theodi/ndl-core-corpus huggingface dataset:
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Andrew Gwynne:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 21 May 2025 to Question 51817 on Orphans: Databases, if she will take steps to create a register of all orphaned children which includes information on the care arrangements of each child. \p Janet Daby: The department does not currently have any plans to create a new register for orphaned children. Our priority for children who have been orphaned is to find them a new, permanent, loving home as soon as we can.

Some are taken in by a member of their family in a kinship arrangement and are provided with a range of support and care from within their existing family network, with the support of the local authority where needed.

Others may be adopted and will receive support through the Regional Adoption Agencies.

Local authorities have a statutory duty to ensure sufficient provision in their area to meet the needs of children in their care. The department is supporting them through funding and legislation.
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Charlotte Nichols:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will meet with (a) Adoption UK and (b) other representative organisations to discuss the adoption and special guardianship support fund. \p Janet Daby: In my role as Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Children and Families, I have recently met with Adoption UK and other representative organisations to discuss the Adoption and Special Guardianship Support Fund (ASGSF) and other issues during the adoption sector roundtable on 21 May 2025.

I also met with adopters at the Adoption Reference Group meeting on 6 May 2025, which again discussed the ASGSF, as well as other adoption support issues.

The department is intending further engagement with sector bodies on the approach to managing the ASGSF in future years.
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Rachel Gilmour:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what progress phase 2 of the Schools Rebuilding Programme has made on Tiverton High School. \p Stephen Morgan: The department will begin working with Tiverton High School this quarter as it enters delivery. We will work closely with the Responsible Body to determine how best to proceed.
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Liz Jarvis:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many dedicated mental health professionals are employed in secondary schools in (a) Hampshire and (b) Eastleigh constituency. \p Stephen Morgan: This government is committed to improving mental health support for all children and young people. This is critical to breaking down barriers to opportunity and helping pupils to achieve and thrive in education.

Information on the numbers of staff employed in schools is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/school-workforce-in-england-november-2023. The department does not collect information on how many dedicated mental health professionals are employed in secondary schools in (a) Hampshire and (b) Eastleigh constituency.

The government has committed to providing access to specialist mental health professionals in every school by expanding mental health support teams (MHSTs), so every child and young person has access to early support to address problems before they escalate. The teams act as a link with local children and young people’s mental health services and are trained and supervised by NHS staff.

At the end of 2024/25, around 600 NHS-funded MHSTs were operational in 10,100 (41%) schools and colleges in England. At the end of 2024/25, 5 million pupils and learners were covered by MHSTs which equates to 52% coverage of pupils in schools and further education learners in England. In Hampshire local authority, 43% of pupils/learners and 43% of schools/colleges were covered by MHSTs, as at end 2024/25, compared to 52% and 41% nationally, respectively.

Around six in ten pupils will have access to a mental health support team by March 2026, with the rollout prioritised based on NHS identification of local need and reaching the most vulnerable children first.

The government will also recruit an additional 8,500 new mental health staff to treat children and adults, and open new Young Futures Hubs with access to mental health support workers.
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Liz Jarvis:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many specialist SEND nurseries have (a) closed and (b) been replaced by a mobile SEND service since 2015. \p Stephen Morgan: The information requested is not held centrally.

Under Section 6 of the Childcare Act 2006, local authorities are responsible for ensuring that the provision of childcare is sufficient to meet the requirements of parents in their area. Part B of the ’Early education and childcare’ statutory guidance for local authorities highlights that local authorities are required to report annually to elected council members on how they are meeting their duty to secure sufficient childcare, and to make this report available and accessible to parents. The guidance can be accessed here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/early-education-and-childcare--2.

The department has regular contact with each local authority in England about their sufficiency of childcare and any issues they are facing.

Where local authorities report sufficiency challenges, we discuss what action the local authority is taking to address those issues and where needed support the local authority with any specific requirements through our childcare sufficiency support contract.
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Mr Toby Perkins:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to ensure that children being home schooled are receiving (a) a high level of education and (b) in a safe environment. \p Stephen Morgan: The department has collected data on compulsory school-aged children in elective home education from local authorities on a termly basis since autumn 2022. Figures are available by local authority in the publication available at: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/elective-home-education/2024-25-autumn-term.

