James Naish

We are committed to having a Civil Service that reflects the composition of our society, attracting, retaining and investing in talent wherever it is found. This includes better socio-economic representation and investing in our young people. We have recently launched a two year Careers Launch Apprenticeship scheme in Birmingham, Manchester and London, to support our ambition.

We continue to monitor the diversity of our candidates and workforce to improve our recruitment in these areas and tackle barriers to employment.

The Civil Service People Plan 2024 - 2027 outlines our commitment to ensuring we attract, develop and retain talented people from a diverse range of backgrounds. Appointment to the Civil Service must be based on merit on the basis of fair and open competition.

To support this, and reduce the potential for bias in the recruitment process, the Cabinet Office uses name-blind recruitment where applications are anonymised during sifting. Information on candidates' socio-economic background and race is collected for monitoring and reporting purposes, but hiring managers are not provided with access to this information for individual candidates.

The Cabinet Office also uses the Disability Confident Scheme (DCS), ensuring disabled candidates who meet the minimum criteria for a role are given a fair opportunity to demonstrate their skills at interview.

Guidance for businesses on supporting employee work-life balance through measures such as flexible working and parental leave can be found on gov.uk and the Help to Grow website.

We are also publishing an SME Strategy Paper later this year, which will result in positive and practical support for SMEs across the UK.

Paternity Leave and Parental Leave will become ‘day one’ rights through the Employment Rights Bill. We will continue to engage with business, including small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), as these changes are implemented, and through the Government’s Review of the parental leave system.

Guidance for businesses on supporting employee work-life balance through measures such as flexible working and parental leave can be found on gov.uk and the Help to Grow website.

We are also publishing an SME Strategy Paper later this year, which will result in positive and practical support for SMEs across the UK.

Paternity Leave and Parental Leave will become ‘day one’ rights through the Employment Rights Bill. We will continue to engage with business, including small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), as these changes are implemented, and through the Government’s Review of the parental leave system.

The Department for Business and Trade recognises the importance of supporting UK dairy exports, including yoghurt. DBT works closely with industry partners such as the Dairy Export Taskforce and the Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board to unlock global opportunities.

We have agreed with the EU to deliver a Sanitary and Phytosanitary agreement that will significantly reduce costs and paperwork for exporting dairy businesses. Under the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership, tariffs on UK yoghurt and a broader range of dairy exports to Chile are reduced from 6% to 0%, enhancing competitiveness.

DBT helps businesses benefit from Free Trade Agreements through tailored guidance, sector insights, and direct exporter engagement. The Dairy Export Programme provides targeted support via export promotion, market intelligence, and in-market expertise.

The British Business Bank’s programmes are designed to support businesses across the UK, including in rural areas, to access the finance they need to invest and thrive. Start Up Loans have been issued to new businesses in every UK parliamentary constituency, while the Nations and Regions Investment Funds provide debt and equity finance to businesses in both rural and urban areas outside London and the South East.

ENABLE transactions with the likes of Oxbury Bank are helping more rural and agricultural businesses to access lending tailored to their needs.

As of 2 June 2025, £1,039 billion has been paid to over 7,300 claimants across the Horizon schemes. This represents a fourfold increase since July 2024, with more than 4,500 victims receiving compensation for the first time.

Claims across schemes are assessed by applying the specific facts of the case to established legal principles and other factors which support reaching a fair outcome.

We continue to seek the views of the Horizon Compensation Advisory Board to ensure fairness and consider ways we can speed up redress.

We are taking a variety of measures to increase the pace of the delivery of redress across our schemes. For example, we recently announced that we are reintroducing facilitated discussions in the GLO scheme – as requested by claimants’ lawyers. This should provide significant help in increasing the pace at which challenges are resolved.

Doug Gurr was appointed Interim Chair of the Competition and Markets Authority (“CMA”) on 21 January 2025 for a period of up to 18 months. The Secretary of State is grateful for the leadership Doug Gurr has shown in re-focusing the CMA on growth, investment and building business confidence while protecting consumers.

An open competition to appoint a new permanent Chair will be launched in due course.

Checkatrade is a private company providing a UK-based online platform that connects homeowners with vetted and approved local tradespeople. Government is not directly involved in the vetting process or checks undertaken by Checkatrade.

TrustMark is a UK government-endorsed quality scheme that covers work carried out in or around the home. It was established to ensure that consumers can find reliable and trustworthy tradespeople for various home improvement and repair tasks. TrustMark operates under a Master Licence Agreement held by the Department for Business and Trade. Consumers seeking tradespeople to undertake work in their home should consider checking for TrustMark certification.

Midlands Engine have undertaken a range of valuable work and have supported collaboration on shared growth opportunities. Moving forward, the government intends to support Mayors in collaborating at pan-regional level and creating convening bodies whose purpose, priorities and membership are decided at a regional level.

