Yasmin Qureshi

Data collected in 2025 and published by the National Energy System Operator shows 72.8 GW of capacity allocated to data centres in the GB connection queue across transmission and distribution, with connection dates extending to the late 2030s. It is not currently possible to provide a count of individual projects.

Government recently consulted on measures to manage the current oversubscription of data centre connections and will publish its response in due course.

The Clean Power 2030 Action Plan provides a ‘Clean Power Capacity Range’ as a foundation to guide rapid policy development and focus delivery, based on scenarios that meet our Clean Power ambitions. There is a breakdown of capacity ranges for the different technology sectors necessary for clean power in 2030, including long duration electricity storage (LDES) - which includes pumped storage hydro (PSH) - and solar. The scenarios developed cannot be exhaustive or definitive, so it is right that government retains some optionality.

To date, the UK has not endorsed any specific treaty on fossil fuels, but will keep this under review. We are committed to working with all international counterparts to transition away from fossil fuels, in line with the UK’s domestic and international commitments including from the COP28 Global Stocktake.

The Government is committed to supporting the uptake and development of alternative methods to the use of animals in science. The Labour Manifesto includes a commitment to “partner with scientists, industry, and civil society as we work towards the phasing out of animal testing”, which is a long-term goal.

We recognise that any work to phase out animal testing and support the transition to new approach methodologies must be science-led and in lock step with partners.

The government recognises that endometriosis can affect a pupil’s health, wellbeing and ability to attend school and participate fully in education. Regular attendance is important for pupils’ attainment, wellbeing and wider development, and schools should work with pupils and families to understand and address health-related barriers to attendance.

Section 100 of the Children and Families Act 2014 places a duty on maintained schools, academies and pupil referral units to make arrangements for supporting pupils with medical conditions, which would include endometriosis. Schools must have regard to the department’s statutory guidance about support for pupils at school with medical conditions, which is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/supporting-pupils-at-school-with-medical-conditions--3.

This guidance makes clear that pupils with medical conditions should be properly supported so that they can play a full and active role in school life, remain healthy and achieve their academic potential.

The statutory guidance regarding collaboration between schools, academy trusts, governing bodies and local authorities is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/working-together-to-improve-school-attendance. This guidance promotes a 'support first' approach and expects schools to be particularly mindful of absent pupils because of physical or mental ill health. Schools should work in partnership with families to understand the individual barriers a pupil faces, put appropriate support in place and consider reasonable adjustments where relevant.

In March, the department consulted on revised guidance on supporting children and young people with medical conditions, and this will be published in due course.

The government recognises that endometriosis can affect a pupil’s health, wellbeing and ability to attend school and participate fully in education. Regular attendance is important for pupils’ attainment, wellbeing and wider development, and schools should work with pupils and families to understand and address health-related barriers to attendance.

Section 100 of the Children and Families Act 2014 places a duty on maintained schools, academies and pupil referral units to make arrangements for supporting pupils with medical conditions, which would include endometriosis. Schools must have regard to the department’s statutory guidance about support for pupils at school with medical conditions, which is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/supporting-pupils-at-school-with-medical-conditions--3.

This guidance makes clear that pupils with medical conditions should be properly supported so that they can play a full and active role in school life, remain healthy and achieve their academic potential.

The statutory guidance regarding collaboration between schools, academy trusts, governing bodies and local authorities is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/working-together-to-improve-school-attendance. This guidance promotes a 'support first' approach and expects schools to be particularly mindful of absent pupils because of physical or mental ill health. Schools should work in partnership with families to understand the individual barriers a pupil faces, put appropriate support in place and consider reasonable adjustments where relevant.

In March, the department consulted on revised guidance on supporting children and young people with medical conditions, and this will be published in due course.

This government is committed to breaking down barriers to opportunity and reducing child poverty. We have allocated over £1 billion towards expanding free school meals to all children in households on Universal Credit. This new entitlement will mean over 500,000 of the most disadvantaged children will begin to access free meals, pulling 100,000 children out of poverty. This is in addition to the money we already spend, around £1.5 billion annually, so that over 3 million pupils receive a healthy, nutritious meal during the school day.

As part of the Transitional Protection (McCloud) remedy, affected members of the Teachers’ Pension Scheme (TPS) can choose either final salary or career average benefits for the remedy period (April 2015 to March 2022). From June 2025, the TPS administrator began adjusting pensions for members who selected benefits different from those already in payment.

As of 17 September 2025, 254 pensions had been adjusted. This process takes time, due to the complexity of the calculations required for the Remediable Service Statement (RSS), which reflects benefit choices as of its issue date. Additional calculations are needed if members opt for different benefits, as the pension position may change between RSS issuance and payment adjustment and some of these calculations cannot currently be automated so are done manually by clerical staff. The member’s existing pension benefits continue to be paid during this period, with any subsequent changes backdated with interest applied.

