Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what steps he is taking to reduce constraint payments to renewable energy producers.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The majority of the costs of constraints are driven by turning on expensive gas plants to replace curtailed generation. The current extent of grid constraints reflects years of underinvestment, with new network infrastructure development having lagged the expansion of new generation.
We are already taking action to reduce constraints, with the biggest upgrade to Great Britain’s electricity network in decades, which will also help deliver clean power by 2030.
Upgrading the grid is not a choice, it needs to happen to make sure the grid stays resilient and to get power from where it is generated to where it is needed, so we can connect homes, businesses and industry to generate growth.
Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, who is the Chief Risk Officer for national security risks relating to the work of their Department.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero does not have a designated post of Chief Risk Officer. Instead, the role is assigned to the SCS who manage the departmental risk team and, therefore, are responsible for the development and implementation of department’s Risk and Issue Management Framework, in line with government’s Orange Book.
The Permanent Secretary is responsible for the risks DESNZ owns in the National Security Risk Assessment (NSRA). DESNZ is the Lead Government Department for 16 of the 122 risk scenarios in the current NSRA cycle.
Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, who is the Chief Risk Officer for national security risks relating to the work of their Department.
Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Government identifies and assesses risks to the nation through the internal, classified National Security Risk Assessment, and the external National Risk Register, the most recent version of which was published in August
As set out in the UK Government Resilience Framework, each risk in the National Security Risk Assessment is owned and managed within Lead Government Departments
Where those risks, including national security risks, relate to the work of the Department for Science Innovation and Technology (DSIT), then they are managed through the department’s risk management processes. Within DSIT, risks are regularly reported to the department’s SLT, chaired by the Permanent Secretary, and then scrutinised by the Audit and Risk Committee (ARAC) on a regular basis.
Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
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 Cabinet colleagues on the potential impact of domestic solar panels, energy efficiency and home battery storage on civil preparedness and national energy security.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Civil preparedness and national energy security are central to the Government’s resilience agenda. As we transition to Net Zero, we are working with Cabinet colleagues and industry to ensure that technologies such as domestic solar panels, home battery storage and energy efficiency measures contribute to a secure, resilient energy system and support household preparedness.
As set out in the National Security Strategy (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/national-security-strategy-2025-security-for-the-british-people-in-a-dangerous-world) and the Resilience Action Plan
(https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/uk-government-resilience-action-plan) driving a conversation on risk and preparedness with the public is crucial. The forthcoming Energy Resilience Strategy will include proposals for how Government will work with wider society, in addition to the energy sector and partners in other critical sectors, to address the risks and challenges facing the energy system.
Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what information he holds on annual expenditure over the last five years on payments to wind farm operators to curtail electricity generation.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Department for Energy Security & Net Zero does not directly hold information on payments to wind farm operators to curtail electricity generation. NESO publishes annually a report on balancing costs. The 2025 Balancing cost report provides information on all balancing costs including constraints. In 2024/25, wind generators were paid a total of £370 million to turn down, i.e. to generate less power. Conversely, the cost of actions to turn-up gas plants to replace curtailed generation was £910 million.
Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, who is the Chief Risk Officer for national security risks relating to the work of their Department.
Answered by Kate Dearden - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
Each risk in the National Risk Register assigned to the Department for Business and Trade (DBT) has a designated Risk Owner, working within the Department which is responsible for designated risk areas. The Secretary of State and the Permanent Secretary are ultimately responsible for all risks owned by DBT as the Lead Government Department.
Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what is the largest number of companies registered to a single individual acting in the role as an officer of those companies.
Answered by Blair McDougall - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
With the information currently available, the largest number of active officer appointments linked to a single individual is 1008. This information is available publicly through Companies House data products.
That individual may have more appointments if they have used different appointment names and/or addresses with other companies. This will change when Companies House completes its implementation of mandatory identity verification. Having verified identities will ensure that Companies House can accurately determine how many companies an specific person is linked to. This will improve corporate transparency and deliver significant value to anyone considering transacting with a company.
Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, who is the Chief Risk Officer for national security risks relating to the work of their Department.
Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip
Secretaries of State and Accounting Officers are ultimately responsible for all risks a Department owns. Each risk in the National Risk Register (NRR) has a designated Risk Owner, working within the Lead Government Department which is responsible for designated risk areas.
Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether her Department is taking steps to support self-employed people who require support to file their tax returns due to economic or health difficulties; and whether she has made a recent assessment of the potential merits of reforming the penalty system, in particular for those who do not owe any tax.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
The government has reformed penalties and at Budget 2025 confirmed the introduction of a new penalty regime for late filing of SA returns and late payment of income tax that will now apply to all SA customers from April 2027. This reform of late filing penalties will reduce the penalties a customer can accumulate for filing late and will introduce a further safeguard so people will not receive a financial penalty for a single failure to file on time.
HMRC also has dedicated support in place for those facing personal difficulties and encourages anyone struggling to meet their obligations to make contact as soon as possible by phone or online.
This includes:
The tax system contains obligations, set out in law, to ensure that HMRC can collect the correct tax to fund vital public services. HMRC is bound by law to apply penalties where customers do not meet these obligations. Penalties also help to reassure customers who comply with their obligations that HMRC are applying the rules fairly and consistently.
Under Self Assessment (SA), HMRC requires information from customers in their tax returns to determine whether they have any liability to income tax. Even where a customer has no tax to pay, the information provided within their SA return ensures that taxpayers receive the benefits to which they are entitled, such as Tax-Free Childcare.
Where HMRC charges a penalty, a customer can formally appeal. HMRC will cancel any penalties where they accept that a taxpayer had a reasonable excuse for not filing their return on time.
Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, who is the Chief Risk Officer for national security risks relating to the work of their Department.
Answered by Lucy Rigby - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
HM Treasury is the Lead Government Department for Disruption to Financial Services, and the Principal Accounting Officer is primarily accountable to government for discharging that role.
The PAO is also responsible for HMT’s contribution to the management of other national security risks where other departments are the lead government department.