Speeches made during Parliamentary debates are recorded in Hansard. For ease of browsing we have grouped debates into individual, departmental and legislative categories.
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).
Do not sign any WHO Pandemic Treaty unless it is approved via public referendum
Gov Responded - 27 May 2022 Debated on - 17 Apr 2023 View John Spellar's petition debate contributionsWe want the Government to commit to not signing any international treaty on pandemic prevention and preparedness established by the World Health Organization (WHO), unless this is approved through a public referendum.
Make the use of free-running snares illegal for trapping wildlife
Gov Responded - 13 Jan 2022 Debated on - 9 Jan 2023 View John Spellar's petition debate contributionsThe Government should prohibit the sale, use and manufacture of free-running snares under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, putting them in the same category as self-locking snares, which are already illegal.
Protect student choice: do not withdraw funding for BTEC qualifications
Gov Responded - 17 Aug 2021 Debated on - 18 Jul 2022 View John Spellar's petition debate contributionsReverse the plan to withdraw funding for most applied general qualifications such as BTECs and guarantee they will continue to play a major role in the qualifications landscape. Students should not be forced to choose between studying A levels or T levels from the age of 16.
Stop work on HS2 immediately and hold a new vote to repeal the legislation
Gov Responded - 14 Jan 2021 Debated on - 13 Sep 2021 View John Spellar's petition debate contributionsWe ask Parliament to repeal the High Speed Rail Bills, 2016 and 2019, as MPs voted on misleading environmental, financial and timetable information provided by the Dept of Transport and HS2 Ltd. It fails to address the conditions of the Paris Accord and costs have risen from £56bn to over £100bn.
Do not rollout Covid-19 vaccine passports
Gov Responded - 3 Mar 2021 Debated on - 15 Mar 2021 View John Spellar's petition debate contributionsWe want the Government to commit to not rolling out any e-vaccination status/immunity passport to the British public. Such passports could be used to restrict the rights of people who have refused a Covid-19 vaccine, which would be unacceptable.
Give further financial support to the Events and Hospitality industry
Gov Responded - 15 Oct 2020 Debated on - 11 Jan 2021 View John Spellar's petition debate contributionsBeing the first to close and still no clue as to when we can open, this seasonal industry is losing its summer profits that allows them to get through the first quarter of next year.
Even if we are allowed to open in December, 1 months profit won't be enough to keep us open in 2021. We need help
Create a Minister for Hospitality in the UK Government
Gov Responded - 3 Nov 2020 Debated on - 11 Jan 2021 View John Spellar's petition debate contributionsThe UK hospitality industry. Responsible for around 3m jobs, generating £130bn in activity, resulting in £38bn in taxation. Yet, unlike the Arts or Sports, we do not have a dedicated Minister.
We are asking that a Minister for Hospitality be created for the current, and successive governments.
These initiatives were driven by John Spellar, 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.
John Spellar has not been granted any Urgent Questions
John Spellar has not been granted any Adjournment Debates
The proposals laid down in this bill were enacted through changes to the National Policy Planning Framework. See here for more information.
A Bill to require specified planning controls in relation to developments likely to be affected by existing noise sources; and for connected purposes.
A Bill to prohibit the import of young puppies; and for connected purposes.
A Bill to create the offence of impersonating a public sector website for the purpose of collecting payment or personal data; and for connected purposes.
A Bill to amend the House of Lords Act 1999 so as to abolish the system of by-elections for hereditary peers.
A Bill to regulate the use of minimum qualification or experience requirements in job applications; and for connected purposes.
A Bill to prohibit the practice of offering preferential pricing to new customers compared to existing customers; and for connected purposes.
A Bill to expand the list of sporting events that must be made available for broadcast by free-to-air television channels; and for connected purposes.
A Bill to place a duty on public bodies to have a presumption in favour of purchasing goods of British origin in purchasing decisions; and for connected purposes.
A Bill to require Her Majesty’s Government to formally recognise the Armenian genocide of 1915-16.
A Bill to prohibit the import of young puppies; and for connected purposes.
A Bill to regulate the use of minimum qualification or experience requirements in job applications; and for connected purposes.
A Bill to create an offence of impersonating a public sector website for the purpose of collecting payment or personal data; and for connected purposes.
A Bill to prohibit the import of wild animal specimens derived from trophy hunting; and for connected purposes.
A Bill to amend the House of Lords Act 1999 so as to abolish the system of by-elections for hereditary peers.
