Lord Ravensdale

The Government has already committed to removing any Russian fuel and uranium supply to the UK by 2030 and officials continue to explore ways to re-emphasise existing commitments to divestment.

The procurement of nuclear fuel, including uranium and enrichment services, is a commercial matter for reactor operators. The Government works closely with these operators to ensure there is a secure and resilient supply for the UK fleet. All reactor operators must comply with UK domestic and international legal obligations, including any sanctions or trade measures in place against Russian-origin uranium.

The Government will continue its work with international partners to build resilient in nuclear fuel supply chains and to remove global dependencies on Russia.

The capacity ranges set out in the Action Plan are not intended to cap supply of projects but, amongst other things, help prioritise the reform of the connections process. Today’s connections queue is significantly oversubscribed, with large volumes of some technologies and less of others.

It is vital that Contracts for Difference (CfD) continues to offer value for money to consumers and continue to deliver low prices, which is why auctions are designed to keep the process competitive.

Our reforms are aimed at improving the ability of the CfD mechanism to support a large volume of renewable capacity – particularly offshore wind – whilst maintaining competition, which provides value for money for consumers.

The regional capacity breakdowns for transmission connected technologies required for 2035 as set out in the Clean Power 2030 Action Plan, connections reform annex, have been developed using ranges from the NESO Future Energy Scenarios 2024 net zero aligned scenarios.

The ‘Future Energy Scenarios: Pathways to Net Zero 2025’ document outlines NESO’s methodology in full detail.

The Prior Information Notice was published to support policy exploration under the previous Government and has since closed with 10 responses. The names of the organisations which responded is commercially sensitive. No decision has yet been taken on whether to pursue a future large-scale project.

The Department is a strategic partner of the Energy Skills Passport project in collaboration with industry and Scottish Government. The passport is an industry led initiative overseen by Renewable UK and Offshore Energy UK and supported by the UK and Scottish Governments.

The Department and Scottish government are working with RUK/OEUK to identify how best to expand the passport in the future.

Through the Nuclear Skills Plan, we are committed to encouraging career transitions and accelerating learning and upskilling for new entrants into the nuclear sector.

Following the Chancellor's commitment to progress Midlands Rail Hub in the 2025 Spending Review the procurement of the alliance that will design and deliver Midlands Rail Hub is currently ongoing.

We are working with Network Rail, Midlands Connect, and West Midlands Rail Executive, to maximise the benefits of Midlands Rail Hub throughout the region. Midlands Connect are leading the development of the rationale for the scheme, including the distribution of socio-economic benefits, and will be able to provide more detail.

My department has been conducting research into the practical, technical and economic impacts of regulating embodied carbon in new buildings. This research is now nearing completion and will inform future policy decisions, including when and how to seek views on the measurement and reduction of embodied carbon.

The Future Homes and Buildings Standards consultation was published in December 2023 and closed in March 2024, and a government response has not yet been issued. The consultation proposed that the new standards would apply to all new domestic and non-domestic buildings.

We fully support the need for low carbon homes and buildings, fit for a net zero future. We are reviewing proposals and feedback from the Future Homes and Buildings Standards consultation and will publish the government response in due course.