theodi/ndl-core-corpus huggingface dataset:
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Clive Jones:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to page 10 of the report by Cancer Research UK entitled Cancer in the UK 2025: Socioeconomic Deprivation, published in February 2025, what steps he is taking to increase the 5-year net survival rate for lung cancer. \p Ashley Dalton: We welcome Cancer Research UK’s report on socioeconomic deprivation and will consider its findings as we develop a new National Cancer Plan. As part of this, my Department is working closely with individuals, professionals and organisations, including Cancer Research UK, to improve outcomes and address inequalities.

To diagnose lung cancer earlier and boost survival rates, we are rolling out a national Lung Cancer Screening Programme, targeted at those aged between 55 and 74 years old with a history of smoking. This has led to over 3,000 more lung cancers being diagnosed at an early stage, with the biggest gains in early diagnosis rates among those living in the most deprived areas. We will build on these recent successes with the further roll out of the Lung Cancer Screening Programme.

NHS England’s Core20PLUS5 approach informs current action to reduce healthcare inequalities, including in early cancer diagnosis. To achieve this, we are improving public awareness of cancer signs and symptoms, streamlining referral routes, and increasing the availability of diagnostic capacity through the roll-out of more community diagnostic centres. In addition, the National Health Service is now delivering an extra 40,000 operations, scans, and appointments each week, during our first year in government as the first step to ensuring early diagnosis and faster treatment.
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Martin Wrigley:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he plans to make an assessment of the (a) adequacy of the requirement for UK-produced phages to be manufactured under good manufacturing practice and (b) potential impact of this requirement on patient access to treatment. \p Ashley Dalton: In the March 2024 response to the Science, Innovation and Technology Committee’s report on bacteriophages, the Government acknowledged the challenges of requiring United Kingdom-produced phages to meet Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) standards, which is essential for clinical use.

To address this, the Government committed to exploring the case for a dedicated GMP facility to support phage innovators, working with key stakeholders, including funders and research organisations, to strengthen the UK’s phage manufacturing capabilities and thereby improve patient access to these therapies.
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Jessica Toale:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what data his Department holds on the number of people who were diagnosed with HIV/AIDS in (a) Bournemouth and (b) South West England for each of the past five years. \p Ashley Dalton: The following table shows the number of HIV diagnoses, and the number of those diagnoses that were first diagnosed in the United Kingdom, for Bournemouth and the South West region, from 2019 to 2023:

Year

Bournemouth

South West region

All HIV diagnoses

Of which first diagnosed in UK

All HIV diagnoses

Of which first diagnosed in UK

2019

27

19

244

167

2020

23

14

168

110

2021

21

12

135

83

2022

28

18

221

102

2023

48

15

447

165

Further information on the number of people diagnosed with HIV by local authority and health region is publicly available at the following link:

https://fingertips.phe.org.uk/profile/sexualhealth/data#page/4/gid/xx-xxxx-xxxx/pat/15/par/E92000001/ati/6/are/E12000009/iid/91818/age/1/sex/4/cat/-1/ctp/-1/yrr/1/cid/4/tbm/1/page-options/car-do-0
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Jessica Toale:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to reduce HIV/AIDS transmission in (a) Bournemouth West constituency, (b) the South West and (c) areas with high prevalence of HIV. \p Ashley Dalton: The HIV Action Plan was published in 2022 and sets out steps to reduce HIV transmission between 2019 and 2025, including the importance of HIV testing, access to pre-exposure prophylaxis, and for those who test positive, rapid access to treatment. A new HIV Action Plan will be published in 2025.

The HIV Action Plan was written to be implemented at both the national and local level. The HIV Action Plan is available at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/towards-zero-the-hiv-action-plan-for-england-2022-to-2025
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Jim Shannon:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to improve children's facilities in hospitals. \p Ashley Dalton: The Government is committed to raising the healthiest generation of children ever across the United Kingdom. This involves ensuring that children receive the appropriate care and support whenever they need it. To make children’s services better, we are changing the National Health Service through our 10-Year Health Plan, to make it fit for the future. The plan will be published in June 2025.

