Lord Elliott of Mickle Fell

• Data from the latest ONS Annual Business Survey on energy intensive industries (EIIs) for turnover and GVA in 2022 was published in 2024 and can be seen in full as an attachment.
• In 2022, the EIIs with the highest turnover were manufacture of refined petroleum products (£56.2 billion), manufacture of basic iron and steel and of ferro-alloys (£9.2 billion), and manufacture of prepared feeds for farm animals (£8.0 billion).
• EIIs with the highest GVA in 2022 were manufacture of refined petroleum products (£5.4 billion), manufacture of other plastic products (£2.7 billion), and manufacture of plastic plates, sheets, tubes and profiles (£2.3 billion).

The Department for Business and Trade maintains statistics on energy intensive industries (EII) which can be seen in full as an attachment.

In 2022, the regions with the highest employment in eligible energy intensive industries were the North West (59,590), the West Midlands (55,055) and Yorkshire and The Humber (53,135).

EIIs with the highest employment in 2022 were manufacture of other plastic products (45,850), manufacture of corrugated paper and paperboard and of containers of paper and paperboard (25,443), and processing and preserving of poultry meat (25,000).

On Monday 21 October, the Government published a comprehensive package of analysis on the impact of the Employment Rights Bill [Employment Rights Bill: impact assessments - GOV.UK ].

These Impact Assessments have been submitted to the Regulatory Policy Committee who have acknowledged their receipt [Employment Rights Bill: statement on lateness of IA submission - GOV.UK ].

As is standard practice, this has also been published on the Employment Rights Bill page on the Parliament UK website [Employment Rights Bill publications - Parliamentary Bills - UK Parliament ].

The Department for Science, Innovation and Technology does not hold information on the average size of a UK industrial site by land area.

The Department for Science, Innovation and Technology does not hold information on the physical size of the UK industrial production sector in terms of land area.

The Government has not collected figures on the growth of data centre capacity but has monitored the market periodically and through industry engagement. Other sources for this historical data are available, through Tech UK or CBRE's market outlooks for example.

The Government’s estimate, of the UK’s data centre capacity, defined as the maximum rated IT load of colocation data centres, is broken down by region in a table below. This is estimated as of Autumn 2024.

Total 1.6 GW

The Government has not collected figures on the growth of data centre capacity but has monitored the market periodically and through industry engagement. Other sources for this historical data are available, through Tech UK or CBRE's market outlooks for example.

The Government’s estimate, of the UK’s data centre capacity, defined as the maximum rated IT load of colocation data centres, is broken down by region in a table below. This is estimated as of Autumn 2024.

Total 1.6 GW

The government welcomes the focus from the Kindred Squared School Readiness Survey. Preparing children for school should be a partnership between parents, early years settings and schools.

That is why this government has set a milestone of a record proportion of children starting school ready to learn in the classroom. We will measure our progress through 75% of children at the end of reception reaching a good level of development in the early years foundation stage profile assessment by 2028.

This is an increase from 67.7% currently and would mean an additional 40,000 to 45,000 children a year hitting developmental goals.

To achieve this milestone, we will:

• Roll out government-funded childcare entitlements and support 3,000 new and expanded school-based nurseries, increasing the availability of high quality childcare places.
• Offer sustained professional development and work with providers to help spread evidence-based programmes, such as Maths Champions, as part of comprehensive plans to drive high quality early education and care.
• Ensure that the reception year sets children up for success, by rolling out evidence-based programmes that boost early literacy and numeracy skills, including the Nuffield Early Language Intervention.
• Strengthen and join up family services to improve support through pregnancy and early childhood. This includes continuing to invest in and build up Family Hubs and Start for Life programmes to support early child health, parenting and home learning programmes, strengthen health visiting services for all families and improve early identification of special educational needs and disabilities.

We will continue to work closely with parents and teachers as we deliver our ambitious reforms to break down barriers to opportunity and give every child the best start in life.

This Government is committed to removing the barriers to work. We want to give people the confidence that working will not trigger a reassessment and a potential loss of benefits. That is why we are establishing in law the principle that work, in and of itself, will not lead to a reassessment. For people receiving Universal Credit, PIP (in England and Wales, Department for Communities is mirroring in Northern Ireland), or New Style Employment and Support Allowance, we are introducing legislation that guarantees that trying work, in and of itself, will not be considered a relevant change of circumstance that will trigger a PIP award review or WCA reassessment.

