Written questions by Sobel.

Whether the Government is taking steps to implement the recommendations of the Whitehead Review, including formally recognising WECCS (waste-energy carbon capture and storage) as a greenhouse-gas removal route.

Even with our policies for greater waste prevention, reuse and a significant municipal waste recycling rate, there will still be a need to manage residual waste. Energy from Waste (EfW) facilities are a better option than landfill or incineration without energy recovery. They will remain a key part of our waste system. The residential waste sector has a high percentage of biogenic CO2, which if captured have the potential to create greenhouse gas removals. Carbon capture, usage and storage (CCUS) is essential to cut emissions from waste facilities. It is currently the only net zero compliant technology for many types of plants in the residual waste management system. The government has welcomed the Independent GGR Review, is considering the recommendations and will respond in due course.

Media and Sport, what Government support is available to young people in Leeds Central and Headingley constituency seeking careers in i) theatre and ii) the television and film sector.

We want to boost opportunities and support so that people from across the country, including those in Leeds Central and Headingley, feel like a creative career is an option for them. In the Creative Industries Sector Plan, we committed to delivering a refreshed UK-wide £9 million creative careers service. The government will partner with industry to equip the next generation of young people with the ambition and knowledge to work in the Creative Industries, including theatre and the television and film sector. The programme is designed to raise young people’s awareness of creative careers and pathways into them by providing specialist advice and information, and is designed in collaboration with employers to support young people from all backgrounds. This year, this included funding for UK Music and Music Local to hold a Music Careers Day and activities engaging young people in schools in Leeds, focussing on careers in the creative industries. We are also supporting young people in the Leeds Central and Headingley constituency through Arts Council England funding. This funding enables organisations such as Leeds Playhouse, Red Ladder Theatre Company and British Youth Music Theatre to offer training, placements and development opportunities, while Leeds Heritage Theatres and Transform Festival provide work experience and skills relevant to theatre, TV and film careers Our Creative Places Growth Fund will devolve £150m in total over 3 years to 6 Mayoral Strategic Authorities for them to distribute, according to local barriers and opportunities, including West Yorkshire. This will allow areas to maximise the impact of national interventions, including providing business support for local creative businesses, supporting regional skills initiatives to support job creation, innovation capacity building programmes, or by providing sector specific support such as TV and film production funds.

Media and Sport, what steps her Department is taking to support employment opportunities in i) theatre, and ii) the television and film sector, in Leeds Central and Headingley constituency.

We want to boost opportunities and support so that people from across the country, including those in Leeds Central and Headingley, feel like a creative career is an option for them. In the Creative Industries Sector Plan, we committed to delivering a refreshed UK-wide £9 million creative careers service. The government will partner with industry to equip the next generation of young people with the ambition and knowledge to work in the Creative Industries, including theatre and the television and film sector. The programme is designed to raise young people’s awareness of creative careers and pathways into them by providing specialist advice and information, and is designed in collaboration with employers to support young people from all backgrounds. This year, this included funding for UK Music and Music Local to hold a Music Careers Day and activities engaging young people in schools in Leeds, focussing on careers in the creative industries. We are also supporting young people in the Leeds Central and Headingley constituency through Arts Council England funding. This funding enables organisations such as Leeds Playhouse, Red Ladder Theatre Company and British Youth Music Theatre to offer training, placements and development opportunities, while Leeds Heritage Theatres and Transform Festival provide work experience and skills relevant to theatre, TV and film careers Our Creative Places Growth Fund will devolve £150m in total over 3 years to 6 Mayoral Strategic Authorities for them to distribute, according to local barriers and opportunities, including West Yorkshire. This will allow areas to maximise the impact of national interventions, including providing business support for local creative businesses, supporting regional skills initiatives to support job creation, innovation capacity building programmes, or by providing sector specific support such as TV and film production funds.

Whether her Department has considered extending the validity period of theory test certificates for Approved Driving Instructor candidates whose certificates are at risk of expiring before they can sit the Part 2 test due to limited appointment availability.

The two-year validity period of a theory test certificate, including for approved driving instructors (ADI), is set in legislation, and the Government has no current plans to lay further legislation to extend it. DVSA is recruiting additional examiners in its ADI team and has also increased its capacity to train new examiners.

What steps her Department is taking to reduce waiting times for Approved Driving Instructor Part 2 and Part 3 tests.

The two-year validity period of a theory test certificate, including for approved driving instructors (ADI), is set in legislation, and the Government has no current plans to lay further legislation to extend it. DVSA is recruiting additional examiners in its ADI team and has also increased its capacity to train new examiners.

With reference to ADE's Electricity System Benefits of Heat Networks research paper, whether he is taking steps to reform planning arrangements to capture potential £1.2 billion annual savings in avoided generation capacity from the expansion of heat networks.

