Charlotte Cane

Energy prices vary regionally due to differences in the costs of local electricity and gas distribution networks, which are influenced by factors like population density and infrastructure maintenance. The energy price cap accounts for these differences in regional network costs by adjusting unit rates and standing charges.

The Government knows that, for many consumers, too much of the burden of the bill is placed on standing charges. The Government is committed to reducing consumer bills and bearing down on the standing charges and have worked constructively with the regulator, Ofgem, on this issue.

As unabated gas generation is displaced and transitions to a reserve role, wholesale electricity prices will increasingly decouple from the price of gas. Accelerating the deployment of renewable generation, as we are through our Clean Power 2030 Mission, will reduce the frequency with which gas sets the marginal price, helping to rapidly decouple electricity from gas prices without the need for more complex arrangements. This will in turn reduce consumer exposure to volatile international gas prices.

This government takes fire safety extremely seriously. In GB, fires at battery sites are rare and are mitigated by a regulatory framework overseen by the Health and Safety Executive. The latest available 5-year annual average fire incidence rate for GB batteries is 0.7% (2020/21 to 2024 to 2025), lower than for wider non-domestic building fires in England at 0.8% (2019/20 to 2023/24).

We do not intend to make fire authorities or the Environment Agency statutory consultees on planning applications involving Battery Energy Storage Solutions (BESS). However, DEFRA is currently consulting on the principle of including batteries under the scope of the Environmental Permitting Regulations (EPR). EPR requires sites to demonstrate to the Environment Agency that harms are avoided or controlled and would provide for ongoing regulatory inspections.

In GB, battery fires are rare and are mitigated by a robust framework overseen by the Health and Safety Executive, requiring responsible parties to ensure safety throughout a battery’s deployment. The latest available 5-year annual average fire incidence rate for GB batteries is 0.7% (2020/21 to 2024 to 2025)¹, lower than for wider non-domestic building fires in England at 0.8% (2019/20 to 2023/24).²

To complement this regulation, DEFRA is consulting on including batteries within the Environmental Permitting Regulations (EPR). EPR requires sites to demonstrate to the Environment Agency that harms are avoided or controlled and provides for ongoing regulatory inspections.

[1] https://modoenergy.com/indices/industry-metrics?r=gb&m=operationalSites

[2] https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/fire-statistics-monitor

Communities near potential grid-scale battery sites should be informed about them via planning law, which requires local planning authorities to notify neighbours regarding planning applications either by site notice or letter, and to publish information about the application on a website. This provides the local community the opportunity to make representations about the application

The government has published guidance on existing battery safety standards.[1] Separately, the Health and Safety Executive has published guidance[2] for battery duty-holders under health and safety law. While intended for developers, communities may find this information helpful in gaining assurance that appropriate standards are in place for batteries.

In GB, fires at battery sites are rare and are mitigated by a regulatory framework overseen by the Health and Safety Executive. The latest available 5-year annual average fire incidence rate for GB batteries is 0.7% (2020/21 to 2024 to 2025)[1], lower than for wider non-domestic building fires in England at 0.8% (2019/20 to 2023/24)[2].


[1] https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/661feca73771f5b3ee757fac/grid-scale-storage-health-safety-guidance.pdf
[2] https://www.hse.gov.uk/electricity/battery-energy-storage-systems.htm

Great Britain’s electricity infrastructure is highly resilient and designed to operate in a wide range of conditions. The risks to GB's electricity system from extreme heat are low, but in the unlikely event of any impacts, the energy sector has long-standing plans and procedures to minimise disruption to customers, as set out in the National Emergency Plan for Downstream Gas and Electricity.

Government works closely with industry to minimise the risk of unplanned outages and in line with licence conditions, the National Energy System Operator is required to assess network operators’ resilience to a range of weather events, including extreme temperatures.

The implications of land use change are already considered as part of the examination and determination of all applications for new energy infrastructure. In future, optimal locations for energy infrastructure will be identified by the Strategic Spatial Energy Plan (SSEP). We are ensuring that, in its development, the SSEP considers wider demands on land and sea, including (but not limited to) food production, transport, water supply, nature recovery and fisheries. The SSEP’s recommendations will not take precedence over other land uses but will exist alongside other sectoral spatial plans and frameworks.

The Government has proposed a number of reforms to the next allocation round of the Contracts for Difference scheme, to ensure the auction can deliver significant renewable electricity capacity at a fair price to consumers.

