Jess Asato

Biomethane can play an important role in reducing our reliance on imported fossil fuels, boosting our energy security and helping us accelerate to net zero.

The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) is working with The National Energy System Operator (NESO) on biomethane’s role in clean power and net zero.

DESNZ expects to publish a consultation on a holistic future policy framework for biomethane in financial year 2025-26, to follow the current Green Gas Support Scheme, which closes to new applications in March 2028.

Our ambitious Warm Homes Plan will support investment in households, including rural off-grid households, to install energy efficiency measures and low carbon heating to save families money on their bills.

The Government has committed £3.4 billion over the next 3 years towards heat decarbonisation and household energy efficiency. This includes the new Warm Homes: Local Grant (WH:LG), which will provide support for low-income households living in privately owned EPC band D-G homes both on and off the gas grid in England. The WH:LG will be delivered from 2025 to 2028 by eligible local authorities.

Our ambitious Warm Homes Plan will support investment in households, including both rural and urban areas, to install energy efficiency measures and low carbon heating to save families money on their bills. Heat pumps, along with heat networks, will be the primary technologies for decarbonising home heating over the next decade.

The Government has committed £3.4 billion over the next 3 years towards heat decarbonisation and household energy efficiency. This includes the new Warm Homes: Local Grant (WH:LG), which will provide support for low-income households living in privately owned EPC band D-G homes both on and off the gas grid in England. The WH:LG will be delivered from 2025 to 2028 by eligible local authorities.

Heat pumps will have a major role to play in all net zero pathways and the Government expects most properties will ultimately switch to heat pumps as these are a proven technology and have been installed in high numbers in other countries.

We recognise that heat pumps may not be feasible in a small number of off-gas-grid properties and have commissioned a package of research to collect data on the costs of different approaches to decarbonising the most complex housing archetypes, including the use of alternative low carbon heating solutions. We expect to receive results from that research in 2025.

The Government recognises that thermal storage can be advantageous, because of its smaller physical size, for properties that may struggle to install a traditional hot water cylinder. If installed at the same time as a heat pump, the installation of thermal storage will be zero rated for VAT purposes.

The Boiler Upgrade Scheme does not fund thermal storage because we are directing funding at heat pumps and in limited circumstances biomass boilers. However, we will keep our policy under review as further evidence emerges. In addition, Government is funding innovation in thermal storage through its energy research programmes.

We are committed to ensuring that communities who live near new clean energy infrastructure can see the benefits of this and are currently considering how to most effectively deliver this. This includes developing guidance on community benefits for electricity transmission network infrastructure, which we will publish in due course.

I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 15 January 2026 to Question UIN 104313.

As the independent regulator for telecommunications, Ofcom is responsible for making regulatory decisions in the fixed telecoms sector, including on the Physical Infrastructure Access (PIA) product.

DSIT is engaging on this issue with Ofcom at an official level. In July, we published our draft Statement of Strategic Priorities for telecommunications, the management of radio spectrum, and postal services that sets out the Government’s view on infrastructure sharing in the fixed telecoms sector, including asking Ofcom to demonstrate greater transparency in how they calculate and set PIA prices.

The feasibility study into research on any causal impact of social media and smartphones on children’s mental health and wellbeing has been completed. My department is considering the study’s recommendations for further research, and the report will be published in due course.

DSIT is committed to supporting employees experiencing domestic abuse. We provide comprehensive advice to these employees and their managers including how to identify abuse, actions which colleagues and managers can take, and links to organisations providing advice and support. Our guidance also covers the actions of perpetrators and how disciplinary action would be implemented.

In July 2024 we implemented Domestic Abuse Guidance for employees and line managers. Line managers can access departmental online information and 121 support is available for the line manager where this is needed for specific instances of domestic abuse.

The Department for Science, Innovation and Technology is working with other government departments and agencies to explore the efficacy of technologies that seek to use provenance and metadata to improve the transparency of AI-generated and modified content posted online.

