Asked by: Carla Denyer (Green Party - Bristol Central)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what estimate (a) her Department and (b) HS2 Limited have made of the cost of construction of HS2 in each of the last five years.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Construction of HS2 Phase One started following notice to proceed in April 2020. Since October 2020, the cost to date of delivering HS2 is set out in the 6 monthly Parliamentary Report. Capital expenditure on Phase One is reported in the HS2 Ltd Annual Report and Accounts – expenditure for each of the last 5 years is summarised in the table below:
Year | Capital Expenditure on HS2 Phase One |
2020/21 | £3.1 billion |
2021/22 | £4.8 billion |
2022/23 | £6.6 billion |
2023/24 | £7.2 billion |
2024/25 | £6.8 billion |
The Spending Review settlement has also provided £25.3 billion to progress delivery of HS2 from the West Midlands to London Euston covering financial years 2026-2027 to 2029-2030.
The programme is currently undergoing a fundamental reset under the leadership of CEO of HS2 Ltd, Mark Wild. As part of this reset, a revised cost estimate will be agreed and reported to Parliament in due course.
Asked by: Carla Denyer (Green Party - Bristol Central)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether he has made an assessment of the potential impact of ending the Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme after 2028 on (a) commitments to reach 100% reduction of greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 and (b) public sector (i) emissions and (ii) climate resilience.
Answered by Martin McCluskey - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
By the time the Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme concludes in 2028, it will have delivered approximately £3.5 billion in capital funding to over 1,400 projects across England. These investments have supported heat decarbonisation and energy efficiency upgrades in public sector buildings, contributing to emissions reductions and progress toward net zero as well as climate resilience.
The Government will shortly publish its Carbon Budgets and Growth Delivery Plan, which will outline plans for non-domestic buildings, including the public sector. The Warm Homes Plan will also set out plans to support the decarbonisation of buildings.
No estimate has been made of the impacts on public sector climate resilience resulting from not decarbonising the public sector.
Asked by: Carla Denyer (Green Party - Bristol Central)
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 estimate of the cost to the public purse of the (a) funding required to fully decarbonise the public sector and (b) adaptation costs from not fully decarbonising that sector.
Answered by Martin McCluskey - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The internal estimate made by the Department of Energy Security and Net Zero in 2022 suggests that fully decarbonising the public sector would cost between £25–30 billion. The Department is currently updating this based on more recent cost assumptions. No estimate has been made regarding the adaptation costs that may arise from not decarbonising the public sector.
Asked by: Carla Denyer (Green Party - Bristol Central)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, for what reason he plans to end grant funding for the Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme after 2028; and if he will provide funding to support the decarbonisation of the public sector beyond 2028.
Answered by Martin McCluskey - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The decision not to provide further funding for the Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme was taken in the context of wider fiscal pressures and competing priorities which required difficult choices during the 2025 Spending Review.
In addition to the £1bn for public sector decarbonisation between 2025/26 and 2027/28, the Government and Great British Energy Solar programme is investing £255 million to fund around 250 schools, 260 NHS sites and 15 military sites to install solar panels.
Additional detail on the Government’s approach will be set out in the forthcoming Carbon Budgets and Growth Delivery Plan.
Asked by: Carla Denyer (Green Party - Bristol Central)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to her Department's policy paper entitled Policy paper Restoring control over the immigration system: white paper, published on 12 May 2025, whether she consulted civil society organisations providing services to (a) migrants experiencing (i) poverty and (ii) destitution and (b) other migrants prior to designing the (1) settlement and (2) citizenship changes proposed.
Answered by Mike Tapp - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
The Restoring control over the immigration system: white paper, sets out the government's plans to create an immigration system that promotes growth but is controlled and managed.
We will be consulting on the new settlement rules later this year. Following that, we will provide details of how this initiative will work, including on any transitional arrangements for people already in the UK.
The citizenship proposals will be developed in line with the settlement ones and further details on the proposed citizenship scheme will be provided at a suitable stage.
Asked by: Carla Denyer (Green Party - Bristol Central)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 19 September 2025 to Question 76417 on Carbon Emissions, whether the Financial Policy Committee (a) is (i) monitoring and (ii) assessing evidence on the likelihood of planetary boundaries being breached and (b) has used its stress testing frameworks to assess the potential impact of climate tipping points on financial stability.
Answered by Lucy Rigby - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Bank of England’s Financial Policy Committee (FPC) is responsible for identifying, monitoring and taking action to mitigate systemic risks to the UK financial system. In its November 2024 Financial Stability Report, the FPC explained its approach to assessing climate-related financial stability risks; it recognised the potentially irreversible impact of passing through climate tipping points; and it highlighted that the Bank of England was considering incorporating risks caused or exacerbated by climate change into future bank and insurance stress tests. This followed the Chancellor’s remit to the FPC in 2024 recommending the FPC to use its stress testing frameworks, where appropriate, to consider how climate risks could impact financial stability.