The department continues to monitor these issues very closely and work with Capita to ensure issues of this nature are resolved as quickly as possible, and the Teachers’ Pension Scheme is delivered to the highest possible standard.

Media literacy is covered in the citizenship, relationships, sex and health education and computing curriculums.

The department funds the National Centre for Computing Education, which provides teachers with continuing professional development and resources to support the teaching of computing. This includes units on messaging in digital media, the credibility of sources, and identifying ‘fake’ news and edited images, supporting the teaching of artificial intelligence (AI) and media literacy.

In 2024, the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) provided £0.5 million to scale up two programmes, to provide media literacy support to teachers, children aged 11 to 16, parents/carers and other professionals working with families.

The Educate against Hate website also hosts a series of online media literacy resources which seek to help young people evaluate the validity of information. This can be accessed at: https://www.educateagainsthate.com/.

The independent Curriculum and Assessment Review’s interim report notes the rise of AI and trends in digital information and that it is necessary that the curriculum keep pace with these changes, including a renewed focus on digital and media literacy and critical thinking skills. The interim report is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/curriculum-and-assessment-review-interim-report. The Review’s final report and recommendations will be published in autumn with the government’s response.

As the data centre sector grows, Defra is working across Government and with the Environment Agency to better understand this growth and reduce its impact.

Protecting public water supplies for households and businesses remains a priority during periods of acute water stress. Critical national infrastructure status does not create a general obligation on water companies to provide water for cooling. The Security and Emergency Measures Direction requires water companies, when preparing emergency plans, to identify and prioritise vulnerable customers, while also having regard to the needs of non-domestic users and any notified Critical National Infrastructure.

WaterUK regularly attends Defra's Water Delivery Taskforce, chaired by the Minister of State for Water and Flooding, Emma Hardy, which brings together Government, regulators and industry and is working to improve the evidence on data centre water use.

Current evidence suggests that existing data centres in England account for just 0.2% of non-household demand. Water companies may refuse a connection to a data centre where sufficient resources are not available. Water companies are responsible for planning and investing to meet future water needs, and Government expects them to continue improving water efficiency and reducing leakage.

Last year the Government published the UK Pesticides National Action Plan (NAP). It sets out how all four UK Governments will support farmers, growers and other land managers to increase their use of sustainable farming practices to reduce the potential harm from pesticides. The NAP introduces a UK domestic target to reduce the potential pressures from pesticides on the environment by 10% by 2030.

The Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI) also pays farmers and land managers to carry out actions that support the sustainable production of food and boost farm productivity and resilience, while protecting and enhancing the environment.

The Government remains committed to ending the use in England of the three neonicotinoid pesticides (thiamethoxam, clothianidin, imidacloprid) that threaten vital pollinators, including through emergency authorisations.

Acetamiprid does not pose the same risk to pollinators and is authorised for use on sugar beet and other crops both in Great Britain and the European Union. The Health and Safety Executive recently approved an emergency authorisation for a second spray - only when specific conditions are met - due to the exceptionally high pressure from aphids being faced by sugar beet farmers this year.

The Animal Welfare Strategy sets out that ending the use of cages and crates is a key priority for this Government. We will be consulting on the transition away from the use of farrowing crates to alternative systems, in due course.

There have been no allocations to Greater Manchester under national road safety funding schemes in each of the last three years. Local authorities are responsible for prioritising road safety measures within their existing transport and highways budgets.

The Government remains committed to improving road safety and the condition of local roads. While there is no ring‑fenced road safety funding, Greater Manchester will benefit from wider transport and highways investment, including £15,572,000 in highways maintenance incentive funding in 2026/27 and a £2.47 billion Transport for City Regions settlement for 2027–32 to support local transport priorities, which may include road safety initiatives.

Improving road safety is a key priority. Injuries and fatalities from road collisions caused by driving are unacceptable, and this Government is working hard to prevent these tragedies for all road users.

The Road Safety Strategy published on 7th January sets out the Department’s intention to establish a data-led road safety investigation branch to learn lessons from road incidents, by taking a strategic, thematic approach, focusing on patterns of collisions, injury trends, and systemic safety issues. It will adopt a test-and-learn approach, using real-world evidence to inform targeted safety interventions, data-driven policies, and proactive prevention and enforcement strategies.

Young drivers account for only 6% of driving licence holders but were involved in 24% of fatal and serious collisions in 2024.

This is why on 7 January 2026, we published our new Road Safety Strategy, setting out our vision for a safer future on our roads for all. This includes consulting on a Minimum Learning Period before learner drivers can take their test. This would allow learners more time to gain essential experience, for example in different weather conditions, before driving independently and reduce the risk to themselves and other drivers.