A Bill to prohibit the practice of offering preferential pricing to new customers compared to existing customers; and for connected purposes.
A Bill to expand the list of sporting events that must be made available for broadcast by free-to-air television channels; and for connected purposes.
A Bill to place a duty on public bodies to have a presumption in favour of purchasing goods of British origin in purchasing decisions; and for connected purposes.
A Bill to require Her Majesty's Government to formally recognise the Armenian genocide of 1915-16.
A Bill to make provision prohibiting the import of hunting trophies into Great Britain.
A Bill to amend the House of Lords Act 1999 so as to abolish the system of by-elections for hereditary peers.
A Bill to require Her Majesty’s Government to formally recognise the Armenian genocide of 1915–16.
A Bill to create the offence of impersonating a public sector website for the purpose of collecting payment or personal data; and for connected purposes.
A Bill to regulate the use of minimum qualification or experience requirements in job applications; and for connected purposes.
A Bill to expand the list of sporting events that must be must available for broadcast by free-to-air television channels; and for connected purposes.
A Bill to prohibit the practice of offering preferential pricing to new customers compared to existing customers; and for connected purposes.
A Bill to prohibit the import of young puppies; and for connected purposes.
A Bill to place a duty on public bodies to have a presumption in favour of purchasing goods of British origin in purchasing decisions; and for connected purposes.
A Bill to prohibit the import of wild animal specimens from trophy hunting; and for connected purposes.
Recognition of Armenian Genocide Bill 2021-22
Sponsor - Tim Loughton (Con)
Digital Devices (Access for Next of Kin) Bill 2021-22
Sponsor - Ian Paisley (DUP)
Apologies Bill 2019-21
Sponsor - John Howell (Con)
Compulsory Purchase and Planning Bill 2017-19
Sponsor - Emma Hardy (Lab)
Banking (Consumer and Small Business Protection) Bill 2017-19
Sponsor - Charlie Elphicke (Ind)
Sky Lanterns (Prohibition) Bill 2017-19
Sponsor - Ruth George (Lab)
Armed Forces Covenant (Duty of Public Authorities) Bill 2017-19
Sponsor - Gavin Robinson (DUP)
Gypsy and Traveller Communities (Housing, Planning and Education) Bill 2017-19
Sponsor - Andrew Selous (Con)
Service Animals (Offences) Bill 2017-19
Sponsor - Oliver Heald (Con)
The telephone system on the parliamentary estate is the subject of a transformative programme called the Voice Programme, and a new telephony system is due to be implemented in 2024. Modernisation of the telephony system to full Voice Over Internet Protocol is also required in preparation for the decommissioning of the analogue service provided through the Public Switched Network.
As of today, IPSA has 101 employees. IPSA is unable to provide data on how many staff were working in the office at least (a) two and (b) three days a week in the last twelve months, as this information is not recorded.
Individual Members of Parliament (MPs) are data controllers and therefore are subject to the Data Protection Act 2018.
For the processing of non-sensitive personal data in relation to casework, Members can usually rely on the implied consent of a constituent.
There are additional protections for processing “special category” data because of its sensitivity. This type of data includes information revealing a person’s racial origin, ethnic origin, health details, sexual orientation, and political and philosophical beliefs.
For MPs, paragraphs 23 and 24 of Schedule 1 of the 2018 Act have two main functions that apply when a constituent has contacted them:
Whilst provisions have been made within the Act that recognise the key role Members have in supporting constituents, the legislation also ensures the continued right of an individual over their own data. This will therefore continue to mean that individuals should have the right to decide on whether their data is transferred to a members’ successor following a General Election.
As the House is not responsible for personal data processed by MPs (constituents' data, staff data, etc.) this is not a matter for the Commission. However, the Commission is aware that the issue has been raised by the Chair of the Administration Committee, and the House Administration will continue to raise with others the challenges of dealing with casework data as well as support the processes as far as possible.
On 20 March 2023 the number of temporary and agency workers working for the House of Commons was 205.
The catering service, alongside the Parliamentary procurement team, is working to increase availability of UK products. It sells regional products, promoting where availability allows and collaborating with suppliers. As an example, in the last year we have introduced a range of craft UK gins. I shall write to the hon. Member with more information.
The Parliamentary Digital Service is taking steps to improve and enhance the user experience of parliamentary voice services.
A new Voice Programme commenced in June 2022 to help establish a reliable and resilient service in a way that supports current and future user needs. This is expected to include procurement of a new streamlined solution with a less complex support model. In addition, tactical solutions will be provided to address repeat issues experienced by specific users, including with handsets, to help ensure continuity of service until a stable long-term option is implemented.
