Asked by: Claire Coutinho (Conservative - East Surrey)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, if he will make an estimate of (a) the cost to the public purse and (b) the potential impact on energy bills of Hydrogen Allocation Round 2.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
In April 2025, the Government announced a shortlist of 27 projects across the UK to progress to the next stage of the Second Hydrogen Allocation Round (HAR2) process. Value for money and the affordability of energy bills will be central to decisions regarding capacity allocation and contract award. We expect final decisions on successful projects to be made in early 2026.
Asked by: Claire Coutinho (Conservative - East Surrey)
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 impact of aligning with the EU Emissions Trading System on the price of carbon in the UK.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The price of carbon allowances in the UK Emissions Trading Scheme is set by the market.
Linking the UK and EU ETSs is expected to create a larger, more stable market, which will lower the costs of decarbonisation for UK businesses. Many industry stakeholders, including Make UK, UK steel, and Energy UK, have voiced support for linking the two schemes, citing that linkage would align carbon prices and support business investment and certainty, by creating a larger and more liquid carbon market.
Asked by: Claire Coutinho (Conservative - East Surrey)
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 impact of the target for 10GW of hydrogen production capacity on energy bills by 2030.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Government believes that the only way to guarantee our energy security and protect billpayers permanently is to speed up the transition away from fossil fuels and towards homegrown clean energy. Low carbon hydrogen is a key option for decarbonising hard to electrify industrial processes, heavy transport, and deliver clean power. Government support is a temporary bridge to unlock private investment and reduce costs, with all supported projects having to deliver value for money. As production scales and costs fall, future projects will need less support. Our Hydrogen Strategy, which we intend to publish this Autumn, will set out more on expected hydrogen supply and demand.
Asked by: Claire Coutinho (Conservative - East Surrey)
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 impact of the Gas Shippers Obligation on energy bills.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Department consulted on the design of the Gas Shipper Obligation (GSO) earlier this year and published an analytical annex focusing on its impact on gas users, based on Hydrogen Allocation Round 1 estimated costs.
The affordability of energy bills remains a key priority for the government and the design of the GSO will consider energy bill affordability, value for money, and fairness.
Asked by: Claire Coutinho (Conservative - East Surrey)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what proportion of total UK electricity consumption is used by businesses eligible for the British Industry Supercharger.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The British Industry Supercharger was launched in 2024 and provides support to over 450 companies in energy intensive industries with some of the highest electricity costs.
The government estimates that support on electricity prices for EIIs in the form of the Supercharger could be worth (on average) around £24-£31 Per MegaWatt Hour (MWh) for eligible businesses.
Asked by: Claire Coutinho (Conservative - East Surrey)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what the total cost of procuring frequency control services was in each month since January 2022.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The data requested is a matter of public record and is published by the National Energy System Operator (NESO) here under the headings “MBSS” and “MBSS Archive”.
Asked by: Claire Coutinho (Conservative - East Surrey)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, when he plans to publish his Department's hydrogen to power business model.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
In December 2024, the Government committed to implementing a Hydrogen to Power Business Model (H2PBM) to de-risk Hydrogen to Power investment by mitigating deployment barriers.
Later this year, we will publish a H2PBM market engagement exercise outlining further design details for the H2PBM, including our minded to positions on eligibility and assessment criteria and proposed next steps for allocating support through the business model.
Asked by: Claire Coutinho (Conservative - East Surrey)
Question
To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, whether members of the Race Equality Engagement Group will subject to an assessment of any (a) potential and (b) actual conflicts of interest.
Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
The appointment process for Baroness Lawrence of Clarendon and the other members of the Race Equality Engagement Group (REEG) was informal ministerial appointment, by invitation, following appropriate due diligence checks.
This government will publish the terms of reference for the REEG, and the full membership, in due course.
REEG members will not be remunerated but will be reimbursed for reasonable expenses incurred in respect of the work of the REEG.
Members are expected to declare any conflicts of interest and to recuse themselves from any work where such a conflict, or perceived conflict, may arise.
The REEG will be supported by the Race Equality Unit, in the Office for Equality and Opportunity, from its existing allocation of staff.
Asked by: Claire Coutinho (Conservative - East Surrey)
Question
To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, how many full time equivalent civil service staff will be allocated to support the work of the Race Equality Engagement Group.
Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
The appointment process for Baroness Lawrence of Clarendon and the other members of the Race Equality Engagement Group (REEG) was informal ministerial appointment, by invitation, following appropriate due diligence checks.
This government will publish the terms of reference for the REEG, and the full membership, in due course.
REEG members will not be remunerated but will be reimbursed for reasonable expenses incurred in respect of the work of the REEG.
Members are expected to declare any conflicts of interest and to recuse themselves from any work where such a conflict, or perceived conflict, may arise.
The REEG will be supported by the Race Equality Unit, in the Office for Equality and Opportunity, from its existing allocation of staff.
Asked by: Claire Coutinho (Conservative - East Surrey)
Question
To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, whether the members of the Race Equality Engagement Group will be remunerated.
Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
The appointment process for Baroness Lawrence of Clarendon and the other members of the Race Equality Engagement Group (REEG) was informal ministerial appointment, by invitation, following appropriate due diligence checks.
This government will publish the terms of reference for the REEG, and the full membership, in due course.
REEG members will not be remunerated but will be reimbursed for reasonable expenses incurred in respect of the work of the REEG.
Members are expected to declare any conflicts of interest and to recuse themselves from any work where such a conflict, or perceived conflict, may arise.
The REEG will be supported by the Race Equality Unit, in the Office for Equality and Opportunity, from its existing allocation of staff.