Priti Patel

The Planning Inspectorate website states that the Norwich to Tilbury project is at the pre-application stage, and that the application is expected to be submitted for examination between June and August 2025. Information can be found here https://national-infrastructure-consenting.planninginspectorate.gov.uk/projects/EN020027. The Examining Authority’s Report should therefore come to the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero for decision in 2026. This project is therefore one of the Development Consent Order (DCO) decisions that would count towards the Prime Minister’s target of taking 150 DCO decisions in this Parliament.

Renewable liquid fuels could play a limited role in heating. As sustainable biomass is a limited resource, the Government expect to prioritise its use in sectors like aviation, and potentially homes that are not readily suitable for heat pumps, as these offer the greatest opportunity to reduce emissions and have fewest alternative options to decarbonise. The price of renewable liquid heating fuels is higher than fuels that are currently used off the gas grid. The Government would need to ensure they are affordable before making any decisions on whether to support wider deployment, including the introduction of any obligations.

Full account is taken of potential local community impacts when determining an energy infrastructure application. The Planning Act 2008 requires developers to engage with the local authority (or authorities) and consult the local community on a proposed development before submitting an application. Developers must take into account local community views when developing their proposals.

It is the government’s priority to build support for developments by ensuring communities directly benefit.

We are committed to ensuring that communities who live near new clean energy infrastructure can see the benefits of this and are currently considering how to most effectively deliver this. This includes developing guidance on community benefits for electricity transmission network infrastructure, which we will publish in due course.

Whilst details of the guidance are still under development we are not able to estimate the costs of providing community benefits to communities affected by the Norwich to Tilbury grid upgrade. We will provide an update at the appropriate time.

We are committed to a more strategic approach to energy planning and will shortly commission NESO to produce the first Strategic Spatial Energy Plan (SSEP). The commission is the first step in the process, setting out our expectations for how the SSEP will be produced and governed. It will also include details on timelines for development, consultations and publication.

The SSEP will build upon independent advice provided by NESO on the pathway to delivering clean power by 2030 commissioned in August 2024.

The Government will make use of all available data to inform any future decisions on decarbonising heat in domestic and commercial properties off the gas grid.

It is the responsibility of the developers of electricity network projects – in this case National Grid Electricity Transmission - to propose a route and obtain planning permission for that route. The government sets the rules for a robust and independent planning process that communities can participate in, with consultation being a central element of the planning process. Any engagement by Ministers must consider the role of the Secretary of State in deciding on planning applications for energy projects, and the limitations on discussing live projects in the development process which have not come to the Planning Inspectorate.

It is the responsibility of the developers of electricity network projects – in this case National Grid Electricity Transmission - to propose a route and obtain planning permission for that route. The government sets the rules for a robust and independent planning process that communities can participate in, with consultation being a central element of the planning process. Any engagement by Ministers must consider the role of the Secretary of State in deciding on planning applications for energy projects, and the limitations on discussing live projects in the development process which have not come to the Planning Inspectorate.

The Office for National Statistics publish 2021 Census estimates of occupied household spaces in England and Wales by central heating type, at lower tier local authority level: https://www.ons.gov.uk/datasets/TS046/editions/2021/versions/4

The evidence base for non-domestic buildings is being developed by this Department through the Non-Domestic Building Stock project. Analysis of a survey of large off-gas grid buildings shows national-level estimates of energy source in Tables 26 and 27: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/65c3bc2c28a4a00012d2ba61/non-domestic-building-stock-large-off-gas-grid-premises.pdf

The Department also publishes non-domestic building statistics in England and Wales. Tables 3A and 10 include data on the number of off-gas grid buildings, broken down to lower authority and constituency level:

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/65d605b52197b200117fa7ad/nd-need-2023-geographical-annex-data-tables.xlsx

As details of the guidance on community benefits are still under development, we are not in a position to estimate the costs of providing such benefits to communities affected by the Norwich to Tilbury grid upgrade. We will provide an update at the appropriate time.

