Written Statements

Tuesday 21st April 2026 Written Statements

Tuesday 21 April 2026

Group Litigation Order and Post Office Process Review Schemes: Closure

Tuesday 21st April 2026 Written Statements

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Business and Trade (Blair McDougall)]

In March 2023, the Department for Business and Trade formally launched the group litigation order compensation scheme to provide full and fair redress to the trailblazers who uncovered the Post Office Horizon scandal. I am pleased to confirm that, as of today, we have received full applications from over 95% of the 492 eligible claimants, and have settled nearly 90% of all claims. As we are nearing completion of the scheme, I am announcing today that any final applications must be submitted to the Department by 31 July 2026, ahead of the scheme formally closing on 31 December 2026. It is my determination to bring closure to this group for all the suffering they have endured, and I hope today’s announcement goes some way in achieving that. We have consulted claimants’ legal representatives and the Horizon Compensation Advisory Board about these deadlines and will continue to work with them if there are any claimants, for reason of vulnerability, who will need extra support to resolve their claim.

I am also announcing today that the post office process review scheme will close to new applications on 30 September 2026. This scheme is unrelated to the GLO scheme and to the Horizon system-related shortfalls more broadly; instead, PPR provides redress to postmasters for financial losses caused by other Post Office products, policies or processes. The scheme is run by Post Office Ltd and is open to all eligible former and current postmasters, the vast majority of whom should now have received an invitation to apply. Any postmaster who believes they are eligible but has not received an invitation should contact Post Office Ltd directly at: [e-mail]. This follows the closure to new applications of the Horizon shortfall scheme and the suspension remuneration review on 31 January 2026.

[HCWS1527]

World Trade Organisation: 14th Ministerial Conference

Tuesday 21st April 2026 Written Statements

[The Minister for Trade (Chris Bryant)]

The World Trade Organisation’s 14th ministerial conference took place in Yaoundé, Cameroon, between Thursday 26 March and Sunday 29 March 2026. I attended alongside the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, my right hon. Friend the Member for Hove and Portslade (Peter Kyle).

MC14 took place against a complex geopolitical backdrop and in an uncertain global economic climate. The UK worked shoulder to shoulder with a wide range of members to deliver the change the WTO needs. I joined the UK delegation as one of the six reform facilitators.

I was disappointed that, despite these efforts, members were unable to agree substantial multilateral outcomes at this conference.

While some outcomes were agreed—recommitting to fisheries subsidies negotiations; reaffirming work to support small and vulnerable economies; and moving discussions on proposals around sanitary and phytosanitary and technical barriers to trade to technical committees—they were high-level and procedural.

Work will continue in Geneva on outcomes that were close to agreement, with the May general council providing the first opportunity to assess what might be possible with the membership.

These are outcomes on areas of importance to the UK and global trade more broadly, including setting a path forward on WTO reform, and extension of the moratorium on e-commerce, which keeps digital trade costs low by banning customs duties on electronic transmissions such as software and video streaming.

The lack of further agreement in Yaoundé meant that the e-commerce moratorium fell, as did the moratorium on non-violation situation complaints regarding the trade-related aspects of intellectual property agreement. As a stopgap, to reduce the uncertainty of the lapse of the e-commerce moratorium for UK businesses, the UK has joined 22 other members committing to continuing the e-commerce moratorium between signatories until the next general council this May. This is in addition to the permanent moratorium between the UK and 65 other members provided by the plurilateral agreement on e-commerce, which was launched at MC14, and on which the UK was a key partner in securing a positive outcome.

Despite the challenging environment and disappointing multilateral outcomes, the UK remained a constructive partner throughout and bolstered its international influence and reputation, both on WTO reform, where I drove development of text, and on plurilateral agreements, where the UK joined innovative approaches to implement the agreements on e-commerce and investment facilitation for development. The ECA is a significant step forward in global digital trade, cutting costs and lowering barriers for businesses in the UK and worldwide. It is projected to increase participants’ GDP by up to 0.43%. The IFDA, between 129 members, will make it easier to invest in developing countries, and is expected to increase global GDP by up to 1%. These agreements are a major milestone for the WTO, demonstrating the impact plurilaterals can have.

I was pleased that the UK also announced £13 million in technical assistance and capacity building support ahead of MC14 to enable developing economies to participate in the global trading system, and a further £1 million is already committed to the WTO fisheries fund.

