Bernard Jenkin

This government is a government for the whole of the United Kingdom.

Yesterday, my Right Honourable Friend the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster updated the House on the significant progress we’ve made in implementing Lord Dunlop's recommendations, alongside a progress update on the intergovernmental relations review and our first IGR transparency report.

The Government defines the UK’s Critical National Infrastructure as the critical elements of infrastructure (facilities, systems, sites, property, information, people, networks and processes), the loss or compromise of which would result in major detrimental impact on the availability, delivery or integrity of essential services, leading to severe economic or social consequences or loss of life.

The Government has designated 13 sectors as critical to the daily functioning of the UK. Each sector has a lead government department responsible for the resilience and security of their sectors and for designating the critical elements of infrastructure. The elements of the national infrastructure designated as critical are reviewed periodically. The Civil Contingencies Secretariat (CCS) in the Cabinet Office has a coordination and assurance role across all sectors and oversees the Government's infrastructure security and resilience objectives.

I am aware that Royal Mail continues to have particular service challenges in some postcode areas. I note that Royal Mail management accepts its performance needs to be much better and has started to address this, for example, by recruiting an additional 3,000 postmen and women so far with a further 500 permanent delivery positions a week going forwards.

Ofcom sets and monitors Royal Mail’s service standards and has powers to investigate and take enforcement action where there are reasonable grounds for concluding Royal Mail has failed to achieve its obligations. I note that the regulator recently fined the business £5.6m for failing to meet its service delivery targets in 2022-23.

Ofcom is the designated independent regulator for the postal sector and the Government has no role in its regulatory decisions. It is for Ofcom to decide how to respond should Royal Mail fail to meet its obligations and I note that the regulator recently fined the business £5.6m for failing to meet its service delivery targets in 2022-23.

Government is working with the Community Energy Contact Group on the content of the annual report and consultation. Until these discussions have concluded, the Government is unable to outline a definitive timeline.

Our aim is for the FSO to be operational in 2024, depending on the Energy Bill and agreeing timelines with key parties.

The FSO will take a strategic whole system approach to network planning, delivered initially by a Centralised Strategic Network Plan (CSNP) for electricity transmission. Ofgem are currently consulting on the CSNP and expect to publish a decision later this year. It is expected the FSO will lead the development of CSNP methodology (approved by Ofgem), and this should consider deliverability, cost, environmental and community impacts, as well as how to utilise the Green Book guidance issued by HM Treasury.

The Government welcomes the Electricity Networks Commissioner’s report and will publish an Action Plan in response by the end of this year.

In his speech on Net Zero on 20 September, the Prime Minister announced that the government will shortly bring forward reforms to energy infrastructure including setting out the UK’s first spatial plan.

Government wants to ensure communities hosting transmission network infrastructure can benefit from supporting the delivery of cheaper, secure and low-carbon energy for Great Britain. We consulted on this earlier this year and are developing guidance, which we intend to publish in 2023.

The Department has produced a range of whole economy costs estimates to support decisions about energy transition and produces value for money assessments as part of every major decision. Minimising cost to consumers is at the heart of our strategy to deliver a reliable and decarbonised electricity system by 2035. The best way of protecting households and businesses is by lowering the costs of the energy we consume and reducing the volumes used. This means increasing energy efficiency and building out a low-cost, low-carbon energy system which reduces our reliance on fossil fuels.

Net Zero consistent scenarios for the power sector are published as Annex O of the Energy and Emission Projections.[1] In line with National Grid targets, these scenarios are configured to ensure a minimum lost load of 3 hours in any given year.

[1] https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/energy-and-emissions-projections-net-zero-strategy-baseline-partial-interim-update-december-2021

All electricity network costs approved by the independent regulator Ofgem are funded through the network charges paid by electricity suppliers and generators. Ultimately, all such costs will be met by electricity consumers through their electricity bills.

National Grid Electricity Transmission is currently developing proposals for Sea Link, a new planned 2GW high voltage undersea electricity link between Suffolk and Kent.

(a) Length of cabling: ~150km, consisting of ~140km DC cable (of which 130km will be offshore and 10km onshore) and ~10km of onshore AC cables);

(b) Transmission capacity: 2GW High Voltage Direct Current (HVDC);

(c) Financial cost of the proposed Sea Link undersea electrical cable from Sizewell to Kent: This project is forecast to cost ~£1.2bn. This includes the cost to connect the link to the existing transmission system at either end, the converter stations and the cable required between the two. This figure is however subject to final engineering design, commodity prices, landowner agreements and mitigation.

