Written Statements

Tuesday 3rd September 2024 Written Statements

Tuesday 3 September 2024

Contracts for Difference: Allocation Round 6 Results

Tuesday 3rd September 2024 Written Statements

[The Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero (Ed Miliband)]

The sixth contracts for difference auction results have been published today, unlocking 9.6 GW of renewable electricity projects. Among others, contracts will be going to the two largest offshore wind farms in Europe, the world’s largest floating offshore windfarm to date and record numbers of solar projects. These results are over 2.5 times bigger than allocation round 5. These new projects will boost energy independence, secure cheap power for families, and unlock economic growth and jobs for the country.

Following my decision to increase the budget to record levels, just over 130 renewable electricity projects across Great Britain secured contracts—enough to power the equivalent of 11 million homes.

I am delighted to see strong results across a range of renewable electricity technologies. In particular, a record 93 solar PV projects have secured contracts. This is more than the total number of contracts agreed via AR5 across all technologies and represents around a 20% increase in our current installed solar capacity. Solar is one of the cheapest, most readily-deployable energy sources we have at our disposal, and its growth will be vital to meeting our clean power mission.

I am also delighted to confirm we have secured the largest commercial-scale floating offshore wind farm project in the world through AR6—at 400 MW—double the size of current European total installed FLOW capacity. The construction and deployment of this project will deliver valuable lessons that will benefit the wider FLOW industry, and help reinforce Britain’s position as a world leader in both fixed-bottom and floating offshore wind technology. Tidal stream, another emerging technology, has secured a further six project contracts (totalling 28 MW), bringing the UK total for tidal stream power procured to over 100 MW.

After a disastrous outcome for offshore wind in AR5, it is very encouraging to see 4.9 GW of capacity come through in AR6. This includes procuring Europe’s second largest offshore wind project (considering operational projects and projects under construction). I am confident we can continue to build on this promising outcome in future rounds.

I am delighted that the CfD mechanism has delivered competitive prices across the board, with prices significantly below the ceiling prices (ASPs), protecting consumers. Having more renewables like wind and solar in the system will also ensure Britain is less affected by fluctuations in volatile global gas prices.

The lifting of the onshore wind ban, this very successful allocation round 6, and the creation of Great British Energy, all signal the ramping up of our efforts to deliver clean power by 2030 and net zero, moving towards energy independence and protecting families from volatile fossil fuel prices. Going forwards, we will continue to work with investors, developers, and the supply chain to accelerate our mission to become a clean energy superpower.

[HCWS65]

Care Quality Commission Section 48 Review of Nottinghamshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust

Tuesday 3rd September 2024 Written Statements

[The Secretary of State for Health and Social Care (Wes Streeting)]

On 30 January 2024, my predecessor as Secretary of State asked the Care Quality Commission to conduct a special review of mental health services in Nottinghamshire in response to the horrendous killings of Ian Coates, Grace O’Malley-Kumar and Barnaby Webber.

I am grateful to the CQC for the detailed work it has undertaken on this report. My thoughts are with the families and friends of Barnaby, Grace and Ian. This report makes for distressing reading, especially for those living with this unimaginable loss in the knowledge that this tragedy could have been prevented.

The review was composed of three strands. The reports for strands 2 and 3, relating to the safety and quality of services provided by Nottinghamshire healthcare NHS foundation trust and the services provided at Rampton hospital, were published on 26 March 2024.

On 13 August, the CQC published the remaining report for strand 1 of the review into the care and treatment provided to Valdo Calocane by NHFT in the period leading up to the horrific events of June 2023. As part of this review, the CQC was also asked to determine whether its review of Valdo Calocane’s care and that of 10 other benchmarking cases indicated wider patient safety concerns or systemic issues with the provision of mental health services in Nottinghamshire.

This report identified serious failings in the care and treatment provided to Valdo Calocane by NHFT that may have contributed to these tragic killings after he was discharged from the trust’s mental health services. These failings are consistent with the CQC’s findings from strands 2 and 3 of the review, published in March, which identified issues with the safety of services and quality of care at NHFT as a whole.

While there was no single point of failure for Valdo Calocane’s care identified in the report, the strand 1 review identified serious shortcomings relating to four areas: risk assessment and record keeping, care planning and engagement, medicines management, and discharge planning.

I have met with NHS England, which has provided me with assurance that it and NHFT are taking action to address the serious failures identified in the report. I have made it clear to NHS England that I expect regular updates on progress against all the recommendations across the three strands of the review.