The Department publishes total and regional breakdowns of UK electricity generation by renewable technology here: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/regional-renewable-statistics. Breakdowns of generation for each offshore wind farm cannot be provided as this is commercially sensitive information.

The Department does not publish generation forecasts for future projects - these will depend on specific factors such as precise site design and turbine size (among others) which may not yet be publicly known. Some individual developers will publish estimated output on their project websites.

Academies Enterprise Trust informed the department of its intention to change name as part of the department’s regular engagement with them and subsequently confirmed this in writing.

Academy trusts may change their name but must notify Companies House and the department once they have decided to do so.

It is for a trust to determine its name and consider how this affects its public image.

Schools selected for the school rebuilding programme (SRP) will enter delivery at a rate of around 50 per year. All schools, including those announced in February 2024, have been given individual indicative start dates, so responsible bodies can prepare and make informed decisions around their estate.

Once they have entered delivery, SRP projects have taken on average 3-5 years to complete. We assess the individual timelines at each school once delivery begins.

National Highways is moving to end the A12 widening scheme and will publish details on costs incurred in its Annual Report and Accounts in due course. The costs will be funded from resources made available to National Highways in the usual way.

On (a) and (b), at Spending Review 2025 ("SR25"), the government announced £15.6bn of funding for Transport for City Region settlements for 9 eligible Mayoral Combined Authorities ("MCAs") from 2027-28 to 2031-32. This funding builds on the funding allocated to eligible MCAs for years 2022-23 to 2026-27 via the City Region Sustainable Transport Settlements (CRSTS). Mayoral allocations for TCR were published on gov.uk. Allocations for the final year of CRSTS (2026/27) are being confirmed with Ministers in the upcoming months.

For MCAs and other local areas outside of CRSTS/TCR, the department secured £2.3bn of funding for the Local Transport Grant (LTG) at SR25 and multi-year allocations and formula methodology were published on gov.uk. These allocations were calculated using a formula based on population and deprivation. Allocations were published based on the current Local Authority structure. Essex’s Local Transport Authority’s allocation for LTG is summarised in table 1 below. When it is established as a new MCAs, their transport funding will compromise the total of their constituent authorities. Table 1 includes the LTG allocations for other MCAs, a full breakdown of all areas can be found on Gov.uk.

Essex, and other areas, will also be eligible for other local transport grants and funding secured at SR25 such as funding for Buses, Highways Maintenance, Active Travel and Electric vehicle infrastructure. DfT Ministers are considering advice on these funds, and how they will be allocated across Local areas. Allocations will be released once Ministerial decisions have been made.

Table 1 – LTG allocations for Essex LTA and MCAs in receipt of LTG (full local allocations can be found on gov.uk).

The Department has no plans to publish papers considered by its Investment, Portfolio and Delivery Committee, as has been the usual practice of successive administrations.

As set out in the answer of 14 July 2025 to Question UIN 66153, this Government inherited a series of commitments that could not be afforded and the decision not to progress the A12 (Chelmsford to A120) Widening Scheme was based on evidence assessed against a wide range of criteria including housing growth impacts and in line with the HM Treasury Green Book and the Department’s Transport Analysis Guidance.

As examples of evidence, the Rt Hon Member for Witham has advocated for the A12 Widening Scheme in the House and in correspondence over many years and detailed information about the Scheme was published on the Planning Inspectorate’s website, available here: https://national-infrastructure-consenting.planninginspectorate.gov.uk/projects/TR010060.

As announced on 8 July 2025, this Government inherited a series of commitments that could not be afforded, therefore the Secretary of State for Transport had to take the difficult decision not to progress the A12 (Chelmsford to A120) Widening Scheme. The decision was based on evidence assessed against a wide range of criteria, including economic growth impacts, and in line with the HM Treasury Green Book and the Department’s Transport Analysis Guidance.

