Asked by: Lord Rooker (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they have had any discussions with the government of Ireland about the gas interconnector from the UK that supplies blended gas.
Answered by Baroness Curran
None of the UK’s gas interconnectors currently supply or receive gas blended with hydrogen. The Department is engaging with officials from the Irish government and transmission system operator of Ireland to understand the implications of the EU hydrogen and gas decarbonisation package regarding hydrogen blending and to ensure continued cross-border trade of gas.
We intend to publish a consultation on blending hydrogen into the GB gas transmission network in the near future.
Asked by: Lord Rooker (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the proportion of domestic boilers that are ready for using blended gas.
Answered by Baroness Curran
Industry have conducted trials and tests on whether or not domestic boilers can accept gas blended with hydrogen up to 20%. The Department is working with Health and Safety Executive (HSE) to ensure that this evidence is assessed independently and robustly.
Asked by: Lord Rooker (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they plan for a core hydrogen pipeline network to operate in the UK.
Answered by Baroness Curran
We are committed to conducting analysis to assess the potential scale, pace and geography of developing a core network. In the early years of the hydrogen economy, it is likely that most industrial demand for hydrogen will be located within industrial clusters where sites can share infrastructure and access available supply. We are therefore prioritising the development of regional network infrastructure while we continue to review the case for a core network to connect regional networks in the future.
Asked by: Lord Rooker (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask His Majesty's Government which department is leading the development of a hydrogen market capable of creating new manufacturing jobs.
Answered by Baroness Curran
Building a thriving hydrogen market is a priority for the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero, delivered in close coordination with Department for Business and Trade and others across government. We want the UK to be a world leader in clean energy technologies, with a sustainable manufacturing base leading to high value job creation. Our forthcoming Industrial Strategy will drive sustainable economic growth and support key clean energy industries.
Asked by: Lord Rooker (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask His Majesty's Government how much of the gas entering the UK via interconnector pipes is blended with hydrogen.
Answered by Baroness Curran
Whilst the EU has established a framework to allow Member States to blend up 2% hydrogen into their gas transmission networks, the Government can confirm that none of the gas entering the UK via interconnector pipes is currently blended with hydrogen. We will continue to monitor this area and engage with officials in relevant countries as and when required.
Asked by: Lord Rooker (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask His Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with the energy industry about decarbonising the energy system by blending low carbon hydrogen with natural gas since 4 July 2024.
Answered by Baroness Curran
The Government been engaging with industry to gather evidence on the technical feasibility, costs and benefits of hydrogen blending. We intend to publish a consultation on blending hydrogen into the National Transmission System in the near future.
Asked by: Lord Rooker (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of Project HySpeed, in particular the project's impact on assisting faster decarbonisation solutions for UK foundation industries such as steel, cement and glass production.
Answered by Baroness Curran
Low carbon hydrogen is a critical sector for the UK and can play a key role in our mission to make the UK a Clean Energy Superpower. The Government’s existing policy framework has established an investable model to support the UK’s hydrogen economy, with our first Hydrogen Allocation Round delivering projects that will create over 700 new jobs and growth across the UK.
The Government acknowledges the Project HySpeed proposal but does not comment on individual projects. The Government will continue to assess whether current measures are sufficient to incentivise hydrogen production and use in key sectors.
Asked by: Lord Rooker (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they plan to prevent companies who failed to provide useable stock during the COVID-19 pandemic from tendering for the contract to supply NHS face shield stock.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department is currently tendering for its pandemic preparedness portfolio and the procurement is being run against an existing NHS Supply Chain framework agreement.
The framework agreement only has suppliers on it which have been through a competitive tender and due diligence in line with both the legislation, at that time the Public Contract Regulations 2015, and which have been assessed against NHS Supply Chain’s minimum expectations, including sustainability, social value, and modern slavery.
NHS Supply Chain cannot discriminate against countries, except for Russia and Belarus, and this is in line with the Government’s National Procurement Policy Statement which specifically states that nothing in this statement should conflict with the Government’s international trade obligations.
In this tender, bidders were only permitted to tender products that were already awarded to the framework agreement. Furthermore, as part of the tender evaluation, for all products tendered, the technical product/conformity documentation was then reviewed again to ensure its validity, and a ‘hands on product assurance’ assessment requiring samples was undertaken.
Two suppliers on the existing NHS Supply Chain framework provided products under personal protective equipment (PPE) contracts to the Department in response to the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, which the Department was dissatisfied with. However, these contract issues have now been resolved. The products supplied under the NHS Supply Chain framework are not the same as for the Department’s PPE contracts, and any issues with future performance will be managed through the contract management process and practice already in place with NHS Supply Chain.
Asked by: Lord Rooker (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they plan to take steps to prevent tenders from China for the NHS face shield stock currently out for tender.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department is currently tendering for its pandemic preparedness portfolio and the procurement is being run against an existing NHS Supply Chain framework agreement.
The framework agreement only has suppliers on it which have been through a competitive tender and due diligence in line with both the legislation, at that time the Public Contract Regulations 2015, and which have been assessed against NHS Supply Chain’s minimum expectations, including sustainability, social value, and modern slavery.
NHS Supply Chain cannot discriminate against countries, except for Russia and Belarus, and this is in line with the Government’s National Procurement Policy Statement which specifically states that nothing in this statement should conflict with the Government’s international trade obligations.
In this tender, bidders were only permitted to tender products that were already awarded to the framework agreement. Furthermore, as part of the tender evaluation, for all products tendered, the technical product/conformity documentation was then reviewed again to ensure its validity, and a ‘hands on product assurance’ assessment requiring samples was undertaken.
Two suppliers on the existing NHS Supply Chain framework provided products under personal protective equipment (PPE) contracts to the Department in response to the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, which the Department was dissatisfied with. However, these contract issues have now been resolved. The products supplied under the NHS Supply Chain framework are not the same as for the Department’s PPE contracts, and any issues with future performance will be managed through the contract management process and practice already in place with NHS Supply Chain.
Asked by: Lord Rooker (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they plan to prioritise UK suppliers for the supply of NHS face shield stock currently out for tender.
Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department is currently tendering for its pandemic preparedness portfolio and the procurement is being run against an existing NHS Supply Chain framework agreement.
The framework agreement only has suppliers on it which have been through a competitive tender and due diligence in line with both the legislation, at that time the Public Contract Regulations 2015, and which have been assessed against NHS Supply Chain’s minimum expectations, including sustainability, social value, and modern slavery.
NHS Supply Chain cannot discriminate against countries, except for Russia and Belarus, and this is in line with the Government’s National Procurement Policy Statement which specifically states that nothing in this statement should conflict with the Government’s international trade obligations.
In this tender, bidders were only permitted to tender products that were already awarded to the framework agreement. Furthermore, as part of the tender evaluation, for all products tendered, the technical product/conformity documentation was then reviewed again to ensure its validity, and a ‘hands on product assurance’ assessment requiring samples was undertaken.
Two suppliers on the existing NHS Supply Chain framework provided products under personal protective equipment (PPE) contracts to the Department in response to the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, which the Department was dissatisfied with. However, these contract issues have now been resolved. The products supplied under the NHS Supply Chain framework are not the same as for the Department’s PPE contracts, and any issues with future performance will be managed through the contract management process and practice already in place with NHS Supply Chain.