the Online Safety Act, it requires all in-scope companies to take action against a range of state-linked disinformation and interference online.
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Mr Peter Bedford:To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of new legislation to facilitate the transition to non-animal methods of testing. \p Feryal Clark: The Labour Manifesto includes a commitment to “partner with scientists, industry, and civil society as we work towards the phasing out of animal testing”, which is a long-term goal. The government will publish a strategy to support the development, validation and uptake of alternative methods later this year. The government currently has no plans to legislate on this matter.
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Kirith Entwistle:To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, if he will commission a report into real-world harms associated with smaller online forums that encourage (a) self-harm, (b) suicide and (c) misogyny. \p Feryal Clark: The Online Safety Act requires such services to risk assess for illegal content and have measures in place to tackle it. Ofcom have already launched an enforcement programme which includes asking small but high-risk services for their risk assessments by 31 March. Such services will also, where relevant, need to protect children from harmful content.
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Kirith Entwistle:To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, whether he plans to review platform categorisation regulations under the Online Safety Act 2023. \p Feryal Clark: Under the Online Safety Act, all user-to-user services – including small but high-risk services – must have measures in place to proactively tackle certain types of illegal content, including content which assists suicide and several offences which disproportionately affect women, such as intimate image abuse and harassment. These duties are now in force which means Ofcom can take enforcement action against non-compliant services.

The Secretary of State keeps all legislation under review and will act where necessary to keep people safe online.
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Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi:To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what the median age is of computers issued to officials in their Department. \p Feryal Clark: The median age of laptops and desktop computers in the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology is 1.5 years.
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Gregor Poynton:To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what steps Ofcom is taking to prevent children from accessing regulated platforms while under the minimum age limits in those companies’ terms of service. \p Feryal Clark: Child online safety is of utmost importance to the government. Under the Online Safety Act, all user-to-user services likely to be accessed by children have a duty to include provisions in their terms of service specifying how children of any age are prevented from encountering the most harmful content and protected from encountering other types of harmful content.

Services that have age restrictions must specify in their terms of service what measures they are taking to prevent underage access, and they are required apply these terms consistently.
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Colum Eastwood:To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, with reference to the Written Statement of 21 January 2025 on Stormont Brake: Response to the notification made under Schedule 6B Northern Ireland Act 1998, HCWS374, what recent steps he has taken to progress the consultation on a consistent regime for the classification, labelling and packaging of chemicals. \p Hilary Benn: Further to the answer provided by Noble Friend in UIN HL4285, on 20 January the Government set out its commitment to take any future steps necessary to avoid new barriers that would affect supplies of such products into Northern Ireland, and to consult on whether to apply a consistent regime across the UK. Work on this consultation is ongoing and it will happen as soon as possible. The output from the consultation will determine what further actions are considered necessary to safeguard the UK internal market.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-04-01)

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Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi:To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what the median age is of computers issued to officials in their Department. \p Hilary Benn: The Northern Ireland Office is unable to provide the median age of laptop and desktop computers. The mean age of laptop and desktop computers issued to officials in the Northern Ireland Office is two years.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-04-01)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-04-01 conversation_332

Helen Maguire:To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of increasing capacity for Scottish onshore wind by 700MW between 2030 and 2035 on net zero targets. \p Michael Shanks: We don't consider the increase in capacity planned for Scotland between 2030 and 2035 to have an impact on our ability to reach our net zero targets.

The 2035 capacity number for Scotland is based on the National Energy System Operator’s Future Energy Scenarios, which present credible pathways to decarbonise our energy system as we strive towards the 2050 target.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-04-01)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-04-01 conversation_333

Helen Maguire:To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what steps his Department is taking to prevent (a) stalled and (b) speculative schemes from preventing viable renewable energy projects from progressing. \p Michael Shanks: The government is working closely with Ofgem, National Energy System Operator (NESO) and network companies to reform the connections process and enable advanced projects, that align with our strategic needs, to connect faster. Ofgem is currently considering connection reform proposals from NESO, which include requirements for projects to demonstrate sufficient progress to obtain, and retain, a connection agreement.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-04-01)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-04-01 conversation_334

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi:To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what the median age is of computers issued to officials in their Department. \p Michael Shanks: The median age of computers issued to officials in the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero is two years and one month.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-04-01)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-04-01 conversation_335

Lee Anderson:To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what the total cost was of providing translation services in his Department in the last year. \p Michael Shanks: This information is not held centrally.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-04-01)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-04-01 conversation_336

Nick Timothy:To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what assessment his Department has made of (a) the effectiveness of fire prevention policies and (b) potential fire hazards at battery energy storage systems sites following the fire in Liverpool in 2020. \p Michael Shanks: The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) oversees a robust regulatory framework which covers batteries and requires responsible parties to take measures to ensure health and safety throughout all stages of a battery system’s deployment.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-04-01)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-04-01 conversation_337

Sir John Hayes:To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, with reference to his Department's press release entitled Households near new pylons to save hundreds on energy bills, published on 10 March 2025, whether the Grimsby to Walpole Grid Upgrade will be in scope; and how many (a) households and (b) landowners will receive financial support along the route. \p Michael Shanks: The bill discount scheme will apply to eligible domestic properties and is planned to go live from 2026 once regulations have been laid, when Parliamentary time allows. Eligibility will be set out in regulations, but our aim is that major new transmission projects needed for 2030 will be eligible. Further impact analysis will be conducted prior to scheme introduction. The Government has also published community funds guidance, which could apply to transmission projects yet to start construction.

