Claire Coutinho Portrait

Claire Coutinho

Conservative - East Surrey

7,450 (15.1%) majority - 2024 General Election

First elected: 12th December 2019

Shadow Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero

(since July 2024)

Shadow Minister (Equalities)

(since November 2024)

Claire Coutinho is not an officer of any APPGs
2 APPG Memberships
Australia and New Zealand (ANZAC) and the Pacific Islands, Environment
1 Former APPG Officer Position
Sustainable Finance
Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero
31st Aug 2023 - 5th Jul 2024
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
27th Oct 2022 - 31st Aug 2023
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
21st Sep 2022 - 27th Oct 2022
Public Service Pensions and Judicial Offices Bill [HL]
19th Jan 2022 - 27th Jan 2022
Local Government (Disqualification) Bill
24th Nov 2021 - 1st Dec 2021
National Insurance Contributions Bill
16th Jun 2021 - 22nd Jun 2021


Division Voting information

During the current Parliament, Claire Coutinho has voted in 142 divisions, and never against the majority of their Party.
View All Claire Coutinho Division Votes

Debates during the 2024 Parliament

Speeches made during Parliamentary debates are recorded in Hansard. For ease of browsing we have grouped debates into individual, departmental and legislative categories.

Sparring Partners
Lindsay Hoyle (Speaker)
(11 debate interactions)
Ed Miliband (Labour)
Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero
(6 debate interactions)
Bridget Phillipson (Labour)
Minister for Women and Equalities
(3 debate interactions)
View All Sparring Partners
Department Debates
Cabinet Office
(4 debate contributions)
HM Treasury
(2 debate contributions)
View All Department Debates
Legislation Debates
Great British Energy Act 2025
(6,403 words contributed)
View All Legislation Debates
View all Claire Coutinho's debates

East Surrey Petitions

e-Petitions are administered by Parliament and allow members of the public to express support for a particular issue.

If an e-petition reaches 10,000 signatures the Government will issue a written response.

If an e-petition reaches 100,000 signatures the petition becomes eligible for a Parliamentary debate (usually Monday 4.30pm in Westminster Hall).

Claire Coutinho has not participated in any petition debates

Latest EDMs signed by Claire Coutinho

2nd September 2024
Claire Coutinho signed this EDM as a sponsor on Thursday 29th August 2024

Social Security

Tabled by: Rishi Sunak (Conservative - Richmond and Northallerton)
That an humble Address be presented to His Majesty, praying that the Social Fund Winter Fuel Payment Regulations 2024 (S.I., 2024, No. 869), dated 22 August 2024, a copy of which was laid before this House on 22 August 2024, be annulled.
81 signatures
(Most recent: 10 Sep 2024)
Signatures by party:
Conservative: 74
Independent: 4
Democratic Unionist Party: 2
Scottish National Party: 1
View All Claire Coutinho's signed Early Day Motions

Commons initiatives

These initiatives were driven by Claire Coutinho, and are more likely to reflect personal policy preferences.

MPs who are act as Ministers or Shadow Ministers are generally restricted from performing Commons initiatives other than Urgent Questions.


Claire Coutinho has not been granted any Urgent Questions

Claire Coutinho has not been granted any Adjournment Debates

1 Bill introduced by Claire Coutinho


To make provision about licences to search and bore for and get offshore petroleum.

Commons Completed
Lords - 60%

Last Event - Committee Stage
Tuesday 23rd April 2024
(Read Debate)

1 Bill co-sponsored by Claire Coutinho

Marriage (Prohibited Degrees of Relationship) Bill 2024-26
Sponsor - Richard Holden (Con)


Latest 50 Written Questions

(View all written questions)
Written Questions can be tabled by MPs and Lords to request specific information information on the work, policy and activities of a Government Department
16 Other Department Questions
5th Jun 2025
To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, what process was used to appoint Baroness Lawrence of Clarendon as Chair of the Race Equality Engagement Group.

The appointment process for Baroness Lawrence of Clarendon and the other members of the Race Equality Engagement Group (REEG) was informal ministerial appointment, by invitation, following appropriate due diligence checks.

