Lord Elliott of Mickle Fell

• Data from the latest ONS Annual Business Survey on energy intensive industries (EIIs) for turnover and GVA in 2022 was published in 2024 and can be seen in full as an attachment.
• In 2022, the EIIs with the highest turnover were manufacture of refined petroleum products (£56.2 billion), manufacture of basic iron and steel and of ferro-alloys (£9.2 billion), and manufacture of prepared feeds for farm animals (£8.0 billion).
• EIIs with the highest GVA in 2022 were manufacture of refined petroleum products (£5.4 billion), manufacture of other plastic products (£2.7 billion), and manufacture of plastic plates, sheets, tubes and profiles (£2.3 billion).

The Department for Business and Trade maintains statistics on energy intensive industries (EII) which can be seen in full as an attachment.

In 2022, the regions with the highest employment in eligible energy intensive industries were the North West (59,590), the West Midlands (55,055) and Yorkshire and The Humber (53,135).

EIIs with the highest employment in 2022 were manufacture of other plastic products (45,850), manufacture of corrugated paper and paperboard and of containers of paper and paperboard (25,443), and processing and preserving of poultry meat (25,000).

On Monday 21 October, the Government published a comprehensive package of analysis on the impact of the Employment Rights Bill [Employment Rights Bill: impact assessments - GOV.UK ].

These Impact Assessments have been submitted to the Regulatory Policy Committee who have acknowledged their receipt [Employment Rights Bill: statement on lateness of IA submission - GOV.UK ].

As is standard practice, this has also been published on the Employment Rights Bill page on the Parliament UK website [Employment Rights Bill publications - Parliamentary Bills - UK Parliament ].

The Department for Science, Innovation and Technology does not hold information on the average size of a UK industrial site by land area.

The Department for Science, Innovation and Technology does not hold information on the physical size of the UK industrial production sector in terms of land area.

The Government has not collected figures on the growth of data centre capacity but has monitored the market periodically and through industry engagement. Other sources for this historical data are available, through Tech UK or CBRE's market outlooks for example.

The Government’s estimate, of the UK’s data centre capacity, defined as the maximum rated IT load of colocation data centres, is broken down by region in a table below. This is estimated as of Autumn 2024.

Total 1.6 GW

The Government has not collected figures on the growth of data centre capacity but has monitored the market periodically and through industry engagement. Other sources for this historical data are available, through Tech UK or CBRE's market outlooks for example.

The Government’s estimate, of the UK’s data centre capacity, defined as the maximum rated IT load of colocation data centres, is broken down by region in a table below. This is estimated as of Autumn 2024.

Total 1.6 GW

The government welcomes the focus from the Kindred Squared School Readiness Survey. Preparing children for school should be a partnership between parents, early years settings and schools.

That is why this government has 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.

This is an increase from 67.7% currently and would mean an additional 40,000 to 45,000 children a year hitting developmental goals.

To achieve this milestone, we will:

• Roll out government-funded childcare entitlements and support 3,000 new and expanded school-based nurseries, increasing the availability of high quality childcare places.
• Offer sustained professional development and work with providers to help spread evidence-based programmes, such as Maths Champions, as part of comprehensive plans to drive high quality early education and care.
• Ensure that the reception year sets children up for success, by rolling out evidence-based programmes that boost early literacy and numeracy skills, including the Nuffield Early Language Intervention.
• 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, strengthen health visiting services for all families and improve early identification of special educational needs and disabilities.

We will continue to work closely with parents and teachers as we deliver our ambitious reforms to break down barriers to opportunity and give every child the best start in life.

Skills is a devolved matter, and the response outlines the information for England only.

The government provides a range of support to help employers and training providers, including colleges, to offer apprenticeships.

Government pays 100% of apprentice training costs for employers who do not pay the levy when they take on apprentices aged 16-21, and apprentices aged 22-24 who have an Education, Health and Care Plan or have been, or are, in local authority care. For all other apprentices, government pays 95% of training costs for employers that don’t pay the levy.

The government pays £1,000 to both employers and providers for apprentices aged 16-18, and for apprentices aged 19-24 who have an Education, Health and Care Plan or have been, or are, in local authority care.