At the Autumn Budget, the Government announced that it would consult on its minded to decision not to extend funding for the six pan-regional partnerships beyond the agreed allocations to the end of the 2024-25 financial year. We are currently considering the responses received and will confirm a final decision shortly.

Midlands Engine have undertaken a range of valuable work and have supported collaboration on shared growth opportunities. This has included launching the Midlands Engine Investment Portfolio at The UK's Real Estate Investment and Infrastructure Forum in May 2024 and holding a Midlands Wide Kings Awards Event to encourage more firms to export.

Following the recent consultation, the Government has confirmed its decision not to extend core funding for Midland Engine and other pan-regional partnerships. We are moving to a different model of economic collaboration, where we are keen to support new models driven by mayors and their partners.

Under competition law, responsibility for investigating individual and market-wide competition issues, including consolidation, falls to the Competition and Markets Authority ("CMA"), the UK's competition authority. The Government has ensured that the CMA has significant powers and expertise to investigate and take action against businesses that abuse dominant positions in markets by excluding competitors or exploiting consumers.

The CMA has discretion to intervene in markets that are not working well for consumers and it is currently conducting a market investigation into veterinary services for household pets.

As set out in the King's Speech, the Government intends to publish a draft Audit Reform and Corporate Governance Bill, which will contain measures to tackle bad financial reporting through a strengthened regulator. The draft Bill will uphold standards and independent scrutiny of companies' accounts, supporting investment and economic security.

The Government incentivises commercial/industrial rooftop solar in various ways, including permitted development rights, favourable tax treatment, and the Smart Export Guarantee.

Solar is an important part of our strategy for improving energy performance of buildings. New building standards will ensure new buildings are fit for a Net Zero future. The Warm Homes Plan will set out pathways for decarbonisation of all buildings, including non-domestic ones. Further details will be set out by October.

Achieving our ambitious clean power mission will require rapid deployment across rooftops and ground-mounted solar farms. However, planning guidance makes clear that, wherever possible, solar developers should utilise brownfield, industrial, contaminated, or previously developed land.

The Government incentivises commercial/industrial rooftop solar in various ways, including permitted development rights, favourable tax treatment, and the Smart Export Guarantee.

Solar is an important part of our strategy for improving energy performance of buildings. New building standards will ensure new buildings are fit for a Net Zero future. The Warm Homes Plan will set out pathways for decarbonisation of all buildings, including non-domestic ones. Further details will be set out by October.

Achieving our ambitious clean power mission will require rapid deployment across rooftops and ground-mounted solar farms. However, planning guidance makes clear that, wherever possible, solar developers should utilise brownfield, industrial, contaminated, or previously developed land.

The Government recognises the importance of ensuring UK businesses are not complicit in forced labour and human rights violations.

In the Trade Strategy, the Government launched a review of its approach to responsible business conduct policy. The review will consider the effectiveness of the UK’s current Responsible Business Conduct measures and alternative policy options to support responsible business practices.

The recently announced expansion of the Warm Home Discount means all households where a person or their partner is named on the energy bill and is on a qualifying means tested benefit will be eligible for the £150 Discount. This will bring around 2.7 million households into the scheme – pushing the total number of households that will receive the discount next winter up to around 6 million.

We have not assessed the impact on average household spending. Further information on impacts can be found in the published Impact Assessment.

The UK is committed to transitioning away from fossil fuels and meeting global climate targets.

The Government supports action on decarbonising oil and gas production and has already consulted on revised environmental guidance to take into account emissions from burning extracted oil and gas. We will respond to this consultation in due course and developers will be able to apply for consents under this revised regime.

The Government has also consulted on its commitment to not issue new oil and gas licences to explore new fields and will publish a response setting out our next steps in due course.

The Government’s upcoming Industrial Strategy will outline plans to boost high-potential sectors like Clean Energy, creating quality jobs. An initial £300 million via Great British Energy will accelerate offshore wind supply chains, attract private investment, and secure UK manufacturing. Up to £21.7 billion over 25 years has been made available for the first carbon capture projects, which are expected to support 4,000 direct jobs and up to 50,000 as the sector matures into the 2030s. The Solar Roadmap will soon outline steps for resilient solar supply chains. Government also continues to strengthen the nuclear supply chain in partnership with industry.

The Government supports geothermal energy through multiple schemes and integrated projects can receive funding from more than one at a time. For example, United Downs in Cornwall will produce heat and was awarded a contract for difference to produce electricity. Automotive Transformation Fund has provided funding to support R&D into UK Lithium extraction and refining including in Cornwall. The Green Heat Network Fund can also support geothermal heat. Cornwall Council secured £22 Million for Langarth District Geothermal Heat Network. There are no plans to integrate schemes as there are few operational or planned commercial projects combining heat, power, and mineral production.