This government will publish the terms of reference for the REEG, and the full membership, in due course.

REEG members will not be remunerated but will be reimbursed for reasonable expenses incurred in respect of the work of the REEG.

Members are expected to declare any conflicts of interest and to recuse themselves from any work where such a conflict, or perceived conflict, may arise.

The REEG will be supported by the Race Equality Unit, in the Office for Equality and Opportunity, from its existing allocation of staff.

Seema Malhotra
Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
5th Jun 2025
To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, what process will be used to appoint members of the Race Equality Engagement Group.

The appointment process for Baroness Lawrence of Clarendon and the other members of the Race Equality Engagement Group (REEG) was informal ministerial appointment, by invitation, following appropriate due diligence checks.

This government will publish the terms of reference for the REEG, and the full membership, in due course.

REEG members will not be remunerated but will be reimbursed for reasonable expenses incurred in respect of the work of the REEG.

Members are expected to declare any conflicts of interest and to recuse themselves from any work where such a conflict, or perceived conflict, may arise.

The REEG will be supported by the Race Equality Unit, in the Office for Equality and Opportunity, from its existing allocation of staff.

Seema Malhotra
Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
5th Jun 2025
To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, when she plans to announce the members of the Race Equality Engagement Group.

The appointment process for Baroness Lawrence of Clarendon and the other members of the Race Equality Engagement Group (REEG) was informal ministerial appointment, by invitation, following appropriate due diligence checks.

This government will publish the terms of reference for the REEG, and the full membership, in due course.

REEG members will not be remunerated but will be reimbursed for reasonable expenses incurred in respect of the work of the REEG.

Members are expected to declare any conflicts of interest and to recuse themselves from any work where such a conflict, or perceived conflict, may arise.

The REEG will be supported by the Race Equality Unit, in the Office for Equality and Opportunity, from its existing allocation of staff.

Seema Malhotra
Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
5th Jun 2025
To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, whether she plans to publish terms of reference for the Race Equality Engagement Group.

The appointment process for Baroness Lawrence of Clarendon and the other members of the Race Equality Engagement Group (REEG) was informal ministerial appointment, by invitation, following appropriate due diligence checks.

This government will publish the terms of reference for the REEG, and the full membership, in due course.

REEG members will not be remunerated but will be reimbursed for reasonable expenses incurred in respect of the work of the REEG.

Members are expected to declare any conflicts of interest and to recuse themselves from any work where such a conflict, or perceived conflict, may arise.

The REEG will be supported by the Race Equality Unit, in the Office for Equality and Opportunity, from its existing allocation of staff.

Seema Malhotra
Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
5th Jun 2025
To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, how many full time equivalent civil service staff will be allocated to support the work of the Race Equality Engagement Group.

The appointment process for Baroness Lawrence of Clarendon and the other members of the Race Equality Engagement Group (REEG) was informal ministerial appointment, by invitation, following appropriate due diligence checks.

This government will publish the terms of reference for the REEG, and the full membership, in due course.

REEG members will not be remunerated but will be reimbursed for reasonable expenses incurred in respect of the work of the REEG.

Members are expected to declare any conflicts of interest and to recuse themselves from any work where such a conflict, or perceived conflict, may arise.

The REEG will be supported by the Race Equality Unit, in the Office for Equality and Opportunity, from its existing allocation of staff.

Seema Malhotra
Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
5th Jun 2025
To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, whether members of the Race Equality Engagement Group will subject to an assessment of any (a) potential and (b) actual conflicts of interest.

The appointment process for Baroness Lawrence of Clarendon and the other members of the Race Equality Engagement Group (REEG) was informal ministerial appointment, by invitation, following appropriate due diligence checks.

This government will publish the terms of reference for the REEG, and the full membership, in due course.

REEG members will not be remunerated but will be reimbursed for reasonable expenses incurred in respect of the work of the REEG.

Members are expected to declare any conflicts of interest and to recuse themselves from any work where such a conflict, or perceived conflict, may arise.