Health is a devolved matter, and it is the responsibility of the individual devolved administrations to commission comprehensive healthcare based on population need.

Guidance has been provided to the NHS on the provision of children’s facilities in hospitals in the best practice guidance, Hospital accommodation for children and young people, which is available at the following link:

https://www.england.nhs.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/HBN_23.pdf

NHS England has work currently ongoing with the Starlight Foundation to produce recommended guidelines, standards, and checklists for designing health play services for babies, children, and young people.
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Kevin Hollinrake:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 31 March 2025 to Question 41063 on Low Alcohol Drinks: Labelling and Marketing, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of amending labelling regulations on pubs. \p Ashley Dalton: While the Government has not made a specific assessment of the potential impact of amending labelling regulations on no or low alcohol products in pubs, work continues across the Government to better understand how we can reduce alcohol-related harms by exploring potential opportunities, including changes to alcohol labelling.
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Susan Murray:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 4 March 2025 to Question 35462 on Pancreatic Enzyme Replacement Therapy shortages, what the (a) dates and (b) attendees were of meetings held with (i) clinicians, (ii) patient advocacy groups, (iii) affected charities, and (iv) manufacturers of pancreatic enzyme replacement therapy to discuss (A) shortages and (B) steps to increase supply. \p Karin Smyth: The Department is in regular discussions with the suppliers of pancreatic enzyme replacement therapy on the latest stock availability and the actions being taken to mitigate the supply issue that is affecting the whole of the United Kingdom. We have had discussions with representatives from UK and global supply teams, and will continue these meetings to understand what more can be done to add further resilience to the UK market.

The Department has worked with specialist clinicians from impacted therapeutic areas, the Medicine Shortage Response Group, and the Specialist Pharmacy Service to devise guidance for healthcare professionals with comprehensive management advice for the treatment of patients during this time.

The Department meets regularly with the affected patient advocacy groups and charities, including Pancreatic Cancer UK, Cystic Fibrosis Trust, Guts UK, and Neuroendocrine Cancer UK to ensure they are kept informed on the latest supply picture and any communications issued to healthcare professionals.
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Liz Jarvis:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he plans to increase the provision of pacemakers and implanted defibrillators. \p Karin Smyth: The volume of implantable devices purchased by cardiac providers has increased by 22% in 2024/25, when compared with the same period in 2023/24. Commissioned providers determine the need for cardiac implantable electronic device (CIED) implantation using a multi-disciplinary team approach, which considers the needs of the individual patient and clinical guidelines.

In 2023/24, approximately 60,000 CIEDs, which includes implantable cardioverter defibrillators and pacemakers, were implanted by National Health Service providers, as per the National Audit of Cardiac Rhythm Management report 2025.
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Blake Stephenson:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of the provisions outlined in his Department's press release entitled Crack teams get patients off waiting lists at twice the speed, published on 16 March 2025, on people in Bedfordshire. \p Karin Smyth: The Government is committed to putting patients first, and we have wasted no time in getting to work cutting National Health Service waiting lists and ensuring people have the best possible experience during their care.

Further Faster 20 (FF20) is a scheme to tackle waiting lists through targeted support to improve and streamline pathways for patients at 20 trusts in areas with high levels of economic inactivity. The latest data from October 2024 to January 2025 shows that waiting lists in areas with an FF20 trust have, on average, been reduced at more than double the rate of the rest of the country, falling 130% faster in areas where the Government’s scheme is in action, compared to the national average. A total of 37,000 cases have been removed from waiting lists in those 20 areas, averaging almost 2,000 patients per local trust. Following the success of the programme, the Government has confirmed that this initiative will be rolled out to additional providers this year, to boost NHS productivity and cut waiting times.