As part of this work, we will be engaging with a range of stakeholders, including relevant online services, to understand further the role that these technologies can play in delivering a trusted online environment and the role these technologies should play in keeping users safe online.

Government recognises the potential for online mis- and disinformation to undermine public trust in the information environment. Mis- and disinformation should be tackled through a multi-faceted, whole of society approach. Solutions that enable users and institutions to critically evaluate information online, including discerning whether a piece of content is AI-generated, are a key part of this approach.

We recognise the interest in the use of provenance and metadata to identify AI-generated and modified content. The Department for Science, Innovation and Technology is working with other government departments and agencies to explore these technologies, alongside other technical measures.

Services in scope of the Online Safety Act are already required to take action to tackle horrific illegal pornographic content and will be required prevent children accessing all pornographic content.

The Secretary of State has met Baroness Bertin to discuss her review. The review’s findings continue to be assessed by the Government and an update will be provided in due course.

Under the Online Safety Act platforms must proactively tackle the most harmful illegal content including extreme pornography, much of which disproportionately affects women and girls. The Act requires services in scope to understand risks from illegal content online and take mitigating action.

Separate to provisions in the Online Safety Act, the Independent Pornography Review, led by Independent Lead Reviewer Baroness Gabby Bertin will explore the effectiveness of regulation, legislation and the law enforcement response to pornography. The government expects the Review to present its final report by the end of the year.

Under the Online Safety Act, platforms must proactively tackle the most harmful illegal content including extreme pornography, much of which disproportionately affects women and girls. The Act requires services in scope to understand risks from illegal content online and take mitigating action.

Separate to provisions in the Online Safety Act, the Independent Pornography Review, led by Independent Lead Reviewer Baroness Gabby Bertin will explore the effectiveness of regulation, legislation and the law enforcement response to pornography. The government expects the Review to present its final report by the end of the year.

The department knows care leavers have some of the worst long-term life outcomes in society. We are determined to address this so that all care leavers have support to build enduring relationships and stable homes.

Through the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Act, we will roll out the Staying Close programme to support care leavers up to the age of 25; require each local authority to publish information about its arrangements for supporting care leavers’ transition to adulthood; change housing legislation so that care leavers cannot be found intentionally homeless; and introduce new corporate parenting responsibilities for government departments and relevant public bodies.

The government collects national data on care leavers through the Children Looked After in England including adoptions dataset. This is published annually, and provides information on accommodation, education, training and employment and is used to monitor outcomes and inform policy development and the targeting of support for children and young people leaving care nationally.

Absence is one of the biggest barriers to success for children and the government is committed to improving attendance through a support first approach.

The Working Together to Improve School Attendance statutory guidance sets out clear expectations for schools, trusts, local authorities to work collaboratively with families to identify and address the underlying reasons for non‑attendance, and put in place support. This guidance can be accessed at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/working-together-to-improve-school-attendance.

Prosecution is a last resort, used only where support has been exhausted or not engaged with. In most instances, absences linked to illness, disability, mental health or special education needs should be authorised and not lead to prosecution. The decision to prosecute rests solely with the local authority, but paragraph 164 of the guidance sets out factors for their consideration, including public interest tests and equalities considerations.

Absence is one of the biggest barriers to success for children and the government is committed to improving attendance through a support first approach.

The Working Together to Improve School Attendance statutory guidance sets out clear expectations for schools, trusts, local authorities to work collaboratively with families to identify and address the underlying reasons for non‑attendance, and put in place support. This guidance can be accessed at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/working-together-to-improve-school-attendance.

Prosecution is a last resort, used only where support has been exhausted or not engaged with. In most instances, absences linked to illness, disability, mental health or special education needs should be authorised and not lead to prosecution. The decision to prosecute rests solely with the local authority, but paragraph 164 of the guidance sets out factors for their consideration, including public interest tests and equalities considerations.

