Damien Moore

The House of Commons Commission has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

The Parliamentary Archives are due to complete their move from the Victoria Tower in 2025. The future use of the internal space of Victoria Tower is currently within the scope of the Restoration and Renewal Programme as future occupation is likely to require substantial renovations. In line with the mandate set by the Houses, the Delivery Authority has been developing a wide range of options for the restoration and renewal work. These will be shortlisted into a smaller number of options by the R&R Programme Board and the R&R Client Board before summer recess and both Houses will be asked to approve a way forward later this year. The Programme will deliver to the requirements set by Parliament.

The Delivery Authority, working with the Restoration and Renewal Client Team and Strategic Estates, is currently considering the feasibility of early works that could be delivered as part of the Restoration and Renewal Programme in a number of areas including the Victoria Tower.

We fully recognise that some older people do not find it easy to access bills and statements electronically. Utility companies, banks and other service providers should, and in many cases do, recognise the varying communication needs of their customers but there is always scope for them to do more.

The Equality Act 2010 provides strong protection for older people, from discrimination because of age and disability. This includes protection from indirect discrimination, which can happen where, for example, a service provider treats some of its younger customers the same but in doing so disadvantages its older customers. While every case is different and subject to an “objective justification” test, using purely electronic communication could amount to indirect discrimination because of age and/ or disability and companies need to be aware of that.

A person who feels that they have experienced age discrimination may contact the Equality Advisory and Support Service (EASS), the government helpline established to provide free bespoke advice and in-depth support to individuals with discrimination concerns. The EASS can be contacted via their website - http://www.equalityadvisoryservice.com/, by telephone on 0808 8000082 or text phone on 0808 8000084. The EASS has the ability to intervene on an individual’s behalf with a service provider to help resolve an issue. The EASS can also advise people who wish to take their complaint further on their options.

In the long-term, we are committed to enabling public access to the St Stephen's Cloister. At present this is not possible because the condition of the stonework is very poor.

One bay within the Cloister was conserved as a trial project. This will inform the next phase of repair, which is currently being developed. Our intention is to develop proposals to repair both the stonework and the roofs, with a view to conservation works starting on site by 2025.

Once this work is complete, public access to Cloister Court should be possible; however, due to current access routes and its proximity to Members’ Entrance, access will need to be carefully managed.

Diocesan bishops are appointed by the Crown on the advice of the Prime Minister following a recruitment process overseen by the Crown Nominations Commission. Every effort is made to appoint suitable candidates swiftly, however an interregnum is often necessary to allow the Vacancy in See Committee to consult on and produce an up to date statement of needs. Suffragan bishop appointments are overseen by the diocesan bishop, who is required to present a role description to the Dioceses Commission so that an assessment can be made of mission and ministry needs, capacity and resources in the diocese. Parish priest appointments are a matter for diocesan bishops.

The legal profession in England and Wales is independent of Government and is regulated by approved regulators, for which the Legal Services Board (LSB) has oversight responsibility. The approved regulators and LSB are independent of Government. Data on the trends of the number of people called to the bar in England and Wales, broken down by gender, ethnicity and age, provided by the Bar Standards Board can be found here. The statistics show that over the past 5 years the number of females being called to the bar is greater than the number of males. They also show that over the last three years the number of those called to the bar from an ethnic minority background is greater than those from a white background. This is testament to the huge amount of work to improve diversity of those practicing at the bar.

The Attorney General and I are responsible for superintending the Crown Prosecution Service but do not have oversight of specific cases.

Operation Sheridan is a live investigation under active review by a team of lawyers from the CPS Specialist Fraud Division. It is a large and complex case with significant sensitivities. It would be inappropriate for me to comment further on individual case details.

The CPS have confirmed that they have substantial legal resource devoted to progressing the case and there is also significant management oversight, at a senior level from both CPS and police.

Work is currently underway across Government to give thorough consideration to each of the recommendations that Sir Brian made in his second interim report. As you know, the Victims and Prisoners Bill was amended on 4 December 2023, and we are aware of the strength of feeling across Parliament on this issue. I will make a statement to Parliament as soon as possible before recess to update on Government progress.

We continue to monitor potential threats to our systems and data and will not hesitate to take further action if necessary.

With regards to potential security risks, His Majesty’s Government does not comment on these matters.

I refer the Hon Member to the statement I made in the House on 15 December.

I recognise the importance of the issue and the desire of the honourable Member to receive an update on Government work in relation to Sir Robert Francis’ recommendation.

It is my intention to provide an update to the House as soon as possible.

Details of discussions with world leaders including members of the G7 are published on gov.uk.

The Government is clear that all businesses must fulfil their legal obligations in respect of employment law.

The Government is in regular conversation with businesses who utilise the service of delivery drivers. On 14th November Minister Jenrick hosted a roundtable with industry representatives. While onboarding processes are a matter for businesses themselves, this department continues to work closely with business to ensure that risks are minimised by ensuring business has robust onboarding systems and processes in place, to cover matters such as age verification.