The REEG will be supported by the Race Equality Unit, in the Office for Equality and Opportunity, from its existing allocation of staff.

Seema Malhotra
Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
10th Jan 2025
To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, if she will direct her Department to share all submissions received for the call for input on single-sex spaces with the Equality and Human Rights Commission.

The Government has written to the EHRC to confirm that we will share all the submissions which met the criteria of the previous Government’s call for input on single-sex spaces guidance.

9th Jan 2025
To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, pursuant to the Answer of 7 January 2025 to Question 21052 on Gender: Public Consultation, if she will publish the submissions to the call for input on single-sex spaces which were determined to have met the submission criteria.

The Government has written to the EHRC to confirm that we will share all the submissions with them which met the criteria of the previous Government’s call for input on single-sex spaces guidance in due course.

9th Jan 2025
To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, pursuant to the Answer of 7 January 2025 to Question 21052 on Gender: Public Consultation, if she will publish the submissions to the call for input on single-sex spaces which were determined not to meet the criteria because they contained text which was irrelevant to the request.

The Government has written to the EHRC to confirm that we will share all the submissions with them which met the criteria of the previous Government’s call for input on single-sex spaces guidance in due course.

8th Jan 2025
To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, if she will publish all submissions to the call for input on single-sex spaces that were determined to have misinterpreted the Equality Act 2010.

The submissions to the previous Government’s call for input on single-sex spaces guidance which seem to have misinterpreted the Equality Act 2010 have been sent to the EHRC, as the relevant independent regulator, for further review.

18th Dec 2024
To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, with reference to the her Department's publication eneitled Response to call for input on single-sex spaces guidance, published 17 December 2024, how many submissions were received in total.

The call for input on single-sex spaces guidance asked specifically for examples of policy or guidance ‘which states that people have a legal right to access single-sex spaces and services according to their self-identified gender’.

A total of 3,272 responses (excluding spam or ‘bot’ submissions) were received. Manual review of these responses found that many did not meet the criteria outlined on the call for input gov.uk page under ‘How to respond’. Some responses contained text which was irrelevant to the request (2,160). Some responses did not contain an attachment or a link to a policy or guidance (255). Some responses provided examples that were outside the criteria (196). Some responses met the criteria but provided examples of policies or guidance duplicated by other responses (257). The final sample comprised 404 responses which met the criteria.

18th Dec 2024
To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, with reference to the Response to call for input on single-sex spaces guidance, published on 17 December 2024, if she will publish (a) a list of reasons for submissions being rejected for not meeting the submission criteria and (b) how many submissions were rejected for each reason.

The call for input on single-sex spaces guidance asked specifically for examples of policy or guidance ‘which states that people have a legal right to access single-sex spaces and services according to their self-identified gender’.

A total of 3,272 responses (excluding spam or ‘bot’ submissions) were received. Manual review of these responses found that many did not meet the criteria outlined on the call for input gov.uk page under ‘How to respond’. Some responses contained text which was irrelevant to the request (2,160). Some responses did not contain an attachment or a link to a policy or guidance (255). Some responses provided examples that were outside the criteria (196). Some responses met the criteria but provided examples of policies or guidance duplicated by other responses (257). The final sample comprised 404 responses which met the criteria.

17th Dec 2024
To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, if she will remove Germany from the Gender Recognition Certificate: list of approved countries and territories.

The Gender Recognition (Approved Countries and Territories and Saving Provision) Order 2023 was approved by Parliament in April 2024, the first update to the list of approved countries in 13 years.

We are committed to more regularly updating the list of approved countries and territories when applying for gender recognition in the UK. We continue to work with our counterparts in the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office to ensure that any changes internationally are monitored and noted for future updates.

15th Nov 2024
To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, what guidance the Office for Equality and Opportunities has produced on whether positive discrimination on the basis of gender identity is permitted under the Equality Act 2010.

Positive discrimination is treatment which favours someone solely because he or she has a particular protected characteristic such as their sex or race. Positive discrimination is generally unlawful under the Equality Act 2010 and therefore guidance has not been issued.