Detailed information on the economic impact of the A12 Widening Scheme was set out in the application for planning consent published on the Planning Inspectorate’s website.

Information on the economic appraisal is available here: https://nsip-documents.planninginspectorate.gov.uk/published-documents/TR010060-000378-HE551497-JAC-LDC-SCHW-RP-TR-0109.pdf.

In total, over £5.6 million has been earmarked for improving various aspects of the A12 in the current financial year (2025/26) and about 7% of this is designated for works around junctions 19 to 25.

It is too early to set out what funding for maintenance of the A12 will be earmarked in the next five financial years (2026/27-2030/31). Over this period, National Highways will maintain a proactive approach to monitoring the condition and performance of the A12. Key activities will include weekly safety inspections to ensure the immediate safety of the network, annual visual condition inspections and machine-based surveys which will assist with identifying asset renewal needs. These activities form part of National Highways’ ongoing asset management strategy to ensure the A12 continues to meet performance standards and remains fit for purpose throughout the third Road Investment Strategy (RIS3) period.

Greater Anglia’s services will transfer into public ownership on 12 October 2025. A Services Agreement setting out Secretary of State requirements will be put in place for the new publicly owned operator, and this will be made available on the Department for Transport’s website in due course. The Services Agreement will require train operating companies to publish information on targets, outturn performance, and the ongoing development of the customer offer on a regular basis at stations, on their website and in other formats on request.

We are committed to providing transparency about our investment plans, to provide certainty and stability for industry and other stakeholders.

For schemes on the Strategic Road Network (SRN) and Major Road Network (MRN), £24 billion of capital funding is being provided between 2026-27 and 2029-30 to maintain and improve motorways and local roads. Scheme costs for the SRN schemes will be confirmed as part of the setting of the third Road Investment Strategy, planned to be published by the end of March 2026.

For MRN schemes, individual financial details cannot be provided as doing so would jeopardise procurement exercises and contract negotiations.

All rail projects referenced in the Secretary of State’s statement are fully funded from the £10.2bn allocated to enhancements over 2026/27-2029/30. We expect to provide further detail on scheme profiles in due course.

The National Infrastructure and Services Transformation Authority (NISTA) has also now published a first version of the Infrastructure Pipeline. All of the projects referred to in the Secretary of State’s statement are included in the Pipeline, although at a portfolio level. The Pipeline will be updated and improved every six months.

The Secretary of State updated Parliament on the 7th of July regarding those rail infrastructure schemes which will progress following completion of the Spending Review. We’re prioritising the schemes that will make the greatest difference for passengers and freight and drive economic growth as soon as possible. The previous government had announced a number of schemes that were unfunded. The new station at Beaulieu Park is due to open on the Great Eastern Main Line by the end of this year.

Working closely with local partners, National Highways has developed options to improve the A120 between Braintree and Marks Tey as part of the pipeline of projects being developed for possible delivery in a future Road Investment Strategy. Schemes in the RIS pipeline are uncommitted, and the Department will need to take decisions on which are the most viable for delivery. The Department expects to confirm which schemes remain in the Pipeline, and which will continue to be developed, when RIS3 is published early next year.

This government is committed to improving the accessibility of the railway and recognises the social and economic benefits this brings to communities.

In May 2024, the previous government selected 50 stations for initial feasibility work for potential upgrades as part of our Access for All programme. This did not include Marks Tey Railway station. We expect to provide an update to stakeholders further during the summer.

As announced on 8 July 2025, this Government inherited a series of commitments that could not be afforded, therefore the Secretary of State for Transport had to take the difficult decision not to progress the A12 (Chelmsford to A120) Widening Scheme. The decision was based on evidence assessed against a wide range of criteria including housing growth impacts and in line with the HMT Treasury Green Book and the Department’s Transport Analysis Guidance. The Department will continue to work with National Highways and relevant partners to explore whether there are any small-scale interventions to potentially address issues on the A12 to support housing growth.