Asked by: David Chadwick (Liberal Democrat - Brecon, Radnor and Cwm Tawe)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to NHS England awarding contracts for Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy (HBOT) services to three of six planned regional centres, if she will undertake a review of NHS England's recompression service contract; if she will take steps to ensure equitable geographic access to hyperbaric chambers across the UK; and if she will make it her policy to include (a) diver safety organisations and (b) medical experts in future consultations on HBOT services.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
We are committed to ensuring equitably accessible, high-quality services, for any patient who requires Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy. NHS England set out their assessment of service requirements in their commissioning intentions during the public consultation which took place in September 2024. The reconfiguration of services ensures service provision which meets optimal time to treatment guidelines, in which providers must be located no more than four hours, based on 200 miles radial distance, from the coast and four hours from the next nearest commissioned provider. More information on the consultation is available at the following link:
https://www.england.nhs.uk/long-read/reviewing-hyperbaric-oxygen-services-consultation-guide/
We actively encourage individuals and organisations to register as stakeholders to ensure a full range of views are included in any service developments. Stakeholders can register their interest in services commissioned by NHS England on their website, which includes a special interest group for Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy. The website is available at the following link:
https://www.engage.england.nhs.uk/application/crg-stakeholder-reg-april-2019/
Any individuals or organisations who sign up are kept informed when NHS England engages on potential changes to the way that these services are commissioned. NHS England also encourages stakeholders to cascade invitations to provide feedback across their networks.
NHS England consulted with a range of stakeholders in the update of the service specification in line with the published Full Methods Process which requires clinically led design, full public consultation and targeted stakeholder engagement. The methods process is available at the following link:
https://www.england.nhs.uk/long-read/methods-national-service-specifications/
The engagement report for this service includes the range of stakeholders who provided feedback on the specification and the service model, and is available at the following link:
Asked by: David Chadwick (Liberal Democrat - Brecon, Radnor and Cwm Tawe)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of the implementation of Extended Producer Responsibility for Packaging arrangements on levels of costs for small scale (a) cider and (b) perry producers using glass bottles; and what steps he is taking to support small businesses through these changes.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Government wants to see all businesses take steps to reduce packaging use, ensure packaging is easy to recycle, and where appropriate move to re-use systems. However, the Government also recognises the importance of protecting small producers from direct cost obligations. This is why the regulations include a de-minimis threshold of £2 million turnover and 50 tonnes which exempts approximately 70% of the producers supplying packaging in the UK from paying scheme fees.
Asked by: David Chadwick (Liberal Democrat - Brecon, Radnor and Cwm Tawe)
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 implement the Fuel Finder open data scheme.
Answered by Miatta Fahnbulleh - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Government aims to implement Fuel Finder by the end of 2025, subject to legislation and parliamentary time. The Data (Use and Access) Bill will provide the legislative basis to set up Fuel Finder to increase price transparency for UK drivers.
Asked by: David Chadwick (Liberal Democrat - Brecon, Radnor and Cwm Tawe)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that bluetongue regulatory regimes in England and Wales are adequately joined-up to support farmers on the border who need to move stock between England and Wales to access land and markets.
Answered by Daniel Zeichner - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Disease control is a devolved matter, and it is for the devolved administrations to assess their disease risks and respond accordingly. However, Defra and the Devolved Governments work closely together with the aim of providing, where possible, a consistent and coordinated response to disease prevention, mitigation, and control across the UK. A key forum for this is the Animal Disease Policy Group (ADPG), which is a UK wide policy decision making group.
Defra and Devolved Governments also engage closely with industry to inform policy development and implementation through the Livestock Core Group.
Asked by: David Chadwick (Liberal Democrat - Brecon, Radnor and Cwm Tawe)
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 enable the scale-up of large-scale green hydrogen projects to commercial operation.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Hydrogen Production Business Model (HPBM) incentivises investment in new low carbon hydrogen production and encourages users to switch to low carbon hydrogen by making it a price competitive decarbonisation option.