Great British Energy and Great British Energy – Nuclear will together invest more than £8.3 billion over the parliament in homegrown clean power. This includes a total £180 million investment from the Government and GBE to install rooftop solar panels on schools and hospitals, and £1 billion investment for clean energy supply chains.

Through the government’s Warm Homes Plan, schemes such as the Boiler Upgrade Scheme will also continue to provide upfront grants for property owners to make the transition to low carbon heating.

The Government believes that our mission to deliver clean power by 2030 is the best way to break our dependence on global fossil fuel markets and protect billpayers permanently.

The creation of Great British Energy will help us to harness clean energy and have less reliance on volatile international energy markets and help in our commitment to make Britain a clean energy superpower by 2030. This, combined with our Warm Homes Plan to upgrade millions of homes to make them warmer and cheaper to run is how we will drive down energy bills and make cold homes a thing of the past.

We recognise that we need to support households struggling with bills whilst we transition to clean power by 2030. On 19 June we announced that we are expanding the Warm Home Discount to around an additional 2.7 million households. This means that from next winter, around 6 million low-income households will receive the £150 support to help with their energy bill costs.

This Government is clear that no company in the UK, whether public or private, should have forced labour in its supply chain.

Legislation and guidance are already in place to help businesses take action against modern slavery, and DESNZ is working across Whitehall on this important issue to see where we can go further. The Government is also considering how to strengthen Section 54 of the Modern Slavery Act 2015, including possible penalties for non-compliance. The actions needed to secure supply chains that are sustainable, resilient and diverse will be set out in the Solar Roadmap, due for publication shortly.

The Government does not comment on the details of specific projects. We are, however, clear that no UK company, whether public or private, should have forced labour in its supply chain. Legislation and guidance are in place to help developers take action, and we are exploring how we might go further, for example through strengthening Section 54 of the Modern Slavery Act 2015, including possible penalties for non-compliance.

Further details on the Government’s approach to securing solar supply chains that are free from forced labour will be set out in the Solar Roadmap, due to be published shortly.

The Government is clear that no company should have forced labour in its supply chain and we are committed to ensuring that solar developers engage in ethical procurement. Legislation and guidance are in place to help developers take action, and we are exploring how we might go further, for example through strengthening Section 54 of the Modern Slavery Act 2015, including possible penalties for non-compliance.

The Procurement Act 2023 will enable public sector contracting authorities to reject bids and terminate contracts with suppliers known to use forced labour anywhere in their supply chain. Further details on the Government’s approach will be set out in the Solar Roadmap, due to be published shortly.

The Warm Homes Plan will help people find ways to save money on energy bills and transform our ageing building stock into comfortable, low-carbon homes that are fit for the future. We will upgrade up to 5 million homes across the country by accelerating the installation of efficient new technologies like heat pumps, solar, batteries and insulation.

The Government has announced Wave 3 of the Warm Homes: Social Housing Fund in England, to support social housing providers and tenants, as well as the new Warm Homes: Local Grant to support low-income homeowners and private tenants.

The Government has committed an initial £3.4 billion over the next 3 years towards heat decarbonisation and household energy efficiency. We will publish further details on the Warm Homes Plan in due course.

The Government is taking action to deliver a major expansion of the electricity network. We are working closely with Ofgem and the National Energy System Operator to speed up delivery of new network infrastructure through reforms to planning, support for communities and strategic network design. Government is also reforming the connections process to ensure projects that are ready to connect to the network and strategically aligned can connect first. These actions will result in greater capacity on the network to connect new generation and new demand side investment, securing our energy supply while boosting growth and decarbonisation.

Land use changes arising from proposals for new energy infrastructure are subject to rigorous planning processes, which will involve a comprehensive Examination process for those that meet the criteria of a Nationally Significant Infrastructure Project.

There are multiple targeted schemes in place to deliver energy efficiency measures to low income and fuel poor households. The Warm Home Discount provides £150 off bills to over 3 million low-income households.

The Government has kickstarted delivery of the Warm Homes Plan, including an initial £1.8 billion to support fuel poverty schemes over the next 3 years. We are also reviewing the 2021 fuel poverty strategy.

The Government recognises the role community groups play in our efforts to tackle climate change, Great British Energy’s Local Power Plan will also partner with and provide funding and support to community groups, Local Authorities and Mayoral Combined Authorities to develop renewable energy projects and up to 8 GW of cleaner power.

This will build on our existing support for the community energy sector; this includes the £10 million Community Energy Fund, which enables communities across England to access grant funding to develop local renewable energy projects for investment.

