Asked by: Charlotte Nichols (Labour - Warrington North)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what assessment his Department has made of the potential level of contribution that new large-scale nuclear power stations could make to enhancing the UK's energy security.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Large-scale nuclear power stations, including Hinkley Point C and Sizewell C, will continue to make a vital contribution to our homegrown clean and secure energy mix, complementing small modular reactors.
To pursue the option of further potential large-scale nuclear, the government has tasked Great British Energy - Nuclear (GBE-N) with identifying other suitable sites that could potentially host such a project. GBE-N will report back to Ministers by Autumn 2026 on potential sites to inform future decisions in the next Spending Review and beyond.
Asked by: Charlotte Nichols (Labour - Warrington North)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what plans his Department has to support additional large-scale nuclear power stations beyond Hinkley Point C and Sizewell C.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
To pursue the option of further potential large-scale nuclear beyond Hinkley Point C and Sizewell C, the government has tasked Great British Energy - Nuclear (GBE-N) with identifying other suitable sites that could potentially host such a project.
GBE-N will report back to Ministers by Autumn 2026 on potential sites to inform future decisions in the next Spending Review and beyond.
Asked by: Charlotte Nichols (Labour - Warrington North)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of the scheduled closure of Torness, Hartlepool and Heysham nuclear power stations on baseload electricity supply.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Currently, nuclear generation provides around 15% of total electricity. The four Advanced Gas-cooled Reactor (AGR) stations at these locations are operating beyond their original forecasts, with current expected closures being planned well in advance by the operator (EDF). In September 2025, EDF announced Heysham 1 and Hartlepool power stations are now scheduled to generate until March 2028, an extension of 12 months. Heysham 2 and Torness are both scheduled to generate until March 2030. EDF’s ambition is to continue electricity production at its four generating AGR stations for as long as it is safe and commercially viable to do so and will keep station lifetimes under review.
Energy security is a priority for the government, and we work closely with the National Energy System Operator (NESO), Ofgem and key industry stakeholders to constantly monitor electricity supply against forecast demand to ensure electricity operators have the right tools to respond to market signals.
Asked by: Charlotte Nichols (Labour - Warrington North)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what assessment his Department has made of the suitability of sites across the United Kingdom for new large-scale nuclear power station development.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
To pursue the option of further potential large-scale nuclear beyond Hinkley Point C and Sizewell C, the government has tasked Great British Energy - Nuclear (GBE-N) with identifying other suitable sites that could potentially host such a project.
GBE-N will report back to Ministers by Autumn 2026 on potential sites to inform future decisions in the next Spending Review and beyond.
Asked by: Charlotte Nichols (Labour - Warrington North)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will take steps with the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government to allow the Environment Agency's online reporting tool to also send notification of reports made on the tool to the relevant local authority.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Environment Agency’s Report an environmental problem service enables members of the public to report environmental issues in a more modern and accessible way.
The service can be used for people to report water pollution, smells from waste facilities, industrial sites or farms, illegal fishing, and blocked rivers. The Environment Agency continues to improve the service by adding more types of environmental problems that can be reported online.
This year, the Environment Agency plans to enable reporting on environmental problems such as:
The Environment Agency also plans to investigate how they can improve data sharing. This would enhance situational awareness and make reporting easier for the public. The Environment Agency would welcome collaboration with authorities interested in discussing how this could work.
Asked by: Charlotte Nichols (Labour - Warrington North)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, pursuant to the answer of 20 March 2026 to question 120026, if she will make it her policy to make a definitive empirical study specifying UK-wide GDPR impact on productivity.
Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Government keeps the impacts of data protection legislation under review. As set out in the answer of 20 March 2026 to Question 120026, there is currently no definitive empirical study that isolates the specific, UK‑wide impact of the UK GDPR on productivity since its adoption.
The UK’s data protection framework has been updated through the Data (Use and Access) Act, which makes targeted changes to the UK GDPR and related legislation to make the regime clearer, more proportionate and better suited to supporting responsible data‑driven innovation, while maintaining high standards of protection for individuals. In this context, the Government’s focus is on evaluating the impacts of the UK’s data protection framework as it now operates, including the reforms introduced by the Data (Use and Access) Act.
We are committed to building the evidence base on how our data protection and wider data legislation affects businesses, consumers and the economy, including productivity, as part of our ongoing programme of monitoring and evaluation.
Asked by: Charlotte Nichols (Labour - Warrington North)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to his answer of 18 March to question 120027, whether he will publish the results of his department's engagement with the judiciary about their personal safety and security associated with the Courts and Tribunals Bill.
Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
We engage regularly with judicial leaders on all matters including security. It is standard practice not to publish or comment on the specifics of discussions between Ministers and the judiciary.
Asked by: Charlotte Nichols (Labour - Warrington North)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of the (a) availability and (b) consistency of guidance offered to parents of children with communication difficulties.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
As part of our new investment, schools will be able to access support, advice, training and specialist expertise from professionals such as speech and language therapists, educational psychologists, occupational therapists and specialist teachers. These experts will work directly with school staff to equip them with the skills and strategies to better meet need, including delivering group‑level interventions to address needs early and effectively.
We will also set out guidance on inclusive, evidence-based ordinarily available provision through the National Inclusion Standards, to support all mainstream settings to meet the needs of all children and young people effectively. Schools will be required to produce an Inclusion Strategy, encouraging effective cohort-level planning for common and predictable needs and the meaningful implementation of inclusive education.
We also continue to involve and engage with families and special educational needs and disabilities stakeholders through our Participation and Family Support programme.
Asked by: Charlotte Nichols (Labour - Warrington North)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what impact her Department estimates GDPR regulations have had on productivity since they were adopted.
Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
There is currently no definitive empirical study specifying UK-wide GDPR impact on productivity since adoption in 2018.
However, UK GDPR strengthened individuals’ rights and trust in digital services, supporting long-term economic growth. The Data (Use and Access) Act is designed to maintain high standards of data protection while reducing unnecessary compliance burdens. Reforms expect to support UK productivity growth by lowering administrative costs for routine data processing, improving regulatory certainty, and enabling responsible data driven innovation. DSIT estimates net impacts of £1.2 billion over ten years from data protection and privacy reforms, including around £300 million in productivity-related gains.
Asked by: Charlotte Nichols (Labour - Warrington North)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether the third Road Investment strategy (RIS3) can include specific funding to enable National Highways to pay its employees the £1,500 Pay Remit Guidance payment (which has been withheld by National Highways since 2022/23).
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
National Highways is responsible for setting pay awards that are both affordable and aligned within its overall RIS3 budget. During 2022, the organisation awarded a larger pay deal compared to the core Civil Service and as such took the decision to not offer the £1500 non-consolidated payment.