15th Nov 2024
To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, what her planned timetable is for the publication of the response to the call for evidence on single-sex spaces; and how many responses to the call for evidence have been received.

We will publish a response to the call for input on single-sex spaces guidance, including the number of valid responses, in due course.

27th Jan 2025
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether any Government Departments are members of the Stonewall Diversity Champions Programme.

Government departments are responsible for decisions about whether to buy services from third sector organisations to support equality, diversity and inclusion in their organisations. Currently no government department is a member of Stonewall.

Georgia Gould
Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
5th Jun 2025
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what the total cost of procuring frequency control services was in each month since January 2022.

The data requested is a matter of public record and is published by the National Energy System Operator (NESO) here under the headings “MBSS” and “MBSS Archive”.

Michael Shanks
Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
4th Jun 2025
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, when he plans to publish his Department's hydrogen to power business model.

In December 2024, the Government committed to implementing a Hydrogen to Power Business Model (H2PBM) to de-risk Hydrogen to Power investment by mitigating deployment barriers.

Later this year, we will publish a H2PBM market engagement exercise outlining further design details for the H2PBM, including our minded to positions on eligibility and assessment criteria and proposed next steps for allocating support through the business model.

Sarah Jones
Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
30th May 2025
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, pursuant to the Answer of 11 April 2025 to Question 43723 on Carbon Emissions: Trees, if he will ask Drax Group plc to share the interim KPMG report of December 2022 with Members of Parliament.

The KPMG reports were commissioned by Drax as a confidential internal fact-finding exercise and are the property of Drax. The government does not hold them. It is for Drax to decide whether they wish to release them to Parliament or the public. Ofgem has already published significant details as to how these reports were considered as part of their investigation.

Michael Shanks
Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
30th May 2025
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, pursuant to the Answer of 11 April 2025 to Question 43723 on Carbon Emissions: Trees, whether it is standard practice for officials in his Department to receive time-limited access to documents when negotiating subsidy arrangements.

DESNZ officials were granted access by Drax to review the KPMG reports in January 2025. These reports were internal fact-finding documents, commissioned by Drax under legal privilege to review their biomass supply chain against the sustainability requirements of existing arrangements.

Drax granted DESNZ access to these internal documents which enabled Government to better understand their contents and the conclusions of Ofgem’s investigation, which we support.

Michael Shanks
Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
30th May 2025
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, pursuant to the Answer of 11 April 2025 to Question 43723 on Carbon Emissions: Trees, if he will publish emails where the KPMG report was discussed.

We have determined that it would not be in the public interest to release further information on this issue in this instance. Protecting commercially sensitive information facilitates the frank exchange of information between the private sector and government, and ensures ministers and civil servants can have honest, unfiltered discussions during the policy-making process.

Michael Shanks
Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
30th May 2025
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, if he will make an assessment of the potential impact of increasing the price per megawatt hour of the subsidies received by the Drax Power Station by 13% on his plans to reduce household energy bills by up to £300.

The strike price for the proposed low carbon dispatchable CfD with Drax is £113 MWh (2012 prices) compared to £100 MWh (2012 prices) currently. This modest increase reflects that Drax’s fixed operating costs will be spread over far fewer units of generation. However, the proposed CfD arrangement caps the volume of supported generation to an annual load factor of 27%. Our analysis shows this would halve overall subsidy payments relative to current arrangements, resulting in a decrease of around £6 on the average household bill. Further, this arrangement incentivises dispatchable biomass generation only when the system needs it, ensuring consumers can benefit from cheaper wind and solar power at other times.

Michael Shanks
Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
30th May 2025
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, if he will make an assessment of the potential impact of the CO2 released annually by Drax Power Station on the ability of the UK to meet the emissions reduction targets included in the Climate Change Committee's Carbon Budgets.

CO2 emissions from the combustion of biomass at Drax Power Station are not included in the assessment of emissions in Carbon Budgets. This is consistent with international guidelines established by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), which require CO2 emissions from the combustion of biomass to be accounted for in the land use, land use change and forestry (LULUCF) sector of the country in which the biomass was harvested, rather than at the point of release to the atmosphere.

