Asked by: Gurinder Singh Josan (Labour - Smethwick)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, when he will publish the outcome of Hydrogen Allocation Round 2.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
We are working hard across government to start the Invite to Offer stage of the second Hydrogen Allocation Round (HAR2) as soon as possible and will be in touch with projects when this commences. Contract awards for successful projects will follow shortly afterwards.
We understand that many projects are at critical stages, and that certainty is important to support business planning, resource management and engagement with third parties.
Asked by: Gurinder Singh Josan (Labour - Smethwick)
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 whether current Gate 2 electricity connection timelines are compatible with the Government’s objectives for delivering AI Growth Zones at pace.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Government fully recognises the impact of connection delays on delivery of its objectives and is working closely with Ofgem, NESO and network companies to develop and deliver a coordinated package of demand-side reforms to release blocked network capacity and accelerate connections for projects that reflect Government’s top strategic priorities, including AI Growth Zones.
Government recently consulted on key elements of this package of reforms and will publish its response in due course.
Asked by: Gurinder Singh Josan (Labour - Smethwick)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether electricity connection prioritisation for AI Growth Zones is being considered as part of wider grid reform and connection queue management.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
As announced in the ‘Delivering AI Growth Zones’ publication in November 2025, new measures to prioritise electricity connections for strategic demand projects will be used to support AI Growth Zones.
Government recently consulted on the detail of these measures and will publish its response in due course.
Asked by: Gurinder Singh Josan (Labour - Smethwick)
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 level of potential risk that current electricity connection processes could delay the delivery of AI Growth Zones.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Government fully recognises that the process for electricity demand connections requires reform and is working closely with Ofgem, NESO and network companies to develop and deliver a coordinated package of measures to ensure the connections process supports efficient and fair connections for all users, release blocked capacity, and accelerate connections for projects that reflect Government’s top strategic priorities, including AI Growth Zones.
Government recently consulted on key elements of this package of reforms and will publish its response in due course.
Asked by: Gurinder Singh Josan (Labour - Smethwick)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether the Midlands has been considered as a potential location for an AI Growth Zone.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Government has launched five AI Growth Zones in industrial heartlands across the country, which will create 15,000 jobs and unlock £28 billion of investment. All areas of the country are being considered for further AI Growth Zones, including the Midlands. The application process to become an AI Growth Zone remains open.
Asked by: Gurinder Singh Josan (Labour - Smethwick)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what information his Department holds on the link between individuals holding a criminal record and (a) unemployment and (b) PIP claimants.
Answered by Jake Richards - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
The Ministry of Justice does not hold specific information on the link between having a criminal record and (a) unemployment or (b) Personal Independence Payment (PIP) claimants.
We know that employment can reduce the likelihood of reoffending by up to nine percentage points in the year following release. This is why the Government has committed to supporting ex-offenders into work, including through launching regional Employment Councils, which bring businesses together with prisons, probation and the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) to support offenders in the community.
We recognise that having a criminal record can impact on someone’s employment opportunities, but it should not be an automatic barrier to employment. The criminal records disclosure framework is designed to balance rehabilitation with maintaining safeguarding and public protection principles. Our guidance for employers makes clear that recruitment decisions should be based on a balanced assessment of relevance, context, and risk.
DWP also does not hold data on the criminal record of claimants to PIP as this, together with their employment status, does not form part of the eligibility criteria for the benefit. We continue to work across Government to improve data-sharing and build a clearer picture of people’s employment support needs.
Asked by: Gurinder Singh Josan (Labour - Smethwick)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many people in England and Wales would have a previous caution or conviction disclosed in a standard DBS check.
Answered by Jess Phillips
The Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) does not hold information about how many people overall in England and Wales have a previous caution or conviction nor the specific nature of those offences which would determine whether they would be disclosed on Standard DBS checks.
Only upon receipt of an eligible DBS application does the DBS access an extract of the Police National Computer (PNC) and establish whether conviction or caution information is relevant and requires disclosure in line with the relevant rules on disclosure.
Asked by: Gurinder Singh Josan (Labour - Smethwick)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what proportion of (a) basic, (b) standard, and (c) enhanced checks undertaken by the DBS in England and Wales are undertaken on individuals from an ethnic minority background.
Answered by Jess Phillips
The Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) does not collect ethnicity information as part of its checks application process.
Asked by: Gurinder Singh Josan (Labour - Smethwick)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment her Department has made of the role of tax incentives in boosting investment in small and mid-sized quoted companies.
Answered by Lucy Rigby - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
This government is committed to supporting founders and innovative companies to start, scale, stay and list in the UK.
At Budget we increased the generosity of our enterprise tax reliefs, to support scaling companies raise finance and attract top talent, and committed to being a better customer to innovative businesses, through the use of advance market commitments and wider procurement reforms.
We have also increased the financial capacity of the British Business Bank, enabling them to invest £5 billion into scaling companies over this Parliament.
The Government also launched a Call for Evidence on Tax Support for Entrepreneurs, examining how the tax system supports investment in high growth companies and exploring potential options to go further. The consultation closed on 28 February 2026.
We have already delivered an ambitious set of reforms to make it easier for firms to list and stay on UK markets, and capital markets are a core pillar of the Financial Services Growth and Competitiveness Strategy, launched at Mansion House.
The UK is a hub for growth capital, with UK growth markets providing funding to growing companies from across the world. Over the last 10 years, over half of all capital raised on European growth markets was raised on AIM.
The government maintains a range of targeted tax reliefs for growth market shares, supporting capital raising for quoted companies, and investors in those shares. This supports growth in the broader UK economy.
Collectively these measures support companies access investment across their life cycle, alongside supporting access to government contracts and talent. We will monitor and evaluate the impact of these measures.
Asked by: Gurinder Singh Josan (Labour - Smethwick)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment her Department has made of the effectiveness of its current policies in supporting entrepreneurship and the scale-up of UK businesses.
Answered by Lucy Rigby - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
This government is committed to supporting founders and innovative companies to start, scale, stay and list in the UK.
At Budget we increased the generosity of our enterprise tax reliefs, to support scaling companies raise finance and attract top talent, and committed to being a better customer to innovative businesses, through the use of advance market commitments and wider procurement reforms.
We have also increased the financial capacity of the British Business Bank, enabling them to invest £5 billion into scaling companies over this Parliament.
The Government also launched a Call for Evidence on Tax Support for Entrepreneurs, examining how the tax system supports investment in high growth companies and exploring potential options to go further. The consultation closed on 28 February 2026.
We have already delivered an ambitious set of reforms to make it easier for firms to list and stay on UK markets, and capital markets are a core pillar of the Financial Services Growth and Competitiveness Strategy, launched at Mansion House.
The UK is a hub for growth capital, with UK growth markets providing funding to growing companies from across the world. Over the last 10 years, over half of all capital raised on European growth markets was raised on AIM.
The government maintains a range of targeted tax reliefs for growth market shares, supporting capital raising for quoted companies, and investors in those shares. This supports growth in the broader UK economy.
Collectively these measures support companies access investment across their life cycle, alongside supporting access to government contracts and talent. We will monitor and evaluate the impact of these measures.