Asked by: Lord Cameron of Lochiel (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask His Majesty's Government what action they are taking to discourage energy companies from lodging speculative "zombie scheme" energy applications.
Answered by Lord Wilson of Sedgefield - Lord in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The Government is working closely with the National Energy System Operator, Ofgem and the network companies to deliver fundamental reform of the grid connections process. The reforms will prioritise connections for viable and strategically aligned projects needed for clean power, helping unlock £40 billion of mainly private investment a year in clean energy and infrastructure. They will ensure only projects that are ready and needed are offered a connection, by requiring evidence of land access and permission to build, as well as how a project strategically aligns with the Clean Power Action Plan.
Asked by: Lord Cameron of Lochiel (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of how many "zombie scheme" energy applications have secured grid connection offers in Scotland since 2021, broken down by local authority area.
Answered by Lord Wilson of Sedgefield - Lord in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The Department does not hold this data however, through reforms to the connections process, only projects that are ready and needed will be offered a connection, by requiring evidence of land access and permission to build, as well as how a project aligns with the Clean Power Action Plan.
Asked by: Lord Cameron of Lochiel (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask His Majesty's Government what action they are taking to reform the grid connections queue in order to remove "zombie scheme" energy applications.
Answered by Lord Wilson of Sedgefield - Lord in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The Government is working closely with the National Energy System Operator, Ofgem and the network companies to deliver fundamental reform of the grid connections process. The reforms will prioritise connections for viable and strategically aligned projects needed for clean power, helping unlock £40 billion of mainly private investment a year in clean energy and infrastructure. They will ensure only projects that are ready and needed are offered a connection, by requiring evidence of land access and permission to build, as well as how a project strategically aligns with the Clean Power Action Plan.
Asked by: Lord Cameron of Lochiel (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of how many "shovel-ready" energy applications have secured grid connections in Scotland since 2021, broken down by local authority area.
Answered by Lord Wilson of Sedgefield - Lord in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The Department does not hold this data however, through reforms to the connections process, only projects that are ready and needed will be offered a connection, by requiring evidence of land access and permission to build, as well as how a project aligns with the Clean Power Action Plan.
Asked by: Lee Dillon (Liberal Democrat - Newbury)
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 is taking to ensure that new housing developments have sufficient grid capacity to meet net zero requirements.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
To ensure there is sufficient grid capacity to meet net zero, the government is delivering a major expansion of electricity networks. We are working with Ofgem and the National Energy System Operator to speed up delivery of new network infrastructure through reforms to planning, support for communities and strategic network design.
We are also working with Ofgem to ensure its price control framework supports proactive investment in the local distribution network. This will be informed by Regional Energy Strategic Plans, which will consider local requirements including ensuring timely reinforcement of networks for new housing developments.
Asked by: Lord Wigley (Plaid Cymru - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask His Majesty's Government how much was paid in each of the past five financial years as constraint payments to wind farm operators to compensate them for having to turn off their wind turbines to avoid the grid being overloaded in (1) England, (2) Scotland and (3) Wales.
Answered by Lord Wilson of Sedgefield - Lord in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The National Energy System Operator (NESO) is responsible for operating Great Britain’s electricity system and managing constraints. NESO publishes monthly constraint costs on their website, which can be found on page 3 of the Monthly Balancing Services Summary (MBSS) dashboard. This data is split by England and Wales and Scotland.
Constraints are a natural part of operating an efficient electricity system and constraint payments are used around the world. However, government is working to reduce the level of constraints and improve energy security by accelerating the delivery of new electricity network infrastructure to increase capacity on the system.
Asked by: Lord Wigley (Plaid Cymru - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to reconfigure the electricity grid network in the UK to minimise the need to constrain electricity generation by wind turbines to prevent overload.
