Lee Anderson Portrait

Lee Anderson

Reform UK - Ashfield

5,508 (13.8%) majority - 2024 General Election

First elected: 12th December 2019


1 APPG Officer Position (as of 18 Jun 2025)
Sepsis
2 APPG Memberships
Listed Properties, Furniture Industry
4 Former APPG Officer Positions
Brazil, County, Eggs, Pigs and Poultry, Northern Ireland Economy
Home Affairs Committee
15th Mar 2022 - 14th May 2024
Dogs (Protection of Livestock) (Amendment) Bill
17th Apr 2024 - 24th Apr 2024
Deputy Chair, Conservative Party
7th Feb 2023 - 16th Jan 2024
Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Bill
19th Oct 2022 - 29th Nov 2022
Protection from Redundancy (Pregnancy and Family Leave) Bill
26th Oct 2022 - 2nd Nov 2022
Public Order Bill
25th May 2022 - 21st Jun 2022
Women and Equalities Committee
8th Jun 2021 - 14th Dec 2021
Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill
12th May 2021 - 24th Jun 2021
Committee on the Future Relationship with the European Union
5th Oct 2020 - 16th Jan 2021


Division Voting information

During the current Parliament, Lee Anderson has voted in 182 divisions, and never against the majority of their Party.
View All Lee Anderson Division Votes

Debates during the 2024 Parliament

Speeches made during Parliamentary debates are recorded in Hansard. For ease of browsing we have grouped debates into individual, departmental and legislative categories.

Sparring Partners
Yvette Cooper (Labour)
Home Secretary
(22 debate interactions)
Angela Rayner (Labour)
Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government
(10 debate interactions)
Michael Shanks (Labour)
Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
(8 debate interactions)
View All Sparring Partners
Department Debates
Home Office
(31 debate contributions)
Department for Business and Trade
(17 debate contributions)
Department of Health and Social Care
(13 debate contributions)
View All Department Debates
View all Lee Anderson's debates

Ashfield Petitions

e-Petitions are administered by Parliament and allow members of the public to express support for a particular issue.

If an e-petition reaches 10,000 signatures the Government will issue a written response.

If an e-petition reaches 100,000 signatures the petition becomes eligible for a Parliamentary debate (usually Monday 4.30pm in Westminster Hall).

Lee Anderson has not participated in any petition debates

Latest EDMs signed by Lee Anderson

4th June 2025
Lee Anderson signed this EDM on Tuesday 17th June 2025

Mauritius Treaty

Tabled by: Kemi Badenoch (Conservative - North West Essex)
That the Agreement, done at London and Port Louis on 22 May 2025, between the Government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the Government of the Republic of Mauritius concerning the Chagos Archipelago including Diego Garcia, should not be ratified.
107 signatures
(Most recent: 1 Jul 2025)
Signatures by party:
Conservative: 93
Reform UK: 4
Independent: 4
Democratic Unionist Party: 3
Traditional Unionist Voice: 1
Ulster Unionist Party: 1
Labour: 1
19th December 2019
Lee Anderson signed this EDM on Friday 20th December 2019

Big Ben chiming on the day of Brexit

Tabled by: Mark Francois (Conservative - Rayleigh and Wickford)
That this House notes the ongoing refurbishment works on the Elizabeth Tower and the fact that during this period Big Ben currently only chimes for Remembrance Sunday and New Year's Eve; further notes that the United Kingdom will now leave the European Union at 11.00pm GMT on 31 January 2020; …
53 signatures
(Most recent: 7 Jan 2020)
Signatures by party:
Conservative: 42
Independent: 5
Democratic Unionist Party: 4
Labour: 1
Reform UK: 1
View All Lee Anderson's signed Early Day Motions

Commons initiatives

These initiatives were driven by Lee Anderson, and are more likely to reflect personal policy preferences.

MPs who are act as Ministers or Shadow Ministers are generally restricted from performing Commons initiatives other than Urgent Questions.



Latest 50 Written Questions

(View all written questions)
Written Questions can be tabled by MPs and Lords to request specific information information on the work, policy and activities of a Government Department
3 Other Department Questions
13th Mar 2025
To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, whether her Department is taking steps to help protect freedom of speech in the hospitality sector.

