Written questions by Bowie.

Whether his Department has identified suitable locations in Aberdeen in which to house the headquarters of GB Energy.

Great British Energy will be headquartered in Aberdeen, Scotland, recognising the expertise, skilled workforce, and diversity of projects already in place. As a Government Property Agency (GPA) onboarded department, DESNZ is pursuing property options through the GPA. Due to the commercial sensitivity of any lease negotiations, specific details cannot be provided at this time. In the interim, Great British Energy is headquartered in DESNZ’s second headquarters in Aberdeen, Crimon Place, to ensure the organisation can get to work as quickly as possible, not least hosting Great British Energy’s first board meeting on 17 March 2025.

What the sources of funding were for the Climate and Environment Conference hosted by the Civil Service Climate + Environment Network.

The 2025 conference was funded by learning and development budgets from across government.

Which companies have received curtailment payments; and what those payments were in each year since 2015.

The Department does not hold this information. The National Energy System Operator (NESO) is responsible for managing constraints and publishes yearly breakdowns by cost and volume, which can be found here: Constraint Breakdown Costs and Volume | National Energy System Operator. This is aggregate data and does not show which companies have received constraint payments. Increasing the capacity of Great Britain’s electricity network is essential for reducing curtailment and constraint payments. This is why the Government is working to accelerate the build of new network infrastructure, so more cheap, homegrown energy can power up our homes and businesses.

Whether staff in his Department will be given paid time off to attend the Climate and Environment Conference hosted by the Civil Service Climate + Environment Network.

Attendance at the Civil Service Climate + Environment Conference is treated like other professional development opportunities within the Civil Service. Staff may attend with their line manager's agreement as part of their learning and development, in line with standard departmental policies. This aligns with the Civil Service's commitment to continuous professional development and cross government collaboration. This is the second such conference, with the inaugural event in 2023 attended by Ministers from the previous administration in which the Hon Member was a Minister

What the (a) overall cost and (b) breakdown of expenditure was for the Climate and Environment Conference hosted by the Civil Service Climate + Environment Network.

Information on departmental expenditure is made publicly available the usual way through the Department's annual report and accounts.

How much civil service time has been spent organising the Climate and Environment Conference hosted by the Civil Service Climate + Environment Network.

The Civil Service Climate + Environment Network is run by volunteers across government who typically dedicate around 5% of their time to network activities, often as part of their learning and development. The annual conference is delivered primarily through this voluntary commitment, with minimal impact on departmental resources. This is the second such conference, with the inaugural event in 2023 attended by Ministers from the previous administration in which the HM was a Minister.

Whether any civil servants from his Department will attend the CERAWeek conference in Houston, Texas, between 10 March 2025 and 14 March 2025.

Details of meetings held by officials are not held centrally and could only be provided at disproportionate cost.

Whether Ministers in his Department will attend the CERAWeek conference in Houston, Texas, between 10 March 2025 and 14 March 2025.

Details of Ministers' and Permanent Secretaries' meetings with external individuals and organisations are published quarterly in arrears on GOV.UK.

What assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of monthly market price variability on plans to decarbonise the grid by 2030.

Currently, the market price varies strongly based on fossil fuel prices, which we do not expect to impact the delivery of Clean Power 2030. As the action plan makes clear, homegrown renewable energy is the key to energy independence. Clean Power 2030 will reduce our exposure to volatile international gas markets and the leverage of hostile petrostates like Russia.

What estimate his Department has made of the amount of (a) copper, (b) aluminium, (c) steel, (d) concrete and (e) other metals required to upgrade the electricity (i) transmission and (ii) distribution grids over the next five years.

Grid expansion will be dependent on equipment manufacturers securing the materials required to produce grid components to meet global demand. The UK Critical Mineral Intelligence Centre (CMIC) recently published a study into requirements of our national grid infrastructure to reach net zero. The cumulative material demand between 2023-2050 for upgrades is expected to be between 1.1m-1.6m tonnes of copper and 200,000-300,000 tonnes of aluminium. As part of the Government’s upcoming Plan for Steel, we are working to better understand domestic demand and explore what can be done to ensure our steel sector is best positioned to capitalise on it.

What assessment his Department has made of the gap between market prices and average tariffs charged by electricity suppliers over the next five years.