Resolution speed of major telephony incidents will continue to depend on third parties until the existing telephony infrastructure is replaced. PDS will continue to strengthen third party relationships to mitigate the risk of protracted disruption.
Before moving to its current location in March 2019, IPSA consided sites in Milton Keynes and Croydon, as well as Stratford and Canary Wharf. At that time, before the Covid-19 pandemic, a central London presence was deemed best placed to offer support to MPs and enable employees working from the office to attend meetings in Parliament at short notice. Going forward, IPSA will once again approach its future needs in a careful and considered way to ensure that its premises are conductive to offering a high-quality service to MPs and their staff, in addition to delivering good value for money for the taxpayer.
Average attendance at the London office has been monitered carefully be IPSA and is calculated by working days in the calender month (and is only based on current office-based staffing numbers (66)). This does not, however, include a number of IPSA people based on home-base contracts who make regular journeys into the office, particularly when based a short distance from the London region. It should be noted at the outset too that the discovery and surge of the Omicron variant, which necessitated public health advice to work from home, will have had an impact on the data from at least last Autumn 2021 to Spring 2022. For nearly the entire time period requested in the question, a significant number of desks were unavailable for use in the IPSA office to maintain appropiate social distancing in the context of IPSA's office layout. As only 32 of the possible 81 desks were available for use from 201 to the end of September 2022, this further materially reduced capacity within and attendance at the office. Noting the desks available and the number of staff available on office-based contracts, the general figures are below:
Like many organisations in the publice sector, IPSA recognised many benefits for its people and performance in continuing with a hybrid approach to work despite a lifting of formal coronavirus restrictions and other government public health advice. IPSA functions, such as payroll accuracy and the speed of reimbursement, have not been adversely impacted by such a model, and IPSA has instead been able to build a more inclusive and diverse workforce based accross the U.K. by bringing forward plans to create a more representative, hybrid, and flexibe organisation to reflect the nations, regions and constituencies MPs serve. The geographical spread of IPSA staff, new hybrid approach to working, and importance of value for money for the public purse will be central considerations for IPSA when it explores the locations and size of any office premises (in London or elsewhere) which it may require in future to continue to discharge its statutory duties efficiently, cost-effectively, and transparently.
(a) Where possible Parliament follows Chartered Institution of Building Services Engineers (CIBSE) guidelines for temperature standards in offices to ensure a comfortable working environment. When rooms have temperature controls for the user, there is a small threshold of which temperature can be raised or lowered to ensure rooms are not over cooled/heated.
There are many differing levels of temperature control across the parliamentary estate, with some areas having no temperature control at all.
We review the setpoints for heating and cooling regularly.
(b) Parliamentary authorities take energy efficiency very seriously as part of its commitment to reducing its environmental impacts. Parliament has reduced its electricity consumption by 16.8% and gas consumption by 25.3% since 2008/09.
The Building Management System has been upgraded recently to enable better control of the building services, such as resetting manual temperature changes every night to a CIBSE recommended setpoint.
The Environmental Sustainability Team monitor and report performance energy and water use monthly, and report annually in the sustainability section of the Commission Annual Report.
The delay in providing responses to Questions 6697, 33681, 42245 and 45520 was due to an administrative error in the Speaker’s Committee for the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority.
The delay in providing responses to Questions 6697, 33681, 42245 and 45520 was due to an administrative error in the Speaker’s Committee for the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority.
IPSA incurred costs of 508k on rent, rates, and service charges in the 2020-21 financial year. In 2021-22, this figure was 367k. IPSA currently has 97 contracted employees, of which 68% (66) are on office-based contracts and (32%) 31 are on home-based contracts. The difficult times brought about by the pandemic brought forward IPSA’s plans to create a more representative national organisation which better reflects the nations, regions, and constituencies our MPs serve. Recruiting staff from across the UK without the necessity of living within commuting distance of central London has delivered a more inclusive and diverse workforce, well-positioned to deliver services locally without the need for lengthy travel from London. Of the 66 employees on office-based contracts, all 66 have worked at some point in the past 12 months at the premises. The data for all 97 staff members, regardless of their contract type, also indicates that 100% of employees have worked from the premises at some point over the last 12 months.
The delay in providing a response to this Question was due to an administrative error in the Speaker’s Committee for the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority.