Free speech is a cornerstone of British values. The right to freedom of expression is a long-held fundamental right under Article 10 of the European Convention of Human Rights.

The Equality Act 2010 provides protection from discrimination protects people with a religion or philosophical belief from discrimination, as well as to those who lack a religion or belief. The definition of religion or religious or philosophical belief is in line with Article 9 of the European Convention on Human Rights which stipulates that everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion. It is also compatible with Article 10 which covers the right to freedom of expression, including the freedom to hold opinions and to receive and impart information and ideas without interference by public authorities.

The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) is Great Britain’s national equality and human rights body. The Commission safeguards and enforces the laws that protect people’s rights to fairness, dignity and respect.

Nia Griffith
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Wales Office)
27th Feb 2025
To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, whether she has received a request from Stonewall for additional government funding.

The Cabinet Office, including the Office for Equality and Opportunity, has received no requests for additional government funding from Stonewall.

Seema Malhotra
Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
31st Oct 2024
To ask the Member for Battersea, representing the Church Commissioners, if the Commissioners will publish the legal costs of defending bishops against claims that they failed to act appropriately in safeguarding matters in each of the last five years.

The Church Commissioners have a discretion under the Episcopal Endowments and Stipends Measure 1943, assessed on a case by case basis, to pay the costs of a bishop’s office, including costs in connection with legal claims. Such claims include those which may allege that the office of a serving bishop is liable for the wrongdoing of a previous holder of the office or a person for whom in law the office of the bishop may be responsible.

Requests to the Church Commissioners for assistance with legal costs are subject to scrutiny by the First Church Estates Commissioner and the KC Commissioner, assisted by officers, to ensure that costs are reasonable in the circumstances.

It is not the practice of the Church Commissioners to disclose expenditure on the costs of legal proceedings of this kind (they are not required to do so under s.5 Episcopal Endowments and Stipends Measure 1943)

27th Mar 2025
To ask the Solicitor General, what diversity, equality and inclusion targets her Department has for staff recruitment.

The Attorney General’s Office does not have a set target for diversity, equality and inclusion (EDI) for staff recruitment or representation. The AGO welcomes applications from those of all backgrounds.

Lucy Rigby
Solicitor General (Attorney General's Office)
4th Jul 2025
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what proportion of people live in private rented accommodation in Ashfield constituency.

The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority.

A response to the Hon gentleman’s Parliamentary Question of 4th July is attached.

Georgia Gould
Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
5th Jun 2025
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many young people he expects to (a) come to the UK from Europe and (b) go to Europe from the UK as a result of a youth experience scheme with the EU and UK.

We have agreed that we will work towards the establishment of a balanced youth experience scheme with the EU. We have agreed that any scheme will be capped as well as time-limited. We have also been clear that it should be in line with the UK’s existing schemes with countries like Australia and New Zealand. The exact parameters will be subject to negotiation, but any scheme will need to be in the UK’s national interests.

Nick Thomas-Symonds
Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
22nd May 2025
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many knife crimes were reported in Nottinghamshire in each of the last five years.

The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority.

A response to the Hon gentleman’s Parliamentary Question of 22 May is attached.

Georgia Gould
Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
27th Mar 2025
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what diversity, equality and inclusion targets his Department has for staff recruitment.

The Cabinet Office has not set diversity, equality and inclusion targets for staff recruitment, but the Civil Service is committed to representing the diversity of the UK population.

Georgia Gould
Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
4th Oct 2024
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what steps his Department takes to ensure the acceptance of gifts and hospitality by civil servants comply with Civil Service guidance.

The Civil Service Code states that Civil Servants must not accept gifts or hospitality from anyone which might reasonably be seen to compromise their personal judgement or integrity. As under the previous government, the Department holds a comprehensive policy and guidance on accepting and giving gifts and hospitality. All Civil Servants are required to declare gifts and hospitality both given and received via a central register and obtain approvals.

The Gifts and Hospitality process is subject to audit in order to provide confidence that the department is fulfilling its obligation.