The UK will continue to work with those willing to make progress where we need it. This includes seeking a comprehensive e-commerce moratorium, and actively driving WTO reform in Geneva. The UK’s communication on WTO reform (6 March) sets out our vision for a more relevant, flexible and accessible WTO. We will work to pursue this, including by addressing trade imbalances by tackling market distorting practices, establishing new rules on contemporary areas like digital and environment, and achieving a full-functioning dispute settlement system to ensure accountability. This will complement our ongoing work beyond the WTO pursuing high-quality FTAs that support businesses, workers and consumers, while expanding our network of partnerships across global markets.

[HCWS1529]

Queen Elizabeth Memorial Committee Report

Tuesday 21st April 2026 Written Statements

[The Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office (Nick Thomas-Symonds)]

The Government have accepted three recommendations from the Queen Elizabeth Memorial Committee to honour the extraordinary life and legacy of the late Queen. Queen Elizabeth dedicated 70 years of service to the nation, providing a sense of continuity through times of great change and forming a part of our national identity. Her ability to connect with those from all walks of life was strongly felt by the millions she met, and her contribution persists today in our memories, as well as the ongoing work of the many charities she supported. It is fitting that her legacy is commemorated in a way that reflects her exceptional contribution to public life. I am pleased to update the House on these plans on the centenary of Queen Elizabeth’s birth.

The committee’s recommendations include:

The proposed national memorial in St James’s Park, which commemorates Queen Elizabeth and her lifelong commitment to public service. It features a new standing statue of the late Queen overlooking the Mall at Marlborough gate, showing her at an early stage of her reign. This memorial will honour Britain’s longest-serving monarch in a way that will serve the nation for generations. It will be a place where people can come together to celebrate and honour Queen Elizabeth’s remarkable 70 years of service; a place where her values of public service continue to live on in public life.

Nearby will be a statue of Prince Philip, in recognition of the support he gave her during her reign as our longest-serving consort —both by sculptor Martin Jennings. The memorial will also include a new cast-glass bridge inspired by Queen Mary’s fringe tiara, which was worn by Queen Elizabeth on her wedding day; a bust of Her Majesty in her later years by sculptor Karen Newman; and the Commonwealth Wind Sculpture, a new abstract work by Yinka Shonibare. The design also includes gardens dedicated to the Commonwealth and to the nations of the United Kingdom, creating spaces for relaxation and reflection. This memorial will enhance St James’s Park as an inspiring public space.

A new UK-wide charity, Queen Elizabeth Trust, set up to administer a legacy programme in the late Queen’s name, which will be independent from the Government. Inspired by the words “everyone is our neighbour”, shared by Queen Elizabeth in a speech to mark her 21st birthday, the trust will work hand in hand with communities, providing funding and targeted support to restore and sustain spaces that will thrive long into the future. This charity will put the late Queen’s values to work, actively strengthening communities and empowering local people. The trust will be funded by an agreed £40 million endowment from the Government, creating a catalyst for the trust to raise further funds to maximise its impact over years to come. This is a unique opportunity to harness the legacy of the Queen to create positive and innovative change in communities across the UK.

The Queen Elizabeth digital memorial, a new website showcasing the late Queen’s life and legacy through a range of archive content and public memories. The site brings together newly digitised materials from archives and media collections, underpinned by listings from a newly digitised version of the Court Circular which maps every official engagement the Queen undertook during her reign. At the heart of the digital site is a public memory portal, inviting people from around the UK, the Commonwealth and the world to share their own memories of Queen Elizabeth. The Queen Elizabeth digital memorial is a living archive—one that will grow and develop over time, serving as both a place of commemoration and an enduring resource that carries her values forward, inspiring future generations to engage with her life and legacy.

A recommendations report, setting out the recommendations in detail, has been published today and I have deposited a copy of that report in the Libraries of both Houses in Parliament.

[HCWS1531]

Electricity Generator Levy

Tuesday 21st April 2026 Written Statements

[The Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury (Dan Tomlinson)]

The electricity generator levy was introduced in 2023 and is a temporary tax on windfall revenues for large renewables. The EGL is currently calculated as 45% of a generator’s annual revenue above a benchmark price, which is currently £82.61 per MWh and has been increased in line with the consumer prices index since 2024. New investments in renewable energy are not subject to the EGL.

When gas prices are high, renewable generators that are not in receipt of contracts for difference receive substantial increases in revenue because they can sell the electricity they generate at higher prices, without having any new costs.