In most cases, there is no legal obligation on parents to request permission or notify the school or local authority that they are withdrawing their child from school to home educate them.

As parents currently have no legal duty to inform local authorities when they are home educating, local authorities cannot be assured that they are fulfilling this duty towards all children living in their areas.

This is why the Children’s Wellbeing and School Bill, which is currently at Committee Stage in the House of Lords, will introduce compulsory Children Not in School Registers in every local authority in England and Wales. These measures will help local authorities to identify all children not in school in their areas, including those not in receipt of safe or suitable education, and to act where this is the case.
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Matt Vickers:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, when she plans to send the allocation towards the operation of free breakfast clubs to primary schools. \p Stephen Morgan: The government is committed to offering a free and universal breakfast club in every state-funded school with primary-aged pupils in England. Breakfast clubs support children’s attendance and attainment, enabling them to thrive academically and socially, and supporting working families.

From this summer term, we are funding 750 early adopter schools to test and learn our new free breakfast clubs, ahead of national rollout. Early adopter schools have already received their first payments and will continue to receive termly fixed payments, plus attendance-based payments based on the number of children who attend, over the course of the scheme.

Funding for breakfast clubs beyond the current financial year will be confirmed through the next phase of the spending review. Payment schedules and allocations for the next academic year will be confirmed in due course.
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Andrew Gwynne:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will take steps to help reduce the number of children starting school without basic early-years skills. \p Stephen Morgan: The government’s Plan for Change set out our ambition for a record proportion of children starting school ready to learn in the classroom. We will measure our progress through 75% of children reaching a good level of development in the early years foundation stage profile assessment by 2028. The department will use a number of strategies to achieve this.

Firstly, we will roll out government-funded childcare support to improve access. We are delivering the expansion to 30 funded hours and have awarded 300 schools £37 million in the first phase towards 3,000 new and expanded school-based nurseries, increasing the availability of high-quality childcare places where they are needed most.

The department will also work in partnership with the sector, reforming training and support for the workforce to drive up standards. We will ensure that the reception year sets children up for success, by increasing schools’ access to evidence-based programmes that boost early literacy and numeracy skills. We are hosting a series of regional conferences focused on reception year quality starting later this month.

In addition, the department is working to strengthen and join-up family services to improve support through pregnancy and early childhood. This includes continuing to invest in and build up Family Hubs and Start for Life programmes to support early child health, parenting and home learning programmes, and strengthening health visiting services for all families, as well as improved early identification of special educational needs and disabilities.
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Mr Joshua Reynolds:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many school buildings in Maidenhead are classified as requiring urgent repair under her Department’s Condition Data Collection. \p Stephen Morgan: From 2021 to 2026, the Condition Data Collection 2 (CDC2) programme is visiting every government-funded school and college in England to collect data about the condition of their buildings. This is providing an updated and comprehensive picture of the condition of the school estate in England to support our capital funding policy and programmes.

School reports, setting out the condition of building elements, are shared with each school and their responsible body while the CDC2 programme is in progress, so that schools and responsible bodies have access to the latest assessment of their site.

Information on the condition of schools, as assessed by the predecessor programme (CDC1), can be found at: https://depositedpapers.parliament.uk/depositedpaper/2285521/details.

Responsible bodies, such as local authorities, voluntary-aided school bodies, and multi and single academy trusts, have the responsibility to make regular assessments of the condition of schools in their estate to inform programmes of maintenance works.

The department has increased funding to improve the condition of the estate for the 2025/26 financial year to £2.1 billion, up from £1.8 billion last year. Allocations are published on GOV.UK and are partly informed by consistent data on the condition of the estate collected by the department, reflecting the relative need of schools. This is in addition to our continued investment in the current School Rebuilding Programme.
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Manuela Perteghella:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what support her Department is providing to rural primary schools to provide breakfast club provision under the early adopter scheme. \p Stephen Morgan: I refer the hon. Member for Stratford-on-Avon to the answer of 03 June 2025 to Question 53170.
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Shaun Davies:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many early years professionals were recruited following the introduction of the £1000 tax-free cash incentive. \p Stephen Morgan: The early years workforce is at the heart of the government’s mission to ensure every child has the best start in life. Early education and childcare is delivered by a mixed market of private, voluntary and independent provision who recruit and employ their staff depending upon their business and local need. We are supporting the sector to attract talented staff and childminders to join the workforce by creating conditions for improved recruitment and new routes into the workforce.

