Asked by: Baroness Griffin of Princethorpe (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask His Majesty's Government what levels of finance and support are required through schemes such as the Heat Network Efficiency Scheme to bring legacy networks up to the Heat Network Technical Assurance Scheme standards.
Answered by Lord Whitehead - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Heat Network Efficiency Scheme (HNES), which provides grants to heat networks to carry out performance and efficiency improvement works, has the potential to provide some funding to networks for works that will bring them up to HNTAS standards.
We are currently consulting on the implementation of HNTAS, and are actively encouraging the sector to provide cost data through the consultation, so we can strengthen our evidence base on financial support that may be required and ensure the final policy is proportionate and deliverable.
Asked by: Baroness Griffin of Princethorpe (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the potential for the heat network sector to drive economic growth and job creation.
Answered by Lord Whitehead - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
We set out our long-term strategy for heat networks in the Warm Homes Plan, including our target for heat networks to supply 7% of heat demand by 2035, on a path towards meeting a fifth of demand by 2050. We estimate that delivering this ambition will result in 18,000 jobs supported in 2030, and attract £60 billion of investment in the UK by 2050.
Asked by: Baroness Griffin of Princethorpe (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they are having discussions with Ofgem about (1) shifting its regulatory focus from gas to heat, and (2) considering cost recovery for heat networks through its upcoming price control framework.
Answered by Lord Whitehead - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Ofgem took on responsibility for regulating heat networks in January, and Ministers have been engaging regularly with Ofgem on how their role will develop.
Under current Ofgem rules, heat networks have a requirement to set fair and transparent prices. Whilst Ofgem have consulted on bench marking proposals in relation to these rules, they do not set the prices heat networks charge and heat networks are not governed by the energy price cap or regulated under Ofgem's network price control framework.
Asked by: Baroness Griffin of Princethorpe (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they are taking to promote the National Year of Reading 2026 in early years settings, in schools, further and higher education.
Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
I refer the noble Lady to the answer of 31 March 2026 to Question HL14644.
Asked by: Baroness Griffin of Princethorpe (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government what measures they are taking to ensure the National Year of Reading 2026 has a long-term, positive legacy, extending beyond this year.
Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The National Year of Reading 2026 aims to make lasting change to the reading habits of the nation to address the decline in reading for pleasure and unlock one of the most powerful tools for equity and opportunity: a love of reading that lasts a lifetime. The campaign aims for lasting impact by engaging new audiences, making reading relevant, transforming practice, and building infrastructure. For example, we are providing £5 million of funding for secondary schools to purchase books to encourage reading for pleasure.
The National Year of Reading is grounded in both existing evidence and new research, conducted by an external research agency. This is a critical component of the campaign, to ensure it is impactful and meaningful, both during the year and beyond.
There will also be an independent external evaluation of the National Year of Reading which will be published in 2027. The evaluation will examine how the campaign influences reading behaviours, connects with audiences and shapes attitudes towards reading, particularly among the campaign’s priority audiences, including teenage boys, the early years, and families from disadvantaged communities. It will also assess the wider impact on the literacy sector and the foundations for long-term change.
Asked by: Baroness Griffin of Princethorpe (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure that workers are able to meet their trade union in an accessible location when their trade union is granted access to the workplace.
Answered by Baroness Lloyd of Effra - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
In our consultation, Make Work Pay: trade union right of access, we sought views on operational aspects of the new statutory access framework, including steps the Central Arbitration Committee (CAC) must consider reasonable for employers to take to facilitate access.
Officials are currently reviewing responses, and the government will publish a response before finalising these details in secondary legislation.
We will also consult on a draft Code of Practice in due course which will provide detail on how statutory access should operate in different types of workplaces.
Asked by: Baroness Griffin of Princethorpe (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the number of workers who work more than their contracted hours.
Answered by Baroness Lloyd of Effra - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
There are no official data sources that provide readily available estimates of the number of contracted hours across the whole labour market. The Office for National Statistics regularly publishes estimates of the number of people on zero hours contracts, where all hours worked are additional to contracted hours: https://www.ons.gov.uk/employmentandlabourmarket/peopleinwork/employmentandemployeetypes/datasets/emp17peopleinemploymentonzerohourscontracts.
The government has published a comprehensive assessment of the potential impacts of the zero hours contract measures in the Employment Rights Act 2025: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/employment-rights-bill-impact-assessments. We will publish further analysis in due course as we implement those measures.
Asked by: Baroness Griffin of Princethorpe (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask His Majesty's Government what consideration they have given to setting the fines for employers that break rules on trade union access to the workplace as a percentage of global turnover.
Answered by Baroness Lloyd of Effra - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
In our consultation, Make Work Pay: trade union right of access, we sought views on several elements of the new statutory access framework, including on the way that the policy is enforced.
Officials are carefully reviewing all responses, and the government will publish a response in due course. This will include next steps on the enforcement model.
Asked by: Baroness Griffin of Princethorpe (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps are being taken to safeguard the right of trade union access to workplaces in the warehousing and logistics sector.
Answered by Baroness Lloyd of Effra - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
In our consultation, Make Work Pay: trade union right of access, we sought views on several elements of the new statutory access framework, including steps the Central Arbitration Committee (CAC) must consider reasonable for employers to take to facilitate access, as well as the details on the enforcement mechanism. These will apply to the warehousing and logistics sector.
Officials are currently reviewing all responses, and the government will publish a response before finalising these details in secondary legislation.
Asked by: Baroness Griffin of Princethorpe (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask His Majesty's Government what measures they are taking to ensure that those in the criminal justice system benefit from the National Year of Reading 2026.
Answered by Lord Timpson - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
The National Year of Reading is a welcome opportunity to promote a wide range of activity to improve literacy and engagement with reading for people in custody and on probation.
As part of this work we have appointed the first ever Prison Reading Laureate, the author Lee Child. He will champion the transformative power of reading across the criminal justice system, continue expansion of his successful literacy pilot programme which has been running in a number of prisons since 2025 and will bring in more authors to work with prisons across the country, promoting the benefits of reading to rehabilitation.
Reading is a priority for HMPPS who work with many voluntary, community and social enterprise (VCSE) organisations such as the Reading Agency and National Literacy Trust. A programme of work is planned throughout this year to improve national access to books and facilitate workshops with authors. The Youth Custody Service is also launching its first ever Literacy Festival to inspire reading amongst some of the most complex children in our society.