Written questions by Jenkin.

What assessment she has made of the impact of leaving the EU on the underlying growth rate of the UK economy; and what recent analysis her Department has undertaken on that issue.

Awaiting answer.

What estimate he has made of the proportion of UK electricity that will pass through the Bramford substation (a) in an average year and (b) at periods of highest demand through Bramford after the Norwich to Tilbury proposals have been commissioned.

This information is not held centrally.

How many times the assessments made by UKSV arising from the developed vetting of individuals proposed for public appointments since the enactment of the Constitutional Reform and Governance Act 2010 come into force.

UKSV does not centrally categorise individuals by their specific terms of appointment, such as whether they are a public appointee. In line with the practice followed by successive administrations, the Government does not otherwise comment on security matters, including providing granular data on the volumes of specific clearance types.

When she will give a substantive reply to the letter from the hon. Member for Harwich and North Essex dated 18 November 2025 on the road/rail crossing at Manningtree.

A response was sent on 12th March.

Communities and Local Government, pursuant to his decision for postpone the Mayoral election in Essex, if he will make an estimate of the cost to local authorities of the preparations for that election, including the (a) the actual disbursement of local authorities which cannot be reclaimed and (b) value of the time worked on preparations for those elections by local authority officers and employees.

No assessment has been made by central government. Spend on these elections is a matter for the relevant local authorities.

Which Ministers are responsible for overseeing the implementation of the recommendations of the Nuclear Regulatory Review 2025; and if he will set out the timeline for their implementation.

The recommendations of the Taskforce will radically move the dial on the regulatory regime for civil and defence nuclear in this country, and ministers from a number of government departments will have a role in overseeing the implementation of the recommendations of the Taskforce. As the Chancellor set out at Budget, we will present a full government response to the review within three months, taking account of our international obligations, national security considerations, and planning, environmental and court processes. The government will complete implementation within two years, subject to legislative timelines on elements requiring primary legislation.

Communities and Local Government, what recent progress he has made with Cabinet colleagues on allocating funding for the proposed A1331 link road.

£100m from the Housing Infrastructure Fund has been provided to Essex County Council to deliver Phase 1 of the A1331 Link Road, which is under construction. We have been working closely with the council and are expecting them to submit a formal request to Homes England for additional funding to deliver Phase 2 shortly. This request will be considered under the standard Housing Infrastructure Fund processes, and a decision will be made in due course.

If the Government will investigate the source of internal Government briefings on the future of the Cabinet Secretary and Head of the Civil Service; and if the Prime Minister will make a statement.

The Cabinet Secretary continues to have the support of the Prime Minister. They are working closely together to deliver on the priorities of the British public.

If she will publish a list of the statutory instruments made since the last general election and set out the provisions in the parent act of Parliament which are relied upon to provide statutory authority for the making of that statutory instrument by 22 July 2025.

The information requested can be found at https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi.

What assessment she has made of the potential impact of the redevelopment of Liverpool Street Station on the surrounding heritage buildings.

The initial plans brought forward by a previous developer have now been replaced by a revised scheme. This new approach seeks to address heritage concerns while preserving the benefits of commercial development. Crucially, it enables significant improvements to the station’s capacity and facilities without any cost to the taxpayer.

What assessment she has made of the potential impact of the redevelopment of Liverpool Street Station on the economy.

The redevelopment of Liverpool Street Station will enable £500m investment in the busiest station in the UK at no cost to the taxpayer. Officials in my Department are engaged with Network Rail Property and Planning teams around the redevelopment proposals for Liverpool Street station. These plans are at an early stage and will be subject to planning consents. Both my Department and Network Rail will continue to monitor these plans as they develop.

Communities and Local Government, if she will make an assessment of the cost to the public purse of local government reorganisation in Essex.

The overall case for local government reorganisation is set out the English Devolution White Paper.A PWC 2020 report estimated that reorganisation of the then 25 two-tier areas to a single unitary would have a one-off cost of £400 million, with the potential to realise £2.9 billion over five years, with an annual post-implementation net recurring saving of £700 million, however as it is for local areas to submit proposals for government to consider, the savings could vary area by area and across England in the round. We are also keen to ensure the wider benefits are also promoted, specifically simplified and more efficient structures.The proposals submitted from the most recently established unitary councils identified a range of efficiencies that could be achieved. Councils in Essex were invited on 5 February to develop proposals for reorganisation, which are due to be submitted to government by September 2025.It will be for the new councils to achieve the efficiencies identified in reorganisation proposals and subsequent detailed implementation and transformation plans while delivering high quality and sustainable public services to local residents and businesses.