In August, the government launched the first new foundation apprenticeships which are underpinned by an employer incentive payment of £2,000. This will be paid in three instalments, the first two spread across the foundation apprenticeship, with the final payment made when an apprentice progresses onto their next apprenticeship.

In addition, the government continues to simplify the apprenticeship system to make it easier for employers and providers to focus on delivering high-quality training. This includes reforms to the apprenticeship payment system which will cut red tape by stopping the need for providers to log the same data multiple times, and the introduction of a one click employer onboarding process which allows providers to complete the setup for an employer, who can then approve it in a single step.

We recognise the importance of considering the needs of local labour markets in addressing barriers to recruitment. As our Get Britain Working White Paper set out, areas with higher levels of deprivation often have lower levels of educational attainment and there are more working-age adults living with major illness in the most deprived areas (14.6%), which is more than double the rate in the least deprived areas (6.3%).

The Get Britain Working White Paper set out our ambitions to transform employment support and tackle economic inactivity. As part of this, local areas in England are producing Local Get Britain Working Plans to develop a system-wide approach to identifying and addressing local labour market challenges. Further, Trailblazers to test how locally-led responses to tackling economic inactivity and young people not in education, employment and training are being delivered across England and Wales.

Furthermore, our supported employment programme, Connect to Work, has been designed alongside Local Authorities and is being delivered by local areas in England and Wales to help more disabled people, those with health conditions and people with complex barriers to employment help to find sustainable work.

The UK Government will respect devolution settlements and work closely with the Devolved Governments, including the Northern Ireland Executive, to share best practice about how our reforms to reduce economic inactivity are working.

We are reforming Jobcentre Plus and creating a new service across Great Britain that will enable everyone to access support to find good, meaningful work, and support to help them to progress in work, including through an enhanced focus on skills and careers.

The new service will be for anyone who wants to look for work, wants help to increase their earnings, or who wants help to change their career or re-train. Employment and careers support will be available to all - not just those on benefits - who want support to find or progress in work.

We will ensure the service is responsive to local employers, inclusive for all users, and works in partnership with other local services. It will be a locally tailored and embedded service, designed to meet the different needs of local labour markets, local people and local employers. It will be an active partner with key local stakeholders and providers of services and will be flexible, operating differently in different areas to reflect local systems.

This Government is committed to removing the barriers to work. We want to give people the confidence that working will not trigger a reassessment and a potential loss of benefits. That is why we are establishing in law the principle that work, in and of itself, will not lead to a reassessment. For people receiving Universal Credit, PIP (in England and Wales, Department for Communities is mirroring in Northern Ireland), or New Style Employment and Support Allowance, we are introducing legislation that guarantees that trying work, in and of itself, will not be considered a relevant change of circumstance that will trigger a PIP award review or WCA reassessment.

By legislating to guarantee that work in and of itself will not trigger a reassessment we are taking an important first step to address these barriers and give customers the confidence to try work. The draft regulations are published in the House of Commons library.

Deposited paper DEP2025-0425 - Deposited papers - UK Parliament

The Government plans to legislate for this change to take effect in 2026. This will run alongside the biggest employment support package for disabled people and people with health conditions in more than a generation, backed by £1 billion a year of new, additional funding by 2030. This new support offer will roll out from April 2026, so that all affected by the reduction to the UC health element will be offered support, provided by a dedicated Pathways to Work adviser. There will be 1,000 advisers in place across Britain through Jobcentre Plus, equivalent to two in every jobcentre. This will be in place across England, Scotland and Wales, and people affected will be able to access a conversation about their needs, goals and aspirations; offered one-to-one follow-on support, and given help to access additional work, health and skills support that can meet their needs.

Our Pathways to Work Guarantee will provide work, health and skills support for disabled people and those with health conditions claiming out of work benefits. We anticipate that the Pathways to Work Guarantee once fully rolled out will include:

• A support conversation that will help identify the best next steps, including a range of personalised and more intensive support

• Specialist one-to-one support – this will build on evidence from recent pilot schemes, which has shown that, for some people, offering regular in-depth personalised appointments with a consistent advisor can help people who are ready to move towards or into work

• More intensive longer-term work, health and skills support for those who are ready – building on evidence from programmes like the Work and Health Programme, Work Choice, Individual Placement and Support for those with severe mental illness or substance dependency, and evidence from successful skills training.

