Earl Russell

Accelerating the deployment of renewable generation, as we are through our Clean Power 2030 Mission, will reduce the amount of time when gas is setting the price and will help to decouple electricity from gas prices without the need for more complex arrangements.

The Government is determined to increase the share of renewables on the system so that the electricity price is set by cheaper clean power sources rather than gas. Every wind turbine we switch on and solar panel we deploy helps push gas off as the price setter.

This government has been clear that the answers to the challenges around energy security, affordability and sustainability point in the same direction – clean energy.

Under current market frameworks, technologies with the lowest marginal cost dispatch first. Unabated gas generators have high marginal costs so generally dispatch last.

By 2030 unabated gas will account for less than 5% of total generation. As low‑carbon technologies are deployed at scale, gas will increasingly shift to a reserve role in the system, meaning it will set electricity prices less often over time, reducing consumers’ exposure to volatile fossil fuel prices.

As the role of unabated gas diminishes, we continue to work with NESO and Ofgem to explore how market and system arrangements can evolve to minimise its impact on consumer bills, including considering the potential benefits and risks of alternative market reforms.

This government has been clear that the answers to the challenges around energy security, affordability and sustainability point in the same direction – clean energy.

Under current market frameworks, technologies with the lowest marginal cost dispatch first. Unabated gas generators have high marginal costs so generally dispatch last.

By 2030 unabated gas will account for less than 5% of total generation. As low‑carbon technologies are deployed at scale, gas will increasingly shift to a reserve role in the system, meaning it will set electricity prices less often over time, reducing consumers’ exposure to volatile fossil fuel prices.

As the role of unabated gas diminishes, we continue to work with NESO and Ofgem to explore how market and system arrangements can evolve to minimise its impact on consumer bills, including considering the potential benefits and risks of alternative market reforms.

Last December, we published the Clean Power 2030 Action Plan. This set our goal for 95% of electricity to come from clean sources by 2030.

There are multiple pathways and technology mixes that can help us achieve this. Large-scale biomass generation plays an important role by providing dispatchable power that complements intermittent renewables and is valuable for maintaining security of supply.

We are reviewing options beyond unabated biomass generation to ensure we have sufficient reliable capacity going forwards. This includes supporting low carbon dispatchable plants, like the Net Zero Teesside CCUS plant. We have also recently consulted on reforms to the Capacity Market, our mechanism for ensuring security of supply, including proposals aimed at procuring new dispatchable enduring capacity.

Our decision to provide support to Drax was based on the need to ensure security of supply out to 2031. There are no plans to extend subsidies beyond that date.

To ensure that we have a greater set of options available to secure supply post 2031 we are supporting low carbon dispatchable generation like the Net Zero Teeside CCUS plant. We have also recently consulted on reforms to the Capacity Market, our mechanism for ensuring security of supply, including proposals aimed at procuring new dispatchable enduring capacity.

Ofcom, by law, carries out its duties independently of the Government. Ofcom is accountable to Parliament for the regulation of broadcasters, and the Government does not intervene in Ofcom's operational decisions. Ofcom is required by legislation to enforce a Broadcasting Code for television and radio, to ensure that audiences are adequately protected from harm. This includes rules that factual programmes do not materially mislead audiences, and that news, in whatever form, is reported with due accuracy.

The Environment Agency (EA) is in the process of removing all the waste from the site as per the requirement in the Ministerial Direction issued in May 2024.

The EA, Natural England, Forestry Commission and other local partners, are working together to develop shared post-clearance plans for the site, including measures to support the quickest ecological regeneration and how to mitigate risks of and respond to any potential further illegal activities at the site.

The Environment Agency (EA) is unable to track total expenditure on waste crime as waste crime is delivered by a range of multi-functional teams.

The EA can only report on what is allocated, not what is spent. The table provided sets out the EA’s Grant in Aid income that has been specifically allocated to waste crime activities since 2015. Wider core grant has historically contributed to enforcement work across all EA functions but is not allocated in way that can be specifically linked to waste crime, so is not included.

Waste input ceased at the site in Sittingbourne in 2021. The site at Camborne experienced a period of cessation from June 2025 until the end of November 2025. At the end of November one further deposit of waste was discovered.

The original letter to Lord Krebs on 5 November gave descriptions of ‘active’ and ‘inactive’ sites. The description of an ‘active’ site said it continued to accept waste – this was incorrect. Defra apologises for this mistake and has issued a correction to Lord Krebs accordingly.

A site is considered ‘active’ in this context if the Environment Agency is taking action at the site. A site having ‘active’ status does not necessarily mean that the site is actively receiving waste

The Environment Agency (EA) is undertaking operations in response to an illegal waste site located at Bolton House Road, Wigan. These operations consist of two key components. The first is a complex criminal investigation involving multiple lines of enquiry. The second is a coordinated multi-agency effort, working alongside Wigan Council, Greater Manchester Police, and Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service, to assist in the development of a plan for the removal of the waste—subject to the identification of funding. The EA remains committed to collaborating with partners to safeguard the environment and protect the wellbeing and livelihoods of residents and workers affected by the site. Due to its smaller size and lower volume of waste compared to the site at Hoads Wood, the Bolton House Road site did not meet the criteria for inclusion on the list sent to the Committee.

In March, the Government published the Maritime Decarbonisation Strategy and a call for evidence on Net Zero Ports which asked about potential options to reduce emissions from vessels at berth. This includes whether an at berth emission requirement would be effective in reducing air pollutants, such as nitrogen oxide and diesel particulate emissions, and what technologies could help achieve it. We continue to analyse responses and will publish a summary of responses and set out next steps in due course.

In September this year, this Government announced an additional £448m of Research and Development investment for the UK Shipping Office for Reducing Emissions (UK SHORE) programme. Through previous rounds of UK SHORE, we have already funded clean maritime solutions, including nearly £20m for a shore power installation at Portsmouth International Port, which will soon allow visiting cruise ships to connect, reducing air pollution around the port. Future rounds of funding will continue to support clean maritime solutions.

In March, the Government published the Maritime Decarbonisation Strategy and a call for evidence on Net Zero Ports which asked about potential options to reduce emissions from vessels at berth. This includes whether an at berth emission requirement would be effective in reducing air pollutants, such as nitrogen oxide and diesel particulate emissions, and what technologies could help achieve it. We continue to analyse responses and will publish a summary of responses and set out next steps in due course.

In September this year, this Government announced an additional £448m of Research and Development investment for the UK Shipping Office for Reducing Emissions (UK SHORE) programme. Through previous rounds of UK SHORE, we have already funded clean maritime solutions, including nearly £20m for a shore power installation at Portsmouth International Port, which will soon allow visiting cruise ships to connect, reducing air pollution around the port. Future rounds of funding will continue to support clean maritime solutions.

The Government recognises the increasing risk posed by wildfires and the importance of a coordinated, cross-government approach to prevention, preparedness, response and recovery.

The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) and the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) are working closely with a wide range of partners to strengthen our collective approach to wildfire resilience.

We are taking action across critical areas such as response and national capabilities, forecasting, and risk assessment and ensuring these are drawn together into a coherent cross-government approach.