Written questions by MacDonald.

What recent discussions his Department has had with Ofgem on the introduction of lower standing charge tariffs for electricity consumers.

The Government knows that, for many consumers, too much of the burden of the energy bill is placed on standing charges. We are committed to lowering the cost of standing charges and are working constructively with Ofgem on this issue.Ofgem have been working to ensure that domestic consumers can choose tariffs with low or no standing charges. You can read about this here:https://www.ofgem.gov.uk/policy/standing-charges-energy-price-cap-variant-next-steps.Ofgem have also been reviewing how ‘fixed’ costs, which tend to be funded through standing charges, should be recovered in the future energy system through their Cost Allocation and Recovery Review. This includes whether those fixed costs could be recovered in more progressive ways, and we are working closely with the regulator on this. You can read about this here: Energy system cost allocation and recovery review | Ofgem

Innovation and Technology, what assessment he has made of the potential implications for his policies of recent reports that social media platform algorithms may promote harmful or extremist content to users.

Social media companies must keep people safe on their platforms and holding them accountable is a departmental priority. Under the Online Safety Act, services must tackle illegal content, including terrorist content and that which stirs up hatred based on religion or race, or incites violence. They must also protect children from additional forms of legal content, including that which is hateful or abusive.The Act is clear that services should take steps to ensure their algorithms do not promote these kinds of content. Ofcom also has robust information gathering and enforcement powers to ensure that services operate their algorithms safely.

If she will make it her policy to review whether current levels of compensation in (a) regulated sectors and (b) other sectors adequately reflect lifetime career loss.

The Office for Equality and Opportunity is not responsible for setting policy regarding compensation for lifetime career loss.

Whether she has made an assessment of the adequacy of the transparency of letting arrangements for residential properties managed by the Crown Estate.

The Crown Estate operates under the requirements set out in the Crown Estate Act 1961, including the requirement to lay in the Houses of Parliament an annual report and accounts audited by the Comptroller and Auditor General. The Comptroller and Auditor General may also carry out value for money studies of The Crown Estate under the National Audit Act 1983, and has access to Crown Estate information in the same way as they do for government departments.

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to help prevent offences against protected species.

The Government takes crimes against wildlife seriously and there is a range of legislation in place to protect it. Most notably, the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 protects all wild birds and some wild animals in England and Wales. Under this Act, as well as the Wild Mammals (Protection) Act 1996 and the Animal Welfare Act 2006, and species-specific legislation such as the Protection of Badgers Act 1992, there are a range of offences around deliberate attempts to kill, injure or inflict harm on protected species of wildlife. Additionally, Defra supports the National Wildlife Crime Unit (NWCU), which helps prevent and detect wildlife crime by obtaining and disseminating intelligence, undertaking analysis which highlights local or national threats and directly assisting law enforcers in their investigations. Defra is providing £424,000 for NWCU in the financial year 2025-26. Furthermore, the UK Wildlife Trade Regulations (WTRs) implement the UK’s obligations under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) to ensure trade in protected species is legal and sustainable. Breaches can lead to prosecution with penalties of up to seven years’ imprisonment or unlimited fines, providing a strong deterrent against wildlife crime.

What recent assessment she has made of the adequacy of the amount of resources available to police forces to investigate wildlife crime.

Wildlife crime can have devastating consequences for our natural environments and countryside communities. This Government is committed to reducing crime, including in rural areas, and anyone exploiting or deliberately harming British wildlife should face the full force of the law.This financial year, we are continuing to fund the National Wildlife Crime Unit who provide intelligence, analysis and investigative assistance to forces and other law enforcement agencies across the UK to support them in investigating wildlife crime.Additionally, the Neighbourhood Policing Guarantee will ensure that every community in England and Wales will have named and contactable officers dealing with local issues, and that neighbourhood teams spend the majority of their time in their communities providing visible patrols and engaging with local communities and businesses.

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to (a) improve water efficiency and (b) reduce leaks in the public water supply network.

The Government is delivering on improvements in water efficiency and leakage reductions via a series of water demand targets, which will reduce water usage by 20% per person by 2038 and cut leakage in halve by 2050. To meet these targets, the Government is rolling out a Mandatory Water Efficiency Label for products and consulting to revise the minimum Water Efficiency Standard for new houses in the 2010 Building Regulations. We are working with regulators to assure the roll out of 10.4 million smart meters over the next five years. This will be delivered alongside a £100 million Water Efficiency Fund (WEF) over the next 5 years.

What steps his Department is taking to help tackle unsafe gas works in homes.

The Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations 1998 (GSIUR) forms the basis of the Health and Safety Executive’s (HSE) approach to ensuring safe gas work in homes within Great Britain. This includes taking enforcement action against those who do not comply with their legal obligations, including carrying out gas work whilst not competent to do so. GSIUR also allowed for the establishment of the Gas Safe Register (GSR) which aims to protect the public from unsafe gas work through:Ensuring all gas engineers have the appropriate qualifications;Operating a national investigations team tracking down un-registered gas workers;Carrying out regular inspections of registered engineers, to ensure they are applying gas competence and complying with GSIUR;Investigating reports of unsafe gas work; andEducating consumers and raising awareness of gas safety.GSR will apply appropriate sanctions on those businesses found carrying out unsafe gas work as per their Sanctions Policy.GSR can pass concerns to HSE who will consider the concern in line with the HSE Enforcement Policy statement available to view here HSE - Enforcement action.The best way to maintain gas safety is by ensuring that only competent, registered engineers undertake gas work. HSE encourages consumers to ask to see Gas Safe Registration ID before permitting engineers to enter their homes. This can also be checked on the Gas Safe Register website: Find or check a Gas Safe registered business.

What assessment he has made of the potential impact of unqualified operatives performing gas works on levels of public safety.

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) accepts that unqualified operatives performing gas work pose significant risks to gas safety and believes focusing on the prevention of unsafe gas work through installation, regular servicing and maintenance by qualified, Gas Safe Registered engineers is key to achieving safer homes. The Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations 1998 (GSIUR) enabled the establishment of the Gas Safe Register (GSR) and places a legal requirement on all those conducting gas work in homes to be competent to do so and Gas Safe Registered. HSE will consider enforcement action against those who do not comply with this legal obligation.

If she will make an assessment of the potential impact of increasing public access to free, impartial financial guidance on (a) financial wellbeing and (b) household financial resilience.

The government recognises the importance of supporting people of all ages to develop the financial skills needed to manage their money effectively, and has taken steps to improve the provision of accessible financial guidance. The Money and Pensions Service (MaPS) is an arm’s length body of Government which supports consumers with free, impartial financial guidance for every stage of their financial lives. Its MoneyHelper services – available online, via webchat and over the phone - offers information on a wide range of financial topics, along with easy-to-use tools and calculators to support people in managing their finances. MaPS also runs the Money Guiders programme, which is designed to equip frontline staff – such as nurses, social workers, job coaches and community volunteers – with the skills and confidence to have effective conversations about money with the people they support. As set out in the Financial Inclusion Strategy, published on 5th November 2025, MaPS will expand and enhance Money Guiders to deliver quality financial guidance across the UK. To date, Money Guiders has engaged over 18,000 practitioners and partnered with nearly 300 organisations. Evidence suggests that the programme has a positive impact on practitioner knowledge and understanding relating to money guidance, and their confidence delivering it, making it easier for people to access financial guidance when they need it. MaPS continues to evaluate the reach and impact of its guidance services.

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to help reduce the risk of fish escaping from aquaculture sites due to (a) infrastructure failures, (b) human error and (c) severe weather events.

In line with our membership of the North Atlantic Salmon Conservation (NASCO), the UK is committed to minimising adverse interactions between farmed and wild salmon. From 2027 each of the UK’s Governments will report annually to NASCO on the number of escapes from salmon farms and their impact on wild salmon populations. This reporting will include information about the monitoring of genetic introgression from farmed salmon. NASCO also provides best practice guidance on salmon aquaculture practices. This guidance is due to be reviewed during 2026/2027, and the UK government intends to put forward a representative to contribute to this review work. Aquaculture policy and regulation is a devolved matter and there is no marine salmon farming in England. The Fish Health Inspectorate (FHI) authorises all aquaculture production businesses in England, under the Aquatic Animal Health (England & Wales) Regulations 2009. This includes setting conditions to ensure fish do not escape. The FHI assesses each farm for compliance annually and investigates farmed fish escapes.

What recent discussions he has had with the Scottish Government on the adequacy of utility infrastructure in rural Highland communities.

I regularly engage with the Scottish Government on a variety of shared priorities, including critical infrastructure development in Scotland's rural areas.My discussions also encompass clean energy transition and infrastructure investment, with a particular focus on projects in the Highlands. For example, we are working together to ensure that Project Gigabit, the UK Government’s programme to enable remote and rural communities to access lightning-fast gigabit-capable broadband, benefits the Highlands and Islands of Scotland.

Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of interbreeding between escaped farmed fish and wild fish on the genetic integrity of wild populations.

In line with our membership of the North Atlantic Salmon Conservation (NASCO), the UK is committed to minimising adverse interactions between farmed and wild salmon. From 2027 each of the UK’s Governments will report annually to NASCO on the number of escapes from salmon farms and their impact on wild salmon populations. This reporting will include information about the monitoring of genetic introgression from farmed salmon. NASCO also provides best practice guidance on salmon aquaculture practices. This guidance is due to be reviewed during 2026/2027, and the UK government intends to put forward a representative to contribute to this review work. Aquaculture policy and regulation is a devolved matter and there is no marine salmon farming in England. The Fish Health Inspectorate (FHI) authorises all aquaculture production businesses in England, under the Aquatic Animal Health (England & Wales) Regulations 2009. This includes setting conditions to ensure fish do not escape. The FHI assesses each farm for compliance annually and investigates farmed fish escapes.