Michael Shanks
Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
30th May 2025
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, for what reason his Department has not conducted an impact assessment of its proposed extension of the Drax Power Station subsidy arrangements.

We are conducting a rigorous economic assessment of the proposed support for Drax, including detailed value for money analysis.

Our current analysis shows that the new arrangement will halve the level of consumer subsidy compared to existing arrangements. This is equivalent to a saving of nearly £6 per household in average annual bills. When compared to the cost of securing alternative dispatchable capacity for this timeframe, the arrangement with Drax will save consumers £170m a year.

Michael Shanks
Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
30th Apr 2025
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, pursuant to the Answer of 29 April 2025 to Question 47816 on Renewable Energy: Electricity Generation, what the annual cost to consumers of the Offtaker of Last Resort scheme has been since 2015.

Since its launch there have been no applications to the OLR scheme and no Backstop PPAs have been entered into. The only costs related to the scheme are the administrative costs incurred by Ofgem. The cost of the scheme for 2024/25 was £26,902. Details of the activities associated with these costs can be accessed here: https://www.ofgem.gov.uk/publications/offtaker-last-resort-olr-annual-report-april-2023-march-2024

Michael Shanks
Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
24th Apr 2025
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what estimate his Department has made of the proportion of Distribution Use of System charges that were the result of connecting renewable energy generation assets in each year since 2002.

The Government does not hold this information. Distribution Use of System (DUoS) charges are paid for by electricity suppliers and distribution connected generators

and passed onto consumers through electricity bills. Each Distribution Network Operator (DNO) publishes charging statements every year, which are publicly available on their websites. The system is experiencing rising DUoS charges, due partly to the costs of upgrading the network to connect renewable generation and storage. However, the Government does not hold estimates apportioning overall distribution network costs to these generation sources specifically.

Michael Shanks
Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
24th Apr 2025
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what estimate his Department has made of the cost of the Renewable Energy Guarantee of Origin scheme in each year since 2003.

REGO certificates are issued by Ofgem to eligible generators for free, and certificates are then purchased by electricity suppliers to surrender in the Fuel Mix Disclosure process. This has generated a market for the sale and purchase of certificates.

The price of REGOs fluctuates, though credible external estimates suggest that the latest spot market price is around £7 a certificate. Ofgem reports 130 million certificates are issued per year, giving an overall market value of around £910m annually.

Michael Shanks
Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
24th Apr 2025
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what estimate his Department has made of the annual cost of Distribution Use of System charges since 2002.

The Government does not hold this information. Distribution Use of System (DUoS) charges are paid for by electricity suppliers and distribution connected generators

and passed onto consumers through electricity bills. Each Distribution Network Operator (DNO) publishes charging statements every year, which are publicly available on their websites. The system is experiencing rising DUoS charges, due partly to the costs of upgrading the network to connect renewable generation and storage. However, the Government does not hold estimates apportioning overall distribution network costs to these generation sources specifically.

Michael Shanks
Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
24th Apr 2025
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what estimate his Department has made of the proportion of Transmission Network Use of System charges that were caused by the (a) expansion and (b) reinforcement required for renewable energy in each year since 2002.

The Government does not hold this information. Transmission Network Use of System (TNUoS) charges recover the cost of installing and maintaining the high-voltage transmission network, which are paid for by electricity suppliers and transmission-connected generators and administered by the National Energy System Operator (NESO). The charges reflect the costs imposed on the network by generators and demand in different locations. NESO publishes annual TNUoS charges here: https://www.neso.energy/industry-information/charging/tnuos-charges#TNUOS-tariffs-and-notifications-of-changes.

Michael Shanks
Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
24th Apr 2025
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, if he will make an estimate of the potential impact of the smart export guarantee on annual costs to consumers in each year since 2020.

The Smart Export Guarantee is a market-driven mechanism that captures the value of small-scale exported electricity and helps meet net zero commitments at the lowest net cost to consumers and businesses.

This means that SEG tariffs are set by energy suppliers and the SEG is not expected to lead to a direct cost on consumer bills.

