Asked by: Alec Shelbrooke (Conservative - Wetherby and Easingwold)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of the (a) effectiveness of the new Border Target Operating Model and (b) threat of its use as a route to illegally import products of animal origin.
Answered by Daniel Zeichner
Defra has made additional funding of £1.9 million available to Dover District Council for the Port Health Authority, for the remainder of this financial year (2024 to 2025), to support Border Force to conduct safeguarding checks on the illegal import of products of animal origin. This is in addition to the £1.2 million already committed. This total funding of £3.1m million is based on the existing staffing costs provided by Dover Port Health Authority. This funding is only for this financial year. Defra has also contributed operational equipment to support Border Force with relevant checks.
Asked by: Alec Shelbrooke (Conservative - Wetherby and Easingwold)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of the (a) likelihood of an African Swine Fever outbreak in the UK and (b) potential economic impact of such an outbreak.
Answered by Daniel Zeichner
I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Epping Forest on 28 October 2024, to Question 10798.
Asked by: Alec Shelbrooke (Conservative - Wetherby and Easingwold)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 22 November 2024 to Question 12061 on Agriculture: Land Use, if he will commission research into the potential impact of solar farms on soil (a) carbon storage, (b) structure and (c) biodiversity.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Defra has no current plans to undertake research on the specific impact of solar farms on soil properties.
We have undertaken an evidence review evaluating opportunities for agrivoltaic systems in England and Wales. Impacts on soil were not considered.
Asked by: Alec Shelbrooke (Conservative - Wetherby and Easingwold)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of developing a dedicated hydrogen pipeline across Great Britain.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Government is assessing hydrogen pipeline transport options, including the possibility of a core network, in its strategic planning of hydrogen transport infrastructure. Hydrogen transport will be critical to the development of the hydrogen economy and to meeting our net zero ambitions and carbon budgets. The hydrogen economy will also unlock economic benefits and increase energy security and resilience. In December 2023, Government published its ambition for the first allocation round of the hydrogen transport and storage business models to support up to two storage projects at scale and associated regional pipeline infrastructure to be in operation or construction by 2030.
Asked by: Alec Shelbrooke (Conservative - Wetherby and Easingwold)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people in the Health and Safety Executive are evaluating the safety case for blending hydrogen in the transmission network; and what the Health and Safety Executive's planned timetable is for a decision.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has a strategic objective to enable industry to innovate safely to prevent major incidents, supporting the move towards Net Zero. As part of this objective HSE is working to review and understand key technologies, such as hydrogen and carbon capture and storage.
HSE is currently reviewing the evidence on safety for the potential use of 100% hydrogen as an alternative to natural gas. HSE understands that the full evidence base for blending hydrogen in the transmission network is not due to be completed until December 2024. HSE is working with the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero to ensure HSE's resources are appropriately deployed to support Government’s net zero priorities.
Asked by: Alec Shelbrooke (Conservative - Wetherby and Easingwold)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether he has had discussions with the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions on the Health and Safety Executive’s evaluation of the safety case for blending hydrogen in the transmission network.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Government remains committed to examining the case for hydrogen blending and is reviewing plans. This work aims to gather evidence on the feasibility, costs and benefits of hydrogen blending that can inform decisions on its potential role.
Asked by: Alec Shelbrooke (Conservative - Wetherby and Easingwold)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, when he plans to publish his decision on whether to allow hydrogen blending into the gas transmission network.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Government remains committed to examining the case for hydrogen blending and is reviewing plans. This work aims to gather evidence on the feasibility, costs and benefits of hydrogen blending that can inform decisions on its potential role.
Asked by: Alec Shelbrooke (Conservative - Wetherby and Easingwold)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of hydrogen blending to (a) decrease hydrogen production costs, (b) decrease wind curtailment costs, (c) scale hydrogen production and (d) align with EU plans to blend hydrogen into gas transmission pipelines.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Government remains committed to examining the case for hydrogen blending and is reviewing plans. This work aims to gather evidence on the feasibility, costs and benefits of hydrogen blending that can inform decisions on its potential role.
Asked by: Alec Shelbrooke (Conservative - Wetherby and Easingwold)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether it is his target to produce 10GW of green hydrogen by 2030; and if he will take steps to publish a roadmap for meeting this target.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
This Government is focussed on getting the UK’s first low carbon hydrogen production projects built, which is why in the Autumn Budget we committed £2.3bn in revenue funding for 11 green hydrogen projects from the first Hydrogen Allocation Round (HAR1). The second Hydrogen Allocation Round is now underway to support further green hydrogen production capacity. The Government is also supporting carbon capture and storage enabled hydrogen production and in October 2024 we announced up to £21.7bn of available funding over 25 years to launch the UK’s new CCUS industry.
We will publish a Hydrogen Strategy Update to the Market this winter, including further information on recent hydrogen developments and a forward look.
Asked by: Alec Shelbrooke (Conservative - Wetherby and Easingwold)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what steps his Department is taking to help mitigate the risk of thermal runaways in battery energy storage facilities.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Grid-scale batteries are regulated by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) within a framework which requires battery designers, installers and operators to take the necessary measures to ensure health and safety throughout all stages of the system’s construction, operation and decommissioning.
The Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (Defra) is considering options, including environmental permitting, to further mitigate thermal runaway risk in battery storage facilities. The Department’s officials are supporting this work.