We have made the global energy transition from coal to clean power a priority of our COP26 Presidency. I raised this issue most recently during my visit to China on 6 and 7 September with Vice Premier Han Zheng, Chinese Special Envoy for Climate Change Minister Xie Zhenhua and the Head of China’s National Energy Administration, Minister Zhang Jianhua. Additionally, the British Embassy in Beijing regularly engage with their Chinese counterparts on this issue. The Foreign Secretary has also discussed the importance of ambitious action to tackle climate change with his counterpart, State Councillor Wang Yi.
We will continue to engage with China to provide further details on how it will implement President Xi’s commitment at the US Leaders’ Summit on 22 April 2021 to reduce domestic coal consumption. Internationally, we are also working with China, as well as other financiers of international coal, through our COP26 energy transition campaign in collaborating to make renewables more attractive than coal power for all countries. Together with the G7, we have committed to rapidly accelerate the transition away from unabated coal capacity to an overwhelmingly decarbonised power system in the 2030s; and to end new direct government support for unabated international coal power generation by the end of 2021.
IPSA staff are currently working remotely, in accordance with government Covid-19 guidelines. During 2019 - 20 there was an average of 83 full-time equivalent staff working for IPSA, based in 85 Strand.
IPSA incurred costs in 2019 - 20 of £524K on rent, rates and service charges. The equivalent figure for 2020 - 21 will be published after the end of the financial year in IPSA's 2020 - 21 annual report and accounts.
The Public Contract Regulations 2015 are UK law and in general they prohibit contracting authorities from specifying the country of manufacture or origin when purchasing goods. This has not changed now that the Brexit transition period has ended.
The wash basin taps in question were supplied through British companies including Dart Valley Systems. This particular supplier has a Swiss parent company (Franke) which operates globally.
Members of the Independent Expert Panel will be paid, monthly in arrears, a fee of £350 (excluding VAT) for each half-day spent by the Panel member in the provision of their services.
The reintroduction of cash payments in catering outlets will be reviewed by the Catering Service Management team in accordance with any changes to industry guidance provided by the Government. The current guidance encourages contactless payments, where possible, which the House is adopting as part of its measures to manage the risk of COVID transmission on the Parliamentary Estate.
Departments set guidance on the retention and disposal of information, for both their ministers and officials, based on the requirements of the Public Records Act 1958.
In order to support Departments, the Cabinet Office has previously published Guidance on the Management of Private Office Papers and Guidance to departments on use of private emails. In addition, a revised Code of Practice on Records Management, issued under Section 46 of the Freedom of Information Act 2000, was laid on 15 July 2021 by the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport.
UK Security Vetting is subject to an agreed set of Key Performance Indicator (KPI) measures which are monitored by the government at ministerial level and by the customers serviced by UKSV.
In relation to the effectiveness of UK Security Vetting, National Security Vetting is conducted and security clearances provided by UK Security Vetting in line with a robust set of Personnel Security Controls and Security Policy Framework as set out by the Cabinet Office and adhered to across government and by industry partners. Work is ongoing within the Government Security Group to improve and modernise the effectiveness of vetting overall, in line with the Government’s wider modernisation agenda and to keep pace with the threats faced by the UK today.
The Rt Hon Member wrote to Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman (PHSO), which is independent of the Cabinet Office. I understand that the PHSO did receive the Rt Hon Member’s letter of 12 August 2021, and will respond shortly.
As a matter of policy, the government does not comment on COBR meetings.
With respect to the fuel crisis more generally, the Government acted swiftly to respond to the rapid increase in demand for fuel (observed from 24 September 2021) which caused shortages at forecourts around the UK. Regular ministerial and senior officials' meetings were convened, both before and after the peak in demand. These meetings were all supported by data feeds collated by departments that informed Government of consumer demand, forecourt stock levels, fuel delivery capabilities and other key metrics.
The government has tried and tested plans in place to manage fuel supply. The Government implemented a range of timely measures to resolve the situation, including deployment of military drivers to staff the Reserve Tanker Fleet, the activation of the Downstream Oil Protocol, the relaxation of drivers’ hours regulations and the roll out of short-term visas so that haulier firms could source trained drivers from overseas.
On 23 April, the Cabinet Secretary wrote to the Chair of the Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee on the management of outside interests in the Civil Service. The Committee published this letter on 26 April. It can be found here:
https://committees.parliament.uk/publications/5623/documents/55584/default/
The Cabinet Secretary’s letter sets out a series of steps to improve processes. This programme of work will also take account of any recommendations that emerge from Nigel Boardman’s review.