Financial incentives are an important part of this plan, and the government has been running two schemes testing incentives in 26 local authorities. New starters and returners needed to meet certain eligibility criteria and to have started in an eligible provider in one of these 26 local authorities to be eligible to receive a £1000 payment.

The financial incentives pilot ran from April 2024 to March 2025 in 20 local authorities and tested whether the offer of an incentive payment would increase recruitment.

The financial incentives live test ran from November 2024 to March 2025 in an additional 6 local authorities. This tested the use of a new online portal as a possible delivery mechanism.

Delivery on both schemes ended in March 2025. The pilot is currently being evaluated and we will set out the results in due course.
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Noah Law:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that children who are home educated have access to (a) resources and (b) support comparable to those available to children educated in schools. \p Stephen Morgan: Home education is a proactive choice made by parents. In electing to home educate they choose to leave the state school system and the associated support and access to facilities which are available as part of having a school place.

Special educational needs (SEN) support, including access to therapies, is not conditional on the child being in school. Children are able to gain access to SEN support and mental health support when educated not in school.

Non-school based SEN and mental health support can be accessed through the local authority, via an education, health and care plan, and the NHS. Access to services is determined based on individual need, not how a child is educated.
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Shaun Davies:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how much her Department has spent on its scheme to offer £1000 sign-on incentives to help recruit early years professionals. \p Stephen Morgan: The early years workforce is at the heart of this government’s mission to give every child the best start in life and deliver the Plan for Change. We have set a milestone of a record proportion of children starting school ready to learn in the classroom. We will measure our progress through 75% of children at the end of reception reaching a good level of development in the Early Years Foundation Stage Profile assessment by 2028.

Early education is delivered by a mixed market of providers who recruit staff depending on business need. The department is supporting providers by creating conditions for improved recruitment. Funding breakdowns by region are not held.
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Damian Hinds:To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to help ensure that internet filtering systems used in education settings are independently accredited. \p Stephen Morgan: All schools and colleges must have regard to ‘Keeping children safe in education’, which can be accessed here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/keeping-children-safe-in-education--2. This guidance already makes clear that schools and colleges should ensure appropriate filtering and monitoring systems are in place and that their effectiveness is regularly reviewed.

The department developed the filtering and monitoring standards to help schools and colleges to understand what they should be doing to keep children safe online. These standards offer support to schools, who can use South-West Grid for Learning’s testing tool to check that, as a minimum, their filtering system is blocking access to illegal child abuse material, unlawful terrorist content, and adult content.

The Internet Watch Foundation (IWF) and Counter-Terrorism Internet Referral Unit (CTIRU) provide lists of illegal websites that filtering providers can block as part of their service, known as blocklists. Schools and colleges must make sure these blocklists are included with their filtering solutions.

To further support schools, the department has launched ‘Plan technology for your school’ which allows schools to self-assess their filtering and monitoring provision against the standards and make strategic decisions about how to improve their provision. This can be accessed here: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/plan-technology-for-your-school.

The department will continue to work with the providers, including filtering and monitoring providers, and the wider sector, to understand how we can best support them.
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Lisa Smart:To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps her Department is taking to reduce delays in the (a) processing and (b) hearing of cases at the First-Tier Tribunal. \p Sarah Sackman: This Government inherited a broken justice system with record and rising court backlogs. We are determined to reverse these trends in this Parliament. HM Courts & Tribunals Service (HMCTS) continues to invest in improving tribunal productivity by:

We expect these actions to have a positive effect on timeliness performance.
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Dr Rosena Allin-Khan:To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps she is taking to improve (a) response times and (b) service standards at Wandsworth County Court. \p Sarah Sackman: Wandsworth County Court is part of the London Civil and Family Cluster. Performance is discussed weekly, and the cluster priorities agreed. Work is moved around the cluster to ensure that the quickest possible service is delivered. Continuous Improvement exercises continue to be undertaken to ensure the best customer service.

