Asked by: Baroness Walmsley (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to lower the cost of green hydrogen production.
Answered by Lord Whitehead - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
We have published a Cost Challenge Document which advises shortlisted projects in Hydrogen Allocation Round 2 on achieving cost-competitiveness during the due diligence stage. Projects must demonstrate value for money and justify costs across key components, with an aim to achieve lower average hydrogen production costs than seen in Hydrogen Allocation Round 1.
Asked by: Baroness Walmsley (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the wider economic return on government funding to support UK hydrogen production.
Answered by Lord Whitehead - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Growth is the number one mission of this Government, and growing the UK hydrogen sector will help create good jobs, attract investment, strengthen energy security and cut emissions. Through the first Hydrogen Allocation Round, we have already supported 11 projects expected to create over 600 direct jobs and attract over £400 million of private investment. More broadly, hydrogen is backed in the Clean Energy Industries Sector Plan as a frontier technology, with a wider public finance offer designed to crowd private investment into sustainable UK supply chains.
Asked by: Baroness Walmsley (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to progress the implementation of the gas shipper obligation.
Answered by Lord Whitehead - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Government is committed to providing a robust funding mechanism for hydrogen production. The Government consulted on the design of the Gas Shipper Obligation between January and April 2025. We are grateful to those who responded to the consultation, and we will publish a response as soon as possible.
Asked by: Baroness Walmsley (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what is their timetable for the publication of a consultation regarding the mandatory health reporting requirements and targets for large businesses under the healthy food standard proposed in the 10-year health plan for England.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
As set out in the 10-Year Health Plan, we will take decisive action on the obesity crisis, easing the strain on our National Health Service and creating the healthiest generation of children ever. The plan committed to, by the end of this Parliament, introduce mandatory healthier food sales reporting for all large companies in the sector. The plan also committed to introduce new targets to increase the healthiness of sales.
We intend to launch a full public consultation soon to gather a wide range of views on our proposals.
Specific implementation dates will be determined following consultation, and the intention is that the policy will be finalised and legislation laid so that reporting comes into force before the end of this Parliament, no later than 2029.
Asked by: Baroness Walmsley (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government when they plan to announce a timeline for the implementation of the healthy food standard proposed in the 10-year health plan for England.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
As set out in the 10-Year Health Plan, we will take decisive action on the obesity crisis, easing the strain on our National Health Service and creating the healthiest generation of children ever. The plan committed to, by the end of this Parliament, introduce mandatory healthier food sales reporting for all large companies in the sector. The plan also committed to introduce new targets to increase the healthiness of sales.
We intend to launch a full public consultation soon to gather a wide range of views on our proposals.
Specific implementation dates will be determined following consultation, and the intention is that the policy will be finalised and legislation laid so that reporting comes into force before the end of this Parliament, no later than 2029.
Asked by: Baroness Walmsley (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what they expect the timeline to be for bringing forward energy drinks age-of-sale legislation.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government is taking decisive action on obesity, easing the strain on our National Health Service and creating the healthiest generation of children ever.
As part of this, we will fulfil our commitment to ban the sale of high-caffeine energy drinks to children aged under 16 years old, introducing the ban within this Parliament.
We ran a 12-week consultation, which was open from 3 September 2025 to 26 November 2025. The Department is currently reviewing all submissions to the consultation and will set out a formal consultation response, and further information on our timelines, in due course.
Asked by: Baroness Walmsley (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what lessons they have learnt from the review and updating of previous age-restricted sales legislation; and how those lessons will inform the approach to keeping any future energy drinks age-of-sale legislation under review as new products enter the market and consumption patterns evolve.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government continues to learn from the implementation of previous age-restricted sales legislation. We recognise the importance of clear guidance, proportionate enforcement arrangements, and ensuring legislation is responsive to evidence, development in products, sales channels, and consumer behaviour.
Any future age of sale measures for energy drinks will be designed with these considerations in mind. We are reviewing consultation responses and will set out next steps in due course. The consultation specifically asked for views on our proposals for how the age restrictions will be enforced and its impact on local government.
Decisions on resourcing and enforcement will be taken alongside wider policy design and parliamentary scrutiny.
Asked by: Baroness Walmsley (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what lessons they have learned from previous age-restricted sales legislation, to ensure local authorities are adequately resourced to support the monitoring and enforcement of any future energy drinks age-of-sale legislation.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government continues to learn from the implementation of previous age-restricted sales legislation. We recognise the importance of clear guidance, proportionate enforcement arrangements, and ensuring legislation is responsive to evidence, development in products, sales channels, and consumer behaviour.
Any future age of sale measures for energy drinks will be designed with these considerations in mind. We are reviewing consultation responses and will set out next steps in due course. The consultation specifically asked for views on our proposals for how the age restrictions will be enforced and its impact on local government.
Decisions on resourcing and enforcement will be taken alongside wider policy design and parliamentary scrutiny.
Asked by: Baroness Walmsley (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they plan to publish a draft updated school food standards for public consultation; and if so, on what date.
Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The department is revising the School Food Standards and is engaging with stakeholders to ensure they support our work to create the healthiest generation of children in history.
We want to gather a broad spectrum of perspectives and to achieve this, we intend to consult on these revisions. As we prepare to consult, we are continuing to gather insights from our wider engagement, including a pilot
Further details on timelines for the revisions and the consultation will be available in due course.
Asked by: Baroness Walmsley (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure that updated school food standards are implemented before the planned expansion of free breakfast clubs in April and free school meals in September.
Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The department is revising the School Food Standards and is engaging with stakeholders to ensure they support our work to create the healthiest generation of children in history.
We want to gather a broad spectrum of perspectives and to achieve this, we intend to consult on these revisions. As we prepare to consult, we are continuing to gather insights from our wider engagement, including a pilot
Further details on timelines for the revisions and the consultation will be available in due course.