Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what estimate her Department has made of the maximum capacity of offshore wind that could be funded through the Contracts for Difference allocation round six.

Answered by Andrew Bowie - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)

Contracts for Difference auctions have successfully used competition to procure 30GW of new renewable capacity across all technologies, including around 20GW of offshore wind, since their introduction, while driving costs down for consumers. In any round, the volume of capacity that is successful for each technology, including offshore wind, depends on a range of factors including the volume of eligible applications, and the prices that applicants bid at. We cannot pre-judge the outcome of allocation round six.

Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, if she will make an estimate of the potential additional costs for offshoring the required new grid capacity between north east (a) Scotland and (b) England.

Answered by Graham Stuart - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)

Electricity network planning is a function of the independent Electricity System Operator (ESO). Through the Holistic Network Design (HND), the transitional Centralised Strategic Network Plan and in the future through the Centralised Strategic Network Plan (CSNP), the ESO considers the best approach to coordinate transmission infrastructure to balance community impact, environmental impact, cost and deliverability and reduce the amount of planned infrastructure. Additional costs will vary depending on the specific infrastructure considered, however subsea cabling is several times more expensive than overhead lines, due in part to lower capacity of offshore circuits (2GW in comparison to 6GW for onshore alternatives).

Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, if she will instruct Ofgem to publish an estimate of the impact of the cost of future transmission charges for renewable companies in more expensive Transmission Network Use of System Charges zones on the agreed strike price for the fifth Contracts for Difference (CfD) Allocation Round.

Answered by Andrew Bowie - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)

The Government acknowledges the uncertainty that renewable developers face in pricing in the cost of future transmission charges (TNUoS), and that this presents particular challenges for transmission-connected projects in more expensive TNUoS zones. Whilst network charges are a matter for Ofgem, the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero has overall responsibility for Contracts for Difference allocation rounds. The Department continues to assess implications of charging arrangements on CfD generators and will continue to engage with Ofgem to mitigate the impacts where possible and appropriate.

Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, if she will instruct Ofgem to update the (a) Holistic Network Design and (b) Centralised Strategic Network Plan to ensure a greater proportion of future electricity transmission infrastructure is built offshore.

Answered by Graham Stuart - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)

The Electricity System Operator (ESO) is responsible for assessing and recommending transmission reinforcement options.

Its Holistic Network Design recommendations give equal consideration to impacts on communities, cost to consumers, environmental impacts, and deliverability.

The ESO has assessed a wide range of options for each network need identified in order to minimise impacts against the four criteria. This includes assessing both on and offshore options. Where an offshore route performs best, the ESO recommends this.

The ESO will publish the transitional Centralised Strategic Network Plan on March 19th, which will include details of its recommended design options.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of allocating additional funding for volunteer led community transport schemes.

Answered by Guy Opperman - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

The Department makes available over £3 million each year to community transport operators through the Bus Service Operators Grant (BSOG), supporting them to continue delivering inclusive and accessible transport across the country.

An uplift of 60% has been added to BSOG claims for community transport operators until 31 March 2025. This means operators will receive £1.60 for every £1 claimed, reflecting the increased costs faced by the sector.

We also encourage Local Transport Authorities to engage with community transport operators when preparing their Bus Service Improvement Plans which are vital in setting out an areas’ long term plans for bus services and how they will be improved.

The bus fare cap, only available in England, has proven popular with bus passengers in communities across England, particularly in rural and non-metropolitan areas, where our statistics show the overall price of bus fares between September 2022 and September 2023 dropped by almost 11%.

Our £20 million Rural Mobility Fund (RMF) in England, also devolved, is supporting 16 innovative, demand-led minibus trials in rural and suburban areas across 16 local authorities in England. These pilots are exploring whether Demand Responsive Transport (DRT) can serve these communities more effectively than traditional public transport solutions alone.

Access to State Pension for people with a terminal illness

Referral of matters of 21 February 2024 to the Committee of Privileges

Opening of Ukrainian Community Group Centre in South Ayrshire

World Water Day 2024

Murder of WPC Yvonne Fletcher

Scientific hearing on animal experiments