Melanie Onn

The Department remains alert to significant trade remedy cases between WTO members and will continue to closely monitor those cases where the UK has an interest.

While there has not yet been an assessment, as the Trade Remedies Authority has no open investigations on imports of dumped or subsidised titanium dioxide, we would encourage UK producers to contact the Trade Remedies Authority, who may consider an investigation, if they do have concerns.

Great British Energy (GBE) will drive clean energy deployment. Across its different functions, GBE will offer a range of support to turbocharge the growth of energy projects, including through project development. The electricity grid is a key enabler for the deployment of clean power generation and Government will work with industry to upgrade our national transmission infrastructure. I do not anticipate that GBE will be directly involved in providing grid connections. However, by working with National Energy System Operator, Ofgem, The Crown Estate and other stakeholders, GBE could provide a coordinated approach to grid connections, helping to accelerate and derisk the delivery of clean energy technologies.

The Industrial Energy Transformation Fund (IETF) is a £500m grant fund programme which supports industrial sites with high energy use to transition to a low carbon future. The Government has encouraged applications to the IETF from the chemicals sector and chemicals sites have received support from the IETF. The outcomes of applications to Phase 3.1 of the IETF are waiting on the autumn fiscal event, so that they can be finalised and applicants can be informed.

National government provides support to local areas to decarbonise. This includes funding five regional Local Net Zero Hubs which support local authorities to develop net zero projects and attract commercial investment. In addition, the Local Industrial Decarbonisation Plans competition, run by government in partnership with Innovate UK, is providing up to £6 million in grant funding to 13 projects, supporting dispersed industrial manufacturers not located in the UK’s existing industrial clusters to decarbonise and reduce their emissions.

As the sector has never been regulated, the Department has not collected pricing data for consumers on communal or district heat networks. However, we are bringing in regulation to appoint Ofgem as the heat network regulator and giving them powers to monitor the market and intervene on high heat prices. The Department is also exploring options to protect vulnerable consumers in the upcoming heat network consumer protection consultation. As heat networks can efficiently use waste sources of heat, they are well placed to cut bills, as well as to reduce emissions, and our reliance on imported fossil fuels. In urban areas, heat networks are often the lowest cost low carbon heating option for consumers.

The Offshore Renewable Energy Catapult (OREC) is an independent research centre that advances technology innovation for offshore renewable energy. OREC’s capabilities are vital to achieving the government's clean power mission. As part of the Department's Net Zero Innovation Portfolio, OREC’s expertise from its Floating Offshore Wind Centre of Excellence has led to the development of 36 projects focused on technology development and innovation in the offshore wind sector, laying the foundation for increased deployment of floating offshore wind in the UK.

The Department is considering how best to integrate OREC’s capabilities into forthcoming innovation programmes.

This department recognises the valuable and important role that kinship carers play in caring for some of the most vulnerable children.

The department is determined to give every child the opportunities they deserve, and kinship carers play a crucial role in delivering this. We know that many children who receive care from relatives and friends need extra support, including in school. We are working to ensure their needs are met, and that they have the best possible opportunity to succeed.

The government has expanded the role of virtual school heads to include specific responsibilities to promote the education outcomes of children in kinship care and recently announced the appointment of the first National Kinship Care Ambassador.

The government has extended the delivery of over 140 peer support groups across England, available for all kinship carers to access, where they can come together to share stories, exchange advice and support each other. A package of training and support is being delivered to kinship carers across England.

This government is considering how to most effectively transform the children’s social care system to deliver better outcomes for children and families, including how best to support kinship families.

High quality early education has a profound impact on child development, and it particularly benefits disadvantaged children. The government recognises that maintained nursery schools contribute to improving the lives of some of our most disadvantaged children, with around 80% of them being located in disadvantaged areas.

They also have a reputation for excellence and are recognised as high quality providers; in December 2023, 61% of them were judged to be Outstanding by Ofsted and 37% were judged to be Good.