Michael Shanks
Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
24th Apr 2025
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether the Offtaker of Last Resort scheme has been implemented.

The Scheme was introduced on 1 October 2015 and is intended as a last resort to help renewable generators who have an Investment Contract or Contracts for Difference (CFD) contract, who cannot get a PPA through the usual commercial means. Ofgem administer the Offtaker of Last Resort and publish an annual report on the scheme’s operation.

Michael Shanks
Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
24th Apr 2025
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what estimate his Department has made of the proportion of Balancing Services Use of System charges that were caused by the management of renewable energy generation assets in each year since 2002.

Balancing Services Use of System (BSUoS) charges are administered by the National Energy System Operator (NESO). The variable nature of renewable and low carbon intermittent sources of generation can require NESO to undertake additional grid balancing actions. The Government does not hold data apportioning overall balancing costs to these generation sources specifically. NESO publishes BSUoS charges here: Balancing Services Use of System (BSUoS) charges | National Energy System Operator

Michael Shanks
Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
23rd Jan 2025
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, pursuant to the Answer of 23 January 2025 to Question 24699 on Electricity: Artificial Intelligence, what the value is of the contract awarded to European Economic Research Limited to analyse the future net energy demand of artificial intelligence.

This information will be made publicly available the usual way through the Department's annual report and accounts.

Michael Shanks
Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
23rd Jan 2025
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, pursuant to the Answer of 23 January to Question 24699 on Electricity: Artificial Intelligence, if he will publish the terms of reference for European Economic Research Limited's analysis of the future net energy demand of artificial intelligence.

This project was awarded through an open tender process, which concluded in November. As part of this process, the terms of reference for the project were publicly disclosed. Once the tender closed and had been awarded to the European Economic Research Limited, we published a Contract Award Notice, (CAN) on the government Contracts Finder website.

Michael Shanks
Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
23rd Jan 2025
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, pursuant to the Answer of 23 January 2025 to Question 24699 on Electricity: Artificial Intelligence, if he will publish the report by European Economic Research Limited on the future net energy demand of artificial intelligence when it has been received by his Department.

It is DESNZ policy to publish contracted technical work once it has been independently internally peer reviewed. We intend to similarly publish the report by European Economic Research Limited once it is completed in April.

Michael Shanks
Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
20th Jan 2025
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what recent assessment he has made of the potential impact of UK Emissions Trading Scheme 's allowance allocation policy on (a) carbon leakage and (b) the offshoring of emissions.

The provision of Free Allocation under the UK ETS mitigates the risk of carbon leakage and associated offshoring of emissions by reducing industrial sectors’ exposure to the carbon price. The UK ETS Authority is reviewing Free Allocation policy to ensure it targets sectors most at risk of carbon leakage and is currently consulting on this topic, including alignment with the UK Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism.

The Authority will assess how Free Allocation interacts with other policies to ensure a holistic approach to carbon leakage mitigation. An Impact Assessment will be published alongside the Government Response to the Free Allocation Review

Michael Shanks
Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
17th Jan 2025
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, if he make an assessment of the potential impact of the AI Opportunities Action Plan on trends in the level of electricity demand.

The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero has contracted European Economic Research Limited to analyse the future net energy demand of AI and the National Electricity System Operator (NESO) is investigating the future power consumption of data centres. These assessments will help the Department evaluate the potential impact of AI-driven technologies on electricity demand trends.

Michael Shanks
Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
17th Jan 2025
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, how the AI Energy Council will engage with the (a) renewables, (b) nuclear, and (c) oil and gas industries.

DSIT and DESNZ officials are currently agreeing the membership and Terms of Reference of the AI Energy Council and as part of this they are also discussing how to engage with the renewables, nuclear, and oil and gas industry.

Michael Shanks
Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
17th Jan 2025
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, if he will make an assessment of the potential impact of the AI Opportunities Action Plan on the Clean Power Action Plan.

The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero has established the AI for Decarbonisation Virtual Centre of Excellence (ADViCE) to support the development and adoption of AI technologies for decarbonisation.[1] ADViCE has identified seven focus areas where the use of AI can contribute directly to the Clean Power Action Plan, including enabling net zero infrastructure, optimising new connections and maximising flexibility in energy networks.