By legislating to guarantee that work in and of itself will not trigger a reassessment we are taking an important first step to address these barriers and give customers the confidence to try work. The draft regulations are published in the House of Commons library.

Deposited paper DEP2025-0425 - Deposited papers - UK Parliament

The Government plans to legislate for this change to take effect in 2026. This will run alongside the biggest employment support package for disabled people and people with health conditions in more than a generation, backed by £1 billion a year of new, additional funding by 2030. This new support offer will roll out from April 2026, so that all affected by the reduction to the UC health element will be offered support, provided by a dedicated Pathways to Work adviser. There will be 1,000 advisers in place across Britain through Jobcentre Plus, equivalent to two in every jobcentre. This will be in place across England, Scotland and Wales, and people affected will be able to access a conversation about their needs, goals and aspirations; offered one-to-one follow-on support, and given help to access additional work, health and skills support that can meet their needs.

Our Pathways to Work Guarantee will provide work, health and skills support for disabled people and those with health conditions claiming out of work benefits. We anticipate that the Pathways to Work Guarantee once fully rolled out will include:

• A support conversation that will help identify the best next steps, including a range of personalised and more intensive support

• Specialist one-to-one support – this will build on evidence from recent pilot schemes, which has shown that, for some people, offering regular in-depth personalised appointments with a consistent advisor can help people who are ready to move towards or into work

• More intensive longer-term work, health and skills support for those who are ready – building on evidence from programmes like the Work and Health Programme, Work Choice, Individual Placement and Support for those with severe mental illness or substance dependency, and evidence from successful skills training.

• Periodic engagement for people who are not yet ready for more work-focused engagement. Content and frequency will vary depending on individual need and - if and when ready - we will signpost or refer onto other support.

His Majesty’s Government recognises the vital role that employer-led return-to-work schemes play in supporting individuals with mental health conditions to remain in or re-enter the workforce. A range of initiatives and services are in place to help employers create inclusive, supportive environments that facilitate sustainable employment for those experiencing mental ill health.

Occupational Health (OH) services can be effective in supporting return-to-work planning. OH professionals provide tailored assessments and advice to help employers understand the impact of mental health conditions on work capacity and identify appropriate adjustments. This includes phased return plans, workplace modifications, and ongoing support to ensure a safe and productive reintegration into work. OH services also help employers meet their legal obligations under the Equality Act 2010 by advising on reasonable adjustments.

The Support with Employee Health and Disability digital service, which provides tailored guidance for employers managing health and disability in the workplace, including mental health. The service, which includes guidance on disclosures, having conversations, legal obligations and making reasonable adjustments, is in national live testing and continues to be updated on an iterative basis, including in response to user research.

The Access to Work scheme offers personalised support for individuals with mental health conditions. This includes grants for workplace adaptations, specialist equipment, and tailored mental health support such as one-to-one sessions with professionals and workplace coping strategies. The scheme complements employers’ legal duties by funding support beyond reasonable adjustments, helping individuals stay in or return to work.

Additionally, the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) provides guidance and resources through its Working Minds campaign, which encourages employers to take proactive steps to prevent work-related stress. The campaign promotes a five-step approach—Reach out, Recognise, Respond, Reflect, and make it Routine—to help businesses address the root causes of stress and foster mentally healthy workplaces.

These efforts are part of a broader Government commitment to reduce economic inactivity and improve employment outcomes for people with health conditions. Importantly, the Keep Britain Working Review, led by Sir Charlie Mayfield, is exploring what more employers and government can do to tackle economic inactivity due to ill-health and disability.

Together, these measures aim to empower employers with the tools and knowledge needed to support employees with mental health conditions, ensuring that more people can get in and get on in work.

Long-term sickness continues to be the most common reason for economic inactivity among the working age population. Good work is generally good for health and wellbeing, so we want everyone to get work and get on in work, whoever they are and wherever they live. Backed by £240 million investment, the Get Britain Working White Paper launched last November will drive forward approaches to tackling economic inactivity and work toward the long-term ambition of an 80% employment rate.

Disabled people and people with health conditions are a diverse group so access to the right work and health support, in the right place, at the right time, is key. We therefore have a range of specialist initiatives to support individuals to stay in work and get back into work, including those that join up employment and health systems.

