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 17 June 2025 to Question 58273 on DESNZ: Aviation, if he will publish details of his domestic travel since 5 July 2024.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Details of internal domestic flights are not published.
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 2.97 of HM Treasury's publication entitled Spending Review 2025: Departmental Efficiency Plans published on 11 June 2025, what the evidential basis is that insourcing will drive down costs by 40 to 60 per cent.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) will reduce its reliance on external consultants and contractors by building internal capability in key corporate functions. DESNZ benchmarking and commercial frameworks show external consultants and contractors typically attract significantly higher day rates in comparison to permanent staff. With targeted investment in skills, smarter talent deployment, and improved retention, the department can realise associated efficiencies of 40–60% in specific functions.
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 many office desks are allocated to staff in GB Energy; and how many staff are employed by GB Energy.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Great British Energy will be headquartered in Aberdeen, Scotland, recognising the expertise, skilled workforce, and diversity of projects already in place. In the interim, Great British Energy is headquartered in DESNZ’s second headquarters in Aberdeen, Crimon Place, to ensure the organisation can get to work as quickly as possible.
A total of 39 staff are currently working on the setup of Great British Energy. That number is set to increase when the organisation is fully 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, how many times he has taken a domestic flight for official travel purposes; which locations he has travelled to; and what the cost was for those flights.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Data on ministers’ travel is published on a quarterly basis. This can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/desnz-ministerial-gifts-hospitality-travel-and-meetings
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 China General Nuclear Power Corporation’s involvement in the construction of Hinkley Point C on cyber-security.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
To build and operate a nuclear site, a security plan, which includes cyber security, must be put in place and approved by the Office for Nuclear Regulation (ONR). The ONR, an independent regulator, then ensures that plan is effectively enforced.
The security of nuclear facilities will continue to remain paramount for ONR and Department for Energy Security and Net Zero.
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 2 May 2025 to Question 48042 on Great British Energy: Staff, if he will publish the declaration of interests of each of those appointments; and which of those appointments are regulated public appointments.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
All appointments were direct appointments, based on Great British Energy’s (GBE) set-up phase needs.
All appointees have declared their interests to the Department as part of the appointment process. The Department and GBE are both committed to transparent and accountable governance and will publish expectations to this end in GBE's framework document later this year.
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 appointments to Great British Energy will be included in the Public Bodies Order in Council; and whether the chair will be classified as a significant appointment.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Once Great British Energy (GBE) is formally designated following Royal Assent of the GBE Bill, we will consider whether to propose an amendment to the Public Bodies Order in Council; and whether the GBE Chair will be classified as a significant appointment.
Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - Basildon and Billericay)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, for what reason his Department intends to establish Great British Energy as an arm’s length body.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
It is our intention that Great British Energy will be a publicly owned energy company and an Arm’s Length Body in line with Cabinet Office guidance. Setting up GBE in this way will ensure the right balance between operational independence and accountability to Parliament.
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 he plans to lay an Official Statistics Order to include Great British Energy.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Department does not expect to amend the Official Statistics Order 2023 to include Great British Energy (GBE), because GBE will be an operationally independent energy company and we do not anticipate it will produce the sorts of statistics expected of bodies included in the order.
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 comparative assessment he has made of the potential impact of (a) importing coal from overseas and (b) mining coal in the UK on the environment.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
On 14th November 2024 the Government announced its intention to restrict the licensing of new coal mines: https://questions-statements.parliament.uk/written-statements/detail/2024-11-14/hcws215
The Department has not undertaken an assessment of the environmental impact of mining coal domestically set against importing product from overseas but notes that imports fell 45 per cent in comparison with 2022 to 3.4 million tonnes in 2023. This is a trend expected to continue following the closure of the last coal fired power station at the end of September, which reduced coal’s contribution to UK electricity supply to 0%’.