The Bedfordshire Hospital NHS Foundation Trust was not one of the 20 trusts targeted through the FF20 scheme, though the trust may access the resources of the wider Further Faster programme, which was rolled out to all trusts in March 2024.
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Susan Murray:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 4 March 2025 to Question 35462 on Pancreatic Enzyme Replacement Therapy shortages, if he will publish the volume of unlicensed pancreatic enzyme replacement therapy stock imported since 1 January 2024. \p Karin Smyth: The Department does not hold details on the volume of unlicensed pancreatic enzyme replacement therapy (PERT) stock imported since 1 January 2024. The Department continues to work with specialist importers who have sourced unlicensed stock to assist in covering the remaining gap in the market. The Department, in collaboration with NHS England, has created a webpage to include easily accessible advice on the prescribing and ordering of alternative PERT products, including unlicensed imports where licensed stock is unavailable.
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Afzal Khan:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking through (a) recruitment and (b) retention practices to increase the diversity of the maternity healthcare professional workforce. \p Karin Smyth: Decisions about recruitment are matters for individual National Health Service employers. NHS England’s Equality, Diversity and Inclusion plan, published in 2023, includes a commitment to embed fair and inclusive recruitment processes and talent management strategies that target under-representation and lack of diversity.

Targeted retention work for midwives is being undertaken by NHS England and led by the Chief Nursing Officer. This includes a midwifery and nursing retention self-assessment tool, mentoring schemes, and targeted efforts to improve the diversity of the workforce through four nationally run programmes to develop staff from ethnic minority backgrounds.
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Helen Morgan:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent progress each NHS Trust providing maternity services has made on implementing each of the immediate and essential actions set out in the Final report of the Ockenden review, published on 30 March 2022. \p Karin Smyth: All of the recommendations made by Donna Ockenden in her review into maternity services at the Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital Trust in 2022 were accepted, including the requests made to the Government, the health system more widely, and the trust. Following publication of the Ockenden review, NHS England wrote to all trusts and systems asking them to deliver the recommendations and report to their public boards.

To support this delivery, the three-year delivery plan for maternity and neonatal services brought together the immediate and essential actions from the Ockenden review with those from other reports and guidance. The National Health Service’s operational planning guidance sets out the expectation that trusts should implement the key actions from the plan. In accordance with the NHS operating framework, it is for integrated care boards to oversee local progress with this. The technical guidance which accompanies the plan sets out how we are monitoring progress at a national level.

The plan aims to grow the maternity workforce, develop a culture of safety, and ensure women receive safe, compassionate care across the country. NHS England is in the second year of delivery, and progress has been made across the four themes to improve outcomes and experiences for women and their babies.

The Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital Trust has seen a significant improvement in overall midwifery staffing levels. The trust has enhanced its senior and specialist midwifery teams to provide additional leadership, expert advice, and support for women and families, as well as the clinical teams. The Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital Trust now has in place robust training programmes that equip the maternity workforce with up-to-date skills, training, and development, including in the management of emergency scenarios.
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Gregory Stafford:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of classifying severe chronic anorexia as a disability rather than solely a mental health condition. \p Stephen Kinnock: The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.
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Tonia Antoniazzi:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 27 March 2025 to Question 40390 on Data, Statistics and Research on Sex and Gender Independent Review, whether his Department plans to implement the recommendations of the Sullivan Review of Data, Statistics and Research on Sex and Gender, published on 19 March 2025. \p Karin Smyth: The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.
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Edward Argar:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many full time equivalent staff were employed by NHS England as of 1 March 2025. \p Karin Smyth: The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.
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Sarah Owen:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to improve access to topical medication for prisoners. \p Stephen Kinnock: The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.
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Helen Morgan:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he has issued guidance to hospital trusts on reducing waiting lists for elective care through demand management. \p Karin Smyth: The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.
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Richard Burgon:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate his Department has made of the proportion of Personal Independence Payment recipients who use that payment to fund social care. \p Stephen Kinnock: The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.
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Edward Argar:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what percentage of NHS England's staff were clinically qualified as of 1 March 2025. \p Karin Smyth: The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.
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Suella Braverman:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of (a) PCSE and (b) Capita's management of the NHS pension scheme. \p Karin Smyth: Primary Care Support England’s (PCSE) services are contracted to Capita Business Services Ltd under a contract held by NHS England. As part of the service, PCSE collects general practitioner pension contribution and earnings information and passes this to NHS Pensions, which is administered by the NHS Business Services Authority. NHS England has governance in place to oversee the performance of Capita Business Services Ltd in delivering the PCSE contract in a range of ways. This includes holding PCSE to account for service delivery using key performance indicators, monitoring of complaints, and annual third-party audits.
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Mike Wood:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether the abolition of NHS England will require (a) primary legislation, (b) secondary legislation and (c) no legislation. \p Karin Smyth: Ministers and senior Department officials will work with the new executive team at the top of NHS England, led by Sir Jim Mackey, to jointly lead this transformation.

