Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:

To ask His Majesty's Government which Accelerated Strategic Transmission Investment projects they expect to be completed by 2030.

Answered by Baroness Curran - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)

While TOs are responsible for delivering Accelerated Strategic Transmission Investment (ASTI) projects, Ofgem plays a key role in scrutinising delivery plans, setting the regulatory requirements and monitoring performance (including completion dates), against agreed outputs and milestones. As the independent regulator, Ofgem holds TOs accountable for the efficient and timely delivery of ASTI projects and can investigate potential non-compliance where delivery falls short of regulatory requirements. Government monitors the progress of transmission projects required to meet our goal of clean power through regular engagement with industry and regulators.

Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:

To ask His Majesty's Government what Ofgem’s original policy limit was for Early Construction Funding as a proportion of total project cost, and what steps they are taking to ensure this limit is enforced.

Answered by Baroness Curran - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)

Early Construction Funding (ECF) is a regulatory mechanism established by Ofgem which allows network companies to access a limited proportion of approved project funding before all statutory consents have been secured. Under Ofgem's Accelerated Strategic Transmission Investment (ASTI) guidance, the normal limit for ECF is 20 per cent of project licence costs, although higher levels may be considered by Ofgem in exceptional circumstances. Decisions on the award of ECF are a matter for Ofgem as the independent energy regulator.

Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:

To ask His Majesty's Government what proportion of Transmission Entry Capacity projects due for delivery by 2030 do not yet have a corresponding entry in the Transmission Works Report.

Answered by Baroness Curran - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)

The Transmission Works Report (TWR) is being updated in light of revised connection offers issued as part of the connections reform process. All projects that accept a ‘Gate 2’ connection offer (confirmed connection location and date) will have a corresponding entry in the TWR, regardless of their connection date.

Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:

To ask His Majesty's Government how many megawatts of transmission connection projects in the Transmission Entry Capacity register have been completed to date, out of the total capacity currently in the queue.

Answered by Baroness Curran - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)

According to National Energy System Operator (NESO), as of 24 July, the Transmission Entry Capacity (TEC) Register included 81.7GW of generation capacity that has been built. 284.64GW of generation capacity has received revised ‘Gate 2’ connection offers (confirmed connection location and date) under the reformed connections process. The TEC Register will be updated by NESO as connection offers are accepted or declined.

Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:

To ask His Majesty's Government how many transmission connection projects in the Transmission Entry Capacity register have been completed to date, out of the total number currently in the queue.

Answered by Baroness Curran - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)

According to National Energy System Operator (NESO), as of 24 July, the Transmission Entry Capacity (TEC) Register included 373 generation projects that have been built. 1,026 generation projects have received revised ‘Gate 2’ connection offers (confirmed connection location and date) under the reformed connections process. The TEC Register will be updated by NESO as connection offers are accepted or declined.

Question

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the potential impact of financial risk assessments on the number of consumers using unlicensed gambling operators.

Answered by Baroness Mackenzie of Sherwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport)

The Government is committed to supporting the implementation of key measures in the 2023 Gambling White Paper, including the introduction of Financial Risk Assessments (FRAs) for online gambling.

The Gambling Commission’s pilot demonstrated that Financial Risk Assessments can be undertaken without friction in 97% of cases. Given that less than 3% of accounts will meet the threshold for assessment, that means around 99.9% of all active accounts will either have no assessment or these checks will happen without friction.

The Government recognises that the threat of movement to the illegal market does exist, but this does not mean that we should avoid appropriate controls on licensed operators. The illegal market is best tackled by improving player safety and managing risk.

We are already taking wider action to tackle the illegal market. Key measures include an additional £26 million of funding over three years for the Gambling Commission to enable them to increase their activity to tackle the illegal market; a consultation on banning physical unlicensed gambling sponsorship and advertising; and the establishment of the Illegal Gambling Taskforce, which will consider what more can be done to tackle the threats posed by the illegal market.

