Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what recent assessment he has made of the potential contribution of heat battery technology to the Government’s target for decarbonising homes by 2030.

Answered by Miatta Fahnbulleh - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)

Heat batteries are a promising low-carbon heating technology because they utilise time-of-use tariffs and do not require outside space. However, they are less efficient than heat pumps and therefore use more energy to meet the same heating demand. Although they can be charged at off-peak times, if not sized or used correctly, heat batteries could add to peak demand on the electricity network and increase bills for property owners. The Department is exploring, through studies like the Homes for Net Zero Trial, the role heat batteries could play in the future.

Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what assessment his Department has made of the potential contribution of heat batteries to balancing grid demand during peak energy usage periods.

Answered by Miatta Fahnbulleh - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)

Heat batteries are a promising low-carbon heating technology because they utilise time-of-use tariffs and do not require outside space. However, they are less efficient than heat pumps and therefore use more energy to meet the same heating demand. Although they can be charged at off-peak times, if not sized or used correctly, heat batteries could add to peak demand on the electricity network and increase bills for property owners. The Department is exploring, through studies like the Homes for Net Zero Trial, the role heat batteries could play in the future.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether she has made an assessment of the potential merits of introducing (a) fiscal measures and (b) tax incentives to promote the uptake of (i) heat battery and (ii) other low carbon technologies in homes.

Answered by James Murray - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)

The Government is committed to improving the quality and sustainability of our housing stock, through improvements such as low carbon heating, insulation, solar panels, and batteries.

Installations of qualifying energy-saving materials (ESMs) in residential accommodation and buildings used solely for a charitable purpose benefit from a temporary VAT zero rate until March 2027, after which they will revert to the reduced rate of VAT at five per cent. This support – worth over £1 billion – will aid households and charities in improving the energy efficiency of their buildings and help to reduce carbon emissions.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if her Department will make an assessment of the potential merits of introducing a VAT relief scheme for Further Education institutions.

Answered by James Murray - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)

Education services supplied by an “eligible body” are exempt from VAT. For VAT purposes, an “eligible body” broadly refers to most regulated, publicly funded, or not-for-profit education providers. This means no VAT is charged on supplies of education made by further education colleges, nor are further education colleges able to recover the VAT they have incurred on their expenditure.

The Government is not currently planning to introduce a VAT refund scheme for further education institutions.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if her Department will take steps to allow colleges to carry out their own end point assessments for apprenticeships.

Answered by Janet Daby - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)

In February 2025 the department announced improvements to apprenticeship assessment and published a new set of assessment principles. This will make assessment simpler for employers, providers and apprentices and remove unnecessary duplication.

End-point assessment organisations (EPAOs) will be able to delegate assessment to the apprenticeship training provider, including colleges, where appropriate, in line with the revised assessment plan. EPAOs will continue to shape the assessment and ensure the validity of outcomes.

These changes will make the system more efficient and improve the experience for employers and apprentices, while retaining rigour and quality, and ensuring consistency in outcomes. This will ensure employers can be confident that apprentices have met the standards employers require.

Existing assessment plans will be rewritten on a standard-by-standard basis to reflect these changes. The department is working closely with the Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education to develop and implement these revisions from April 2025. Further detail, including which assessment plans will be revised and by when, will be outlined in due course.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if her Department will make an assessment of the potential merits of re-evaluating the existing capital funding scheme for Further Education.

Answered by Janet Daby - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)

Ensuring schools and colleges have the resources and buildings they need is a key part of this government’s mission to break down barriers to opportunity and give every young person the best start in life. The government is investing £6.7 billion of capital funding for education in the 2025/26 financial year, a 19% real-terms increase from the 2024/25 financial year, including £950 million in skills. The department currently provides capital funding for further education (FE) through a wide range of programmes.

In the Spring Statement 2025, £625 million of funding was announced to support construction skills training. The funding includes capital investment through the establishment of Technical Excellence Colleges and the creation of an employer match funding pot worth £80 million.

On 1 April 2025, the department provided £302 million in new funding to FE colleges to support them to maintain, improve and ensure suitability of their estates. The new FE college condition allocation will help address the maintenance backlog and ensure a great environment for learning. Every FE college group will receive a share of this funding and will have the discretion to decide how funding is spent towards condition priorities for their estate.

The department keeps all FE capital funding programmes under continuous review and any future capital investment will be subject to the spending review, which is due to conclude in summer 2025.

Restructure of local government debt

Transparency of data-based and data-driven policing systems

Better Jobs, Better Services campaign

Found: _NC1 Tonia Antoniazzi Tracy Gilbert Mrs Sharon Hodgson Carolyn Harris Margaret Mullane Jess Asato

Found: _NC15 Marsha De Cordova Paula Barker Neil Duncan-Jordan Emma Lewell Margaret Mullane Kim Johnson

Found: Rosie Duffield Sir Julian Smith Kate Osamor John Lamont Lillian Jones Ms Marie Rimmer Margaret Mullane

Found: _NC3 Tonia Antoniazzi Tracy Gilbert Mrs Sharon Hodgson Carolyn Harris Margaret Mullane Jess Asato

Found: _NC15 Marsha De Cordova Paula Barker Neil Duncan-Jordan Emma Lewell Margaret Mullane Kim Johnson

Found: Rosie Duffield Sir Julian Smith Kate Osamor John Lamont Lillian Jones Ms Marie Rimmer Margaret Mullane

Found: _NC3 Tonia Antoniazzi Tracy Gilbert Mrs Sharon Hodgson Carolyn Harris Margaret Mullane Jess Asato

Found: _NC15 Marsha De Cordova Paula Barker Neil Duncan-Jordan Emma Lewell Margaret Mullane COMMITTEE STAGE

Found: Rosie Duffield Sir Julian Smith Kate Osamor John Lamont Lillian Jones Ms Marie Rimmer Margaret Mullane

Found: _NC3 Tonia Antoniazzi Tracy Gilbert Mrs Sharon Hodgson Carolyn Harris Margaret Mullane Jess Asato

Found: _NC15 Marsha De Cordova Paula Barker Neil Duncan-Jordan Emma Lewell Margaret Mullane COMMITTEE STAGE

Found: Rosie Duffield Sir Julian Smith Kate Osamor John Lamont Lillian Jones Ms Marie Rimmer Margaret Mullane

Found: _NC3 Tonia Antoniazzi Tracy Gilbert Mrs Sharon Hodgson Carolyn Harris Margaret Mullane Jess Asato

Found: _NC15 Marsha De Cordova Paula Barker Neil Duncan-Jordan Emma Lewell Margaret Mullane .

Found: Rosie Duffield Sir Julian Smith Kate Osamor John Lamont Lillian Jones Ms Marie Rimmer Margaret Mullane

Found: Presented by Amanda Martin supported by Ms Stella Creasy, Margaret Mullane, Mrs Sharon Hodgson, Jodie

Found: _NC3 Tonia Antoniazzi Tracy Gilbert Mrs Sharon Hodgson Carolyn Harris Margaret Mullane Jess Asato

Found: Rosie Duffield Sir Julian Smith Kate Osamor John Lamont Lillian Jones Ms Marie Rimmer Margaret Mullane

This inquiry will examine the drivers of extremism in the UK, with a focus on emerging trends of young people being drawn into extremism, violence and crime through online radicalisation. It will assess whether the Government’s approach is keeping pace with the evolving threat and evaluate the effectiveness of measures such as Prevent in combatting new forms of extremism.