Primary legislation will be required, and we intend to bring this forward when Parliamentary time allows.
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Dr Luke Evans:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of NHS England's Right to Choose policy. \p Karin Smyth: The Government is committed to giving patients greater choice and control over their care. Patients have a legal right to choose where they go for their first appointment, when referred to consultant-led care as an outpatient.

Currently, however, less than a quarter of patients recall being offered a choice of provider. The Elective Reform Plan, published in January 2025, sets out the work needed to empower patients with greater choice and control, in order to make informed choices. This includes making the NHS App and the Manage Your Referral website the default routes for patients to choose their provider, and improving the information available to patients to support their decision, such as improved waiting time information.
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Jess Brown-Fuller:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what progress he has made on increasing the availability of (a) methylphenidate and (b) pancreatic enzyme replacement therapy. \p Karin Smyth: As a result of intensive work, some issues with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder medicines have resolved. All strengths of lisdexamfetamine, atomoxetine capsules, atomoxetine oral solution, and guanfacine prolonged-release tablets are now available.

However, whilst supply of methylphenidate prolonged-release tablets has greatly improved, some issues persist. We are continuing to work to resolve these remaining issues by engaging with all suppliers of methylphenidate prolonged-release tablets and capsules to assess the challenges faced and their actions to address them. We are also directing suppliers to secure additional stocks, expedite deliveries where possible, and review plans to build further capacity to support the continued growth in demand for the short and long-term. The Department is also working with new suppliers of methylphenidate prolonged-release tablets to improve supply and resiliency for the United Kingdom’s market.

The Department is continuing to engage with all suppliers of pancreatic enzyme replacement therapy (PERT) to mitigate the supply issue that is affecting the whole of the UK. Through this, we have managed to secure additional volumes of PERT for 2025 for the UK. We are continuing to work with all suppliers to understand what more can be done to add further resilience to the market. The Department has also reached out to specialist importers who have sourced unlicensed stock to assist in covering the remaining gap in the market.

In the longer term, the Department has had interest from non-UK suppliers wishing to bring their products to the UK and, along with colleagues in the Medicine and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency, we are working with these potential suppliers, and if authorised, these products could further diversify and strengthen the market.
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Paul Davies:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will ensure that the planned reductions in headcount in NHS England and his Department do not result in disruption to the implementation of lung cancer screening. \p Karin Smyth: Ministers and senior Department officials will work with the new executive team at the top of NHS England, led by Sir Jim Mackey, to jointly lead this transformation. This reform is about devolving resources and responsibility to the frontline, thereby empowering staff to focus on delivering better care for patients.

As we work to return many of NHS England’s current functions to the Department, we will ensure that we continue to evaluate impacts of all kinds, and will put plans in place to ensure continuity of care. We recognise the importance of lung cancer screening and are committed to ensuring its continuity during the transformation.
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Dr Luke Evans:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to ensure the effective continuation of existing contracts and agreements currently held by NHS England after it is abolished. \p Karin Smyth: Ministers and senior Department officials will work with the new executive team at the top of NHS England, led by Sir Jim Mackey, to jointly lead this transformation. As we work to bring the two organisations together, we will ensure that we continue to evaluate impacts of all kinds, and will put plans in place to ensure continuity of care.

The abolition of NHS England will strip out the unnecessary bureaucracy and cut the duplication that comes from having two organisations doing the same job. We will empower staff to focus on delivering better care for patients, driving productivity up, and getting waiting times down.
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Dr Luke Evans:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to ensure that the abolition of NHS England does not lead to a loss of institutional knowledge critical to NHS operations. \p Karin Smyth: Ministers and senior Department officials will work with the new executive team at the top of NHS England, led by Sir Jim Mackey, to jointly lead this transformation.

