Asked by: Tom Gordon (Liberal Democrat - Harrogate and Knaresborough)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether he is taking steps to help increase (a) competition and (b) the transparency of road fuel pricing.
Answered by Miatta Fahnbulleh - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Government will implement Fuel Finder, a statutory open data scheme for fuel prices, to increase price transparency and help drivers make more informed decisions on where to buy petrol and diesel. This will increase pressure on retailers to compete strongly to attract consumers by lowering prices. Subject to legislation and Parliamentary time, we aim to launch Fuel Finder by the end of 2025.
The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) received statutory information gathering powers on 1 January 2025 through the Digital Markets, Competition & Consumer Act 2024 so it can monitor and scrutinise fuel prices. Once launched, Fuel Finder will provide the CMA with the appropriate data to adequately consider issues such as regional pricing variations.
Asked by: Mary Glindon (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne East and Wallsend)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 9 June 2025 to Question 56774 on Gaza: Humanitarian Aid, what diplomatic steps he is taking to call for an (a) immediate and (b) independent investigation into the reports of the killing of Palestinians near aid sites in Gaza.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
We are appalled by repeated reports of mass casualty incidents, in which Palestinians have been killed when trying to access aid sites in Gaza. Desperate civilians who have endured 20 months of war should never face the risk of death or injury to simply feed themselves and their families. We have raised our concerns directly with the Government of Israel. At a meeting of the United Nations Security Council on 4 June, we called for an immediate and independent investigation into these events, and for the perpetrators to be held to account.
Asked by: Tom Gordon (Liberal Democrat - Harrogate and Knaresborough)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what information his Department holds on when the Competition and Markets Authority plans to publish its assessment of regional road fuel pricing.
Answered by Miatta Fahnbulleh - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) addressed variation in regional road fuel pricing as part of their Road Fuel Market Study which was published in July 2023. The CMA published its latest report on 31 March 2025 and plans to release a more comprehensive report in the future, which will focus extensively on regional pricing differences.
Asked by: Perran Moon (Labour - Camborne and Redruth)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what steps her Department is taking to assess the UK’s economically recoverable reserves of geothermal energy.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Government has supported research on geothermal in which some assessment of the UK potential is made. This includes funding a 2023 evidence-based assessment of the UK opportunity (https://www.bgs.ac.uk/news/new-report-assesses-deep-geothermal-energy-in-the-uk/); and commissioning additional research projects which will be published this summer. Together they will provide an update on geothermal energy generation cost estimates and make accessible currently disparate technical sources of geothermal data and information. The Mining Remediation Authority has also released opportunity maps for mine water heat (https://www.data.gov.uk/dataset/0a4d95c1-5977-41a1-9c35-83017b871d22/mine-water-heat-opportunity-mapping-for-10-cities-in-england).
Asked by: Henry Tufnell (Labour - Mid and South Pembrokeshire)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 5 June 2025 to Question 56598 on Restless Legs Syndrome: Medical Treatments, whether he plans to make such an assessment.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department has no plans to make such an assessment. The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has an established prioritisation process overseen by a prioritisation board, for the identification of priorities for guidance development. Anyone is able to suggest a topic through the NICE website, at the following link:
https://www.nice.org.uk/forms/topic-suggestion
The licensed dopamine agonist medicines that are indicated for the treatment of restless leg syndrome are ropinirole, pramipexole, and rotigotine. Decisions about what medicines to prescribe are made by healthcare professionals and National Health Service commissioners, based on an assessment of the available evidence, taking into account national guidance and advice, such as Clinical Knowledge Summaries.
Asked by: Helen Maguire (Liberal Democrat - Epsom and Ewell)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether he has had discussions with the British Standards Institution on the implications of Publicly Available Specification 63100:2024 for the installation of domestic battery storage systems; and whether he has made an assessment of the potential impact of the one metre clearance requirement in section 6.5.5 of that specification on the uptake in housing stock.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Details of Ministers' and Permanent Secretaries' meetings with external individuals and organisations are published quarterly in arrears on GOV.UK.
Publicly Available Specification (PAS) 63100:2024 is a standard and not part of government regulation. The content of the draft standard was publicly consulted on and considered by the PAS Steering Group, which included battery manufacturers with an interest in ensuring rules are not unduly restrictive with regards to sale and installation.
Asked by: Claire Coutinho (Conservative - East Surrey)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what the total cost of procuring frequency control services was in each month since January 2022.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The data requested is a matter of public record and is published by the National Energy System Operator (NESO) here under the headings “MBSS” and “MBSS Archive”.
Asked by: Lee Anderson (Reform UK - Ashfield)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, how many hectares of arable farmland have been reallocated to (a) solar panels and (b) wind turbines since July 2024; and how many he plans to reallocate in the next four years.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Government does not hold the information requested.
Asked by: Andrew Snowden (Conservative - Fylde)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, pursuant to the Answer of 4 June 2025 to Question 55112 on Music Venues: Finance, what steps her Department is taking to ensure equitable access to the Supporting Grassroots Music Fund in (a) Fylde constituency, (b) regions with fewer existing grassroots music venues and (c) all English regions.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The Supporting Grassroots Music Fund is open to applications from rehearsal and recording studios, promoters, festivals, and venues for live and electronic music performance, from across the whole of England. Arts Council England supports and encourages applicants from across England including through its network of area-based relationship managers.
The Government and the live music industry are working together to drive progress on an industry-led levy on tickets for stadium and arena shows, to support grassroots music. We welcome commitments by artists and the wider industry to implement the ticket levy, and steps taken by industry to set up a charitable trust to distribute funds from the levy.
As part of the Spending Review 2025, the Government has announced a significant increase in funding for the Creative Industries. The Government’s industrial strategy is prioritising the creative industries and we will set out actions to drive music sector growth in the upcoming Creative Industries Sector Plan.
Asked by: Andy McDonald (Labour - Middlesbrough and Thornaby East)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the potential implications for his Department's polices of the request of workforce unions for the establishment of direct pay negotiations in the health sector.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Pay Review Body (PRB) process is the established mechanism for determining pay uplifts in the public sector. PRBs carefully consider evidence submitted to them from a range of stakeholders, including the Government and trade unions.
The Government is committed to a credible, independent PRB process as the way to set pay for National Health Service staff in England, and there are no plans to replace the process with direct negotiations.
However, we have listened to union concerns about the process, which is why we committed to improving the timeline this year and will look to build on that by remitting the PRBs to begin the next pay round in July, putting us on track to announce pay awards as early as possible in 2026/27.