We are also consulting on a lower drink drive limit for newly qualified drivers with the intention of reducing collisions amongst this group.

Safety directions are issued under Schedule 3A of the Merchant Shipping Act (MSA) 1995 (as amended); Schedule 1 of the Marine Safety Act 2003 was inserted as Schedule 3A of the MSA 1995 (as amended).

In the period in question, ships’ masters were directed under Schedule 3A powers on four occasions:

1. On 16 March 2013, the master, owners and insurers of the general cargo vessel Danio were directed to notify their plans or intentions, including the appointment of competent salvors, following the grounding of the vessel.

2. On 3 February 2017, the master and owners of the bulk carrier V Due were directed to remove their ship from the port of Liverpool to take the undamaged cargo on board the ship for discharge to another port. The ship had previously been directed into the port of Liverpool after a cargo combustion fire on board and damaged cargo was subsequently discharged in the port.

3. On 19 July 2018, the master, owners and insurers of general cargo vessel Priscilla were directed to appoint competent salvors following the grounding of the vessel.

4. On 23 December 2018, the master and owners of the bulk carrier Kuzma Minin were directed to move the ship from an anchorage position to a casualty mooring buoy in Falmouth harbour. The ship had previously run aground and was then refloated in port controlled waters.

Whilst we are not considering Graduated Driving Licences, we absolutely recognise that young people are disproportionately victims of tragic incidents on our roads and continue to tackle this through our THINK! campaign.

We are considering other measures to address this problem and protect young drivers, as part of our upcoming strategy for road safety - the first in over a decade.

PIP assessors give due consideration to all available evidence when completing their advice to the Department. DWP decision makers also consider all available evidence when making entitlement decisions on PIP.

The Department closely monitors all aspects of the process including the performance of the assessment providers and the quality of assessments. All providers work with the department on plans to continuously improve assessment quality through a range of measures including audit, clinical observations, tailored training and development plans, providing feedback and in the support available to assessors.

We set out in the Pathways to Work Green Paper our intention to improve the experience for people who use the system of health and disability benefits. This includes exploring ways to improve PIP assessments through digitalising transfer of medical information.

We announced in the Pathways to Work Green Paper that we will, in future, record assessments by default, unless the claimant asks that the assessment should not be recorded. This will give us the means to check what happened when an assessment is found later to have been incorrect, and, we expect, an effective lever for improvement

We want new mothers to be able to take time away from work in the later stages of their pregnancy and in the months following childbirth, in the interests of their own and their baby’s health and wellbeing.

Maternity Allowance is a benefit paid by the State, for those who cannot get Statutory Maternity Pay, and is classed as unearned income for Universal Credit purposes. As such, in determining the entitlement to Universal Credit, Maternity Allowance is deducted pound for pound from the total value of the award.

Where an individual claims Universal Credit, their award is adjusted to take account of other financial support that the customer is already receiving – including earnings, other income and benefits. This principle applies to other benefits: for example, the same approach is applied to new style Jobseeker’s Allowance and new style Employment and Support Allowance.

I refer the honourable member to the answer given on 5 December 2024 to question UIN 16635.

The Government recognises the challenges unpaid carers are facing and is determined to provide them with the help and support they need and deserve. It is looking closely at how the benefit system currently does this. The Carer’s Allowance earnings limit for 2025/26 will be announced in due course.

The Secretary of State for Work and Pensions is required by law to undertake an annual review of benefits and State Pensions. The outcome of the Secretary of State’s review will be announced in the usual way.

No assessment has been made of the merit of increasing the carer element of Universal Credit outside of the annual review.

No specific assessment has been made regarding the Royal College of Emergency Medicine’s survey. Data on violence in emergency departments is not centrally held, although the NHS Staff Survey results, with questions on violence, are published at the following link:

https://www.nhsstaffsurveys.com/results/national-results/

However, we are clear that any actions of violence, abuse, or harassment towards National Health Service staff, including in accident and emergency units, will not be tolerated. Everyone working in the NHS has a fundamental right to be safe at work, and it is deeply concerning that so many emergency department staff continue to experience this unacceptable behaviour.

That is why, on 6 July 2026, as part of the 10-Year Health Plan, the Government introduced new NHS staff standards, which set out the targeted action that every NHS employer across the country must take to prevent and reduce violence and abuse against their staff and help ensure they can do their jobs safely, including putting in place appropriate security, training, and support services.

That also followed the announcement on 9 April 2025 that the Government had accepted the Social Partnership Forum’s recommendations on tackling violence and aggression towards NHS staff, which included improving data and reporting of incidents and ensuring strengthened risk assessment, training, and support for victims.