There are talented, dedicated public servants working across the country, and at every level, of NHS England and the Department. The transition team will be working at pace to develop plans for the future to give certainty to those with the talent and skills needed for the future and ensure they are retained.

As we work to return many of NHS England’s current functions to the Department, we will ensure that we continue to evaluate impacts of all kinds.

As we work through the next steps on merging the two organisations, we will be putting in place plans to ensure there are no risks to patient safety and that critical information and systems are effectively transferred.
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Joe Robertson:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what discussions he has had with the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence on health technology assessment methods for evaluating novel therapies for Alzheimer's disease. \p Karin Smyth: Department officials have regular discussions with the National Institute of Health and Care Excellence (NICE) about a range of topics, including its health technology assessment methods.

The NICE develops its guidance independently on the basis of an assessment of the available evidence, in line with its published health technology evaluation manual. The NICE keeps its methods and processes under review to ensure that they are appropriate to emerging new treatments and aligned with best practice.

The NICE has established a Health Technology Assessment Innovation Laboratory (HTA Lab) that aims to address the challenges that may arise in the assessment of innovative health technologies.

The NICE’s HTA Lab carried out a project to identify the key issues that are likely to emerge during the evaluation of the disease modifying treatments for dementia, including those licensed for Alzheimer’s disease. The project concluded that the NICE’s current approach and methods are appropriate for evaluating these treatments. The report is available at the following link:

https://www.nice.org.uk/about/what-we-do/our-research-work/hta-lab-projects#dmdts
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Suella Braverman:To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to monitor (a) PCSE and (b) Capita's performance in managing the NHS Pension Scheme. \p Karin Smyth: The NHS Business Service Authority is the scheme manager for NHS Pensions. NHS England is the employing authority for general practitioners (GPs) and undertakes local pension administration for GPs through Primary Care Support England (PCSE). NHS England has a monthly governance board in place to monitor and assure the delivery of the PCSE service, which includes an assessment of quality and performance indicators.
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Marsha De Cordova:To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what assessment he makes of the effectiveness of safeguards to protect tenants from (a) rent increases and (b) evictions following upgrades to Energy Performance ratings by landlords. \p Miatta Fahnbulleh: The Government launched a consultation on improving minimum energy efficiency standards in the domestic private rented sector on 7th February 2025.

The Government is committed to protecting and improving the rights of tenants. The Renters’ Rights Bill will put in place new regulations to protect tenants. This includes providing stronger protections to ensure that tenants are able to appeal excessive above-market rents, abolishing Section 21 ‘no fault evictions’, and moving to a simpler tenancy structure where all assured tenancies are periodic. These measures provide more security for tenants and enable them to challenge poor practice and unfair rent increases without fear of eviction.
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Tracy Gilbert:To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of introducing zonal pricing on private investment. \p Michael Shanks: The Government is considering reforms to the electricity market through our Review of Electricity Market Arrangements (REMA). This includes consideration of whether to move to a zonal electricity market, where prices vary depending on local conditions, or to continue with a reformed version of our national pricing arrangements.

Zonal pricing could have significant benefits, including through reducing the cost of energy to businesses. However, it also creates potential new risks to generators that need to be carefully considered.

Any decisions on market reform will be based on a robust analysis of the costs and benefits.

The Government plans to conclude the policy development phase of the REMA programme by mid-2025.
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Kevin Hollinrake:To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what estimate his Department has made of the potential impact of proximity to an electricity pylon on the average capital value of an average house. \p Michael Shanks: The Government does not assess the impact of new transmission network infrastructure on house prices.

Landowners, businesses and homeowners that have electrical equipment, such as pylons or towers, sited on their land have the right to compensation for the value of their land, as well as for any losses or expenses incurred. Acquiring authorities can also put in place discretionary schemes offering additional compensation.

We have published guidance on community funds for electricity transmission infrastructure which outlines government’s recommendations on how to communities living near clean energy infrastructure can benefit.

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/electricity-transmission-network-infrastructure-community-funds/community-funds-for-transmission-infrastructure-accessible-webpage
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Wendy Morton:To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of implementing a targeted scheme to support older people with their heating bills. \p Miatta Fahnbulleh: The Government knows that more needs to be done to support vulnerable households that are struggling with bills whilst we transition to clean power.