The Government have reviewed the design of the EGL in light of the conflict in the middle east and are announcing today that the 45% EGL rate will increase to 55% and will be extended past its scheduled conclusion in 2028. This will support the Government’s objective of reducing the impact of gas prices on businesses and households. Firstly, it will encourage participation at a competitive price in wholesale contracts for difference, a new proposal announced today by the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, my right hon. Friend the Member for Doncaster North (Ed Miliband), which seeks to weaken the link between high gas prices and high electricity generation prices. Secondly, it will ensure a proportion of any exceptional revenues resulting from the pass-through of high gas prices to electricity generators’ revenues is available to Government to support businesses and households with the impacts of the conflict in the middle east on the cost of living.

The rate increase will take effect from 1 July 2026 to respond to the high prices that generators are benefiting from now because of the crisis in the middle east.

[HCWS1528]

Clean Power

Tuesday 21st April 2026 Written Statements

[The Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero (Ed Miliband)]

As the world faces the second fossil fuel shock in less than five years, the lesson for Britain is that exposure to volatile international fossil fuel markets cannot give us the energy security we need. For Britain and many other countries, clean energy is the only route to financial security, energy security and national security. That is why today the Government are setting out how in response to this crisis we will double down on our mission for clean energy.

First, we will speed up our drive for clean home-grown power that we control. In less than two years, we have secured enough clean, home-grown power for the equivalent of 23 million homes through two record-breaking renewables auctions, invested in the biggest nuclear building programme in half a century, and broken down the barriers in the way of building, from planning reform to fixing the grid connections queue.

In response to this conflict, we have already announced that we will bring our next renewables auction forward to July. Today we go further. We will intensify efforts to build renewables on public land with a cross-Government sprint to identify opportunities and actively bring projects forward. My Department will work hand in hand with public land owners and managers, such as the Ministry of Defence, Network Rail and Forestry England, as well as Great British Energy, to harness untapped public assets, from railway warehouses to unused brownfield sites, to significantly expand the pipeline of renewables. This could unlock up to 10GW of capacity even using only a fraction of Government land, powering the equivalent of around 5 million homes.

We will also step up our work to get critical clean energy projects built across the board. This includes accelerating vital grid infrastructure with a package of reforms from land access rules to networks consenting, as well as plans to extend permitted development rights and expand self-build for grid connections.

Secondly, we are also accelerating our efforts to drive electrification across the economy. We will support the British people to access technologies such as solar, batteries, heat pumps and electric vehicles, which can help shield them from fossil fuel shocks, ensuring that everyone, not just the richest in our society, can see the benefits.

We will accelerate our £15 billion warm homes plan wherever we can to protect families before next winter. That starts today with bringing forward £100 million of funding, in addition to existing plans, as we upgrade tens of thousands more social homes this year. We will also support families and small businesses who use heating oil and liquefied petroleum gas, who have been particularly exposed to rising prices, by increasing heat pump grants available to them to £9,000 this financial year.

Following our announcement that we will bring plug-in solar to shops in the UK, we have earmarked £25 million with a view to piloting support for low-income families for plug-in solar and a vision of a house-by-house, street-by-street roll-out. We will make it easier than ever for families and businesses to adopt these technologies, including removing barriers to on-street electric vehicle charging, which will particularly help those living in flats and those without a driveway.

Today we also announce that Great British Energy will put solar on the roofs of 100 more schools and colleges, in addition to the 250 schools and 260 NHS sites already confirmed, to cut their bills and save money that can be reinvested in public services.

Thirdly, these measures come alongside decisive action to break the link between gas and electricity prices, so that families and businesses see the benefits of the clean power we are building.

We have already moved from gas setting the price of electricity around 90% of the time in the early 2020s, to around 60% today. Thanks to our mission, we estimate that gas will set the wholesale price around half of the time by 2030. By building clean power, we are expanding the proportion of generation on long-term fixed price contracts from around 20% today to over 60% by 2030, which is crucial because for those generators it breaks the link with volatile gas.

Today the Chancellor and I set out decisive action to go further. From next year we will seek to transfer legacy low-carbon generators, which supply about a third of our power today, on to fixed-price contracts that deliver value for money for consumers. This will be a voluntary decision for those generators. Alongside this, the Chancellor has today announced changes to the electricity generator levy that will change the economic incentives for generators to move on to these fixed contracts.

Together, these measures will accelerate the delinking of gas and electricity prices: increased revenues mean we can support businesses and households with the impacts of the conflict in the middle east on the cost of living.

Alongside these steps, we are also publishing our reformed national pricing delivery plan, which will ensure that families businesses benefit from a cheaper and more efficient energy system.

This package of measures represents a significant acceleration of our mission to take back control of Britain s energy, so that we can protect the British people from this and future fossil fuel shocks and bring down bills for good.

