Asked by: Lord Wigley (Plaid Cymru - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask His Majesty's Government which nuclear sites that have been in the process of decommissioning are being considered for new nuclear projects, including radioisotope production, as set out in the Interim Report 2025 of the Nuclear Regulatory Taskforce, published on 11 August.
Answered by Lord Vallance of Balham - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Government is designating a new National Policy Statement for nuclear energy generation, EN-7, which will empower developers to identify suitable sites for new nuclear projects using a robust set of siting criteria.
Separately, last year Great British Energy - Nuclear acquired the Oldbury and Wylfa sites. No decisions have yet been taken on specific projects at these sites. Any nuclear project would require development consent, subject to EN-7 once designated.
The Government is also aware of developer or community interest in nuclear projects at several other sites, including those being decommissioned. These include Pioneer Park (Moorside), Trawsfynydd (via Cwmni Egino), Hartlepool, and Dungeness.
Asked by: Lord Wigley (Plaid Cymru - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask His Majesty's Government, following the Interim Report 2025 of the Nuclear Regulation Taskforce, published on 11 August, what consideration they are giving to re-examining the UK’s approach to risk management in the nuclear sector to ensure delivery of projects in a timely manner.
Answered by Lord Vallance of Balham - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Government is actively considering the findings of the Interim Report to help inform reforms that support timely delivery of Nuclear Projects.
'This includes working with industry and regulators to look at how regulation is applied in a proportionate way to support faster deployment of projects while maintaining safety levels at UK sites and continuing to meet internationally recognised standards. The government awaits the independent Taskforce’s final report, due in the Autumn, and will respond to its recommendations in due course.
Asked by: Lord Wigley (Plaid Cymru - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they will publish details of any changes in department responsibility which have been implemented in conjunction with recent changes in Ministerial portfolios.
Answered by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The List of Ministerial Responsibilities will be updated in due course.
Asked by: Lord Wigley (Plaid Cymru - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what has been the cost in the year to date of their contribution by way of donation of food, or money to purchase food, to alleviate starvation in Gaza.
Answered by Baroness Chapman of Darlington - Minister of State (Development)
On 21 July, the UK announced £60 million in humanitarian aid this financial year, with a further £15 million of humanitarian support announced on 1 September, to support the provision of healthcare, food and water. All allocations of our Humanitarian Programme are available publicly on Development Tracker. We call for Israel to immediately allow the unrestricted flow of aid into Gaza, enabling food, medical supplies and fuel to reach those in desperate need.
Asked by: Lord Wigley (Plaid Cymru - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many UK armed services personnel are currently stationed on a temporary or permanent basis in (1) Latvia, (2) Estonia and (3) Lithuania.
Answered by Lord Coaker - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
The UK’s presence in the Baltics, primarily through the Forward Land Forces (FLF) in Estonia, comprise of around 1,000 Service personnel at any one time.
Asked by: Lord Wigley (Plaid Cymru - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government in which UK embassies overseas staff are appointed at the request of (1) the Scottish government, (2) the Welsh government, and (3) the Northern Ireland Executive.
Answered by Baroness Chapman of Darlington - Minister of State (Development)
Officials from the Devolved Governments are based in various locations. They are commonly - but not always - based within the UK mission.
There are officials from all three Devolved Governments in Washington, Brussels and Beijing.
Scottish Government officials are also based in Berlin, Copenhagen, Dubin, Paris and Ottawa. Welsh Government officials are in Atlanta, Chicago, New York, Los Angeles, Montreal, Bangalore, New Delhi, Mumbai, Chonqing, Shanghai, Berlin, Dusseldorf, Dubai, Dublin, Doha, Paris and Tokyo.
Staff employed by devolved trade and investment promotion agencies - Invest Northern Ireland, and Scottish Development International - are located in over 20 and 30 locations respectively. Again, these are often based within the UK mission.
Officials are appointed by the sponsoring Devolved Government, or relevant agency.
Asked by: Lord Wigley (Plaid Cymru - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the proposal contained in the report The Impact of Changes to Inheritance Tax on Farm Estates, published by the Centre for the Analysis of Taxation in August, to apply 100 percent relief on estates up to £2 million, with no additional relief above that threshhold.
Answered by Lord Livermore - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Government believes its reforms to agricultural property relief and business property relief from 6 April 2026 get the balance right between supporting farms and businesses, and fixing the public finances and supporting public services. The reforms reduce the inheritance tax advantages available to owners of agricultural and business assets, but still mean those assets will be taxed at a much lower effective rate than most other assets. Despite a tough fiscal context, the Government will maintain very significant levels of relief from inheritance tax beyond what is available to others and compared to the position before 1992. Where inheritance tax is due, those liable for a charge can pay any liability on the relevant assets over 10 annual instalments, interest-free.
The report by the independent Centre for the Analysis of Taxation (CenTax) supports the Government’s analysis of these reforms, including the number of estates affected in 2026-27, and concludes that half of these estates will see an increase in their effective inheritance tax rate of less than 5 percentage points, and almost 90 per cent of these estates could pay their entire inheritance tax bill out of non-farm assets. In CenTax’s opinion, the Government’s proposed reforms improve on the current position and are expected largely to meet the Government’s objectives.
Asked by: Lord Wigley (Plaid Cymru - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask His Majesty's Government what is the existing energy storage capacity of (1) hydroelectric pump storage facilities at full capacity, (2) battery storage facilities, and (3) other methods of electricity storage; and what are the target figures for expanding each category in the next 10 years.
Answered by Lord Wilson of Sedgefield - Lord in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
Power capacity statistics for energy storage capacity in the UK can be found in the annually published Digest of UK Energy Statistics (DUKES), in particular Table 5.16.[1] The government’s Clean Power Action Plan[2] sets out ranges for the energy storage capacity we could need by 2030, as informed by advice from the National Energy System Operator (NESO). While there are no fixed targets set for 2035, NESO regularly publishes Future Energy Scenarios which set out pathways to Net Zero in 2050 and include energy storage capacity
[1] https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/electricity-chapter-5-digest-of-united-kingdom-energy-statistics-dukes
[2] https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/clean-power-2030-action-plan
Asked by: Lord Wigley (Plaid Cymru - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask His Majesty's Government what was the average cost per domestic electricity consumer in the most recent year for which data are available of constraint payments made to renewable power companies.
Answered by Lord Wilson of Sedgefield - Lord in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The National Energy System Operator (NESO) balances Great Britain’s electricity system, recovering costs through Balancing Services Use of System (BSUoS) charges. These include payments to generators to adjust output due to network constraints covering both turn-up and turn-down actions.
While Government holds aggregate data on constraint payments, it does not hold data by technology type.
Asked by: Lord Wigley (Plaid Cymru - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to reconfigure the electricity grid network in the UK to minimise the need to constrain electricity generation by wind turbines to prevent overload.
Answered by Lord Wilson of Sedgefield - Lord in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
Government is implementing a strategic network planning approach led by the National Energy System Operator (NESO). This includes two previous published plans, as well as the upcoming Centralised Strategic Network Plan (CSNP), to be published by NESO in 2027. These strategic network plans take a holistic approach, with economic cost - including constraints costs - being one of the key criteria in determining the recommended transmission network design.