The Government regularly speak to a range of developers, including CGN. The Government is not making any decisions on Bradwell at the present time. The proposed project is at an early stage of development, and we are focused on delivering at least one gigawatt scale power plant this Parliament.

Although the UK has left the EU, under the terms of the Withdrawal Agreement, the EU State Aid rules continue to apply in the UK during the Transition Period. The European Commission has introduced some flexibilities into the rules to deal address the impacts of the Coronavirus, in the form of a Temporary Framework, which the UK has taken advantage of.

The UK has two schemes that have been approved by the European Commission under its Temporary Framework: the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CBILS), and the COVID-19 Temporary Framework for UK authorities. Information about these schemes is available on DG Competition’s Coronavirus pages. The COVID-19 Temporary Framework for UK authorities allows public authorities to introduce their own aid measures without the necessity of obtaining an individual Commission approval. This provides cover for measures such as the Retail Hospitality and Leisure Grant scheme (RHLGF) and CBILS for large business.

The UK is not required under State Aid rules to maintain a database of De Minimis aid, or of non-aid measures, but has used introduced measures on these bases to support affected business. For example, the Small Business Grant Fund (SBGF), operates on a De Minimis basis, while the Job Retention schemes and business rate reliefs, which are key elements of the Government’s support package, do not involve State Aid at all.

The overwhelming majority of students are not reliant on rail transport to attend school or college, as only around 1% of 11 to 16-year-olds travel to school by train. However, the department does know that a small number of students in schools and a larger number in further education colleges will be affected either by rail disruption, or by busier roads and greater demand for other public transport. This means they will likely be experiencing additional stress and disruption at a time when they should be able to fully focus on doing their best in their exams.

Many students will be able to make alternative arrangements. Schools and colleges are also expected to play their part in supporting those students who are likely to be impacted or struggle to make alternative arrangements. Schools and colleges are also expected to have contingency arrangements in place to manage any possible disruption to exams and formal assessments, including late arrival of staff or students.

The Joint Council for Qualifications (JCQ) have published updated guidance for centres managing exams this summer. This outlines existing flexibilities, as well as changes to the normal rules for conducting examinations, and is designed to support centres experiencing disruption. This includes additional flexibility around published start times, which could be used if an invigilator is delayed by transport disruption. Where students arrive late, centres should consult JCQ guidance on what to do. In most cases, centres should allow students to take the paper, and exam boards will determine whether that paper can be accepted, depending on how late the student is.

Defra officials have attended courses and other learning events on SPS agreements, trade and the environment, and agriculture agreements at the World Trade Organisation since 2017 (there is no record for 2016). This includes learning that is regularly on offer through the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office’s Trade Faculty. In addition, officials have attended seminars and presentations from departmental experts as part of Defra’s internal trade capability offer that ensures officials are fully equipped to deliver the Government’s trade objectives.

Most trade-related training in the Department for International Trade is organised by a central team, and the team has not arranged for any individuals or teams to attend courses at the World Trade Organisation (WTO). We have no records of anyone independently attending WTO courses.

The A12 Chelmsford to A120 Widening scheme (Junctions 19 to 25) is scheduled to open for traffic in December 2027.

National Highways reports on delivery, regularly updating progress on their website.

Proposals to improve the A120 between Braintree and Marks Tey, where it meets the A12, have been developed alongside other potential enhancements to the strategic road network as part of the RIS3 Pipeline, for possible delivery in a future road period. Following a statement to Parliament in March 2023 from the Secretary of State for Transport identifying a range of funding headwinds and pressures facing transport infrastructure delivery, schemes within the pipeline have been deferred for consideration as part of RIS4 (beyond 2030) at the earliest. The RIS remains the primary funding source for development and delivery of enhancements to the strategic road network in England.

In 2018-19, the mean salary of the permanent staff at IPSA was £38,930.92.

We intend to commence provisions to enable the Health Services Safety Investigation Body to be established and fully operational by April 2023.

A clinical validation study has commenced at a small number of testing sites, which aims to clinically validate pooling for use on the National Testing Programme. There is also a programme about to begin at Cambridge University that we plan to monitor closely. All individuals are asked in advance if they would like to take part in this clinical validation study with the context and reasoning for the study provided. The test result for the individual is unaffected by the clinical validation study being performed.

The UK and Bulgaria are strong friends and partners and NATO allies. We work closely together with Bulgarian counterparts at all levels in response to Russia's brutal invasion of Ukraine including on our diplomatic responses, advancing our common security interests, energy diversification and joint working on countering disinformation. I discussed the response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine when he visited Sofia in March 2023.