In 2018, the department carried out research on the role and contribution of maintained nursery schools. The report can be found at: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/5f48d4398fa8f57fb653f840/Frontier_Economics_MNS_report_REVISED_v2.pdf.

Water companies are required to publish a statutory water resource management plan (WRMP) every 5 years. If the need for new water supplies is identified as a result of the assessments carried out to develop the WRMP, the company will set out the timescales within which the proposed schemes will be delivered in order to meet the forecast need. The detailed design, planning and building of these schemes is managed by the individual water companies to deliver the schemes within the timescales set out in the WRMP. The water companies report on the progress with delivery of their statutory WRMPs to Defra every year via the WRMP Annual Review process.

Food security is national security, and a sustainable fishing industry is an important part of that. Decisions on any future funding for the fishing industry will be taken through the Spending Review processes. Discussions on the opportunities and challenges facing the industry over the last few months have been helpful in gaining an understanding of what other types of support or government action may be appropriate in the future, including on skills.

It is a duty on water companies to maintain, improve and extend their water supply networks, to account for future water needs. Included within these plans, companies have to make estimates of demands from non-household customers, such as those for industrial users. Last year, regional water resources groups and water companies consulted on their draft water resources plans. These statutory plans set out how each company will secure water supplies sustainably for at least the next 25 years. The draft water resources management plans contain proposals for multiple new water resources schemes by 2050. Further information on the proposals can be found in the Environment Agency’s Summary of England’s draft regional and water resources management plan.

We are committed to Britain becoming a Clean Energy Superpower and ports are a key part of that mission. Ports are primarily private entities and the cost of electrification of onshore marine ports varies from port to port depending on the port's needs. The cost can be significantly higher or lower depending on the electricity demand and the distance from a connection point.

The new Government’s manifesto made it clear that the “grid has become the single biggest obstacle to the deployment of cheap, clean power generation and the electrification of industry.” My Department meets regularly with ports and District Network Operations (DNOs) to understand the challenges they face in relation to electrification, to signpost information and to raise their concerns across government. As a mission driven government, the Secretary of State for Transport attends the Clean Energy Mission Board, which is chaired by DESNZ Secretary of State, a key focus of which grid investment and connection's process reform.

The UK SHORE programme has funded over 150 projects and has leveraged over £100m private investment, supporting all levels of research and development including feasibility studies, trials and demonstrations in a commercial environment. The funding is benefitting all 12 regions in the UK, supporting over 350 organisations, including over 200 SMEs.

All projects are detailed on Innovate UK’s website and we are conducting in independent evaluation assessment of the programme which is measuring its impact and helping us shape future support as well as policy.

Following the Autumn Budget on 30 October 2024, DfT now has its budget for the next Financial Year (2025 / 2026). We are waiting for the internal business planning process to conclude before we can confirm what that means in terms of funding for individual programmes.

Decarbonising transport is central to the delivery of the UK’s cross-economy climate targets, and directly supports the Prime Minister’s mission to make Britain a clean energy superpower and accelerate our journey to net zero.

The International Maritime Organization (IMO)’s revised 2023 greenhouse gas (GHG) strategy and the upcoming negotiations later this year will be of vital importance to decarbonising the global maritime sector. The measures under consideration include a goal-based marine fuel standard which would drive down the GHG intensity of marine fuels and incentivise the uptake the cleaner zero and near zero GHG emission fuels. The potential impact of these global measures will be considered in a comprehensive impact assessment as part of this negotiation process.

This work goes hand in hand with the need to unlock investment in maritime decarbonisation technologies; zero and near zero GHG emission vessels; and green port infrastructure within the UK.

We are working with industry to address the timetabling, financial, operational, and infrastructure issues that need to be resolved before a service to Cleethorpes can be introduced; once the East Coast Mainline timetable change has been implemented.

We are considering proposals put forward, with final approval subject to a thorough business case process.