Asked by: David Smith (Labour - North Northumberland)
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 ensure that energy development project special purpose vehicles cover the financial liability of decommissioning.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Department operates a statutory scheme under the Energy Act 2004 to ensure that those responsible for constructing offshore energy installations are responsible for covering the financial liability of decommissioning.
Regardless of how an installation has been funded, financial securities are accrued to DESNZ during the lifespan of the installation. The process for this is set out in published Guidance for Industry.
In the case of Special Purpose Vehicles, each party involved will contribute their share of the costs, by acceptable means that are set out in the Guidance.
Asked by: David Smith (Labour - North Northumberland)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of informing parents/guardians of the estimated wait time for an autism or ADHD assessment upon application.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government has recognised that, nationally, demand for assessments for autism and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) has grown significantly in recent years and that people are experiencing severe delays for accessing such assessments. The Government’s 10-Year Health Plan will make the National Health Service fit for the future and recognises the need for early intervention and support.
It is the responsibility of integrated care boards in England to make appropriate provision to meet the health and care needs of their local population, including providing access to ADHD and autism assessments, in line with relevant National Institute for Health and Care Excellence guidelines.
In April 2023, NHS England published a national framework and operational guidance for autism assessment services, which can be found at the following link:
www.england.nhs.uk/publication/autism-diagnosis-and-operational-guidance.
This guidance highlights that, for each integrated care system, the following information should be publicly available and proactively shared across multiple locations, for example, social media and local authority publications, as well as all service provider websites:
- accurate and up-to-date information about the autism assessment offer in each area, including details for services providing autism assessments, such as name, address, contact details, general remit, eligibility criteria, referral process, and documentation; and
- an indication of waiting times for an autism assessment at each service, with further information available at the following link:
https://www.england.nhs.uk/long-read/operational-guidance-to-deliver-improved-outcomes-in-all-age-autism-assessment-pathways-guidance-for-integrated-care-boards/#stage-1-identification-and-referral
The Medium-Term Planning Framework, published 24 October 2025, was explicit that integrated care boards and providers are expected to optimise existing resources to reduce long waits for ADHD and autism assessments and improve the quality of assessments by implementing existing and new guidance, as published.
My Rt Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, announced on 4 December 2025 the launch of an Independent Review into Prevalence and Support for Mental Health Conditions, ADHD, and Autism. This independent review will inform our approach to enabling people with ADHD and autistic people to have the right support in place to enable them to live well in their communities.