Georgia Gould
Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
11th Jul 2025
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, how much their Department has spent on translating documents into languages other than (a) English and (b) other native UK languages in each year since 2023; and what these languages were.

The Department for Business and Trade does not routinely record the costs for translation of documents into other languages separately from other translation and interpretation costs. We can confirm the Department for Business and Trade spent £14,085.54 on translating documents into other languages from April 2023 - July 2025. Other expenses may be excluded from this as they are not recorded at this level of detail.

As the department for economic growth, we support businesses to invest, grow and export, creating jobs and opportunities across the country. DBT employs teams based in priority markets around the world and those teams often use local language skills to help UK businesses access opportunities to export their goods and services globally. Likewise, they will use local language skills to promote the UK to a global audience, and in particular to attract high value investment to the UK.

Language service needs and spend are assessed to ensure these services offer good value for money for taxpayers while maintaining high standards of service delivery.

Justin Madders
Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
26th Jun 2025
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps he is taking to ensure all wrongly (a) accused and (b) convicted sub-post masters are offered compensation.

As of 2 June 2025, £1.039 billion has been paid to over 7,300 claimants across the Horizon schemes. This represents a more than fourfold increase since July 2024, with more than 4,500 victims receiving compensation for the first time.

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 further the pace at which compensation can be paid.

Gareth Thomas
Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
26th Jun 2025
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps he is taking to ensure fair and timely compensation payments for wrongly (a) accused and (b) convicted sub-postmasters.

As of 2 June 2025, £1.039 billion has been paid to over 7,300 claimants across the Horizon schemes. This represents a more than fourfold increase since July 2024, with more than 4,500 victims receiving compensation for the first time.

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 further the pace at which compensation can be paid.

Gareth Thomas
Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
4th Jun 2025
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of the Zero Emission Vehicle Mandate on towns with large vehicle production industries.

The government does not hold data on how the Zero Emissions Vehicle Mandate has impacted on towns with large vehicle production industries specifically. However, we speak regularly to all the major UK automotive stakeholders to take the temperature of the sector and their concerns. The government is committed to ensuring the transition to zero emissions works for the industry. That is why we introduced significant changes to the Mandate in April 2025, allowing for greater flexibility in meeting ZEV targets and extending the sale of hybrid vehicles to 2035.

Sarah Jones
Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
4th Jun 2025
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps his Department is taking to improve working conditions for people who work in distribution centres.

Government cares about working conditions and employment rights, that is why we are delivering the Employment Rights Bill. The Bill will deliver significant benefits, including better working conditions, more secure work, reducing inequalities and improving industrial relations. Stronger employment rights for workers will ensure a fairer and more equal labour market. For example, over 2 million people on zero or low hours contracts could benefit from the right to guaranteed hours, and the right to payment for shifts cancelled, moved or cut at short notice.

Justin Madders
Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
17th Apr 2025
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps is he taking to support the steel industry.

Steel is a top priority for this Government. As shown with the passing of the Steel Industry (Special Measures) Act, this Government will not hesitate to take unprecedented steps to safeguard the future of steelmaking in the UK, protecting jobs, national security and supply chains.

We have completed the roll out of the British Industry Supercharger, which from this month means our steel industry will save an estimated £320mn – £410mn this year. This is on top of continuing the network charging compensation scheme.

We have taken action to make public procurement of UK-made steel easier and increased support for businesses to report unfair international trade practices. We have continued to develop the policy and approach for the steel strategy.

Sarah Jones
Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
27th Mar 2025
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what diversity, equality and inclusion targets his Department has for staff recruitment.

Appointments to advertised vacancies in the Department for Business and Trade are made on the basis of fair recruitment open to all. The Department does not operate recruitment targets in relation to diversity, equality and inclusion. The Department does have an internally published Diversity and Inclusion plan that is focussed on embracing fairness for all.

Justin Madders
Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
24th Mar 2025
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what the total cost was of providing translation services in his Department in the last year.

We can confirm the Department for Business and Trade spent £53,491.37 on translation services from April 2024 – 25th March 2025.