Answered by Lord Wilson of Sedgefield - Lord in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
Government is implementing a strategic network planning approach led by the National Energy System Operator (NESO). This includes two previous published plans, as well as the upcoming Centralised Strategic Network Plan (CSNP), to be published by NESO in 2027. These strategic network plans take a holistic approach, with economic cost - including constraints costs - being one of the key criteria in determining the recommended transmission network design.
Asked by: Noah Law (Labour - St Austell and Newquay)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps his Department is taking to support affordable housing developers with (a) making grid connections, (b) installing drainage infrastructure, (c) achieving biodiversity net gain and (d) other development challenges.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The National Planning Policy Framework sets out that the purpose of the planning system is to contribute to the achievement of sustainable development, including the provision of supporting infrastructure in a sustainable manner.
Local development plans should address needs and opportunities in relation to infrastructure and identify what infrastructure is required and how it can be funded and brought forward. When preparing a Local Plan, Planning Practice Guidance recommends that local planning authorities use available evidence of infrastructure requirements to prepare an Infrastructure Funding Statement. Such Statements can be used to demonstrate the delivery of infrastructure throughout the plan-period.
The government provides financial support for essential infrastructure in areas of greatest housing demand through Land and Infrastructure funding programmes, such as the Housing Infrastructure Fund.
The revised National Planning Policy Framework published on 12 December 2024 will also support the increased provision and modernisation of various types of public infrastructure. It makes clear that local authorities should have policies that set out an overall strategy for the pattern, scale and design quality of places; that they should make sufficient provision for infrastructure including energy; and that applications which could affect drainage on or around the site should incorporate sustainable drainage systems.
The government is also committed to strengthening the existing system of developer contributions to ensure new developments provide necessary affordable homes and infrastructure. Further details will be set out in due course.
On 28 May 2025, the government published a consultation on improving the implementation of biodiversity net gain for minor, medium and brownfield development. It can be found on gov.uk here. The consultation closed on 24 July 2025 and the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs is considering the responses received.
Asked by: James Cleverly (Conservative - Braintree)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of (a) building regulations and (b) planning policy on levels of installation of air conditioning in new build homes.
Answered by Samantha Dixon - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Part O of the Building Regulations, which was introduced in June 2021 and came into force in June 2022, ensures new homes are designed to minimise the risk of overheating.
Given the Government’s net zero commitment, our preferred means of mitigating overheating is through passive measures, which ensure little or no energy is required to manage indoor temperatures. While mechanical cooling, such as air conditioning, is effective at reducing overheating, it is not a desirable or financially efficient solution due to the energy it consumes. Widespread reliance on mechanical cooling would place additional demand on the national grid, slowing the transition to a zero-carbon system and requiring further generation capacity. There are also implications for households, as the costs associated with mechanical cooling could exacerbate fuel poverty where people are unable to afford to run cooling systems.
Mechanical cooling can still be used to comply with Part O. However developers must first demonstrate that all reasonable passive measures have been implemented before adopting mechanical solutions.
Asked by: Lord Birt (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they will commission and publish an integrated cross-departmental strategy for the development of an electric vehicle charge point network across the United Kingdom (1) covering the ready availability of charge points where people live and work, (2) ensuring that charge points are as simple to use as petrol pumps, and (3) covering the development of the National Grid to supply power to charge points where it is needed.
Answered by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
The Government is committed to accelerating the roll-out of affordable and accessible charging infrastructure so that everyone, no matter where they live or work, can make the transition to an electric vehicle. This includes improving availability including through the Local EV Infrastructure Fund and grants to support workplaces to provide charging infrastructure for their staff and fleets.
To ensure chargepoints are reliable and simple to use, the Public Charge Point Regulations have requirements for operators relating to contactless payments, open data, and roaming. These enable consumers to reliably locate, charge, and pay at public chargepoints.
We are also working with DESNZ and Ofgem to ensure the energy sector can support EV charging infrastructure. We are very confident the grid can support the increase in power supply to chargepoints and the wider transition to EVs.