Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - Basildon and Billericay)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what assessment he made of requiring the structural steel used in the Net Zero Teesside carbon capture, utilisation and storage project to be (a) produced and (b) fabricated in the UK.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Government knows it is important to communities across the country that we use UK-made steel. We are ambitious about increasing the use of UK made steel in UK energy and infrastructure projects where possible.
Net Zero Teesside is not a public procurement (so public procurement guidelines do not apply) but we have spoken to the project developer to understand more about the use of UK and non-UK steel, as well as the wider use of UK local content, in the project. They confirmed their voluntary commitment to achieve more than 50% UK content across the value chain, with around £1.5 billion UK-based sub-contracts already awarded.
We want to champion UK steelmaking and our steel communities now and for generations to come and my colleagues at the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero are looking at how greater UK content will be used in future projects.
Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - Basildon and Billericay)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what estimate has been made of the potential cost impact of the UK ETS and domestic carbon pricing mechanisms on the cost of UK domestic flights between 2026 and 2050.
Answered by Chris McDonald - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Due to uncertainty surrounding both future emissions and carbon prices, the Government has not produced an estimate of the potential impact of the UK ETS on the cost of domestic flights between 2026 and 2050. The costs faced by aircraft operators will depend on the level of emissions covered by the UK ETS and the future price of UK ETS allowances. DESNZ publishes traded carbon values for modelling purposes, which provide scenario-based projections of future carbon prices rather than forecasts. As uncertainty increases over longer time horizons, any estimates of future UK ETS costs should be treated with caution.
Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - Basildon and Billericay)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, pursuant to the Answer of 9 June 2026 to Question 6816 on the UK Emissions Trading Scheme and Northern Ireland routes, whether he plans to publish any (a) assessments, (b) modelling, (c) case studies and (d) analysis undertaken by his Department on the potential impacts of the inclusion of ferry and freight operators serving Northern Ireland routes within the UK Emissions Trading Scheme.
Answered by Chris McDonald - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government published the final stage Impact Assessment for this policy on 25 November 2025. Overall, it found the policy delivers emissions reductions and wider economic benefits in the most cost-effective way possible. There are no plans to publish any further analysis at this time.
Independent, published analysis by Frontier Economics identified no material risk of carbon leakage, diversion of trade, or competitive distortion on Great Britain–Northern Ireland routes.
Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - Basildon and Billericay)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, how much (a) his Department, (b) its agencies and (c) its public bodies has spent on lanyards since 4 July 2024; what designs of lanyards have been purchased; and what the cost and number of each lanyard design purchased was.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
This detail of information is not held centrally and can only be obtained at disproportionate cost.
Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - Basildon and Billericay)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, with reference to paragraph 14 of the National Audit Office report on Sizewell C, HC 33, published in May 2026, whether his Department plans to analyse the potential impact of projected electricity bill increases during the construction of Sizewell C on households, commercial customers, and industrial customers.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The department estimates that RAB levies for Sizewell C will add on average approximately £1 a month to a typical household bill. Eligible Energy Intensive Industries are exempt from RAB levies.
There will be £2 billion per year savings to the energy system once Sizewell C is operational.
Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - Basildon and Billericay)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of recent changes in marine fuel costs on the inclusion of ferry and freight operators serving Northern Ireland routes within the UK Emissions Trading Scheme.
Answered by Chris McDonald - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
We actively monitor changes in marine fuel costs and wider market conditions.
The UK ETS is designed to support cost-effective decarbonisation, and operators retain flexibility in how they meet compliance obligations, including operational efficiency and fuel choices.
Route-specific case studies on GB-NI shipments show very small effects on final prices, with increases well under 1% for typical freight goods.
Compliance costs fall on operators, and any price changes are commercial decisions. The Government will review the maritime regime in 2028.
We continue to engage with operators and devolved governments on potential impacts.
Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - Basildon and Billericay)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether his Department has assessed the recommendations of the Independent Greenhouse Gas Removal Review, published on 23 October 2025; and what is his timeline for responding to that report's recommendations.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
On 23 October 2025 the GGR Independent Review was published, setting out a range of recommendations to government. The government welcomes this report and will consider the recommendations and respond in due course.
Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - Basildon and Billericay)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether Ofgem has reviewed the Employment Tribunal case involving the Drax whistleblower; and whether Ofgem has assessed whether any matters raised in that case have implications for Drax’s compliance with sustainability reporting requirements under the Renewables Obligation regime.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
In order to receive subsidies under the Renewables Obligation (RO), Drax must demonstrate compliance with biomass sustainability criteria. As part of its 2023-4 investigation into Drax, Ofgem considered a broad range of documents and sources, including statements from whistleblowers. Ofgem's investigation was comprehensive and wide-ranging, and found that whilst Drax complied with the sustainability standards and RO certificates were not issued inappropriately, Drax failed to report some data accurately. The detail of any documents considered in this investigation is for Ofgem to comment on as the independent regulator. Ofgem is confident in its conclusions, as is Government.
Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - Basildon and Billericay)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, pursuant to the Answer of 12 March 2026 to Question 118924, what estimate his Department has made of (a) the proportion of UK Emissions Trading Scheme costs in the maritime sector expected to be passed through to consumers and (b) how that estimate varies by subsector, including ferries and passenger services; and what international evidence underpins those assumptions.
Answered by Chris McDonald - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Impact Assessment finds UK ETS compliance costs are modest relative to operators’ overall costs and does not identify significant consumer price impacts. This is expected to be consistent across maritime subsectors.
For ferries and passenger services, the Government has not undertaken route level modelling for the UK ETS domestic maritime expansion, as operators’ commercial decisions, vessel utilisation and fare structures vary widely.
The EU ETS, which includes some passenger ferries in scope, shows fare changes have generally been in the low single digit range. Early evidence from the EU scheme suggests short‑sea shipping routes and ferry fares increased by 3-11% under comparable carbon pricing.
Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - Basildon and Billericay)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, pursuant to the Answer of 10 March 2026 to Question 116783, on Energy: Housing, what assessment his Department has made of the aggregate impact on total household energy consumption of voltage reduction technologies installed in domestic properties, taking into account (a) the proportion of appliances that are power-controlled and resistive, and (b) likely behavioural responses by consumers to any reduction in appliance performance.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The lowering of voltage only reduces electricity consumption with resistive appliances. a)The relative proportion of appliances that are power-controlled vs resistive is moving in favour of power-controlled appliances due to changes in technology. For example, filament bulbs, electric bar fires, immersion heating and older white goods are resistive, but more efficient LED bulbs, heat pumps, EV chargers and modern white goods with asynchronous motors are power controlled. b) The department has not conducted studies of consumer responses to poorer performance from their resistive appliances due to lower voltages.