As the department for economic growth, we support businesses to invest, grow and export, creating jobs and opportunities across the country. This figure includes providing translation services and also where the Department required translations or interpreters.

Justin Madders
Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
13th Mar 2025
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether he plans to re-shore manufacturing.

Reshoring, alongside progressive key trade agreements, will be important of our national resilience, and we are determined to make the UK a prime location for globally competitive manufacturing.

The Industrial Strategy this spring will set out an ambitious long-term vision for UK manufacturing competitiveness and will detail how we intend to boost R&D, skills, and fast track adoption of new manufacturing technologies here in the UK.

Sarah Jones
Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
12th Feb 2025
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether he has commissioned a cost-benefit analysis on providing additional support to prevent the closure of key strategic steel plants.

Our commitment to the steel industry remains unwavering. On Sunday 16 February we published a consultation on our Plan for Steel. Along with work already ongoing across Government, this will provide a clear evidence base on the needs of the steel sector and its customers. This work will ensure the best use of our funding commitment of up to £2.5bn to deliver change and unlock private investment, ensuring a bright and sustainable future for UK steelmaking.

Sarah Jones
Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
4th Dec 2024
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps his Department is taking to help ensure that residents of Ashfield constituency are able to access essential postal services.

The Government provides an annual £50m Network Subsidy funding to support the delivery of a minimum number of Post Office branches and a geographical spread of these branches in line with published access criteria. This requires 99% of the UK population to be within three miles of their nearest Post Office outlet. The Government-set Access Criteria ensures that however the network changes, services remain within local reach of all citizens, including those living in the Ashfield constituency.

Gareth Thomas
Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
21st Nov 2024
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what recent discussions he has had with the Post Office on maintaining local post office services.

The Secretary of State and I have met with the CEO and Chair of Post Office Limited to ensure that Post Office delivers for postmasters and its communities. We recently met with the Post Office Chair, Nigel Railton, and discussed his proposals for the future of the company before Mr Railton announced Post Office's Transformation Plan on 13th November. While Post Office has the freedom to make commercial decisions regarding the composition of its network, Government sets the parameters for the Post Office to operate in.

Government protects the branch network by setting minimum access criteria which require 99% of the UK population to be within three miles of their nearest Post Office outlet. The access criteria ensure that however the network changes, services remain within local reach of all citizens.

Gareth Thomas
Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
8th Nov 2024
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, with reference to paragraph 5.141 of the Autumn Budget 2024, whether he has made an assessment of the potential impact of increasing the National Living Wage on the economy.

We will publish an Impact Assessment alongside the legislation that implements the increase to the National Minimum Wage and National Living Wage in April 2025.

Justin Madders
Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
31st Oct 2024
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of increasing the minimum wage on SMEs; and whether she plans to provide additional support to SMEs.

This Government remains committed to helping small businesses thrive and will be publishing our Small Business Strategy next year. This will set out our vision for all small businesses, from boosting scale-ups to growing the co-operative economy. It will address key policy areas such as creating thriving high streets, making it easier to access finance, opening overseas and domestic markets, building business capabilities, and providing a strong business environment.

We will publish an Impact Assessment alongside the legislation that implements the increase to the National Living Wage. We estimate that over 3 million workers will receive a pay rise due to the increase in the National Living Wage in April 2025.

Gareth Thomas
Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
24th Oct 2024
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps his Department is taking to help support pubs in Ashfield constituency.

Pubs, including those in Ashfield, are at the heart of our communities and vital for economic growth. That is why the Government is creating a fairer business rate system by introducing permanently lower tax rates for retail, hospitality, and leisure businesses from 2026-27 and extending the current relief for 1 year at 40%.

The government is also reducing alcohol duty on qualifying draught products, representing an overall reduction in duty bills of over £85m a year.

We will transform the apprenticeship levy into a more flexible growth and skills levy to better support business and boost opportunity for people to work in Pubs.

Through the Hospitality Sector Council, we are addressing strategic issues for the sector related to high street regeneration, skills, sustainability, and productivity.

Gareth Thomas
Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
4th Oct 2024
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what recent progress has been made on negotiating new trade agreements.