The Civil Service Management Code sets out, at paragraph 4.3.4, the requirement that civil servants must seek permission before accepting any outside employment which might affect their work either directly or indirectly. The applicable principles are those set out in the Business Appointment Rules. The Civil Service Management Code is published here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/civil-servants-terms-and-conditions .
Where the civil servant is a member of the departmental board any outside employment, as well as other relevant interests will be published as part of the Annual Report and Accounts or other transparency publication.
The Downing Street complex is a working building, as well as containing two Ministerial residences. As has been the case under successive administrations, refurbishments and maintenance are made periodically.
Works to the Downing Street estate are overseen by the Cabinet Office. It is not the practice of successive administrations to comment on which officials have been consulted or advised on matters.
Further to the answer to PQ59372 on 22 June 2020, Government Departments have a number of processes in place to ensure users seeking information from Government Departments, including on search engines, are not diverted to fee-charging and misleading websites.
The end of the Transition Period provides an historic opportunity to overhaul our outdated public procurement regime. Cabinet Office undertook an extensive programme of stakeholder engagement during 2019 to identify where improvements could be made and the recently published Green Paper Transforming Government Procurement shapes those findings into concrete proposals.
Published guidance for local authority preparations for Remembrance Sunday can be found at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/local-authority-preparations-for-remembrance-sunday/local-authority-preparations-for-remembrance-sunday
The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority. I have therefore asked the Authority to respond.
Please note that the UK Statistics Authority is responsible for delivering the Census in England and Wales. The National Records for Scotland and the Scottish Government are responsible for the Scottish Census, and NISRA cover the Census in Northern Ireland.
The Government understands the huge significance of weddings. We recognise that because weddings have not been able to take place in recent months this has caused difficulty and distress for many people. As set out in the Government’s COVID-19 recovery strategy, published in May, the Government has been examining how to enable people to gather in slightly larger groups better to facilitate small weddings. We have worked closely with faith leaders and local government on how best to achieve this. The Prime Minister announced on 23 June that wedding and civil partnership ceremonies will be able to take place in England from 4 July. People should avoid having a large ceremony, and should invite no more than thirty family and friends. Venues should ensure they are COVID-19 secure.
Government Departments have processes in place to ensure users seeking information from Government Departments are not diverted to fee-charging or misleading websites.
We work to ensure that government information and services are correctly listed and rank highly in search engine results so that they are easy for people to find and identify as government information and services.
We also challenge sites that pay for prominent positioning in search returns, by reporting them to the relevant search provider.
If fee-charging websites are operating outside of legal boundaries, we will pursue site owners through trading standards bodies or legal challenge.
GOV.UK is the government's website and online brand. We take steps to ensure people can rely on it as a trusted source for information.
The body referred to in the Hon. Members' questions was one of a number of sub-Committees of the National Security Council. Since July 2019, the National Security Council itself now consider matters relating to national security, foreign policy, defence, international relations and development, resilience, energy and resource security. This includes oversight of the National Security Risk Assessment. This administrative measure simply reflected a wider consolidation of Cabinet Committee sub-Committees.
The UK aims to support multiple production routes in order to meet the Government's ambition to have up to 10GW of low carbon hydrogen production capacity by 2030.
The Government is not aware of evidence to suggest natural hydrogen will make a significant contribution to the UK’s hydrogen production ambitions. However, the Government welcomes efforts from other countries that support the production and use of low carbon hydrogen and is working with international partners on issues including natural hydrogen.
The decision to suspend the fitting of prepayment meter warrants was made by the senior presiding judge for England and Wales, who is a member of the judiciary and acts independently from Government.
The Department and Ofgem have had discussions about prepayment meter warrants with the Ministry of Justice and will continue to do so.
The Government has committed up to £385m to an Advanced Nuclear Fund. Of this, £210m has been awarded to support development of the Rolls Royce Small Modular Reactor (SMR) design, potentially capable of deployment in the UK in the early 2030s. The Rolls-Royce SMR entered the Generic Design Assessment process in March becoming the first SMR to begin UK nuclear regulation. The Advanced Nuclear Fund also supports AMRs. Phase B of the open AMR R&D competition launched in December 2022 to provide up to £55 million to fund up to two different projects to develop detailed FEED+ studies.
Fill-finish capacity is crucial to the UK’s health resilience. Since the pandemic the government has invested over £395 million to scale up our manufacturing capabilities, including a partnership with Wockhardt to successfully fill-finish the AstraZeneca vaccine.
