Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what steps his Department plan to take to ensure value for money from the £3.9 billion of funding allocated for carbon capture and storage and green hydrogen in 2025-26.

A formal part of the policy design and delivery process involves reviewing prior relevant efforts to ensure government is maximising value for money wherever possible. Our value for money judgement is evidenced by appraisal and analysis developed in line with the HMT Green Book and has supported policy development at each stage of the CCUS programme and the first Hydrogen Allocation Round (HAR1). All future carbon capture build out projects and subsequent HARs will require approved business cases, which will contain robust value for money assessments. The business models supporting both CCUS and electrolytic ‘green’ hydrogen are designed to address the risks that currently are a barrier to first of a kind projects, incentivise project behaviour in line with government objectives and deliver value for money for consumers and taxpayers.