Economic Growth is the first priority of this government. To deliver on this, one of our first steps after taking office was to announce that we were resuming Free Trade Agreement negotiations with the Gulf Cooperation Council, India, Israel, South Korea, Switzerland and Turkey. Having carefully reviewed our negotiation objectives we have now started talks with the first of these key partners. This is a first step towards getting businesses access to international markets, boosting jobs, and delivering growth. We are also committed to ensuring UK businesses can take full advantage of CPTPP when it enters into force in December.

Douglas Alexander
Minister of State (Cabinet Office)
11th Jul 2025
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, how much their Department has spent on translating documents into languages other than (a) English and (b) other native UK languages in each year since 2023; and what these languages were.

The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero does not record this data in a way in which we can determine what proportion of the spend on translation services was for translating documents into languages other than (a) English and (b) other native UK languages in each year since 2023; and what these languages were.

Michael Shanks
Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
5th Jun 2025
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, how many hectares of arable farmland have been reallocated to (a) solar panels and (b) wind turbines since July 2024; and how many he plans to reallocate in the next four years.

The Government does not hold the information requested.

Michael Shanks
Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
2nd May 2025
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, if he will make it his policy to support future applications for sustainable mining of coal.

The Government has committed to not granting new coal licences and has set out its policy position in a written statement on 14th November 2024 https://questions-statements.parliament.uk/written-statements/detail/2024-11-14/hcws215.

Michael Shanks
Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
23rd Apr 2025
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, if he will remove net zero targets for key strategic industries.

Our targets are there to help us seize the economic opportunity of the century – and we are absolutely committed to them.

So, instead of leaving great British industries without a long-term plan for their future, we will help them become more secure and sustainable, creating and protecting hundreds of thousands of jobs across the UK.

Sarah Jones
Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
17th Apr 2025
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, regarding the report entitled Seventh Carbon Budget by the Committee on Climate Change, published on 26 February 2025, whether his Department has made an estimate of the cumulative capital expenditure required for (a) transmission grid upgrades, (b) distribution grid upgrades and (c) household insulation measures to 2050.

The actual costs of delivering the Seventh Carbon Budget will be determined by the choices that government makes. The costs and funding scenarios set out in the CCC’s Seventh Carbon Budget report are illustrative and do not represent government policy and Government is not bound to accept their recommendations.

In 2022, the Government published the Electricity Networks Strategic Framework which included an estimate of cumulative 2021-2050 load-related total expenditure for net zero of £100-120bn for onshore transmission and £70-90bn for distribution network.

The Warm Homes Plan will help people find ways to save money on energy bills and transform our ageing building stock into comfortable, low-carbon homes that are fit for the future. We will upgrade up to 5 million homes across the country by accelerating the installation of efficient new technologies like heat pumps, solar, batteries and insulation.

Kerry McCarthy
Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
27th Mar 2025
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what diversity, equality and inclusion targets his Department has for staff recruitment.

The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero values the benefits of a diverse and inclusive workforce. We internally monitor our departmental diversity data and seek to increase representation amongst under-represented groups, especially at more senior grades, with a focus on Women, Ethnic Minority and Disability. We do not set targets as part of our recruitment processes but ensure that our processes are fair and equitable.

Michael Shanks
Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
24th Mar 2025
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what the total cost was of providing translation services in his Department in the last year.

This information is not held centrally.

Michael Shanks
Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
13th Mar 2025
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what steps he is taking to help ensure that pricing for energy bills is competitive.

Energy prices for households on default tariffs are determined by Ofgem’s price cap, which is set at a level that protects such consumers from paying inefficient prices, while allowing for competition between suppliers.

Prices for other tariffs, including fixed tariffs and non-domestic tariffs, are set by suppliers, who compete for customers on the basis of price and quality of service.

Miatta Fahnbulleh
Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
13th Feb 2025
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what his planned timetable is for publication of the review of the British Coal Staff Superannuation Scheme.

I refer the hon Member to the answer I gave to my hon Friend the Member for Falkirk (Euan Stainbank) on 29 January 2025 to Question UIN 25410.

Sarah Jones
Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
16th Jan 2025
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what recent discussions he has had with British Coal Staff Superannuation Scheme trustees about the review of that Scheme.