Food and Rural Affairs, whether her Department is supporting research into potential methods for reducing the environmental impact of fish farm escapes on wild fish populations.

In line with our membership of the North Atlantic Salmon Conservation (NASCO), the UK is committed to minimising adverse interactions between farmed and wild salmon. From 2027 each of the UK’s Governments will report annually to NASCO on the number of escapes from salmon farms and their impact on wild salmon populations. This reporting will include information about the monitoring of genetic introgression from farmed salmon. NASCO also provides best practice guidance on salmon aquaculture practices. This guidance is due to be reviewed during 2026/2027, and the UK government intends to put forward a representative to contribute to this review work. Aquaculture policy and regulation is a devolved matter and there is no marine salmon farming in England. The Fish Health Inspectorate (FHI) authorises all aquaculture production businesses in England, under the Aquatic Animal Health (England & Wales) Regulations 2009. This includes setting conditions to ensure fish do not escape. The FHI assesses each farm for compliance annually and investigates farmed fish escapes.

Food and Rural Affairs, what recent assessment he has made of the (a) prevalence of fish farm escapes and (b) potential impact of fish farm escapes on wild fish populations.

In line with our membership of the North Atlantic Salmon Conservation (NASCO), the UK is committed to minimising adverse interactions between farmed and wild salmon. From 2027 each of the UK’s Governments will report annually to NASCO on the number of escapes from salmon farms and their impact on wild salmon populations. This reporting will include information about the monitoring of genetic introgression from farmed salmon. NASCO also provides best practice guidance on salmon aquaculture practices. This guidance is due to be reviewed during 2026/2027, and the UK government intends to put forward a representative to contribute to this review work. Aquaculture policy and regulation is a devolved matter and there is no marine salmon farming in England. The Fish Health Inspectorate (FHI) authorises all aquaculture production businesses in England, under the Aquatic Animal Health (England & Wales) Regulations 2009. This includes setting conditions to ensure fish do not escape. The FHI assesses each farm for compliance annually and investigates farmed fish escapes.

What discussions he has had with Ofgem on ensuring that grid investment strategies take into account the long-term sustainability of remote rural communities.

The Government works with Ofgem to ensure grid investment supports all communities, including remote rural areas. Ofgem has allocated £22 billion for network upgrades under the current electricity distribution price control (2023–2028). The next price control (2028–2033) will require distribution network operators to produce long-term regional network plans. Ofgem is also conducting an ‘end-to-end' review of connection obligations and incentives to improve customer service and network operator accountability, with proposals to be published later this year. These measures enable timely upgrades and connections for rural communities, supporting low-carbon technologies while maintaining affordability for consumers.

What estimate his Department has made of the number of households not on the national grid for (a) gas and (b) electricity in each constituency in Scotland.

The department publishes estimates of the number of domestic properties not connected to the gas network in Great Britain by country, English regions, local authority and constituency. For Northern Ireland, data on the total number of gas connections is available via the Annual Retail Energy Market Monitoring Report. Equivalent figures for the electricity network are not published.

If he will make an assessment of the potential merits of introducing a support mechanism for electricity infrastructure projects in rural areas that face high connection costs.

I recognise that connection costs can be higher in rural areas that are distant from the wider electricity network. Under Ofgem’s price control framework, network companies are investing in new electricity network capacity ahead of need. This should reduce connection costs, including in rural areas. Ofgem has also reduced the proportion of connection costs that fall to the connecting customer where distribution network upgrades are required. In addition, connection customers can choose an Independent Connection Provider that can often deliver cheaper connections.

Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of the relationship between access to core utilities and population retention in remote rural areas.

Rural policy is a devolved matter. Defra regularly publishes statistics on a range of social and economic topics including rural population trends, and rural service provision in The Statistical Digest for Rural England. Net internal migration within England tends to be towards rural authorities, and in 2023 the rate of this migration was higher than in 2013; the exception to this is 15- to- 19- year-olds for which there is net migration from rural authorities, reflecting the movement of students. Despite this we know that people living in rural areas often have greater distances to travel to access essential services and can struggle to access other core utilities. This Government is committed to improving the quality of life for people living and working in rural areas, so that we can realise the full potential of rural business and communities. We have made a commitment that all policy decision-making including the provision of utility infrastructure should be rural proofed to ensure that rural areas are not overlooked and that the intended outcomes are deliverable in rural areas.

What estimate his Department has made of the number of households not on the national grid for (a) gas and (b) electricity in Scotland.

The department publishes estimates of the number of domestic properties not connected to the gas network in Great Britain by country, English regions, local authority and constituency. For Northern Ireland, data on the total number of gas connections is available via the Annual Retail Energy Market Monitoring Report. Equivalent figures for the electricity network are not published.