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/electricity-transmission-infrastructure-proposed-bill-discount-scheme

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/electricity-transmission-network-infrastructure-community-funds
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-04-01)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-04-01 conversation_338

Daisy Cooper:To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether he has had discussions with (a) Ripple Energy and (b) the administrators of Ripple Energy on protections for the customers of Ripple Energy’s cooperative energy projects. \p Michael Shanks: Details of Ministers' and Permanent Secretaries' meetings with external individuals and organisations are published quarterly in arrears on GOV.UK.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-04-01)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-04-01 conversation_339

Jonathan Davies:To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what steps he has taken to help manage work required to meet EPC level C for houses of multiple occupancy. \p Miatta Fahnbulleh: The Government is now consulting on increasing minimum energy efficiency standards in the domestic private rented sector. The consultation sets out proposals on the maximum spend required from landlords and the exemptions regime to manage the cost burden placed on landlords and the impact on the rental market. We are considering how we can best support landlords to meet the new standards and welcome responses from landlords to the consultation.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-04-01)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-04-01 conversation_340

Gregor Poynton:To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what steps his Department is taking to reduce the cost of electricity. \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.

The creation of Great British Energy will help us to harness clean energy with less reliance on volatile international energy markets and help in our commitment to make Britain a clean energy superpower by 2030. 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 are delivering the Warm Home Discount to around 3 million eligible low-income households this 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 Government is also 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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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-04-01)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-04-01 conversation_341

Gregor Poynton:To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of creating a national energy advice service for businesses and homeowners. \p Miatta Fahnbulleh: The Government recognises that access to trusted and impartial energy efficiency and clean heat advice is crucial. The Government runs several digital services on GOV.UK, supported by a national phoneline, aimed at households. We are now streamlining these services into a single user journey to make it even easier for households to access information, including funding options and trusted installers.

We encourage SMEs to visit the UK Business Climate Hub, which provides information and advice to SMEs on how to reduce energy use and carbon emissions.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-04-01)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-04-01 conversation_342

Gregor Poynton:To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what steps his Department is taking to help ensure a widespread adoption of minimum energy efficiency standards. \p Miatta Fahnbulleh: The Government is consulting on increasing minimum energy efficiency standards in the domestic private rented sector, including proposals for rented homes to achieve EPC C or equivalent by 2030. We will consult shortly on introducing minimum energy efficiency standards in the social rented sector which would form part of the Decent Homes Standard.

We have also reviewed the responses to our 2019 and 2021 consultations on an EPC B trajectory for minimum energy efficiency standards in the non-domestic private rented sector and plan to publish a response in the early part of 2025.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-04-01)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-04-01 conversation_343

Graham Leadbitter:To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of hydrogen production on land-locked bodies of water. \p Sarah Jones: The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero works collaboratively with other government departments and relevant regulators to understand the water impacts of a developing hydrogen economy, including the potential impact of abstraction on water bodies.

The Government expects all planned hydrogen production projects to have robust plans in place for sustainable sourcing of water that comply with relevant regulations.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-04-01)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-04-01 conversation_344

Ben Obese-Jecty:To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, pursuant to the Answer of 19 March 2025 to Question 37365, whether he is taking steps with other Departments to eradicate the use of forced labour in energy-related global supply chains. \p Michael Shanks: We are working across Government - particularly alongside the Home Office, Cabinet Office, DBT and FCDO - to comprehensively tackle the use of forced labour in global supply chains.

At present, the Government is considering how Section 54 of the Modern Slavery Act 2015 can be strengthened, including possible penalties for non-compliance, and is working to update statutory guidance. The Procurement Act 2023, which came into force on 24 February, enables public sector contracting authorities to terminate contracts and reject bids from suppliers who are known to use forced labour themselves or anywhere in their supply chain.
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Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-04-01)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-04-01 conversation_345

Ben Maguire:To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps her Department is taking to improve road safety for vulnerable road users. \p Lilian Greenwood: This Government treats road safety with the utmost seriousness, and we are committed to reducing the numbers of those killed and injured on our roads. My Department is developing our road safety strategy and will set out more details in due course.