Over the last 12 months, overall workload in the cluster has reduced by 30%, and in Wandsworth by 20%. This has been achieved by sharing work with other courts, additional judicial recruitment, sitting days and digitalisation of online money claims.

While there have been significant recruitment and retention issues at Wandsworth in the past, we have now filled all vacancies following a targeted recruitment campaign.
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Dr Rosena Allin-Khan:To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many cases were awaiting hearing at Wandsworth County Court as of 1 June 2025. \p Sarah Sackman: There were 145 cases awaiting listing for a hearing and 4479 cases already listed at the week commencing 2 June 2025.
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Alison Bennett:To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether her Department plans to commission an independent inquiry into the (a) scientific validity, (b) cost and (c) potential misuse of hair strand testing for methamphetamine in family court proceedings. \p Sarah Sackman: The Ministry of Justice has no plans to commission an independent inquiry into the (a) scientific validity, (b) cost and (c) potential misuse of hair strand testing for methamphetamine in family court proceedings.

The President of the Family Division has set up a working group of the Family Justice Council on the use of hair strand testing in the family courts. We await the group’s findings with interest.
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Shockat Adam:To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what comparative estimate she has made of the cost to the public purse of (a) off-contract bookings and (b) contract-based interpreter services. \p Sarah Sackman: We do not hold spend data for each region. Total annual spend across all 4 language services contracts, with % increases have been calculated and set out below:

Year

Total

Year on Year % increase

Total Growth (since 2020)

Sitting Days (Financial Year)

2020

£20,217,548.09

-

-

2020/21 – 199,200

2021

£25,062,618.71

24%

24%

2021/22 – 559,888

2022

£26,883,747.04

7%

33%

2022/23 – Over 565,000

2023

£30,374,050.44

13%

50%

2023/24 – Over 580,000

2024

£31,625,158.35

4%

56%

2024/25 - TBC

Off-contract spend:

Year

Total

2020

£1,193,788

2021

£2,157,759

2022

£4,856,616

2023

£6,565,781

2024

£7,037,731

The use of off-contract is typically to cover requirements that arise at short notice and those that are more challenging to fulfil, such as the requirement for languages that are rare or scarce, and as such are more expensive to source. The use of off-contract interpreters allows hearings to go ahead, to continue the delivery of justice.

The next generation of contracts, currently being procured, includes the use of a secondary supplier of interpreters, specifically to source those short notice bookings, and to bring this spend on-contract, with benefits such as improved data and value for money.

Performance levels can be accessed via the Published statistics, which can be found at: Criminal court statistics - GOV.UK

Comparison (2020–2024)

Year

On-Contract Spend (£)

Off-Contract Spend (£)

Total Spend (£)

% On-Contract

% Off-Contract

2020

£20,217,548

£1,193,788

£21,411,336

94.4%

5.6%

2021

£25,062,619

£2,157,759

£27,220,378

92.1%

7.9%

2022

£26,883,747

£4,856,616

£31,740,363

84.7%

15.3%

2023

£30,374,050

£6,565,781

£36,939,831

82.2%

17.8%

2024

£31,625,158

£7,037,731

£38,662,889

81.8%

18.2%
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Victoria Collins:To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps her Department is taking to tackle backlogs in the courts in Harpenden and Berkhamsted constituency. \p Sarah Sackman: This Government inherited a record and rising courts backlog. For this financial year (25/26), this Government is funding a record allocation of Crown Court sitting days to deliver swifter justice for victims – 110,000 sitting days this year, 4,000 higher than the previous Government funded. However, the scale of the challenge is beyond what increasing sitting days can achieve. In civil justice, courts and tribunals are sitting at, or close to maximum judicial capacity in every jurisdiction.

That is why we have commissioned Sir Brian Leveson to conduct a review of the courts that will propose once-in-a-generation reform to deliver swifter justice for victims.