The Government’s Warm Home Discount (WHD) scheme provides targeted support to eligible low-income households across Great Britain with a £150 rebate off their winter energy bill. The scheme provides rebates to pensioners in receipt of Pension Credit Guarantee Credit, the vast majority of whom receive the rebate automatically. In 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. This would see an increase in those in receipt of the Savings Credit element of Pension Credit receiving a discount next winter.

I have been clear with suppliers that they should do all that they can to support their customers – including vulnerable consumers – who may be struggling with their bills.

Building on the work I did with energy suppliers to agree the £500 million Winter Commitment to help customers last winter, I am now also leading a working group with Energy UK and other stakeholders to consider how we can take further sustained action on improving affordability and accessibility of energy.
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Ellie Chowns:To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of increasing the number of district heating schemes. \p Miatta Fahnbulleh: The Government believes that heat networks are an essential part of a decarbonised future energy system. In high density urban areas, they are often the lowest cost, low carbon heating option, and can use a range of low carbon energy sources such as waste heat from industry. This helps to reduce costs for consumers and strengthens the Uk’s energy resilience.

The Committee for Climate Change has recommended the government grows the heat network sector from providing 3% of national heat demand to 20% by 2050. We are implementing heat network zoning and funding low carbon heat networks to get to this scale.
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Ben Obese-Jecty:To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, with reference to the oral contribution of the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government in the Second Reading of the Planning and Infrastructure Bill on 24 March 2025, Official Report, column 659, how protecting high-quality agricultural land will impact the use of best and most versatile land in energy infrastructure projects. \p Michael Shanks: The National Planning Policy Framework and National Policy Statements were updated in 2024 and make clear that energy infrastructure should always be located in areas of poorer quality land rather that higher quality land where possible. A Strategic Spatial Energy Plan is also being developed to ensure new energy infrastructure projects are located in the most appropriate areas across the UK.
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John Milne:To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether his Department plans to direct the Strategic Spatial Energy Plan to be inclusive of community energy projects. \p Michael Shanks: The Strategic Spatial Energy Plan is a national, transmission-level plan covering Great Britain, and as such it will not prescribe or authorise individual projects at community level. Regional Energy Strategic Plans (RESPs) will undertake spatial planning at a more local level.
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John Milne:To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what steps he is taking with Cabinet colleagues to help ensure that the land use framework encourages community energy projects. \p Michael Shanks: My Rt hon Friend the Secretary of State has regular discussions with Ministerial Colleagues on a number of issues.

The Government is currently consulting on the Land Use Framework, which aims to use the most sophisticated land use data ever published, to provide the principles, advanced data, and tools to support decision-making by stakeholders to make the most of our land. Views are currently being sought in the public consultation, which closes on 25 April.

The previous Government consulted on the barriers to community energy through a Call for Evidence and published a response to this Call for Evidence on 21 March. The evidence is being used to inform potential changes that could be put in place to overcome these barriers. The Government is committed to growing community energy and supporting its important role in the energy transition.
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John Milne:To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, who is responsible for the (a) design and (b) delivery of the Strategic Spatial Energy Plan. \p Michael Shanks: The UK, Scottish and Welsh governments have commissioned the National Energy System Operator (NESO) to develop the Strategic Spatial Energy Plan. NESO is independently producing the plan, with oversight from the three governments and Ofgem.
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John Milne:To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether communities affected by (a) community-run and (b) centrally-led energy infrastructure development will receive (i) energy bill discounts and (ii) other compensation. \p Michael Shanks: In the Clean Power Action Plan, we made clear that where communities host clean energy infrastructure, they should feel tangible and enduring benefit of doing so. We are exploring options in this area, including community funds and shared ownership.

The Government has already announced bill discounts for communities living nearest to new electricity transmission infrastructure, and published guidance on community funds for electricity transmission infrastructure.