Question

To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure that financial risk assessments in the licensed gambling sector are frictionless for consumers.

Answered by Baroness Mackenzie of Sherwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport)

The Government is committed to supporting the implementation of key measures in the 2023 Gambling White Paper, including the introduction of Financial Risk Assessments (FRAs) for online gambling.

The Gambling Commission’s pilot demonstrated that Financial Risk Assessments can be undertaken without friction in 97% of cases. Given that less than 3% of accounts will meet the threshold for assessment, that means around 99.9% of all active accounts will either have no assessment or these checks will happen without friction.

The Government recognises that the threat of movement to the illegal market does exist, but this does not mean that we should avoid appropriate controls on licensed operators. The illegal market is best tackled by improving player safety and managing risk.

We are already taking wider action to tackle the illegal market. Key measures include an additional £26 million of funding over three years for the Gambling Commission to enable them to increase their activity to tackle the illegal market; a consultation on banning physical unlicensed gambling sponsorship and advertising; and the establishment of the Illegal Gambling Taskforce, which will consider what more can be done to tackle the threats posed by the illegal market.

Question

To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to evaluate the cumulative effect of measures introduced following the White Paper on Gambling Reform for the Digital Age before making further regulatory changes.

Answered by Baroness Mackenzie of Sherwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport)

An evaluation is underway to assess the impact of various measures that have been introduced as part of the 2023 Gambling White Paper. DCMS and the Gambling Commission commissioned the National Centre for Social Research to undertake this evaluation in January 2024.

The evaluation will seek to establish whether these measures are being delivered effectively, understand if there are any unintended consequences, and capture learning to inform future policy development. We expect the evaluation report to be published later this year.

However we will continue to consider further reforms where technology develops, consumer behaviour changes or risks arise. Any future regulatory changes will always be based on evidence.

Question

To ask His Majesty's Government how many unlicensed gambling websites targeting UK consumers the Gambling Commission has (1) identified, and (2) taken enforcement action against, in each of the last three years.

Answered by Baroness Mackenzie of Sherwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport)

The following is a breakdown of enforcement action taken by the Gambling Commission against unlicensed gambling websites from April 2024 to present. Data from before April 2024 is not available.

Between April 2026 – present:

• Issued 290 Cease and Desists to advertisers and operators.

• Reported 147,721 URLs to various search engines and saw 19,678 URLs removed as a result so far.

• Referred 366 websites to the search engines for delisting.

• Disrupted 361 websites meaning they have either been taken down or geo-blocked.

Between April 2025 and March 2026:

• Issued 741 Cease and Desists to advertisers and operators.

• Reported 397,527 URLs to various search engines and saw 266,667 URLs removed as a result.

• Referred 1068 websites to the search engines for delisting.

• Disrupted 1134 websites meaning they have either been taken down or geo-blocked.

Between April 2024 and March 2025

• Issued 868 Cease and Desists to advertisers and operators.

• Reported 143,683 to various search engines and seen 95,759 URLs removed as a result.

• Referred 611 websites to the search engines for delisting.

• Disrupted 496 websites meaning they have either been taken down or geo-blocked.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask His Majesty's Government what estimate they have made of the tax revenue foregone as a result of UK consumers gambling with unlicensed operators.

Answered by Lord Pitt-Watson - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)

HMRC does not produce an estimate of the tax revenue foregone specifically as a result of UK consumers gambling with unlicensed operators.

The tax gap for betting and gaming duties is included within the “other excise duties” tax gap published in Measuring tax gaps 2026.

Limitations in the available data and methods mean that the tax gap for these components cannot be estimated individually. The average percentage revenue losses should therefore not be considered estimates of the true percentage losses from betting and gaming, as they are unknown.

Found: Apologies and notices Apologies were received from Lord Udny-Lister, Lord Teverson and Specialist Adviser

Found: Muswell Hill Baroness Drake Lord Fuller Baroness Hayter of Kentish Town Lord Teverson Lord Udny-Lister