Government’s Economic Strategy
(3 days ago)
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The Chancellor of the Exchequer (Rachel Reeves)
Today I can inform the House that I have asked the Office for Budget Responsibility to prepare an economic and fiscal forecast for publication on 26 November 2025, which will be accompanied by the annual Budget.
This is in line with my commitment to deliver one major fiscal event a year, to give families and businesses the stability and certainty they need and, in turn, to support the Government’s growth mission.
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Energy Infrastructure Planning Projects
(3 days ago)
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The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero (Miatta Fahnbulleh)
This statement concerns an application for development consent made under the Planning Act 2008 by H2 Teesside Ltd for the construction and operation of a blue hydrogen production facility situated in Teesside.
Under section 107(1) of the Planning Act 2008, the Secretary of State must make a decision on an application within three months of the receipt of the examining authority’s report, unless exercising the power under section 107(3) of the Act to set a new deadline. Where a new deadline is set, the Secretary of State must make a statement to Parliament to announce it.
The statutory deadline for the decision on the H2 Teesside application was 28 August 2025.
The Secretary of State has decided to allow an extension and to set a new deadline of 30 October 2025. This is to allow time to request further information.
The decision to set the new deadline for this application is without prejudice to the decision on whether to grant or refuse development consent.
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High-caffeine Energy Drinks
(3 days ago)
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The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Health and Social Care (Ashley Dalton)
The Government committed in the King’s Speech to banning the sale of high-caffeine energy drinks to children in England. This action will help raise the healthiest generation of children ever, providing them with a better and more prosperous future. It is a key part of the Government plan for change to break down barriers to opportunity and shift the NHS from sickness to prevention.
I am pleased to update the House that today, the Department of Health and Social Care published a consultation on proposals to ban the sale of high-caffeine energy drinks to children under the age of 16 years.
Public health research has found that these drinks have little to no nutritional benefit. There is clear and increasing evidence that consuming high-caffeine energy drinks is associated with a range of negative outcomes for children’s physical and mental health. These include reduced sleep quality, increased headaches and emotional difficulties such as stress, anxiety and depression. Research also suggests possible impacts on children’s educational outcomes and increased likelihood of engagement with other harmful behaviours, such as smoking and vaping, and alcohol and other substance abuse.
In addition to being high in caffeine, these drinks can contain high levels of sugar, which is known to be linked with obesity and dental decay. Based on our estimates, detailed in our impact assessment published alongside the consultation, the proposed ban could reduce childhood obesity rates by the equivalent of about 40,000 children, and, over future years, deliver health benefits worth £7.7 billion through improved health outcomes, as well as NHS savings and increased economic productivity.
We estimate that around 100,000 children consume high-caffeine energy drinks at least daily in England. Of particular concern is the fact that research highlights that children living in more deprived areas and households are more likely to consume these drinks. This means the possible negative outcomes on health and education are likely to be felt unequally across society.
The consultation has been published on gov.uk and asks the public, professionals and organisations for their views on our proposals, including:
the minimum age of sale
the products and businesses in scope of the ban
how the ban will apply to vending machines
the length of time that businesses and local authorities need to implement the ban.
In addition, we ask local enforcement authorities and retailers for their views on our proposals for enforcing the ban.
The consultation will be open for 12 weeks. We encourage all interested stakeholders and members of the public to respond. An impact assessment has been published alongside the consultation, with further detail.
Following the consultation, we will review the next steps required to protect children in England from the reported harms of high-caffeine energy drinks.
I will update Parliament following the consultation.
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National Crime Agency: National Data Exploitation Capability
(3 days ago)
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The Minister for Security (Dan Jarvis)
The National Crime Agency is an intelligence-led crime fighting agency that leads and co-ordinates the UK law enforcement operational response to serious and organised crime and protects the public by targeting the highest harm groups and networks. In 2018, the NCA introduced its national data exploitation capability as a five-year programme, to assist the agency’s response to SOC by analysing or “exploiting” bulk datasets.
His Majesty’s inspectorate of constabulary and fire and rescue services has finalised its 13th inspection of the NCA. The inspectorate assessed the value of the NDEC’s contribution to the NCA and the agency’s utilisation of it, whether the NDEC effectively uses the data it has access to, whether the NDEC has the technological capabilities and other resources to fulfil its role. and how efficiently and effectively NCA co-ordinates and prioritises the NDEC’s work.
It is crucial that law enforcement’s use of data and data capabilities is effective, lawful and ethical. I welcome the findings of the inspection. I have asked HMICFRS to publish the report. It will be published today and will be available online at https://hmicfrs.justiceinspectorates.gov.uk/ I will arrange for a copy to be placed in the Libraries of both Houses.
The inspectorate reported that the NDEC had a consistent approach to ethics and standards in data management. It also found that NDEC personnel were well trained and knowledgeable about the legislation that governs their work. Inspectors identified examples of good practice in safeguarding data and commended the agency for voluntarily undergoing an audit of the NDEC’s data handling process by the Information Commissioner’s Office in 2020.
However, the inspectorate found that more could still be done to strengthen NDEC’s role in the system. It highlighted the need for closer connectivity and engagement with partners. It also identified scope for improvement in establishing formal accreditation for the technical roles within NDEC. The inspectorate recommended that the agency should adopt the Government digital and data professional capacity framework in its entirety, which would align NDEC with other Government Departments and ensure there is a clear development model for staff.
Overall, the inspectorate has made nine recommendations and identified one area for improvement. These recommendations will help the NCA to improve how it stores data, undertakes bulk analysis and engages in partnership with relevant bodies. In turn, the recommendations should allow the NDEC to fulfil its potential and enhance the use of its capabilities to tackle SOC. The agency accepts the findings and steps are already being taken to address the challenges identified during the inspection. I wish to thank HMICFRS for this vital inspection. I have asked my officials to work closely with the NCA and HMICFRS to deliver the necessary changes.
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Road Map to Trusted Third-party AI Assurance
(3 days ago)
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The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology (Feryal Clark)
I wish to inform the House of the publication of the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology’s road map to trusted third-party AI assurance. The road map builds on the AI opportunities action plan, which included commitments to support the UK’s AI assurance ecosystem. By creating a world-leading AI assurance market, we can increase trust and confidence in AI, drive economic growth and make the UK the most attractive home for businesses seeking to adopt AI.
AI capabilities are advancing at an extraordinary pace and will play an increasingly important role in driving forward the Government’s ambition to boost economic growth, provide jobs for the future and improve people’s everyday lives. Ensuring that businesses have the confidence to develop and deploy these technologies responsibly will be critical to seize the opportunities that AI presents.
This road map is intended as the next step to set us on this path and ensure the widespread adoption of secure and trusted AI across the UK. It sets out our ambitions for the third-party assurance market and the immediate actions that the Government will take to support this emerging sector. The road map commits to:
Convening a multi-stakeholder UK consortium to work towards a future AI assurance profession to ensure market quality;
Developing a skills and competencies framework for AI assurance to support these efforts and create clear learning pathways for future professional development; and
Establishing an AI assurance innovation fund, focused on the eight industrial strategy sectors, to develop novel assurance solutions to future-proof the market.
Establishing a world-leading AI assurance market will build confidence in and drive the adoption of AI, ensuring that the UK can fully capitalise on the opportunities that AI presents. If present barriers to widespread adoption are overcome, the UK’s assurance market could be worth as much as £18.8 billion gross value added by 2035. The initiatives in the road map, such as the AI assurance innovation fund, will ensure that the UK’s assurance market is ready to respond to rapid developments in AI capabilities, while efforts such as the consortium will establish the building blocks for a future AI assurance profession.
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