In the Harpenden and Berkhamsted constituency:

Criminal Courts:

St Albans Crown Court has seen an increase in Circuit Judges, and an increase in courtrooms from 6 to 7. The open caseload at this court was reduced by 3% in 2024.

In the magistrates’ court, additional Legal Advisors are being recruited. The open caseload in Herts area was reduced by 14% in 2024.

Family and Civil Courts:

Our focus across Hertfordshire is to progress the family and civil cases in as timely a way as possible whilst balancing the individual circumstances and needs of each case. The Designated Family and Civil Judges, along with HMCTS, have implemented a robust case progression initiative. Cases are reviewed and cases that are suitable for the hearing date to be brought forward are prioritised. This is achieved by utilising courtroom capacity that becomes available from other cases resolving.
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Victoria Collins:To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps her Department is taking to help increase levels of access to legal aid for people in rural areas in Harpenden and Berkhamsted constituency. \p Sarah Sackman: It is vital that those who need legal aid, some of the most vulnerable people in our society, can access it wherever they live. We are funding provisions such as Advicenow, which is an online provision.

The Legal Aid Agency (LAA) monitors the numbers of providers in each procurement area and across all categories of law. It takes operational action where it can, to respond to market pressures that may arise and works closely with the Ministry of Justice on policy solutions concerning the supply of legal aid.

Procurement for legal aid contracts is now operated under the ‘always on principle’ so that the procurement remains open during the life of the contract. This is a significant change from the previous approach where firms could only bid to join at the initial tender of what typically was a five-year contract term. This new approach enables new entrants to apply for a contract at any time and for existing providers to expand their services. It is a more flexible approach removing hard deadlines and maximising the available supply of services.

The LAA is satisfied that there is adequate access to legal aid services in Harpenden and Berkhamsted across all categories of legal aid. Provision includes local services such as duty solicitor schemes and national services such as early legal advice under the Housing Loss Prevention Advice Service and advice relating to housing, debt, education and discrimination via the Civil Legal Advice telephone service.

The Ministry of Justice has recently concluded a consultation on uplifts to civil legal aid fees (which once fully implemented, would inject an additional £20 million into the sector each year), and is currently consulting on funding of up to £92 million more a year for criminal legal aid solicitors.
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Adam Jogee:To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether she has discussed the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill with representatives of the Welsh Government. \p Sarah Sackman: The Secretary of State has not discussed the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill with counterparts in the Welsh Government.

The Government is neutral on the matter of assisted dying and the passage of the Bill.
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Ben Goldsborough:To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if she will list the offences for which the Single Justice Procedure can be used. \p Sarah Sackman: We do not have a list of the offences prosecutable under the Single Justice Procedure (SJP). It can be used to deal with any non-imprisonable summary-only offence in cases which are non-contested and where the prosecutor considers it appropriate. In all SJP cases, the defendant has the option to choose for their case to be heard in open court rather than through the SJP process.

Our consultation on the Oversight and Regulation of Private Prosecutors, which closed on 8 May 2025, looks at the operation of the SJP generally. We are analysing the responses which will inform future work in this area, including the need for reforms to ensure the SJP operates in a fair and transparent manner.
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Mr Andrew Snowden:To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps she is taking to protect people whose criminal histories were made public as a result of the recent Legal Aid data breach. \p Sarah Sackman: To reach as many potentially impacted individuals as possible, the Ministry of Justice published a notice at 08:15 on 19 May on GOV.UK. The statement provides information about the cyber-attack and directs concerned members of the public to the National Cyber Security Centre’s webpage.

Further, the Legal Aid Agency (LAA) has set up a dedicated helpline that will be available from Tuesday 27 May for members of the public who are concerned they may have been affected by the LAA data breach. HM Courts and Tribunal Service (HMCTS) is working with the LAA to facilitate this by standing up an operational call centre team to handle telephone calls.

In the days following the discovery, we took immediate action to inform all legal aid providers that some of their details, including financial information, may have been compromised. Further updates, including the decision to temporarily take the LAA's portal offline and contingency measures implemented have been provided by email and a dedicated information page relating to the cyber-attack has been set up: Legal Aid Agency cyber-security incident - GOV.UK.

