Earl Russell

The Government is hugely ambitious about the role that local energy will play in achieving our mission to make Britain a clean energy superpower.

The Department – with Great British Energy – are looking at the issue of local supply and the options available.

In parallel, Elexon have been progressing the P441 code modification through a series of workgroup roundtables and have recently concluded a consultation to gather wider sector responses on proposed P441 changes. These changes if supported would clarify and simplify balancing and settlement arrangements for complex metering sites, such as those likely to be used by many community energy schemes.

The Government will continue to monitor these developments closely and will publish the Local Power Plan in due course.

Ministers engage regularly with the scientific community and trusted experts, including the Climate Change Committee, to ensure our climate policies are based on the best available advice and evidence. A list of ministers’ meetings with external organisations is published quarterly in arrears on GOV.UK.

Ofcom, by law, carries out its duties independently of the Government. Ofcom is accountable to Parliament for the regulation of broadcasters, and the Government does not intervene in Ofcom's operational decisions. Ofcom is required by legislation to enforce a Broadcasting Code for television and radio, to ensure that audiences are adequately protected from harm. This includes rules that factual programmes do not materially mislead audiences, and that news, in whatever form, is reported with due accuracy.

The Environment Agency (EA) is undertaking operations in response to an illegal waste site located at Bolton House Road, Wigan. These operations consist of two key components. The first is a complex criminal investigation involving multiple lines of enquiry. The second is a coordinated multi-agency effort, working alongside Wigan Council, Greater Manchester Police, and Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service, to assist in the development of a plan for the removal of the waste—subject to the identification of funding. The EA remains committed to collaborating with partners to safeguard the environment and protect the wellbeing and livelihoods of residents and workers affected by the site. Due to its smaller size and lower volume of waste compared to the site at Hoads Wood, the Bolton House Road site did not meet the criteria for inclusion on the list sent to the Committee.