Asked by: Lee Anderson (Reform UK - Ashfield)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, if he will make it his policy to prioritise industrial rooftops over (a) arable farmland and (b) countryside fields for solar panel locations.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Government incentivises industrial rooftop solar in various ways, including permitted development rights, favourable tax treatment, and the Smart Export Guarantee.
Solar is part of our strategy for improving the energy performance of buildings. It will play an important role, where appropriate, on newbuild non-domestic buildings in the Future Buildings Standard which is to be introduced later this year. The UK’s overall approach to Net Zero commercial buildings will be set out in the Warm Homes Plan later this year.
Achieving our ambitious clean power mission will require rapid deployment of rooftop and ground-mounted solar. However, planning guidance makes clear that, wherever possible, solar developers should utilise brownfield, industrial, contaminated, or previously developed land.
Asked by: Lee Anderson (Reform UK - Ashfield)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what was his Departments total spend on international climate finance in each of the last 3 years.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
DESNZ ICF supports global clean energy deployment, protects the world’s forests and leverages private investment at scale to help mitigate the impacts of climate change.
The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero’s total spend on International Climate Finance (ICF) over the last 3 years is:
DESNZ ICF spend | Financial Year |
£394.9m | 2024/25 |
£311.1m | 2023/24 |
£350.2m | 2022/23 |
Asked by: Lee Anderson (Reform UK - Ashfield)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what information they hold on the number of workdays that were completed remotely in their Department in (a) 2024 and (b) 2025 to date.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Hybrid working is an informal, discretionary, non-contractual arrangement that enables employees to work partly in the workplace and partly at home. Employees are expected to spend a minimum of 40% of their working hours in the office. Office attendance requirements are managed locally to ensure the minimum requirement is met, and no central data is held on this.
Asked by: Lee Anderson (Reform UK - Ashfield)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, for what purposes their Department has used artificial intelligence in the last year.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) has made use of artificial intelligence (AI) over the past year for a range of purposes including:
AI is used in accordance with all relevant departmental and government guidelines, to ensure responsible and ethical use and data protection.
Asked by: Lee Anderson (Reform UK - Ashfield)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what components of wind turbines are (a) supplied and (b) manufactured in the UK.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Offshore Wind Regional Growth Prospectuses set out a range of current manufacturing and services capabilities in the UK, as well as growth opportunities, including in blade, foundation and cable manufacture; secondary steel components; cable installation; operations and maintenance activity; and environmental services. New facilities in development include cable manufacturing in Nigg and Blyth, and monopile construction in Teesside.
Data collected via the Onshore Wind Taskforce indicates that UK content in domestic onshore windfarms can be between 50 and 70 percent, with high shares of jobs and investment in development, operations and maintenance, civil engineering and electrical works.
Asked by: Lee Anderson (Reform UK - Ashfield)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, how many delegates the Government plans to take to the COP30 climate change summit.
Answered by Kerry McCarthy
The size and composition of the UK delegation is still being determined.
In keeping with previous years, the UNFCCC is expected to publish a provisional list of registered participants as COP30 begins, with a final list published a few weeks after COP concludes. This will list all UK delegates who attended COP30.
Asked by: Lee Anderson (Reform UK - Ashfield)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, which delegates the Government plans to take to the COP30 climate change summit.
Answered by Kerry McCarthy
The size and composition of the UK delegation is still being determined.
In keeping with previous years, the UNFCCC is expected to publish a provisional list of registered participants as COP30 begins, with a final list published a few weeks after COP concludes. This will list all UK delegates who attended COP30.
Asked by: Lee Anderson (Reform UK - Ashfield)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what the cost to the UK taxpayer is for the COP30 climate summit.
Answered by Kerry McCarthy
The size and composition of the UK delegation is still being determined, along with various logistical elements. Some costs will only be finalised after the summit concludes.
Asked by: Lee Anderson (Reform UK - Ashfield)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, how much their Department has spent on translating documents into languages other than (a) English and (b) other native UK languages in each year since 2023; and what these languages were.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero does not record this data in a way in which we can determine what proportion of the spend on translation services was for translating documents into languages other than (a) English and (b) other native UK languages in each year since 2023; and what these languages were.
Asked by: Lee Anderson (Reform UK - Ashfield)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, how many hectares of arable farmland have been reallocated to (a) solar panels and (b) wind turbines since July 2024; and how many he plans to reallocate in the next four years.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Government does not hold the information requested.