My Rt hon Friend the Secretary of State has regular discussions with Ministerial Colleagues on a number of issues.

The latest statistics for the number and proportion of households in fuel poverty in parliamentary constituencies in England can be found in the published sub-regional fuel poverty Official Statistics, in Table 5: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/sub-regional-fuel-poverty-data-2024-2022-data.

There are targeted schemes to deliver energy efficiency measures, and bill support through the Warm Home Discount scheme, available to eligible low-income and fuel poor households. The Warm Homes Plan includes an initial £1.8 billion to support fuel poverty schemes over the next 3 years. The 2021 fuel poverty strategy, which sets out how we will reach our fuel poverty targets, is currently under review.

Research and development (R&D) is key to our agenda to boost growth and improve lives by maximising the potential of science and technology. Investment in R&D underpins the innovations that help the UK boost productivity and create high-paid jobs. UK public R&D has been estimated to have an average rate of return of 40% 6 years after the investment is made. Each pound invested also leverages on average £2 of private investment in the long run.

DSIT's R&D budget has risen to £13.9bn in 2025/26, an increase of 8.5% in real terms compared to its 2024/25 budget. R&D funding beyond 2025/26 is subject to the next phase of the Spending Review, which will conclude in June.

The Government recognises the importance of continued innovation and efficiency of AI infrastructure as we deliver AI Growth Zones (AIGZs).

AIGZs will seek to shift energy demand to areas with greater capacity, reducing pressure on congested parts of the grid. DSIT is working closely with DESNZ and the NESO to align AI energy demand with future energy planning and long-term sustainability.

The AI Energy Council, co-chaired by the Secretaries of State for DSIT and DESNZ, will explore clean energy solutions for AI infrastructure, including small modular reactors and next-gen renewables, to ensure our AI ambitions align with the UK’s net zero goals.

Government’s priority is the effective implementation of the Online Safety Act 2023 so that children can benefit from its wide-reaching protections. The Act’s illegal content duties and, where relevant, child safety duties, will apply to services of all sizes.

All companies in scope of the Act, regardless of their size, will have duties to prevent users from encountering illegal content and activity. Additionally, all services which are likely to be accessed by children are required to protect children from harmful content. This includes content such as pornography, or content that promote, encourages or provides instructions for self-harm, eating disorders or suicide.

Lifelong learning and adaptability are key to ensuring everyone can prosper in an increasingly technology-driven world. The AI Opportunities Action Plan outlines the steps the UK will take to build a strong, diverse talent pipeline, realising AI benefits across the economy.

Working with DSIT and the Industrial Strategy Council, Skills England will bring together businesses, training partners, and unions with national and local government to assess the country’s skills need – including AI and digital skills – and map pathways to fill them.

The AI Opportunities Action Plan sets out how we will achieve our AI ambitions by laying the foundations for growth, driving adoption and building UK capabilities. We recognise that data centres face sustainability challenges, from energy demands to water use.

Through the AI Energy Council, we will be exploring bold, clean energy solutions from next-generation renewables to small modular reactors to ensure our AI ambitions align with the UK’s net zero goals. This builds on DSIT’s contribution to make Britain a clean energy superpower by investing in relevant research on clean energy and climate change.

Additionally, we recently signed agreements on sustainability at the French AI Action Summit and joined the Coalition for Sustainable AI.

According to Ofcom’s December 2024 Connected Nations report, just 0.1% of properties are unable to get decent broadband coverage (defined as at least 10 Mbps download speed and 1 Mbps upload speed), with 89% of rural UK residential properties having superfast broadband coverage (>=30 Mbps). Clearly this still leaves a significant number of rural properties with inadequate broadband coverage.

Through Project Gigabit, more than £2 billion of contracts have been signed to connect over a million more premises with gigabit-capable broadband (>1000 Mbps). These premises predominantly fall in rural areas.

For those premises still unable to get a decent broadband connection, the Broadband USO provides consumers the right to request a decent broadband connection.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is central to the Government’s plan to kickstart an era of economic growth. The AI Opportunities Action Plan sets out how we will lay the foundations for AI growth, driving adoption and building UK capability.

The Intellectual Property Office identified copyright, digital replicas, and computer-generated works as potential high-impact areas. The Government is consulting to gather evidence of the impact of AI to inform future policy development.

We are looking at the broader IP system to ensure it supports the AI sector, while continuing to protect the UK’s strengths in traditional innovation and creativity.