I met with the Chair and Trustee representatives of the British Coal Staff Superannuation Scheme on 16 December where they outlined their proposals for changes to the Scheme.

Sarah Jones
Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
9th Jan 2025
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether the Government plans to continue providing subsidy payments to the Drax power station.

A consultation was held under the previous administration on whether a transitional support mechanism should be introduced for large-scale biomass generators when their current support ends. Government is considering the responses to that consultation and no final decision has been taken as to whether alternate future support arrangements will be introduced.

Michael Shanks
Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
9th Jan 2025
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, if he will make an assessment of the sustainability of energy produced by Drax power station in the last 12 years.

The Government supports biomass as a low carbon source of energy only where relevant sustainability criteria are met. Drax must demonstrate compliance with these criteria to Ofgem as the independent regulator. Evidence provided is independently audited. Ofgem recently published their conclusions on an investigation into Drax’s compliance with sustainability standards on 29 August 2024. The investigation found that whilst Drax complied with the standards, it failed to report data accurately. Government expects full compliance with all regulatory obligations and the size of Drax’s redress payment, £25m, underscores the robustness of the regulatory system.

Michael Shanks
Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
19th Dec 2024
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what steps his Department is taking to help ensure that standing charges for (a) electricity and (b) gas reflect actual service costs.

Although standing charges are a commercial matter for suppliers, and are regulated by Ofgem, we know that too much of the burden of the bill is placed on them. The Government has worked constructively with the regulator on the issue of standing charges, and we are committed to lowering the cost of them.

Standing charges recover the ‘fixed’ costs of the system, meaning costs that do not vary by energy use. This includes suppliers’ fixed operational costs of serving each customer, the cost of network upgrades and maintenance necessary to keep all consumers connected and fund the technologies to drive progress towards net zero targets. It also includes the cost of providing Warm Home Discount payments to eligible customers.

Miatta Fahnbulleh
Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
8th Nov 2024
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of providing surpluses to the British Coal Staff Superannuation Scheme in line with the Mineworkers’ Pension Scheme.

The Government has fulfilled its manifesto commitment to transfer to the Mineworkers' Pension Scheme investment reserve to Members. I am open to considering options put forward by the Trustees for changes to the British Coal Staff Superannuation Scheme.

Sarah Jones
Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
8th Nov 2024
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether he plans to make an assessment of the potential merits of the British Coal Staff Superannuation Scheme.

The Government has fulfilled its manifesto commitment to transfer to the Mineworkers' Pension Scheme investment reserve to Members. I am open to considering options put forward by the Trustees for changes to the British Coal Staff Superannuation Scheme.

Sarah Jones
Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
5th Nov 2024
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of providing surpluses to the British Coal Staff Superannuation Scheme in line with the Mineworkers’ Pension Scheme.

I am open to considering options put forward by the Trustees for changes to the British Coal Staff Superannuation Scheme.

Sarah Jones
Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
21st Oct 2024
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether he has commissioned a cost-benefit analysis of the Government's net zero target.

The UK was the first country to set legally binding carbon budgets and the first major economy to establish a net zero target in law. An Impact Assessment of the level of the Sixth Carbon Budget was published at the time, including a cost-benefit analysis which showed the economic costs and benefits of net zero. Without the shift to renewable energy, we will continue to be exposed to volatile fossil fuel markets and the cost of living crises households had to live through in the last Parliament.

Kerry McCarthy
Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
14th Oct 2024
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, if his Department will consult on the use of energy standing charges.

Although standing charges are a commercial matter for suppliers, and are regulated by Ofgem, we know that too much of the burden of the bill is placed on them. The Government has worked constructively with the regulator on the issue of standing charges, and we are committed to lowering the cost of them.

Ofgem’s recently published discussion paper sets out the options for how standing charges could be reduced, including by moving some supplier operational costs off standing charges onto the unit rate, increasing the variety of tariffs available for consumer in the market, and in the longer term, reviewing how system costs are allocated. Ofgem's publication can be found here: https://www.ofgem.gov.uk/call-for-input/standing-charges-domestic-retail-options.