Government has no plans to introduce new rules. Businesses should treat all their customers fairly. Anyone who feels they have experienced age discrimination may contact the Equality Advisory and Support Service (EASS), the government helpline established to provide free support.

The Competition and Markets Authority’s road fuel market study found, with the exception of Northern Ireland, differences in average prices between the regions of the UK are relatively small but there was much wider variation between rural and urban categories than between them.

The Government is committed to ensuring drivers get a fair deal for fuel and has a consultation on the PumpWatch scheme which will require petrol-filling stations to share price information within 30 minutes of a change. This will drive down prices by reigniting competition and empowering drivers to find the best deals. Petrol prices are now at a level not seen since the end of October 2021 following our work to bring transparency back to the market.

In October 2023, I announced our updated Fusion Strategy, with a renewed focus on supporting the whole UK fusion sector. This includes an additional £650m through to 2027 for Fusion Futures – a suite of new R&D programmes to support the sector and strengthen international collaboration. This builds on over £700m we committed from 2021 to 2025 to the UKAEA.

At the site of the former coal-fired power plant at West Burton in Nottinghamshire, we will build, by the 2040s, STEP, a prototype fusion power plant capable of delivering energy to the UK grid – a globally unique programme.

In November 2023, the Government published core parameters for the sixth Contracts for Difference Allocation Round (AR6), the Government’s flagship renewable energy scheme. The Administrative Strike Price for offshore wind projects in AR6 has increased 66% since the previous CfD round and by 52% for floating offshore wind projects. This will encourage greater investment into UK offshore wind.

In the Autumn Statement, the Government announced the £960 million Green Industries Growth Accelerator to support clean energy manufacturing capacity, including for offshore wind. Additionally, the Floating Offshore Wind Manufacturing Investment Scheme will provide up to £160m to kickstart investment into port infrastructure.

Electricity network operators are private companies which build, own, and operate electricity network infrastructure. As regional monopolies, they are regulated by the

independent energy regulator, Ofgem. Ofgem uses the price control framework to set the level of investment in infrastructure for each network company and their allowable rate of return. The costs incurred in the maintenance, reinforcement, and new build of

Electricity network infrastructure are recovered mainly through electricity consumers’ bills. The price control and charging arrangements are matters for Ofgem.

The Government has reformed the Warm Home Discount in England and Wales to provide more rebates automatically and better target households in fuel poverty, who have low incomes and live in homes that are costly to heat. The Department’s official statistics for winter 2022/23 show that 95% of eligible households received an automatic rebate.

A three-year evaluation of the scheme will consider how successful the targeting is and the experience of beneficiaries.

In Scotland, low-income working-age households apply to their energy supplier for a rebate, which may set their own eligibility criteria, subject to approval by the scheme administrator, Ofgem.

OneWeb’s merger with Eutelsat means the Government now has a significant stake in a larger and more diverse company, which will play an important role in securing UK interests in an increasingly competitive satellite communications sector.

The Government retains certain rights in OneWeb. These provide a range of national security rights and ensure that the UK remains a preferred location for activity on a commercially competitive basis. The merger was approved by all relevant regulatory bodies in 2023.

OneWeb continues to innovate in the UK satellite communications sector, contributing to one of Government’s five critical technologies for the future.

OneWeb’s merger with Eutelsat means the Government now has a significant stake in a larger and more diverse company, which will play an important role in securing UK interests in an increasingly competitive satellite communications sector.

The Government retains certain rights in OneWeb. These provide a range of national security rights and ensure that the UK remains a preferred location for activity on a commercially competitive basis. The merger was approved by all relevant regulatory bodies in 2023.

OneWeb continues to innovate in the UK satellite communications sector, contributing to one of Government’s five critical technologies for the future.

UKRI is working with its delivery partner UKRI to identify appropriate host sites for the £500m AIRR expansion through a competitive process. We will provide updates on the outcomes in due course.

DSIT is working with industry and academia to understand how AI and compute technologies are developing over time to ensure the UK secures best value for money and maximum impact from our investments.

As announced in the 2024 Spring Budget, DSIT will set out in due course the access model for public compute facilities, ensuring that both researchers and innovative companies can access the compute they need.

In November 2021, the Government committed to delivering at least £50 million to support motor neurone disease (MND) research over five years, as part of a package of £375 million for research into neurodegenerative diseases.

In June 2023, the government announced that more than £35 million of the £50 million pledged to cutting-edge MND research has now been allocated, just two years into a five year funding commitment. Work continues at pace to support MND researchers to submit high quality bids for open funding calls. (https://www.gov.uk/government/news/government-continues-delivering-on-50-million-funding-pledge-for-motor-neurone-disease-research)

The Department is committed to supporting the growth of the commercial space and satellite sector in the UK. Data on the size and growth rate of the commercial space and satellite sector in the UK is currently unavailable for 2021-22 and 2022-23. The Department is committed to publishing updated figures as they become available.

The latest data available for the previous three financial years is set out in the table below. The figures and growth rates are inflation-adjusted based on 2020/21 prices.