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

To ask His Majesty's Government how many houses are planned to be built in the next five years in (1) Devon, (2) Essex, (3) Kent, (4) Lancashire, (5) Lincolnshire, and (6) Yorkshire.

Answered by Baroness Taylor of Stevenage - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)

My Department does not hold this information as we do not forecast or project housing delivery for individual local authorities.

In December 2024 we implemented a new standard method for assessing local housing needs which aligns with the Government’s ambition for 1.5 million new homes over this parliament, and that better directs new homes to where they are most needed and least affordable.

Alongside the revised method, we published indicative local housing need figures, both for local authorities and regions, which can be found (attached) on gov.uk here.

The Government expects each local planning authority to use the revised standard method to assess local housing needs to inform plan-making. Once an assessment has been made, local authorities should take into account land availability, environmental constraints such as National Landscapes, and other relevant matters, to determine how much of the assessed housing need can be met.

Local authorities are required to adopt appropriate policies in their Local Plans to support delivery of the number, type and tenure of homes needed in their area over the lifetime of the Plan.

Our planning practice guidance on housing and economic needs assessment can be found (attached) on gov.uk here.

Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:

To ask His Majesty's Government what estimate they have made of the percentage of renewable energy provided by offshore wind in (1) 2030, and (2) 2035; and what plans they have to build and install offshore wind turbines.

Answered by Lord Whitehead - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)

The exact amount of future renewable capacity will be determined by decisions made at future Contracts for Difference (CfD) Auction Rounds and will be influenced by the value for money offered at each round. But the Government’s current expectation is that wind generation will be the largest source of renewable electricity generation in 2030 and 2035. For 2030, this is detailed in the Clean Power Action plan.

The Government supports the building and installation of offshore wind turbines through the CfD scheme. The offshore wind budget has been announced for the latest round (Auction Round 7). This has been set at £900m for offshore wind, and £180m for floating offshore wind (2024 prices).

Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask His Majesty's Government what support they will provide to existing strategic industrial complexes as part of the delivery of the industrial strategy.

Answered by Lord Stockwood - Minister of State (HM Treasury)

Regional growth is a core objective of the Industrial Strategy. We will bring forward more investible sites and support city regions and clusters to attract private investment.

The Strategy reiterates our support for existing Freeports and Investment Zones. These "Industrial Strategy Zones" have huge potential, especially in key sectors including advanced manufacturing, clean energy industries, life sciences, digitally enabled creative industries and defence.

Alongside the Industrial Strategy, we published an Action Plan setting out how we will enhance all our Industrial Strategy Zones with better-targeted investment promotion, support for accessing concessionary finance, and coordinated support on skills.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking through their support to Unitaid to improve access to affordable prevention, screening and treatment tools for cervical cancer in low- and middle-income countries; and how they will ensure that this investment is sustained.

Answered by Baroness Chapman of Darlington - Minister of State (Development)

I refer the noble Baroness to the answer provided on 30 January 2025 to question 25707, a copy of which has been reproduced below for ease of reference:

Unitaid are a leading funder of innovative tools to find and treat cervical cancer in low- and middle-income countries, with HPV tests the most accurate way to identify if a woman is at higher risk of developing cervical cancer. Together with partners, Unitaid's interventions lowered the cost of HPV testing by nearly 40 per cent and reduced the price of portable thermal ablation devices for treating precancerous lesions by more than 45 per cent. Unitaid's work is laying the groundwork for national cervical cancer elimination programs worldwide. We highly value our Unitaid partnership and have contributed more than half a billion pounds in funding.

Found: Chair); Lord Berkeley; Lord Drayson; Lord Lucas; Baroness Neuberger; Baroness Neville-Jones; Baroness Northover

Found: Berkeley; Lord Borwick; Lord Drayson; Lord Lucas; Baroness Neuberger; Baroness Neville-Jones; Baroness Northover

Found: Chair); Lord Berkeley; Lord Drayson; Lord Lucas; Baroness Neuberger; Baroness Neville-Jones; Baroness Northover

Found: Chair); Lord Berkeley; Lord Drayson; Lord Lucas; Baroness Neuberger; Baroness Neville-Jones; Baroness Northover

Found: Stansgate (The Chair); Lord Berkeley; Lord Borwick; Lord Drayson; Baroness Neville-Jones; Baroness Northover