Miatta Fahnbulleh
Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
14th Oct 2024
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether he plans to help increase the use of geothermal energy for heating in (a) domestic and (b) commercial spaces.

We know that to achieve net zero, we must look at how we can accelerate the potential of all low carbon technologies including geothermal. The Government understands that geothermal can play a role in our decarbonisation ambitions particularly as a low carbon source for heat via heat networks. We have commissioned research into the potential costs of geothermal heat in the UK and will use this to understand how the government can support the sector to achieve its potential, in both the domestic and commercial sectors.

Kerry McCarthy
Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
11th Jul 2025
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, how much their Department has spent on translating documents into languages other than (a) English and (b) other native UK languages in each year since 2023; and what these languages were.

The Department for Science, Innovation and Technology have awarded two contracts for the total value of £97,848.94 since 2023 on translating documents into languages other than English and other native UK languages.

These languages were: French, Korean, Arabic and Mandarin

These translation services related to research on AI and Large Language Models and the material was not published.

Feryal Clark
Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
4th Jul 2025
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, whether his Department has made an estimate of the number of jobs that could be lost as a result of artificial intelligence.

Government is working to harness the benefits that AI can bring in terms of economic growth, rising living standards, and improved worker wellbeing; while mitigating the risks. Government is planning for a range of plausible outcomes and closely monitoring the data that will help us track and prepare for these. We will continue to work closely with other government departments through the AI Opportunities Action Plan to ensure we shape AI to deliver economic prosperity for the UK.

Feryal Clark
Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
3rd Jul 2025
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what assessment he has made of the level of preparedness in the event of a coordinated cyber-attack on public service infrastructure.

Government is working tirelessly to improve the cyber resilience of the public sector, which includes some of the UK’s Critical National Infrastructure (CNI). Cyber risks are kept under review, through the internal, classified National Security Risk Assessment (NSRA), and the external facing version, the National Risk Register (NRR), to ensure that we effectively plan at the national and local levels. The NSRA assesses a number of cyber risks, including the impact of a cyber-attack against government systems on the delivery of public services.

We face a persistent and evolving threat landscape, the intent and capability of both state and non-state threat actors is increasing, and the pace of this change has accelerated considerably over the last 24 months. Public service infrastructure and systems remain an attractive target for our adversaries and criminals, with recent incidents clearly highlighting the risk posed by cyber attacks on both private and public sector organisations.

Responding to a cyber incident is a cross-government responsibility with roles and responsibilities identified in the National Cyber Incident Management Framework. As well as developing a more sophisticated understanding of cyber risk across UK CNI, the Government is focussed on ensuring that CNI operators are prepared to respond to and recover from incidents through better planning and regular exercises across Government and as part of the National Exercising Programme. The National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) also works with partners to help public and private CNI operators detect and respond to attacks.

Feryal Clark
Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
3rd Jul 2025
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what assessment he has made of the potential risk of a coordinated cyber-attack on public service infrastructure.

Government is working tirelessly to improve the cyber resilience of the public sector, which includes some of the UK’s Critical National Infrastructure (CNI). Cyber risks are kept under review, through the internal, classified National Security Risk Assessment (NSRA), and the external facing version, the National Risk Register (NRR), to ensure that we effectively plan at the national and local levels. The NSRA assesses a number of cyber risks, including the impact of a cyber-attack against government systems on the delivery of public services.

We face a persistent and evolving threat landscape, the intent and capability of both state and non-state threat actors is increasing, and the pace of this change has accelerated considerably over the last 24 months. Public service infrastructure and systems remain an attractive target for our adversaries and criminals, with recent incidents clearly highlighting the risk posed by cyber attacks on both private and public sector organisations.

Responding to a cyber incident is a cross-government responsibility with roles and responsibilities identified in the National Cyber Incident Management Framework. As well as developing a more sophisticated understanding of cyber risk across UK CNI, the Government is focussed on ensuring that CNI operators are prepared to respond to and recover from incidents through better planning and regular exercises across Government and as part of the National Exercising Programme. The National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) also works with partners to help public and private CNI operators detect and respond to attacks.

Feryal Clark
Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)