In advance of the publication of this report, NHFT has taken action to implement the CQC’s recommendations, specifically relating to managing patients who may be at risk of harming themselves or others. These actions include:

Changing “did not attend” policies to make sure patients are not discharged for not attending appointments.

Implementing systems to make sure staff more robustly consider risks to patients and the public.

Reviewing the approach to managing beds—there are early positive signs of a reduction in patients being placed in incorrect care settings as a result.

Putting into place a new crisis telephone system so that patients can access crisis services 24/7 without delay.

Reviewing patients waiting to access community support—the waiting list has reduced from 1,500 to 1,092.

Providing increased oversight for patients who are waiting to access care and checking medications for everyone in the community on antipsychotic medication.

I have made it clear that I also expect regular progress reports from NHFT.

I also expect these findings and recommendations to be considered and applied throughout the country. NHS England has accepted all of the CQC’s recommendations and has initiated a series of actions to ensure nationwide improvements are made.

As part of this work, NHS England has tasked every provider in England to review the policies and practices in place to ensure patients who are very unwell and who need help to engage with services do not fall through the cracks. I expect regular updates from NHS England on the progress of this review.

Other measures the NHS has already undertaken include:

Issuing guidance to trusts reiterating instructions not to discharge patients with serious mental health issues if they do not attend appointments.

Commissioning an independent investigation into the incident, which will be published by the end of 2024.

Continuing to improve data on community mental health services including developing metrics around access to psychological therapies for severe mental health problems and outcomes for people accessing community mental health services.

Establishing an expert advisory group to oversee the development of core standards for safe care in community mental health services.

[HCWS66]

Shadow Great British Railways

Tuesday 3rd September 2024 Written Statements

[The Secretary of State for Transport (Louise Haigh)]

Today I am announcing that I will be instructing the CEO of Network Rail, the director general for rail services in the Department for Transport, and the CEO of DfT OLR Holdings Ltd to establish a shadow Great British Railways. As the main organisations responsible for the operational railway, they will be working in closer collaboration, bringing together track and train to deliver for passengers and freight users, ahead of legislation to create Great British Railways as an arm’s length body.

Our manifesto committed to putting passengers at the heart of the service by reforming the railways and bringing them into public ownership. Great British Railways will be created to deliver a unified system that focuses on reliable, affordable, high-quality and efficient services, along with ensuring safety and accessibility.

GBR will put passengers back at the heart of the railways and introduce new measures to protect their interests. This will include paving the way for a powerful new passenger watchdog, the Passenger Standards Authority, to independently monitor standards and champion improvement in service performance against a range of measures. Great British Railways will reform the ticketing system, to make it simpler for passengers, drive innovation across the network, replace the current myriad of ticket types and maximise passenger growth.

There will be a statutory duty on GBR to promote the use of rail freight, alongside an overall growth target set by the Secretary of State. The Government will include safeguards to ensure that freight operators continue to receive fair access to the network. Open access operators have a proven track record in driving competition and better passenger outcomes, and where there is a case that open access operators can add value and capacity to the network, they will be able to.

While primary legislation is required to initiate the change to public ownership and establish GBR, this Government will begin delivering improvements for passengers and freight users straight away. That is why I am taking the immediate step of standing up shadow Great British Railways today. The three organisations will work collaboratively, taking a whole-system approach to decision making and driving improvement, whilst retaining their existing accountabilities and duties.

We can achieve change on how organisations work together quickly. But change on the ground, for those who use the railway, will take time. Our railways are fragmented and have been for decades, suffering from a short-sighted investment approach and not providing the services passengers and freight customers need. Delivering change for passengers will rely on building new levels of trust, openness and transparency across the industry, with diverse teams brought together that reflect the customers and communities we serve—setting the tone for reform and enabling us to create a modern and affordable railway for everyone in Britain.

I will expect shadow Great British Railways to be passenger focused and unlock barriers to delivery. I will also expect it to work alongside my team and me with rail stakeholders and partners across Great Britain, including national and regional governments, mayors, the trade unions, train operators, passenger and freight representative groups, the supply chain, the regulator and railway staff to deliver improvements. As part of the plans for reform, this includes the need to speed up training for drivers and collaborate with the sector to build resilience and improve productivity.

I will be writing to the chief executives and the director general to set their initial priorities and how I expect them to work together as shadow Great British Railways.

[HCWS67]