[1] https://www.turing.ac.uk/research/research-projects/advice

Michael Shanks
Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
17th Jan 2025
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, how the AI Energy Council will engage with (a) the National Energy System Operator and (b) Distribution Network Operators.

DSIT and DESNZ officials are currently agreeing the membership and Terms of Reference of the AI Energy Council and as part of this they are also discussing how to engage with the National Energy System Operator and Distribution Network Operators.

Michael Shanks
Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
17th Jan 2025
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, if he will make an assessment of the potential impact of the AI Opportunities Action Plan on trends in the level of carbon emissions.

The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero has contracted European Economic Research Limited to analyse the future net energy demand of AI and the National Electricity System Operator (NESO) is investigating the future power consumption of data centres. These assessments will help the Department evaluate the potential impact of AI-driven technologies on energy consumption patterns and their contribution to carbon emissions trend.

Kerry McCarthy
Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
14th Jan 2025
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, with reference to the oral contribution of the Minister for Energy in response to the hon. Member for Gordon and Buchan during the Oral Statement of 13 January on Gas Storage Levels, Official Report, column 32, if he will publish details of the meetings the Minister for Energy has had with oil and gas companies in Aberdeen since July 2024.

Details of Ministers' and Permanent Secretaries' meetings with external individuals and organisations are published quarterly in arrears on GOV.UK.

Published declarations include the purpose of the meeting and the names of any additional external organisations or individuals in attendance.

Michael Shanks
Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
11th Dec 2024
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, when he plans to publish his Department's assessment of the full systems costs of a fully decarbonised, renewables-based grid by 2030.

The Government published the Clean Power 2030 Action Plan ‘a new era of clean electricity’ on 13 December 2024 detailing our plan to achieve deliver clean power by 2030.

Michael Shanks
Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
5th Dec 2024
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what estimate he has made of carbon prices in 2030.

The price of carbon allowances in the UK Emissions Trading Scheme is set by the market and not the Government. A market-determined price of carbon is the most efficient way to decarbonise the traded sector.

It is the role of the UK ETS Authority to set the scheme’s cap, which sets a limit on the volume of greenhouse gases participants captured by the scheme can emit. This ensures the covered sectors will reduce their emissions in line with net zero and establishes a long-term investment signal.

Sarah Jones
Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
30th Jul 2024
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what budget he has allocated for legal costs in the event of legal action from businesses following from his decision not to issue new oil and gas licences.

We do not intend to issue new licences to explore new fields and will share more details on our plans in due course. We do not speculate on possible future legal costs.

Michael Shanks
Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
30th Jul 2024
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what is his expected timetable for GB Energy to cut household energy bills by £300 per year.

The Government's mission to make Britain a clean energy superpower is a sustainable, long-term plan to protect billpayers for good. That’s because in an unstable world, the only way to guarantee our energy security and protect billpayers permanently is to speed up the transition away from fossil fuels and towards homegrown clean energy.

The exact impact and timetable of Great British Energy’s interventions will be determined by detailed development and design of the organisation’s functions which will follow in the coming months.

Michael Shanks
Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
30th Jul 2024
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether GB Energy will operate energy infrastructure.

Yes. Great British Energy will own, manage, and operate clean energy projects across the country; which could include energy infrastructure. As set out in the Founding Statement, Great British Energy will have five key functions. This means the exact role of Great British Energy will vary from project to project, providing important flexibility to ensure Great British Energy works collaboratively with private companies, local authorities, and communities already operating in the energy space. To meet immediate needs, Great British Energy will initially focus on project development and investment.

Michael Shanks
Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
30th Jul 2024
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether GB Energy will produce energy.

Yes. Great British Energy will invest in and own clean power generation assets, which will produce clean, cheap and homegrown energy and make Britain energy secure. Great British Energy will not be simply an investment vehicle; it is a publicly-owned energy company that will take stakes in the projects it owns, manages and operates.

Michael Shanks
Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)