The department conducts analysis of data received via its Parental Responsibility Measures for Attendance data collection, which provides information on the national use of legal interventions to improve school attendance, including prosecutions, by local authority. We will continue to use the results of this data analysis to inform conversations with local authorities on addressing barriers to attendance, using a ’support first’ approach to pupils’ attendance. The department’s guidance is clear that prosecutions should only be used as a last resort, where all other routes have been exhausted or deemed inappropriate in the circumstances of the individual case.

The government recognises that trauma can have a profound impact on children’s lives and that addressing it requires support from the whole of society.

The NHS provides specialist assessment, talking therapies and medical treatment for conditions such as post-traumatic stress disorder, as well as self‑help resources and routes to urgent or ongoing psychological support.

Education settings also play an important role in identifying and supporting pupils affected by adversity, with the flexibility to choose the pastoral support that best meets their pupils’ needs. The department’s guidance emphasises creating safe, supportive environments and understanding the lasting impact trauma can have on wellbeing and learning.

The government is expanding mental health support teams to ensure access to specialist mental health professionals in all schools and colleges by 2029, alongside £13 million in pilots to enhance support for children with more complex needs, including those linked to trauma, neurodivergence and disordered eating.

The department has issued guidance for staff on domestic abuse. This guidance includes information for line managers on how to respond to staff experiencing domestic abuse alongside routes for further advice and support.

As part of the ‘Giving every child the best start in life’ strategy, the department is investing in evidence-based parenting and home learning environment (HLE) interventions delivered through Best Start Family Hubs. These programmes are designed to support children’s early development across key domains, including communication and language, early literacy, cognitive skills, and social, emotional and behavioural wellbeing.

To support local authorities in commissioning high quality provision, the department will provide guidance on the commissioning of parenting and HLE interventions with a strong evidence base and proven impact. We are working in partnership with the National Centre for Family Hubs, the Foundations What Works Centre for Children & Families, and Nesta to help local areas identify and implement the most effective programmes. This will ensure greater consistency and quality across the country and support our ambition for 75% of children to achieve a good level of development by 2028.

The partnerships for inclusion of neurodiversity in schools (PINS) programme covers all neurodivergence and so includes developmental language disorder. An independent evaluation of the PINS programme is underway. This evaluation will thoroughly explore the implementation and outcomes of the PINS programme, including to what extent the programme may have supported children with developmental language disorder. Interim findings from this evaluation are expected in autumn 2025 and will be published in accordance with Government Social Research protocol.

Local authorities do have a statutory duty under section 19 of the Education Act 1996 to arrange suitable and (normally) full-time education for children of compulsory school age who, because of exclusion, illness or other reasons, would not receive suitable education without such provision. This means that where a child cannot attend school because of a physical or mental health need, and cannot access suitable full-time education, the local authority is responsible for arranging suitable alternative provision.

The department sets out guidance to support local authorities to fulfil their section 19 duty available here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/657995f0254aaa000d050bff/Arranging_education_for_children_who_cannot_attend_school_because_of_health_needs.pdf.

The department has also issued statutory guidance for local authorities that makes clear their role and responsibilities for ’Children missing education’ which can be accessed here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/children-missing-education.

This statutory guidance sets key principles to enable local authorities in England to implement their legal duty to identify, as far as it is possible to do so, children missing education and get them back into education.

The department conducted a call for evidence from 18 May to 20 July 2023 on ‘Improving support for children missing education’ to understand the sector’s current approach to identifying and supporting children missing education (CME), and to inform any changes which will help us to improve this support.

To address current challenges in identifying and supporting CME, the department has already:

• Established an aggregate termly local authority data collection on CME to improve our understanding of the CME cohort nationally and locally.
• Held workshops and information sessions for local authorities to improve the consistency of recording of CME data.
• Held best practice webinars on CME for schools and local authorities.

Following the call for evidence, the department is reviewing its CME guidance with a view to publishing an updated version in due course.