Under the default tariff cap, Ofgem has capped the profits of energy suppliers in the retail market to ensure excessive profits aren’t made. There are different costs included in the price cap and any changes to these costs affect how much the price cap will increase or decrease each time it is reviewed. For the period 1 April to 30 June 2025, the main cost increase is due to an increase in the wholesale price of energy that suppliers buy from global fossil fuel markets. The Government believes that our mission to deliver clean power by 2030 is the best way to break our dependence on global fossil fuel markets and protect billpayers permanently. The creation of Great British Energy will help us to harness clean energy and have less reliance on volatile international energy markets and help in our commitment to make Britain a clean energy superpower by 2030.

How much civil service time is spent on organising the Civil Service Climate + Environment Network each week.

The Civil Service Climate + Environment Network is run by volunteers across government who typically dedicate around 5% of their time to network activities, often as part of their learning and development. The annual conference is delivered primarily through this voluntary commitment, with minimal impact on departmental resources. This is the second such conference, with the inaugural event in 2023 attended by Ministers from the previous administration in which the HM was a Minister.

What assessment his Department has made of the future needs of research and development for advanced modular reactors.

The Department commissioned the Nuclear Innovation and Research Advisory Board (NIRAB) to produce a report on the Research Development & Innovation required for a UK High Temperature Gas Reactor Demonstration in October 2024. This can be found at https://www.nirab.org.uk/our-work/publications and explores both the technical and commercial areas for development to enable an Advanced Modular Reactor in the UK.

How much investment his Department plans to allocate to (a) training centres, (b) training courses and (c) training advisors in the nuclear industry.

The Government is committed to ensuring that the UK nuclear industry has the necessary skills needed to deliver our nuclear ambitions. Recognising the need to act now to grow the workforce, the nuclear sector across civil and defence are collaborating to deliver sustained long-term action that will develop a robust nuclear skills base, including through the delivery of the National Nuclear Strategic Plan for Skills.

How much public investment has been committed to the development of a High Temperature Gas Reactor with the Japanese Government.

Public funding provided by DESNZ is laid out in DESNZ annual reports and accounts.

For what reason his Department withdrew legal support for the Rosebank and Jackdaw oil and gas projects.

In August, in light of the Supreme Court Finch Judgment, the government accepted that the previous Environmental Impact Assessment decisions were unlawful. That decision was made following the taking of legal advice, the contents of which are privileged. In any event, all parties to Rosebank and Jackdaw claims, including the operators themselves, agreed that the previous decisions were unlawful. The Court has now confirmed this, and made provision for fresh decisions to be made in due course.

What assessment his Department made of the potential (a) legal and (b) financial impacts of withdrawing legal support for the Rosebank and Jackdaw oil and gas projects before taking that decision.

In August, in light of the Supreme Court Finch Judgment, the government accepted that the previous Environmental Impact Assessment decisions were unlawful. That decision was made following the taking of legal advice, the contents of which are privileged. In any event, all parties to Rosebank and Jackdaw claims, including the operators themselves, agreed that the previous decisions were unlawful. The Court has now confirmed this, and made provision for fresh decisions to be made in due course.

What discussions his Department had with industry stakeholders before withdrawing legal support for the Rosebank and Jackdaw projects.

Details of Ministers' and Permanent Secretaries' meetings with external individuals and organisations are published quarterly in arrears on GOV.UK. Published declarations include the purpose of the meeting and the names of any additional external organisations or individuals in attendance.

Whether the Energy Skills Passport will encourage oil and gas workers to find opportunities in the nuclear industry.

The initial version of the digital passport was launched in January 2025. This first phase will help oil and gas workers identify routes into several career roles in the offshore wind sector. The Department and Scottish government are working with RUK/OEUK industry partners to identify how best to expand the scope and functionality of passport in the future.

What discussions his Department has had with employers on the levels of (a) recognition and (b) uptake of the Energy Skills Passport in the recruitment process.

The Department is a strategic partner of the Energy Skills Passport project in collaboration with industry stakeholders and the Scottish Government. The initial version of the passport launched on 22nd January 2025. The project has wide support amongst the Oil and Gas and Offshore Wind sectors, and DESNZ continues to monitor the impact of the Passport.