The Warm Homes Plan sets our strategy for upgrading buildings, including. the case for heat networks to decarbonise heat whilst reducing the cost of upgrading the grid. We estimate that heat network deployment will save £5-7 billion in avoided distribution network costs, even before flexibility is accounted for. ADE’s research adds to our understanding in this area. Our Heat Network Zoning policy will ensure that heat networks are built where they are the lowest-cost low carbon option, whilst Regional Energy Strategic Plans will ensure a more strategic, joined-up approach to electrification at a distribution level.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment she has made of the potential impact for her policies of reports of the killing of five West Papuan civilians by Indonesian police in Dogiyai Regency; and what diplomatic steps she is taking to ensure that the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights is allowed to report from West Papua.

We are concerned about the recent increase in violence in Papua, including the fatalities in Dogiyai Regency. I visited Indonesia in February and underlined the importance the UK attaches to human rights and raised Papua directly with the Vice Foreign Minister Arif Havas Oegroseno. The UK supports a visit to Papua by the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights. We hope a date for a visit can be agreed soon and we have raised this via the UK Mission to the UN in Geneva.

What assessment he has made of the potential implications for his policies of the research paper by ADE entitled Electricity System Benefits of Heat Networks, published on 11 January 2025.

The Warm Homes Plan sets our strategy for upgrading buildings, including. the case for heat networks to decarbonise heat whilst reducing the cost of upgrading the grid. We estimate that heat network deployment will save £5-7 billion in avoided distribution network costs, even before flexibility is accounted for. ADE’s research adds to our understanding in this area. Our Heat Network Zoning policy will ensure that heat networks are built where they are the lowest-cost low carbon option, whilst Regional Energy Strategic Plans will ensure a more strategic, joined-up approach to electrification at a distribution level.

What assessment his Department has made of the adequacy of the level of technical maturity and commercial readiness of WECCS (waste-energy carbon capture and storage) at EfW (energy-from-waste) sites to deliver verified greenhouse-gas removals at scale.

Carbon capture and storage (CCUS) is fundamental to the deep decarbonisation of industries such as energy-from-waste (EfW). CCUS is the only net zero compliant technology for many types of plants in the residual waste management sector. The residential waste sector has a high percentage of biogenic CO2, which if captured have the potential to create greenhouse gas removals. The government has developed a business model to support Waste CCUS projects and stimulate private sector investment. Following the signature of the first Waste ICC contract, the Protos Energy Recovery Facility in Cheshire is set to be the UK’s first CCUS-enabled Energy from Waste facility, generating enough electricity to power 80,000 UK homes securing 500 jobs. This is a first step to delivering carbon removals from the EfW sector, demonstrating the technical readiness of CCUS enabled EfW facilities.

What analysis his Department has undertaken of the potential impacts of co-locating WECCS (waste-energy carbon capture and storage) with EfW (energy-from-waste) plants on regional energy systems and grid infrastructure, including any potential to reduce the need for new grid connections.

Carbon capture, usage and storage (CCUS) is fundamental to the deep decarbonisation of industries such as EfW. CCUS is the only net zero compliant technology for many types of plants in the residual waste management sector.The residential waste sector also has a high percentage of biogenic CO2, which if captured have the potential to create greenhouse gas removals. CCUS technology requires energy to power the facility, and therefore the energy balance of an energy-from-waste (EfW) facility is expected to be impacted by the deployment of CCUS. These impacts will vary depending on the facility, notably whether the EfW facility is new or whether CCUS is being retrofitted on an existing site.

What assessment he has made of the potential impact of the three month relevant period for LCWRA on applications; and what the reason for that period is.

The LCWRA element will be paid from the start of the Assessment Period following the Assessment Period in which the ‘relevant period’ ended. This replicates the 13-week assessment period applied to Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) claims and is used to establish that the customer has a long-term health condition or disability. Throughout the period before the award of the LCWRA addition, claimants will receive the applicable standard allowance plus any eligible additions, such as housing costs.

What support is available to ensure that individuals with dyslexia can access practical, skills-based career pathways.

Good work is good for health, so we want everyone to get work and get on in work, whoever they are and wherever they live. In our Pathways to Work Green Paper we set out our Pathways to Work offer, backed by £1 billion a year of new funding by the end of the decade. Disabled people are a diverse group so access to the right work and health support, in the right place, at the right time, is key. The Government is committed to supporting disabled people, including dyslexic people, with their employment journey. We therefore have a range of specialist initiatives to support individuals to stay in work and get back into work, including those that join up employment and health systems. Existing measures include support from Work Coaches and Disability Employment Advisers in Jobcentres and Access to Work grants. The new Jobs and Careers Service will play a crucial role in helping everyone, including dyslexic people, to find meaningful work, develop their skills and progress in their careers. Through Pathways to Work we are building towards a guaranteed offer of personalised work, health and skills support for all disabled people on out of work benefits.

What steps his Department is taking to improve (a) diagnosis of and (b) medical support for people with achalasia in Leeds Central and Headingley constituency.