[HCWS1530]

Meningitis B: Dorset

Tuesday 21st April 2026 Written Statements

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Health and Social Care (Mrs Sharon Hodgson)]

I am updating the House on the recent cases of meningococcal disease in Dorset.

As of 9 am on 21 April, the UK Health Security Agency has confirmed three cases of meningococcal disease among young people in Weymouth, Dorset. These three cases have been confirmed as meningitis B and are the same sub-strain serotype P1.19, P1.15. UKHSA has confirmed that these cases are not linked to the recent outbreak of meningococcal disease in Kent. The onset dates of these cases were between 17 March and 12 April. Close contacts of the patients were offered antibiotics as a precaution.

Two of the cases attend Budmouth academy but are in different year groups and are contacts of each other via a social network not related to the school. Currently no confirmed epidemiological link has been made between these two cases and the third individual who attends Wey Valley academy. This may mean that this strain of menB bacteria is transmitting more widely among young people in Weymouth. Due to this, and as a precautionary measure, antibiotics and the Bexsero vaccine are being offered to young people currently in school years 7 to 13 (or equivalent in terms of age), or anyone not in full-time education who would be in one of these year groups, who study or live in the Weymouth, Portland and Chickerell areas of Dorset. UKHSA and Dorset council have issued advice to staff, parents and carers at all educational settings in the area.

A single dose of antibiotics is effective at reducing transmission. UKHSA has currently deployed 6,500 doses of stockpiled antibiotics to the local area. The roll-out began on Saturday 18 April 2026, initially for pupils who attend Budmouth academy and Wey Valley schools, as the cases attend these settings. Pupils that attend other schools and colleges and other eligible children and young people in Weymouth who do not attend education settings will be invited to receive antibiotics and vaccination over the course of this week.

As of 5 pm on 20 April, antibiotics have been given to 2,226 individuals.

We are not recommending any precautionary measures for schools or other educational settings in Dorset outside of the Weymouth area at this time as the risk to others is very small.

This response is in line with UKHSA guidance on meningitis and is being rapidly co-ordinated and delivered by UKHSA, Dorset council, the NHS, the Department for Education and local education settings.

UKHSA is providing support to education settings, in close partnership with the Department for Education. All affected education settings in Weymouth remain open and events involving children and young people should continue as normal. UKHSA has published up-to-date information to ensure parents and concerned members of the public can find the latest information on how the incident is being managed and who can access antibiotics and vaccines: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/antibiotics-and-menb-vaccination-to-be-offered-to-young-people-in-dorset

Children and young people should attend their education setting normally, unless specifically told otherwise by a health professional. Attendance supports the education, health and wellbeing of children and young people.

As the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care told the House on 17 March in the context of the recent meningococcal disease outbreak in Kent, I have asked the Joint Committee on Vaccinations to re-examine eligibility for meningitis vaccines to assess, for example, an expanded offer to older children and/or young adults. JCVI will provide updated advice to the Department this summer around whether, and to what extent, a vaccine programme for older children and/or young adults would be clinically effective as well as an assessment of the cost effectiveness of such a vaccination programme.

Meningococcal disease is a serious illness that can cause meningitis—an inflammation of the protective membranes surrounding the brain—and sepsis (blood poisoning). Symptoms include a rash that does not fade when pressed with a glass, sudden high fever, severe or worsening headache, stiff neck, vomiting or diarrhoea, joint or muscle pain, dislike of bright lights, cold hands and feet, seizures, confusion or delirium, and sleepiness or difficulty waking. The onset can be extremely rapid. Anyone experiencing symptoms should urgently seek medical attention. Early treatment saves lives.

Around 300 to 400 cases of meningococcal disease are diagnosed in England every year. It is important for teenagers not only to take up the MenACWY vaccine routinely offered by the NHS, but also to be aware that this vaccine does not protect against menB, which is why knowing the symptoms and seeking early treatment is so important. It is important that those who are eligible for antibiotics and vaccinations do come forward and take up the offer, as this will help to reduce the risk of more young people becoming unwell.

I want to thank everyone who has worked tirelessly to care for those affected and keep people safe: the UKHSA, the Department for Education, Dorset Council and public health officials working to contain the outbreak; the NHS teams administering antibiotics and vaccines, and those who have cared for young patients in hospital; the school staff keeping students and parents informed, helping young people through this outbreak, and keeping their education going; and the thousands of students, pupils, and other members of the public who have so readily and responsibly come forward for antibiotics.

[HCWS1532]