Asked by: Blake Stephenson (Conservative - Mid Bedfordshire)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential implications for his policies of the report by the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Rural Business and the Rural Powerhouse entitled The Rural Premium, published on April 2023.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Defra regularly publishes statistics on a range of social and economic topics and provides broad comparisons between Rural and Urban areas by settlement type, including assessment on the rural economy, transport, housing and cost of living. These are available through The Statistical Digest for Rural England.
This Government is committed to improving the quality of life for people living and working in rural areas, so that we can realise the full potential of rural business and communities. We have made a commitment that all policy decision-making should be rural proofed to ensure that rural areas are not overlooked and that the intended outcomes are deliverable in rural areas.
The specific challenges and opportunities that make rural economies distinctive can be harnessed by funds such as The Rural England Prosperity Fund which provides targeted support to rural businesses and communities.
Asked by: Blake Stephenson (Conservative - Mid Bedfordshire)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, if he will publish a lessons learned review relating to the decision of Newcleo not to pursue its investment in nuclear reactors in the UK.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Newcleo Ltd’s decision to suspend its advanced nuclear activities in the UK was a commercial decision for the company. Government will not be publishing a lessons learned review into this matter.
It was announced in the 2025 Spending Review that the Government would provide a pathway for privately-led advanced nuclear projects, with Great British Energy - Nuclear having a role in assessing proposals, the National Wealth Fund exploring potential investable opportunities and the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero exploring revenue support for viable projects. This will be published in a framework document shortly.
Asked by: Blake Stephenson (Conservative - Mid Bedfordshire)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, with reference to his Department's press release entitled Plan for wind developers to pay for skilled job training, published on 23 August 2025, whether he has made an assessment of the potential impact of the measures referred to in that press release on energy prices.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Government recently consulted on proposals under the Clean Industry Bonus which aim to incentivise developers to provide routes to high-quality employment. The Government will analyse responses and set out its proposed next steps in the response due to be released this winter. An impact assessment will also be published before relevant secondary legislation is laid.
Asked by: Blake Stephenson (Conservative - Mid Bedfordshire)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether he has made an assessment of the potential impact for his policies of Newcleo’s decision not to provide funding for clear reactors in the UK.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
As set out at the Spending Review, the Government’s policy is to develop a new framework for privately-led advanced nuclear projects to be published shortly. The framework will have a new role for Great British Energy – Nuclear assessing proposals, with the National Wealth Fund exploring potential investment opportunities and the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero exploring revenue support for viable projects.
Newcleo LTD’s decision to suspend its advanced nuclear activities in the UK was a commercial decision for the company.
Asked by: Blake Stephenson (Conservative - Mid Bedfordshire)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether he has made an assessment of the causes of Newcleo’s decision not to pursue its investment in nuclear reactors in the UK.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Government is aware that Newcleo Ltd has taken the decision to suspend its activities in the UK. While it is disappointing to see a company scale back UK activities, this is ultimately a commercial decision for the company.
Asked by: Blake Stephenson (Conservative - Mid Bedfordshire)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, with reference to his Department's press release entitled Cash boost for coastal towns hosting clean energy infrastructure, published on 21 May 2025, if he will make it his policy to provide similar benefits to promote the adoption of onshore wind by communities.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
In May 2025, the government published a working paper on mandatory community benefits and shared ownership of low carbon energy infrastructure. The proposals would require developers to contribute to community benefit funds to support people and businesses near low carbon energy infrastructure, including onshore wind. The paper also sets out how communities could own a stake in renewable energy infrastructure through shared ownership.
The government has also published updated voluntary guidance on community benefits for onshore wind in England, setting out best practice approaches to ensure developments have a lasting positive impact on communities.
Asked by: Blake Stephenson (Conservative - Mid Bedfordshire)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what discussions he has had with Newcleo prior to its decision not to pursue its investment in nuclear reactors in the UK.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Details of Ministers' and Permanent Secretaries' meetings with external individuals and organisations are published quarterly in arrears on GOV.UK.
Asked by: Blake Stephenson (Conservative - Mid Bedfordshire)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of opening Post Office branches within Banking Hubs.
Answered by Blair McDougall - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
Thousands of Post Offices already provide the same everyday banking services, such as cash withdrawals and deposits, that are available at Banking Hubs. In its published response to the Government’s Post Office Green Paper, Post Office recently set out how it could enhance its banking offer by accommodating community bankers within larger post offices. This would enable customers to access support for more complex services available via community bankers at Banking Hubs.
Government would welcome further collaboration between Post Office and the banking sector and will be convening a roundtable to discuss opportunities for future potential collaboration.
Asked by: Blake Stephenson (Conservative - Mid Bedfordshire)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what data her Department holds on the proportion of student visa holders who progress to graduation.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The department does not hold data on what proportion of student visa holders progress to graduation, however, data on non-UK domicile entrants is collected by the Office for Students (OfS).
The OfS publish data on the completion rates of entrants. For full-time first degree non-UK domicile entrants from 2016/17 to 2019/20, 89.9% completed their courses within 4 years 15 days of entry to higher education. This data is published annually and the latest available data was published in August 2025 at : https://www.officeforstudents.org.uk/data-and-analysis/student-outcomes-data-dashboard/data-dashboard/.
Asked by: Blake Stephenson (Conservative - Mid Bedfordshire)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will make an assessment of the potential impact of the rural premium on rural communities.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Defra regularly publishes statistics on a range of social and economic topics and provides broad comparisons between Rural and Urban areas by settlement type. These are available through The Statistical Digest for Rural England.
This Government is committed to improving the quality of life for people living and working in rural areas, so that we can realise the full potential of rural business and communities. We have made a commitment that all policy decision-making should be rural proofed to ensure that rural areas are not overlooked and that the intended outcomes are deliverable in rural areas.