Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, if he will publish the National Energy System Operator's analysis of future electricity demand from data centres.

Answered by Michael Shanks - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)

The National Energy System Operator (NESO) is currently working towards releasing its latest 10 Year Forecast on 30^th July. This will include NESO’s estimates of the annual electricity demand associated with data centres. It will be published on the NESO website.

Growth in data centre electricity demand is inherently uncertain, and the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero will continue to test a range of data centre growth trajectories and monitor emerging demand.

Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what proportion of electricity demand connection applications in the National Energy System Operator queue are attributable to data centres.

Answered by Michael Shanks - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)

Data supplied by the National Energy System Operator shows around 60GW of capacity allocated to data centres in the transmission queue. This represents around three quarters of the total demand connections queue, at transmission level.

Government recently consulted on measures to manage oversubscription of data centre connections and will publish its response in due course.

Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, how many data centre projects in Scotland are currently seeking electricity grid connections; and what potential aggregate capacity in gigawatts those applications represent.

Answered by Michael Shanks - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)

National Energy System Operator shows around 72.8 GW of capacity allocated to data centres in the GB connection queue across transmission and distribution. It is not currently possible to provide a specific figure for data centre projects in Scotland.

Government recently consulted on measures to manage oversubscription of data centre connections and will publish its response in due course.

Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what is the mean average individual award made under the Grangemouth Training Guarantee.

Answered by Michael Shanks - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)

The UK and Scottish Governments are investing up to £2 million to help workers directly impacted by the cessation of refining at Grangemouth transition into new jobs. The Grangemouth Training Guarantee has already supported over 290 workers through training.

The Training Guarantee is still in active delivery, led by Forth Valley College as the training provider and scheme administrator. Eligible workers continue to be able to access targeted training to support their return to employment in line with the established eligibility criteria. These criteria help ensure consistency and fairness, to ensure that all eligible workers can benefit from the Guarantee.

Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what is the maximum individual award under the Grangemouth Training Guarantee.

Answered by Michael Shanks - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)

The UK and Scottish Governments are investing up to £2 million to help workers directly impacted by the cessation of refining at Grangemouth transition into new jobs. The Grangemouth Training Guarantee has already supported over 290 workers through training.

The Training Guarantee is still in active delivery, led by Forth Valley College as the training provider and scheme administrator. Eligible workers continue to be able to access targeted training to support their return to employment in line with the established eligibility criteria. These criteria help ensure consistency and fairness, to ensure that all eligible workers can benefit from the Guarantee.

Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what assessment he has made of the impact of a reduction of steel import quotas and increase in above-quota import tariffs on the domestic automotive industry.

Answered by Chris McDonald - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)

The measure has been designed to strike a careful balance between supporting domestic steelmaking and maintaining secure, reliable supply for downstream users.

Quotas have been designed with the aim of allowing for sufficient imports to ensure continued availability of goods to UK downstream users, including the automotive sector, without unnecessary additional costs. The increased tariff will apply only once import quotas have been filled.

Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether his Department has considered extending the permitted period for the temporary relocation of telecommunications apparatus following redevelopment-related site loss.

Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)

I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to Question UIN 124803 on 20 April 2026.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of an increase in the SCAPE discount rate on police officers in the 1987 Police Pension Scheme.

Answered by Lucy Rigby - Chief Secretary to the Treasury

In line with the existing methodology, the Government announced on 19 May 2026 that the SCAPE discount rate is 2%+CPI.

HM Treasury is not the responsible authority for individual Public Service Pension Schemes. Regulation B7 of the Police Pension Scheme Regulations 1987 provides for commutation of pension to purchase lump sum and specifies that the rate is that set out by the Scheme Actuary. The factors were updated on 21 May 2026 to reflect the change to the SCAPE discount rate.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment she made of the potential merits of an immediate implementation of the SCAPE discount rate.

Answered by Lucy Rigby - Chief Secretary to the Treasury

The Government remains committed to reviewing the SCAPE discount rate at every valuation cycle. The SCAPE discount rate was announced in Parliament on 19 May 2026. This is in line with established precedent for reviews of the SCAPE discount rate. Where the SCAPE discount rate changes, the factors used in the schemes (for example to calculate the commuted lump sum provided in exchange for a member giving up part of their pension) are reviewed in line with best practice and the law.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when she will issue statutory guidance to enable section 65-67 of the Crime and Policing Act 2026 to be enforced.

Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)

Sections 65-67 of the Crime and Policing Act introduces a new offence of ‘cuckooing’ (controlling another’s home for criminal purposes). The new cuckooing offence will ensure that we are taking strong action against those who prey on vulnerable people and help to ensure that victims are identified and protected from this appalling crime.

The Crime and Policing Act 2026 includes provision for the Secretary of State to issue statutory guidance to relevant law enforcement officers about the exercise of their functions in connection with the prevention, detection and investigation of the cuckooing offence. The Secretary of State is required to consult appropriate persons before issuing this guidance.

The Home Office is currently developing this statutory guidance for police, alongside non-statutory guidance for all professionals, in consultation with police and partners to ensure that the guidance supports an effective response to cuckooing. We will commence the new cuckooing offence as soon as possible, once the necessary guidance is in place.

Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, how much funding has been allocated to the Grangemouth workers Training Guarantee scheme; how much funding has been (a) distributed and (b) committed; and whether any (i) unallocated and (ii) unused funds remain within the scheme.

Answered by Michael Shanks - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)

The UK and Scottish Governments are investing up to £2 million to help workers directly impacted by the cessation of refining at Grangemouth transition into new jobs. The Grangemouth Training Guarantee has already supported over 290 workers through training.

The Training Guarantee is still in active delivery, led by Forth Valley College as the training provider and scheme administrator. Eligible workers continue to be able to access targeted training to support their return to employment in line with the established eligibility criteria. These criteria help ensure consistency and fairness, to ensure that all eligible workers can benefit from the Guarantee.

Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, how much funding has been distributed from the Grangemouth workers training guarantee.

Answered by Michael Shanks - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)

The UK and Scottish Governments are investing up to £2 million to help workers directly impacted by the cessation of refining at Grangemouth transition into new jobs. The Grangemouth Training Guarantee has already supported over 290 workers through training.

The Training Guarantee is still in active delivery, led by Forth Valley College as the training provider and scheme administrator. Eligible workers continue to be able to access targeted training to support their return to employment in line with the established eligibility criteria. These criteria help ensure consistency and fairness, to ensure that all eligible workers can benefit from the Guarantee.

Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether any unused funds remain in the Grangemouth workers Training Guarantee scheme.

Answered by Michael Shanks - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)

The UK and Scottish Governments are investing up to £2 million to help workers directly impacted by the cessation of refining at Grangemouth transition into new jobs. The Grangemouth Training Guarantee has already supported over 290 workers through training.

The Training Guarantee is still in active delivery, led by Forth Valley College as the training provider and scheme administrator. Eligible workers continue to be able to access targeted training to support their return to employment in line with the established eligibility criteria. These criteria help ensure consistency and fairness, to ensure that all eligible workers can benefit from the Guarantee.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate she has made of revenue lost in 2027/28 by permanently reducing VAT to 5% for hospitality businesses.

Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)

HMRC estimates that the cost of changing the 20 per cent Standard Rate of VAT on all accommodation and food and beverage services to the Reduced Rate of 5 per cent would be around £17 billion in 2027-28

The Government recognises the significant contribution made by hospitality businesses to economic growth and social life in the UK.

VAT is a broad-based tax on consumption, and the 20 per cent standard rate applies to most goods and services. Tax breaks reduce the revenue available for vital public services and must represent value for money for the taxpayer. A reduction on the scale outlined above would have significant implications for the funding of public services.

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps he is taking to maximise the use of domestically manufactured building materials for the construction of service homes.

Answered by Luke Pollard - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)

The Ministry of Defence is committed to maximising the use of domestically manufactured building materials in the construction and refurbishment of Defence family homes where this delivers value for money, supports supply chain resilience, and is compliant with procurement law.

The procurement approach of the Defence Housing Service is directly aligned with the recommendations of the Defence Housing Strategy, including its focus on “Delivering for the Nation” and a programme of “generational renewal”.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent discussions she has had with international partners on improving humanitarian access to Cuba.

Answered by Chris Elmore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

I refer the Hon Member to the responses I gave in the Urgent Question debate on 8 June.

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