The cyber-attack is subject to an ongoing investigation and the LAA continues to work closely with the National Crime Agency and National Cyber Security Centre. Appropriate actions have been taken to mitigate the impact of the attack and contingency measures have been put in place to ensure those most in need of legal support and advice can continue to access the help they need during this time, as outlined on LAA’s dedicated information page.

At the current time, no information about previous or current legal aid service users, such as criminal histories, has been made public as a result of the cyber attack.

This data breach is the result of heinous criminal activity, but it was enabled by the long years of neglect and mismanagement of the justice system under the last Conservative Government. The previous Government knew about the vulnerabilities of the Legal Aid Agency digital systems, but did not act. By contrast, since taking office, this Government have prioritised work to reverse the damage of over a decade of under-investment. That includes the allocation of over £20 million in extra funding this year to stabilise and transform the Legal Aid Agency digital services. This investment will make the system more robust and resilient in the face of similar cyber-attacks in future.
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Adam Jogee:To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what recent assessment she has made of the effectiveness of the work of the Criminal Cases Review Commission. \p Alex Davies-Jones: The Lord Chancellor has appointed Dame Vera Baird DBE KC to carry out a thorough review of the operation of the Criminal Cases Review Commission, to increase public confidence in the organisation and the important work it undertakes investigating potential miscarriages of justice.
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Alison Hume:To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of banning the proppant squeeze process of gas extraction. \p Michael Shanks: Proppant squeezes are not currently defined in legislation as high volume hydraulic fracturing for shale gas extraction. We are committed to banning fracking for good and any future decision on national planning policy for fracking will take into account all volumes of hydraulic fracturing.
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Claire Coutinho:To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, pursuant to the Answer of 11 April 2025 to Question 43723 on Carbon Emissions: Trees, if he will publish minutes of meetings with officials where the KPMG report was discussed. \p Michael Shanks: We have determined that it would not be in the public interest to release further information on this issue in this instance. Protecting commercially sensitive information facilitates the frank exchange of information between the private sector and government, and ensures ministers and civil servants can have honest, unfiltered discussions during the policy-making process.
wrans/answers2025-06-09 conversation_676
Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-06-09)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-06-09 conversation_676

Claire Coutinho:To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, pursuant to the Answer of 11 April 2025 to Question 43723 on Carbon Emissions: Trees, if he will publish emails where the KPMG report was discussed. \p Michael Shanks: We have determined that it would not be in the public interest to release further information on this issue in this instance. Protecting commercially sensitive information facilitates the frank exchange of information between the private sector and government, and ensures ministers and civil servants can have honest, unfiltered discussions during the policy-making process.
wrans/answers2025-06-09 conversation_677
Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-06-09)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-06-09 conversation_677

Wera Hobhouse:To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what assessment his Department has made of the adequacy of capacity allocation in the Clean Power Plan for Scottish onshore wind between 2031 and 2035. \p Michael Shanks: The 2035 capacity number for Scotland is based on National Energy System Operator's Future Energy Scenarios, which present credible pathways to decarbonise our energy system as we strive towards the 2050 target. We therefore consider the capacity allocation planned for Scotland between 2030 and 2035 to be adequate and will continue to keep this under review, including considering updates to align with the Strategic Spatial Energy Plan, to be published in 2026.
wrans/answers2025-06-09 conversation_678
Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-06-09)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-06-09 conversation_678

Blake Stephenson:To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, with reference to his Department's press release entitled, Better deal for motorists and businesses with solar car parks, published on 7 May 2025, what discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government on potential reforms to the planning system to deliver solar car parks. \p Michael Shanks: The government is assessing the potential for the construction of solar canopies on outdoor carparks over a certain size through a call for evidence, which is open until 18th June. At this stage, no decision has been made, but as this policy develops of course I will have conversations with other government departments and the Building Safety Regulator about implementation.
wrans/answers2025-06-09 conversation_679
Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-06-09)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-06-09 conversation_679

Harriet Cross:To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what estimate his Department has made of gas storage capability in the UK in (a) cubic feet (or other appropriate unit of volume) and (b) days of average usage; what steps he is taking to increase storage capacity; and when this will be complete. \p Michael Shanks: According to Ofgem’s annual publication, GB has eight gas storage sites with a combined maximum capacity of 3.2bcm – around 13 days of average (24/25) winter gas demand – and maximum deliverability of ~123mcm/day.

