Asked by: Polly Billington (Labour - East Thanet)
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 made of the potential merits of delaying connection offers for some protected battery projects and data centres to allow NESO and DESNZ to undertake other key activities to ensure projects can be delivered in time for 2030.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
NESO’s connections reforms have reduced the queue for generation and storage connections by over half, with the queue now largely in line with the capacity ranges set out in the Clean Power 2030 Action Plan.
We are aware that the volume of batteries in the queue exceeds that range. Nevertheless, the queue outcomes reflect consistent application of the agreed and published connection methodologies, designed to ensure fairness and maintain investor confidence.
As set out in November 2025’s ‘Delivering AI Growth Zones’ announcement, government is working closely with the regulator, NESO, and network companies, to deliver further reforms to the grid connection process for demand, to manage speculative data centre applications.
Asked by: Polly Billington (Labour - East Thanet)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what discussion he has had with National Grid Electricity Transmission on the siting of new substations and the consenting process for renewable projects under the Development Consent Order regime.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Secretary of State has not held discussions with National Grid Electricity Transmission on the siting of new substations or the consenting process of renewable projects.
In his quasi-judicial role in determining Nationally Significant Infrastructure Project (NSIP) applications for Development Consent Orders, he cannot comment on the merits of projects to avoid prejudicing the decision-making process.
Network developers are responsible for determining the siting of new substations in line with relevant national policy, including the National Policy Statement for electricity networks (NPS EN-5).
The Planning Act 2008 sets out the legislative framework for the NSIP consenting process.
Asked by: Polly Billington (Labour - East Thanet)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what discussions he has had with Ofgem about the balance between standing charges and unit rates for farmer and grower businesses.
Answered by Martin McCluskey - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
My Rt. Hon. Friend the Secretary of State has regular discussions with Ofgem on a range of issues.
Standing charges predominantly recover fixed costs that do not vary by energy use. This includes supplier’s operational costs and the cost of essential network maintenance and upgrades.
Levels of standing charges in the non-domestic market are a commercial decision for suppliers and are not subject to the Energy Price Cap, which only applies to the domestic market. We know that too much of the burden of the bill is placed on standing charges, and we are committed to ensuring that standing charges are fair to all consumers.
Asked by: Polly Billington (Labour - East Thanet)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether she has had recent discussions with her Israeli counterpart on ending the detention of Palestinian children in Israeli prisons.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
I refer the Hon Member to the answer of 16 September to Question 76963.
Asked by: Polly Billington (Labour - East Thanet)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to help increase early diagnosis for blood cancer.
Answered by Ashley Dalton
The Department continues to support the National Health Service to diagnose and treat cancer, including blood cancers, as early and fast as possible.
To increase early diagnosis of blood cancer, the NHS has implemented non-specific symptom (NSS) pathways for patients who present with symptoms such as weight loss and fatigue, which do not clearly align to a tumour type such as blood cancer. There are currently 115 NSS services operating in England, with blood cancers being one of the most common cancer types diagnosed through these pathways.
Early diagnosis is a key focus of the National Cancer Plan. It will include further details on how we will improve outcomes for cancer patients, including speeding up diagnosis and treatment, ensuring patients have access to the latest treatments and technology, and ultimately driving up this country’s cancer survival rates.
Asked by: Polly Billington (Labour - East Thanet)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential impact of art and design education on outcomes for students with SEND.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell
The government established an independent Curriculum and Assessment Review in July 2024, covering ages 5 to 18. The Review seeks to deliver a rich, broad, inclusive and innovative curriculum that readies young people for life and work, including in arts subjects.
The Review is currently looking closely at the key challenges to attainment for young people, and the barriers which hold children back from the opportunities and life chances they deserve, particularly in relation to those who are socioeconomically disadvantaged or have special educational needs or disabilities.
The Review is also looking at specific subjects, including art and design. Any subject-specific findings and recommendations will be included in the final report in the autumn.
Asked by: Polly Billington (Labour - East Thanet)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether his Department has made an estimate of the potential number of jobs that can be created from nature restoration projects.
Answered by Mary Creagh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Government is committed to supporting job creation through nature restoration initiatives. In our policy-making process, we carefully consider a range of factors, including the potential for economic growth and employment. Our Nature for Climate Fund—which supports tree planting and peatland restoration—plays a vital role in generating green jobs across the country. These projects are expected to create a substantial number of employment opportunities, particularly in rural and environmentally sensitive areas.
Asked by: Polly Billington (Labour - East Thanet)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department plans to include skills training for nature restoration and ecological programmes as part of the new Technical Excellence Colleges.
Answered by Janet Daby
The department is introducing Technical Excellence Colleges (TECs) to specialise in training skilled workforces which industry needs in priority sectors. This starts with the launch of ten construction TECs from September 2025. This will be followed by the launch of TECs to address shortages in engineering, which is critical to the skills needed in priority sectors including advanced manufacturing, clean energy industries, and digital and technologies.
The department will also invest in the estate and facilities needed to deliver priority training with £200 million capital investment via the Skills Mission Fund to tackle sector-specific shortages, including expanding TECs beyond construction.
Asked by: Polly Billington (Labour - East Thanet)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether the Learning Disability annual health check has been removed as a national target for primary care in the 2025-26 NHS plan.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The national target to complete annual health checks for 75% of people with a learning disability is not included in the 2025/26 NHS Planning Guidance. Most recent data from 2023/24 shows 79.6% of checks were delivered, surpassing the previous 75% National Health Service target.
To ensure these important checks continue, 2025/26 Planning Guidance still requires integrated care boards (ICBs) to report on the number of people on the Learning Disability Register who receive an annual health check, supported by a health action plan, each quarter. These checks are the first line of defence for people with a learning disability, many of whom live with additional health needs including long-term conditions. Over the past few years, and particularly through the pandemic, strong support from general practitioners to maintain learning disability annual health checks has enabled more people than ever before to have a health check and health action plan, an increase of more than 20% since 2020.
NHS England is working with people with lived experience, clinical professionals and ICB commissioners to produce an annual health check quality framework. The Annual Health Check quality framework will set out both the purpose, content and outcomes expected within an annual health check and the accompanying health action plan.
Asked by: Polly Billington (Labour - East Thanet)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether the Enrichment Framework will (a) provide a minimum of 80 hours of enrichment across the academic year and (b) be in addition to curriculum time for arts subjects.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell
The department, working closely with the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, has committed to publishing a new Enrichment Framework by the end of 2025. The framework is being developed alongside a working group consisting of experts from schools, youth, sports, arts and research organisations, to identify and reflect effective practice in schools.
The working group will consider how the framework can support equal access and support all pupils to engage with a school’s offer. The department expects the framework to set out benchmarks for high quality enrichment offers and to provide advice for schools with how to plan their offer strategically and intentionally. We do not expect the Framework to set new national requirements for schools, who need the flexibility to plan and deliver enrichment activities in a manner that best suits their unique circumstances and community needs. This is in addition to the teaching of arts subjects in the national curriculum.