The Government intends to publish community benefit guidance for onshore wind in England, and Solar Energy UK has also committed to publishing further guidance.
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John Milne:To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, how spatial planning responsibilities will be split between national and local level; and whether local people will be able to run community energy projects. \p Michael Shanks: The Strategic Spatial Energy Plan (SSEP) is the national-level plan covering GB, whilst Regional Energy Strategic Plans (RESPs) will work with organisations at a local level to plan how local energy systems need to be developed to reach net zero, considering both the national targets set by government and local needs. Great British Energy will also provide increased funding and support to ensure that local communities continue to directly benefit from clean energy projects.
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John Milne:To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what steps he is taking to (a) protect and (b) promote community energy projects beyond the Local Power Plan. \p Michael Shanks: Local power generation is an essential part of the UK’s energy generation and increasing support from Great British Energy will ensure that local communities benefit as the UK supercharges its mission to become a clean energy superpower.

We recently announced that Community Energy Groups will be able to access a share of £5 million in grant funding through the Great British Energy Community Fund to help communities develop their own clean energy projects.

Great British Energy will also work closely with Community Energy Groups, providing commercial, technical, and project-planning assistance to increase their capability and capacity to build a pipeline of successful projects in their local areas.
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Tracy Gilbert:To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, how many organisations he has had discussions with on zonal pricing are (a) in favour of and (b) against introducing zonal pricing. \p Michael Shanks: The second REMA consultation sought views on a range of market reforms under consideration by Government, including zonal pricing. The outcomes of the consultation are available at https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/review-of-electricity-market-arrangements-rema-second-consultation

Since coming into office I have also met with stakeholders representing a wide spectrum of views on zonal pricing, with the purpose of considering all positions as we work towards making a decision on market reform.
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Tracy Gilbert:To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what his planned timetable is for the end of the policy development phase of the review of electricity market arrangements. \p Michael Shanks: As set out in the Review of Electricity Market Arrangements Autumn Update, the Government plans to conclude the policy development phase of the REMA programme by mid-2025 and announce final decisions before the CfD Allocation Round 7 auctions open.
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Pippa Heylings:To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what steps he is taking to ensure the Climate Change Committee assesses the upcoming sixth carbon budget plan before it is published. \p Kerry McCarthy: We value the CCC’s independent advice and expertise on progress against our targets. We will deliver an updated plan that sets out the policy package out to the end of Carbon Budget 6 in 2037 for all the sectors in due course. This will outline the policies and proposals needed to deliver Carbon Budgets 4-6 and our NDC commitments on a pathway to net zero. Government will consider CCC’s already published independent advice on Carbon Budgets as well as annual progress reports to Government ahead of publishing the new Plan.
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David Smith:To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what progress he has made on reform to the British coal staff superannuation scheme. \p Kerry McCarthy: I have written to the Chief Secretary to the Treasury on this matter and we will continue to work closely with His Majesty’s Treasury on aspects related to the British Coal Staff Superannuation Scheme.
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Gregory Stafford:To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what discussions her Department has had with (a) Surrey Police and (b) XPS Pensions on the time taken to provide compensation for police pension claimants in Surrey. \p Dame Diana Johnson: While the Home Office has responsibility for overarching policy and legislative changes to the police pension regulations, the police pension scheme is locally administered by individual police forces. The Home Office is working with the policing sector to support the effective implementation of the McCloud remedy and associated compensation payments for all affected individuals.

It is for each Chief Constable, in their role as scheme manager for their force, to determine their administrative timetable, in accordance with the Public Service Pensions and Judicial Offices Act 2022, including issuing remediable service statements, as well as when remedy payments and compensation payments will be paid.
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David Chadwick:To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of the roll-out of facial recognition surveillance in Cardiff on (a) residents and (b) visitors. \p Dame Diana Johnson: All police forces must comply with legislation and published guidance when they use facial recognition technology. This includes carrying out their Public Sector Equality Duty. South Wales Police has published equality and data protection impact assessments on live facial recognition technology on their website.
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Sir John Hayes:To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment has she made of recent trends of retail crime in Lincolnshire. \p Dame Diana Johnson: The Home Office collects and publishes official statistics on various retail offences recorded by Police Force Area, including Lincolnshire, on a quarterly basis, which can be accessed here:

https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/police-recorded-crime-open-data-tables