Gas storage is an effective source of system flexibility to supplement GB's supply sources from the UK and Norwegian Continental Shelves, LNG terminals and interconnectors. Storage can be used to respond to short-run changes in supply and demand or during cold winter months to help meet demand peaks. In winter 24/25, gas storage provided ~9% of the total gas used in GB.

The Government continues to work with storage operators and regulators, to explore options around the role storage can play in supporting future system resilience in a changing gas landscape.
wrans/answers2025-06-09 conversation_680
Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-06-09)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-06-09 conversation_680

Kevin Hollinrake:To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero pursuant to the Answer of 14 May 2025 to Question 50161 on Private rented housing: tribunals, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of the new Minimum Energy Efficiency Standards for private rented accommodation on private rented sector rents. \p Miatta Fahnbulleh: Private rented sector minimum energy efficiency standards are part of a wider package of strengthening tenants’ rights. The Renters’ Rights Bill will introduce new protections for tenants to challenge unreasonable rent increases. Landlords will be able to increase rents to market rates once per year, with tenants able to challenge this at the Tribunal if it is unreasonable.
wrans/answers2025-06-09 conversation_681
Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-06-09)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-06-09 conversation_681

Connor Naismith:To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what (a) support and (b) funding his Department provides for renewable energy innovation to entrepreneurs in Cheshire East. \p Kerry McCarthy: The Government supports renewable energy innovation through a range of measures including the Net Zero Innovation Portfolio which aims to accelerate the commercialisation of low-carbon technologies in power, buildings and industry. Over 2021-25, approximately £91 million has been invested in the Northwest of England through this programme. For example, in East Cheshire, funding has been provided to innovators like Aerofoil Energy to improve energy and temperature performance in retail refrigeration.
wrans/answers2025-06-09 conversation_682
Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-06-09)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-06-09 conversation_682

Mr Andrew Snowden:To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of locating (a) elements of operations of and (b) supply chain functions for Great British Energy in (i) North West England and (ii) Fylde constituency. \p Michael Shanks: Great British Energy's head office will be in Aberdeen recognising the city's experience in energy projects and the need to support a just and prosperous transition. GBE will develop, invest in and own clean energy projects across the UK which will mean investments in many communities. The Prime Minister announced an initial £300m for supply chain investment from GBE which will create jobs and opportunities across the country including in the North West of England. Specific projects will be announced in due course
wrans/answers2025-06-09 conversation_683
Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-06-09)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-06-09 conversation_683

Steve Race:To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of replicating the Wave Energy Scotland model across the UK. \p Michael Shanks: The department has not undertaken a formal assessment of the potential merits of replicating the Wave Energy Scotland (WES) model across the UK. WES primarily utilizes a competitive pre-commercial procurement (PCP) model to drive innovation and development in the wave energy sector.

However, the Government has provided innovative support for wave energy though a suite of a suite of research funding programmes, operated both by DESNZ centrally, and, by UK Research and Innovation, including competitive funding schemes programmes such as the Energy Entrepreneurs Fund.
wrans/answers2025-06-09 conversation_684
Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-06-09)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-06-09 conversation_684

Steve Race:To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential impact of innovation funding on the Levelised Cost of Energy of marine energy technologies; and what steps he is taking to support these emerging renewables. \p Michael Shanks: The department has not directly undertaken an assessment of the potential impact of innovation funding on the Levelised Cost of Energy of marine energy technologies,

However, the Offshore Renewable Energy Catapult in their 2018 Tidal Stream and Wave Energy Cost Reduction and Industrial Benefit study examined the potential impact of additional focus on innovation on cost reduction of marine technologies.