Measures include support from Work Coaches and Disability Employment Advisers in Jobcentres and Access to Work grants, as well as joining up health and employment support around the individual through Employment Advisors in NHS Talking Therapies, Individual Placement and Support in Primary Care and WorkWell.

It is also recognised that employers play an important role in addressing health and disability. To build on this, the DWP and DHSC Joint Work & Health Directorate (JWHD) is facilitating “Keep Britain Working”, an independent review of the role of UK employers in reducing health-related inactivity and to promote healthy and inclusive workplaces. The lead reviewer, Sir Charlie Mayfield, is expected to bring forward recommendations in Autumn 2025. Additionally, the JWHD has developed a digital information service for employers, continues to oversee the Disability Confident Scheme, and continues to increase access to Occupational Health.

In our March Green Paper, we set out our Pathways to Work Guarantee, backed by £1 billion a year of new additional funding by 2030. We will build towards a guaranteed offer of personalised work, health and skills support for all disabled people and those with health conditions on out of work benefits.

The 10 Year Health Plan, published in July, stated our intention to break down barriers to opportunity by delivering the holistic support that people need to access and thrive in employment by ensuring a better health service for everyone, regardless of condition or service area. The Plan sets out the vision for what good joined-up care looks like for people with a combination of health and care needs, including for disabled people. Furthermore, it outlines how the neighbourhood health service will join up support from across the work, health and skills systems to help address the multiple complex challenges that often stop people finding and staying in work.

The Memorandum of understanding between the Office for Budget Responsibility, HM Treasury, the Department for Work & Pensions, and HM Revenue & Customs sets out the responsibilities of the OBR and government departments in the preparation of forecasts for welfare spending at fiscal events, including how this is presented in the OBR’s publication the Economic and Fiscal Outlook.

In line with paragraph 2.7 of the MoU, the DWP forecasts for the UC health journey caseloads are produced in consultation with OBR and are consistent with the OBR Spring Statement 2025 forecasts. These will be published in the DWP’s Outturn and Forecast tables on 23rd April.

Figures by region and age are not available for UC health journey caseloads.

As set out in my previous response, HM Treasury currently has no plans to adopt a strategic bitcoin reserve.

The UK and US have a close and historic relationship and hold regular engagement. We will not comment on hypothetical policy positions.

The UK’s foreign currency assets are held in the Exchange Equalisation Account. These assets are managed in line with the following investment principles:

• Ensuring readiness to meet the policy requirements of the reserves
• Limiting risk and volatility to avoid compromising the policy readiness of the reserves
• Maximising returns within these constraints

Bitcoin has been a historically highly volatile asset relative to stable fiat currencies like the US dollar, and commodities, such as gold. This volatility makes Bitcoin unsuitable as a reserve asset for the UK.

Given this, the Government has no plans to adopt a strategic Bitcoin reserve.

The Home Office is reviewing plans to publish new statistics on crypto assets as part of future annual stats bulletins on asset recovery in response to the new powers that came into effect in April 2024.

The Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 (POCA) contains powers to deprive criminals of their money, or other property connected to criminal activity, and recover the proceeds of crime, including cryptocurrencies. As with all assets, action to seize, recover and manage crypto assets is for independent law enforcement bodies and the courts to consider.

We do not routinely publish the amount recovered under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 by asset type.

The Home Office is reviewing plans to publish new statistics on crypto assets as part of future annual stats bulletins on asset recovery in response to the new powers that came into effect in April 2024.

The Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 (POCA) contains powers to deprive criminals of their money, or other property connected to criminal activity, and recover the proceeds of crime, including cryptocurrencies. As with all assets, action to seize, recover and manage crypto assets is for independent law enforcement bodies and the courts to consider.

We do not routinely publish the amount recovered under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 by asset type.

The Government does not hold any Bitcoin.

The Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 (POCA) contains powers to deprive criminals of their money, or other property connected to criminal activity, and recover the proceeds of crime, including cryptocurrencies. As with all assets, action to seize, recover and manage crypto assets is for independent law enforcement bodies and the courts to consider.

We do not routinely publish the amount recovered under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 by asset type. We publish annual statistics on the amount of proceeds of crime confiscated and recovered as detailed on GOV.UK Asset recovery statistics: financial years ending 2019 to 2024 - GOV.UK.