The Government is committed to supporting those with achalasia. Achalasia can affect both adults and children. The paediatric aspect is commissioned through specialised commissioning but if it is missed in childhood, any adults who present with it are usually managed within locally commissioned, secondary care gastroenterology, endoscopy, upper gastrointestinal surgical services. Diagnosis usually requires oesophageal manometry, which most large secondary care gastro/endoscopy units can provide.Management of the condition is usually endoscopic or surgical with a myotomy, splitting the muscle in the lower oesophageal sphincter valve. The Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust is one of the handful of centres in the United Kingdom offering endoscopic myotomy. Leeds also has an established surgical service offering keyhole myotomy and anti-reflux surgery and these procedures can sometimes be done with robotic assistance. They also have specialist dietetic support for patients requiring nutritional support leading up to surgery. In addition, the 10-Year Health Plan sets out the Government’s vision for the Neighbourhood Health Service. The Neighbourhood Health Framework has now been published, and will enable a more joined-up approach that delivers more preventative, local, personalised, and digitally enabled care for everyone, including people living with achalasia. Central to the plans are Neighbourhood Health Centres, which will bring more care closer to where people live. This is supported by the NHS App, which will become a health companion that makes it easier for patients to access the NHS. It will give patients a more seamless experience across their health journey.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether the UK will sign the Council of Europe memorandum to the Special Tribunal on Crimes of Aggression Against Ukraine.

The UK is a strong and consistent supporter of the Special Tribunal for the Crime of Aggression against Ukraine, which will hold to account those senior political and military leaders responsible for the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. The UK has been active in negotiations alongside Ukraine and international partners to ensure the Tribunal is both politically and financially sustainable. The UK welcomes the conclusion of negotiations on the Enlarged Partial Agreement (EPA), which outlines the Tribunal's operating model. Once EPA adoption plans are finalised, an update will be given on the UK's position and the operational arrangements for the Tribunal prior to formal adoption.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if she will consider the potential merits of adding Iraq to the list of countries where British nationals can register their presence with her Department.

The safety and security of British nationals is our top priority, and on that basis, we continue to recommend against all travel to all regions of Iraq. We keep our travel advice and our response to the current crisis under constant review, but there are no plans to launch the Register My Presence service for Iraq at this time.

Pursuant to his answer of 27 February 2026 to Question 113391 regarding the impact of Drax’s burning of wood on carbon sequestration, what is his calculation for the number of years it takes for the carbon debt to be paid off by replacement trees.

Biomass feedstocks for power production at Drax utilise waste wood and residues from productive forestry for other wood products. The carbon balance of these depends on forest type and management, amongst other variables, and cannot be attributed to the growth of replacement trees alone. The Government only supports the use of sustainable biomass and operators only receive subsidies for biomass that meets our sustainability criteria. UK sustainability criteria include requirements on sustainable forest management in the sourcing region, which applies to both domestically sourced and imported biomass.

Food and Rural Affairs, what interventions she plans to put in place to mitigate the public safety and economic risks posed by batter fires in waste centres.

The department is aware from ongoing discussions with industry that the reported costs of battery fires in waste centres are significant, and this is a major concern. Defra is currently considering options for reforms of the batteries regulations that would help to address this issue, and as part of this we will include our own assessment of the cost to the economy of battery fires in waste centres. Defra will continue to work with industry on this matter.

What assessment he has made of the potential risks posed by lithium-ion batteries on public safety.

Product safety laws require consumer products containing lithium-ion batteries, and batteries themselves, to be safe when they are placed on the market. Businesses have obligations to ensure the safety of products they manufacturer or import, and regulators have powers to act when products do not comply. In 2024, my department published statutory guidelines covering the safety of lithium-ion e-bike batteries. In 2025 the Office for Product Safety and Standards published research by Warwick Manufacturing Group into e-bike battery safety, which provides new insight into how lithium-ion batteries fail in real-world scenarios, and best practices for safer battery design.

Food and Rural Affairs, what estimate her Department has made of the annual cost to the economy of battery fires in waste centres.

The department is aware from ongoing discussions with industry that the reported costs of battery fires in waste centres are significant, and this is a major concern. Defra is currently considering options for reforms of the batteries regulations that would help to address this issue, and as part of this we will include our own assessment of the cost to the economy of battery fires in waste centres. Defra will continue to work with industry on this matter.

Pursuant to his Answer of 27 February 2026 to Question 113391 on the role of Drax in the power system, including its private sector clients, how many tonnes of wood were burned by Drax in each of the last five years and how many he expects to burned in each of the next five years.

Government does not gather or hold information on fuel used by Drax each year, however this data is published by Drax in the company’s annual ESG report, ESG Performance Report - Drax Global. Fuel use is also monitored and assured as part of the operation of subsidy schemes for large-scale electricity generation. This includes Ofgem, for Drax’s units under the Renewables Obligation, and the Low Carbon Contracts Company, for Drax’s unit currently operating on a Contract for Difference.Future fuel use at Drax will depend on demand at the station, linked to its new dispatchable operation under the Low Carbon Dispatchable Contract for Difference from 2027. Drax will play a much more limited role in the system, providing dispatchable power only when the system really needs it. It will be supported to operate at a maximum load factor of 27%, operating less than half as often as it currently does. Accordingly, we anticipate that fuel use will reduce substantially under the new contract running from 2027-2031.