Last year the Government launched the Life Sciences Innovative Manufacturing Fund to support a wide range of life sciences manufacturing investments, such as the £151 million project by Pharmaron that includes expansion of their fill-finish capabilities.
There has also been significant recent private investment, such as Thermo Fisher Scientific’s £70 million expansion to provide sterile formulation and fill-finish for the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine.
As announced at Spring Budget on 15 March 2023, the Government will work with creative industries and AI developers to develop a code of practice on text and data mining licensing by the Summer. This engagement is currently underway.
The Government commenced a period of stakeholder engagement on implementation options for its proposals for text and data mining in December 2022. The Government aims to conclude this engagement in early 2023 and a decision on next steps will subsequently be taken.
Global SMR Demand
In 2014, The National Nuclear Laboratory (NNL) estimated the size of the potential global Small Modular Reactor (SMR) market to be significant. This was calculated at approximately 65-85GW and valued at £250-£400bn by 2035. These findings were published as part of the NNL Feasibility Study on SMRs.
Global SMR Supply
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) monitors the global supply of advanced reactor systems. The IAEA’s Advanced Rector Information System identifies that there are more than 80 different advanced reactor designs under development in 18 countries.
The Nuclear Skills Strategy Group (NSSG), which the Department is a member of, estimated that the UK nuclear workforce (which includes the workforce needed for Hinkley Point C and Sizewell C but no further new build projects) would be approximately seventy thousand in five years’ time. This assessment is included in the Nuclear Workforce Assessment 2021. Officials will be working with the Group to update the Assessment later this year.
The Government recognises the important role that nuclear has to play in reducing greenhouse gas emissions to net zero by 2050. This is reflected in the British Energy Security Strategy, published in April 2022, which sets out Government’s ambition to deploy up to 24 Giga Watts of nuclear power by 2050.
The Department is considering the findings of the independent review of net zero, published on 13th January 2023, which reaffirmed many of the proposals set out in the British Energy Security Strategy for nuclear power.
Small Modular Reactors could have an important role to play in the UK energy system in the transition to net zero by 2050 and in support of energy security.
The Government has awarded £210m to support development of the Rolls Royce Small Modular Reactor (SMR) design. The Rolls-Royce SMR entered the Generic Design Assessment process in March becoming the first SMR to begin UK nuclear regulation.
As outlined in the British Energy Security Strategy, the Government intends to initiate a selection process in 2023 for the next nuclear projects, including SMRs.
National Grid Electricity System Operator (NGESO) ensures there is adequate capacity available to meet peak demand in a range of scenarios, including by evaluating the amount of capacity needed to meet future demand. This assessment informs targets for annual Capacity Market auctions, which have already secured the majority of Great Britain’s capacity needs out to 2025/26.
NGESO is responsible for balancing electricity supply and demand in real time, as well as for managing the operation and stability of the system. The Government is confident that NGESO has the tools needed to operate the electricity system reliably.
The Department does not hold data on the total number of trained insulation installers in the wider supply chain. According to the records held by TrustMark, there are 763 TrustMark registered and PAS 2030:2019 certified insulation installer businesses as of 20th October 2022. In total there are 1,941 TrustMark registered businesses that meet the requirements to participate in government retrofit schemes.
The UK has a working gas storage capacity of 1.5bcm (billion cubic meters). This is equivalent to around 2% of typical total annual gas demand. Based on the Aggregate Gas Storage Inventory (AGSI) figures, as of Tuesday 11 October, GB storage is 100% full.
Centrica closed Rough in June 2017 for commercial reasons. This was not a decision for BEIS or Government ministers.
At the time, external analysis produced by Cambridge Economic Policy Associates (CEPA) found that the closure of Rough had limited to no impact on security of supply or the price of gas.
The responsibility for the integrity of trading in oil and gas derivatives falls under the remit of the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) which regulates the financial services industry in the UK, including commodity trading venues.
The Government works closely with Ofgem, National Grid Electricity System Operator and other key industry organisations to monitor gas and electricity supply and prepare for winter.
Interconnectors are one source of a diverse range of energy supplies. The Government is monitoring the situation with Norwegian reservoirs and understands Norway is securing strategic reserves of water in its reservoirs to guarantee long-term security of energy supply.
The UK and Norway have a bilateral treaty on electricity interconnection and this puts obligations on both nations to ensure the North Sea Link interconnector is operated in a market-based, transparent and non-discriminatory manner.