• Periodic engagement for people who are not yet ready for more work-focused engagement. Content and frequency will vary depending on individual need and - if and when ready - we will signpost or refer onto other support.

His Majesty’s Government recognises the vital role that employer-led return-to-work schemes play in supporting individuals with mental health conditions to remain in or re-enter the workforce. A range of initiatives and services are in place to help employers create inclusive, supportive environments that facilitate sustainable employment for those experiencing mental ill health.

Occupational Health (OH) services can be effective in supporting return-to-work planning. OH professionals provide tailored assessments and advice to help employers understand the impact of mental health conditions on work capacity and identify appropriate adjustments. This includes phased return plans, workplace modifications, and ongoing support to ensure a safe and productive reintegration into work. OH services also help employers meet their legal obligations under the Equality Act 2010 by advising on reasonable adjustments.

The Support with Employee Health and Disability digital service, which provides tailored guidance for employers managing health and disability in the workplace, including mental health. The service, which includes guidance on disclosures, having conversations, legal obligations and making reasonable adjustments, is in national live testing and continues to be updated on an iterative basis, including in response to user research.

The Access to Work scheme offers personalised support for individuals with mental health conditions. This includes grants for workplace adaptations, specialist equipment, and tailored mental health support such as one-to-one sessions with professionals and workplace coping strategies. The scheme complements employers’ legal duties by funding support beyond reasonable adjustments, helping individuals stay in or return to work.

Additionally, the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) provides guidance and resources through its Working Minds campaign, which encourages employers to take proactive steps to prevent work-related stress. The campaign promotes a five-step approach—Reach out, Recognise, Respond, Reflect, and make it Routine—to help businesses address the root causes of stress and foster mentally healthy workplaces.

These efforts are part of a broader Government commitment to reduce economic inactivity and improve employment outcomes for people with health conditions. Importantly, the Keep Britain Working Review, led by Sir Charlie Mayfield, is exploring what more employers and government can do to tackle economic inactivity due to ill-health and disability.

Together, these measures aim to empower employers with the tools and knowledge needed to support employees with mental health conditions, ensuring that more people can get in and get on in work.

As set out in my previous response, HM Treasury currently has no plans to adopt a strategic bitcoin reserve.

The UK and US have a close and historic relationship and hold regular engagement. We will not comment on hypothetical policy positions.

The UK’s foreign currency assets are held in the Exchange Equalisation Account. These assets are managed in line with the following investment principles:

• Ensuring readiness to meet the policy requirements of the reserves
• Limiting risk and volatility to avoid compromising the policy readiness of the reserves
• Maximising returns within these constraints

Bitcoin has been a historically highly volatile asset relative to stable fiat currencies like the US dollar, and commodities, such as gold. This volatility makes Bitcoin unsuitable as a reserve asset for the UK.

Given this, the Government has no plans to adopt a strategic Bitcoin reserve.

The Home Office is reviewing plans to publish new statistics on crypto assets as part of future annual stats bulletins on asset recovery in response to the new powers that came into effect in April 2024.

The Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 (POCA) contains powers to deprive criminals of their money, or other property connected to criminal activity, and recover the proceeds of crime, including cryptocurrencies. As with all assets, action to seize, recover and manage crypto assets is for independent law enforcement bodies and the courts to consider.

We do not routinely publish the amount recovered under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 by asset type.

The Home Office is reviewing plans to publish new statistics on crypto assets as part of future annual stats bulletins on asset recovery in response to the new powers that came into effect in April 2024.

The Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 (POCA) contains powers to deprive criminals of their money, or other property connected to criminal activity, and recover the proceeds of crime, including cryptocurrencies. As with all assets, action to seize, recover and manage crypto assets is for independent law enforcement bodies and the courts to consider.

We do not routinely publish the amount recovered under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 by asset type.

The Government does not hold any Bitcoin.

The Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 (POCA) contains powers to deprive criminals of their money, or other property connected to criminal activity, and recover the proceeds of crime, including cryptocurrencies. As with all assets, action to seize, recover and manage crypto assets is for independent law enforcement bodies and the courts to consider.

We do not routinely publish the amount recovered under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 by asset type. We publish annual statistics on the amount of proceeds of crime confiscated and recovered as detailed on GOV.UK Asset recovery statistics: financial years ending 2019 to 2024 - GOV.UK.