How many (a) officials and (b) advisers are employed by (i) his Department and (ii) Number 10 Downing Street.

Data on the number of officials in the Cabinet Office is published monthly at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/cabinet-office-workforce-management-data-2023-to-2024 and Business Unit level data including for Business Units in Number 10 Downing Street is published quarterly at https://www.data.gov.uk/dataset/ff76be1f-4f37-4bef-beb7-32b259413be1/organogram-cabinet-office. As was the case under the previous Administration, information about Special Adviser numbers will be published in the Annual report on Special Advisers.

With reference to his Oral Statement of 6 January 2026 on Health and Adult Social Care Reform, Official Report, Column 597, where new diagnostic centres in (a) Essex and (b) Suffolk will be based.

The Elective Reform Plan, published on 6 January 2025, sets out that we will deliver additional community diagnostic centre (CDC) capacity in 2025/26 by expanding a number of existing CDCs and building up to five new ones. Capital investment agreed at the 2025 Spending Review and announced in the Autumn Statement will be allocated to local National Health Service systems by NHS England, and details on this will be released as part of upcoming capital planning guidance. The investment will support a range of initiatives, including supporting systems to deliver against the government's ambition to return to the 18-week constitutional standard. NHS England will work with local systems to identify the most appropriate locations for investments, including new CDCs, and expansions of existing CDCs. A key factor they will consider is that new CDCs are positioned in a location which addresses local need and will address health inequalities.

What assessment he has made of the (a) level of skilled labour and (b) extent of the shortage of the particular skills required to deliver the proposed upgrades to the National Grid electricity transmission system; and what steps he is taking to address these shortages.

Reinforcing Great Britain’s electricity network to meet net zero will require a range of skills in engineering, IT professionals, physical scientist and environmental professionals, project managers, chartered surveyors and quality control, metal working and maintenance fitters. Alongside the Clean Power 2030 Action Plan, The Office for Clean Energy Jobs published an evidence annex that provides an assessment of the skills challenges for the Clean Energy Mission, including for electricity networks. This will be used along-side wider evidence and engagement to support skills planning and ensure that the UK has the workforce needed to become a clean energy superpower.

Communities and Local Government, with reference to her Department's policy paper entitled English Devolution White Paper, published on 16 December 2024, what the evidential basis is that unitary councils save money.

The Case For Local Government Reorganisation in the English Devolution White Paper, states “In 2020 a PwC report, “Evaluating the importance of scale in proposals for local government reorganisation”, for the County Councils Network, estimated that reorganisation of the then 25 two-tier areas to a single unitary structure would have a one-off cost of £400 million, with the potential to realise £2.9 billion over five years, with an annual post implementation net recurring saving of £700 million. The unitary proposals submitted in relation to the most recently established unitary councils identified a range of efficiencies that could be achieved where council services are brought together in one organisation. For North Yorkshire Council, established in April 2023, unitarisation has enabled the council to manage financial pressures through structural changes and service transformation which are expected to achieve more than £40 million in savings by March 2026.”

What definition his Department uses for socio-economic welfare, the context of publications by Ofgem.

Socio-economic welfare is a standard economic tool that aims to identify how much better off the country would be if an improvement is made by tracing the effects on the economy. In this regard, Ofgem uses the same definitions of welfare as used in other areas of government.

When he plans to implement a British jobs bonus scheme; and how much he plans to allocate to each year of the scheme.

The Government has launched the Clean Industry Bonus, an addition to Contract for Difference (CfD) payments for fixed and floating offshore wind developers who invest in their supply chains. The budget for the Bonus will be £27m per gigawatt of offshore wind capacity that applies to the 2025 CfD round. Policy on future rounds will be communicated in due course.

When he plans to respond to the First Report of the Liaison Committee of 2023-24 on Promoting national strategy: How select committee scrutiny can improve strategic thinking in Whitehall, HC 31, published on 29 May 2024; and whether he plans to establish a new national school for government and public services.

The Government looks forward to discussing this report with the incoming Liaison Committee Chair once elected.

What assessment he has made of the potential impact of the fire in a submarine construction facility in Barrow-in-Furness on delivery of the AUKUS submarine programme.

I refer the right hon. Member to the written statement I laid in the House on 30 October 2024 on this issue. The UK remains committed to delivering the SSN-AUKUS Optimal Pathway announced by the three leaders of the AUKUS nations in March 2023. The UK’s continued commitment to AUKUS was recently demonstrated by the Defence Secretary hosting his Australian and US counterparts at the Old Royal Naval College in London to drive forward progress on AUKUS.