The Government continues to provide innovative support for marine energy technologies though a suite of a suite of research funding programmes, including through UK Research and Innovation.
wrans/answers2025-06-09 conversation_685
Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-06-09)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-06-09 conversation_685

David Chadwick:To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what steps he is taking to support (a) scientific innovation and (b) R&D across the hydrogen value chain to (i) drive down costs and (ii) improve efficiency. \p Kerry McCarthy: Since 2021, the £1bn Net Zero Innovation Portfolio has awarded around £170m to hydrogen innovation projects to advance low-carbon technologies across the hydrogen value chain. Hydrogen-specific programmes include: the Low Carbon Hydrogen Supply 2 programme, the Industrial Hydrogen Accelerator, and the Hydrogen from Biomass with Carbon Capture and Storage programme. Demonstrators have been built and tested with the aim of reducing the costs of hydrogen production, or providing evidence towards the cost effectiveness of hydrogen for fuel switching. The Department commissioned the British Geological Survey to conduct a research study on the geological potential for natural hydrogen in the UK.
wrans/answers2025-06-09 conversation_686
Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-06-09)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-06-09 conversation_686

Mr Andrew Snowden:To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether he is taking steps to support landlords to reach an EPC C rating in (a) Fylde constituency and (b) Lancashire. \p Miatta Fahnbulleh: There are various schemes currently delivering home energy efficiency improvements across Great Britain, including Flyde and Lancashire, such as the Warm Homes: Local Grant (WH:LG), Energy Company Obligation and the Great British Insulation Scheme. Households in the private rented sector (PRS) are eligible if they receive means tested benefits and fall within Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) band E-G.

The WH:LG provides support for low income tenants in the PRS by allowing PRS landlords to claim 100% grant funding towards the cost of energy performance upgrades for one privately rented home that meets the scheme eligibility criteria, with any subsequent eligible homes in their portfolio requiring a 50% cost contribution from the landlord.
wrans/answers2025-06-09 conversation_687
Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-06-09)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-06-09 conversation_687

Adam Jogee:To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, which Ministers attended the 4th Commonwealth Sustainable Energy Transition Forum on 20 May 2025. \p Kerry McCarthy: Details of Ministerial meetings are published quarterly in arrears on gov.uk.
wrans/answers2025-06-09 conversation_688
Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-06-09)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-06-09 conversation_688

Kevin Hollinrake:To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, pursuant to the Answer of 14 May 2024 to Question 50162 on UK Emissions Trading Scheme, whether he plans to provide additional funding to local authorities for these costs; and whether he has made an estimate of the potential impact of these costs on levels of council tax. \p Sarah Jones: We continue to engage with local authorities on the details of UK Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS), including how costs will be passed through to reflect emissions reductions and recycling efforts. Financial pressures on local authorities resulting from the expansion of the UK ETS are being considered as well as how costs can be passed through to the producers of packaging that is later incinerated. The UK ETS Authority will publish a response to the May 2024 consultation to set out an update for this work as soon as possible.
wrans/answers2025-06-09 conversation_689
Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-06-09)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-06-09 conversation_689

Sir Gavin Williamson:To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether his Department plans to require solar farm developers to utilise bonds in order to cover the costs of decommissioning. \p Michael Shanks: We do not currently have plans to require solar and battery projects to be covered by decommissioning bonds.

Solar farms are normally temporary structures and planning conditions can be used to ensure that the installations are removed when no longer in use and the land is restored to its previous use. Solar panels can be decommissioned relatively easily and cheaply. It is a legal requirement for any company that imports, manufactures or rebrands solar products to join a ‘Producer Compliance Scheme’, which then ensures their legal obligations are met, most significantly for the collection and recycling of old PV panels.
wrans/answers2025-06-09 conversation_690
Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-06-09)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-06-09 conversation_690

Robbie Moore:To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of renewable energy output variability on the total generation capacity of renewable energy required to meet UK demand. \p Michael Shanks: The capacity ranges for renewable electricity set out in the Clean Power 2030 Action Plan (115-127GW of total wind and solar) account for variability in output and are based on analysis by NESO and internal DESNZ modelling. As the Clean Power Action plan shows, we expect to have renewable capacity alongside a mix of generation technologies, including nuclear, low carbon dispatchable power, energy storage, interconnectors, consumer-led flexibility, and some unabated gas capacity to ensure security of power supplies.