The Government recognises that risk mitigation schemes have helped develop the geothermal industry in some parts of Europe. It is considered premature to introduce a dedicated risk mitigation scheme at this time, given the current stage of development in the UK, associated costs, and funding priorities.

This conclusion was informed by discussions on the role that these mechanisms fulfil in encouraging deep geothermal investment. Experts, including those from France and the International Energy Agency were consulted. We continue to monitor and engage with the market and experts.

Geothermal energy is a clean energy source and therefore falls within the group of technologies that are included within Great British Energy’s (GBE) remit, as set out in the GBE Bill.

The Secretary of State will prepare a Statement of Strategic Priorities (SSP) for GBE within six months of the date the Bill comes into force. The SSP will steer GBE on its approach to future investments.

In 2023, the Department co-funded a study with the Northeast Local Enterprise Partnership on the UK’s deep geothermal potential. Based on its recommendations, the British Geological Survey was commissioned to develop the UK Geothermal Platform—an open-access, web-based tool launching in summer 2025 to help developers and investors identify geothermal opportunities and conduct pre-feasibility assessments. Further research on the levelised costs of geothermal heat and power will also be published in summer 2025. The UK government continues to engage with the geothermal sector, academia, and international partners to improve understanding of geothermal energy’s role in achieving net zero.

The UK government does not own the oil and gas infrastructure in the North Sea and does not dictate where the commodities are sold or the price. Oil and gas are traded on international markets, therefore domestically produced oil and gas does not mean cheaper prices.

The UK's diverse gas supplies allow exports to continental Europe while meeting domestic demand. This enables reciprocal imports when needed, supporting European allies in reducing dependence on Russian gas and undermining Putin's influence.

As long as consumers remain exposed to international energy markets through dependency on oil and gas, wherever it is produced, they will be vulnerable to shocks impacting energy costs which drove the cost-of-living crisis.

The Government welcomes this paper as a strong example of regional leadership in the energy space and the commitment of the Midlands Engine Partnership to look to align its actions with Great British energy’s priorities and functions. The Midlands is a crucial region to the UK’s clean energy transition and the paper identifies many important issues that need to be addressed, including grid connections and reform of the planning system, where we set out our approach in the Clean Power 2030 Action Plan.

The Government is supporting rapid development of the nuclear fission and fusion energy sectors.

For fusion this includes investing in cutting edge research capabilities and facilities, and implementing a proportionate regulatory framework to cement the UK as a global hub for fusion investment and commercialisation. This includes the STEP (Spherical Tokamak for Energy Production) prototype fusion energy power plant which aims to prove the viability of commercial fusion and catalyse fusion sector development.

We are determined to work with these sectors to ensure they continue to be economic engines for communities across our country, including the Midlands, and the Government is grateful for the excellent work Midlands Engine has done to highlight the opportunities in these areas.

The liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) supply market does not use a fixed network so there is no natural monopoly as seen for gas and electricity.

The supply of domestic LPG is subject to competition law and consumer protection through a regulatory scheme under the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA). More details, including a consumer guide to the operation of that regime, can be found here: www.gov.uk/government/publications/liquefied-petroleum-gas-lpg-market-orders-and-calculator.

High Temperature Superconducting magnets will not only be critical for fusion energy machines such as STEP, but have potential to revolutionise aviation, trains, marine propulsion, medical scanners, wind turbines, materials processing, big science facilities, and more. The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero is working with the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology, the Science and Technology Facilities Council, the UK Atomic Energy Authority, and the private sector, to support the establishment and growth of the UK’s HTS magnet capabilities, to capture the benefits of this growing market, and ultimately enable the delivery of commercially viable fusion energy.

On 16 January 2025, the Government announced a record £410m for fusion R&D to fund world leading new facilities and provide support for the UK’s thriving industry and skill provision across the UK.

The Government is supporting rapid development of the fusion energy sector, investing in cutting edge research capabilities and facilities, and implementing a proportionate regulatory framework to cement the UK as a global hub for fusion investment and commercialisation. This includes the STEP (Spherical Tokamak for Energy Production) prototype fusion energy power plant which aims to prove the viability of commercial fusion and catalyse fusion sector development.

Geoengineering can be considered to include both greenhouse gas removal technologies (GGRs) and solar radiation modification (SRM). GGRs are important for achieving Net Zero. Government is developing GGR Business Models to incentivise private investment in large-scale projects, and funds small-scale demonstrator projects [1] All projects are subject to relevant Environment Agency and local government regulations. The Government is not deploying SRM and has no plans to do so however it funds modelling research to understand the potential impacts of SRM deployment. Currently there are no UK or international laws specifically governing SRM, but numerous relevant legal frameworks and principles exist [2]

[1] https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/direct-air-capture-and-greenhouse-gas-removal-innovation-programme-selected-projects

[2] https://co-create-project.eu/publication/scoping-note-on-applicable-legal-frameworks/