Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether any review was undertaken of the mitigation package secured through the Sizewell C Deed of Obligation following the increase in the project’s estimated cost.

Answered by Michael Shanks - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)

The Deed of Obligation was agreed between Suffolk Council, East Suffolk Council, and NNB Generating Company (SZC) Limited in October 2021. It sets out mitigation measures to reduce the impact of the development and operation of Sizewell C within each Councils boundary and is reflected in Requirements within the Development Consent Order. We are not aware of any review of the mitigation package in the light of increased project costs. Any application to change the Orders Requirements would need to be approved by the Secretary of State.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the Universal Credit claimant count has been in (a) Leiston and (b) the IP16 postcode area in each month since January 2022.

Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

Monthly Universal Credit statistics showing the number of people on Universal Credit, for the Postcode Area IP16, and the Ward Aldeburgh & Leiston or Leiston Jobcentre Plus office, are published in the People on Universal Credit dataset on Stat-Xplore, and are currently available to February 2026.

Users can log in or access Stat-Xplore as a guest and, if needed, can access guidance on how to extract information. There is also a Universal Credit Official Statistics: Stat-Xplore user guide.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential impact of freight operations associated with Sizewell C on (a) passenger capacity, (b) journey times and (c) service frequency on the East Suffolk Line in the long-term.

Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

The train operator Greater Anglia is aware that freight traffic in relation to the constructions of Sizewell C is likely to increase in the future. Network Rail will continue to work closely with operators to assess how best to accommodate the additional freight services while protecting current passenger train service levels on the route.

There has been a specific workstream dedicated to operational readiness including timetabling and capacity and Network Rail identified capacity within the timetable to enable four additional Sizewell freight trains to operate some time ago.

Separately, Sizewell has also commissioned Network Rail to do a feasibility study on what would need to be true to improve passenger services on the East Suffolk branch line to support the local area.

The Rail Minister recently met with Jenny Riddell-Carpenter on 24 March to discuss this matter. Greater Anglia has recently confirmed that from the May 2026 timetable change, additional later trains will operate from Lowestoft to Beccles and from Beccles to Lowestoft on Mondays to Saturdays.

Found: Q1569 Jenny Riddell-Carpenter: Thank you, Chair.

Found: Q1569 Jenny Riddell-Carpenter: Thank you, Chair.