In the Autumn Budget, we confirmed support for 11 green hydrogen projects from the first Hydrogen Allocation Round (HAR1), which comprised £90 million in capital grant support through the Net Zero Hydrogen Fund and c. £2.3bn revenue support through the HBPM once projects are operational and over a 15 year period.
Following this, on 7 April 2025 the Government announced a shortlist of 27 projects across England, Scotland and Wales that have been invited to the next stage of the Second Hydrogen Allocation Round (HAR2).
Asked by: David Chadwick (Liberal Democrat - Brecon, Radnor and Cwm Tawe)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what steps he is taking to increase the production of green hydrogen to support the transition to net zero.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Hydrogen Production Business Model (HPBM) incentivises investment in new low carbon hydrogen production and encourages users to switch to low carbon hydrogen by making it a price competitive decarbonisation option.
In the Autumn Budget, we confirmed support for 11 green hydrogen projects from the first Hydrogen Allocation Round (HAR1), which comprised £90 million in capital grant support through the Net Zero Hydrogen Fund and c. £2.3bn revenue support through the HBPM once projects are operational and over a 15 year period.
Following this, on 7 April 2025 the Government announced a shortlist of 27 projects across England, Scotland and Wales that have been invited to the next stage of the Second Hydrogen Allocation Round (HAR2).
Asked by: David Chadwick (Liberal Democrat - Brecon, Radnor and Cwm Tawe)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what discussions he has had with Cabinet colleagues on increasing the production of green hydrogen for use in the (a) energy, (b) industry, (c) transport and (d) innovation sectors.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Our strategic approach to hydrogen production and use is grounded in robust, cross-government analysis to ensure hydrogen fulfils its role in the UK’s Clean Energy Superpower and Growth Missions. We continue to work closely across departments to align efforts and reflect the latest evidence. Including through the development of a refreshed Hydrogen Strategy, set to be published later this year.
Asked by: David Chadwick (Liberal Democrat - Brecon, Radnor and Cwm Tawe)
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 through (a) regulatory reform and (b) market incentives to encourage the growth of green hydrogen production capacity.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
We continue to work closely with industry, regulatory bodies and devolved administrations to ensure that appropriate regulatory frameworks are in place for low-carbon hydrogen infrastructure, including through the Hydrogen Delivery Council’s Regulators Forum and the Transport and Storage Working Group. We are taking a proactive approach to identify and address existing and emerging regulatory challenges for the hydrogen economy.
For example, we will consult this summer on a proposed economic regulatory framework for 100% hydrogen pipelines.
The Hydrogen Production Business Model incentivises investment in new low carbon hydrogen production and encourages users to switch to low carbon hydrogen by making it a price competitive decarbonisation option.
Asked by: David Chadwick (Liberal Democrat - Brecon, Radnor and Cwm Tawe)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps he is taking to support the development of a resilient UK-based supply chain for green hydrogen (a) production, (b) storage and (c) distribution technologies.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Government recognises the importance of resilient, home-grown clean energy supply chains to support and secure growth as we decarbonise our economy. We have a number of levers to support our supply chains, including support via the National Wealth Fund, and our upcoming Industrial Strategy.
My officials in the UK and overseas are working closely with UK based supply chain companies to highlight and develop opportunities for UK supply chain across the hydrogen value chain both in the UK and abroad.
Asked by: David Chadwick (Liberal Democrat - Brecon, Radnor and Cwm Tawe)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what steps he is taking to support (a) scientific innovation and (b) R&D across the hydrogen value chain to (i) drive down costs and (ii) improve efficiency.
Answered by Kerry McCarthy - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Since 2021, the £1bn Net Zero Innovation Portfolio has awarded around £170m to hydrogen innovation projects to advance low-carbon technologies across the hydrogen value chain. Hydrogen-specific programmes include: the Low Carbon Hydrogen Supply 2 programme, the Industrial Hydrogen Accelerator, and the Hydrogen from Biomass with Carbon Capture and Storage programme. Demonstrators have been built and tested with the aim of reducing the costs of hydrogen production, or providing evidence towards the cost effectiveness of hydrogen for fuel switching. The Department commissioned the British Geological Survey to conduct a research study on the geological potential for natural hydrogen in the UK.