Written questions by Chadwick.

What discussions he has had with the Energy Ombudsman on identified breaches of standard licencing conditions by energy companies related to (a) bill accuracy and (b) shortfalls in service.

Details of Ministers' and Permanent Secretaries' meetings with external individuals and organisations are published quarterly in arrears on GOV.UK. On 19 June the Government announced that we will consult on strengthening the Energy Ombudsman to ensure that suppliers comply with its final decisions or pay compensation to their consumer. This consultation will also look at introducing automatic referrals to the Ombudsman instead of consumers having to do this themselves, and also to explore the reduction of referral waiting times from 8 weeks to 4 weeks.

What steps he is taking to help ensure that energy supplier read electricity meter readings are accurately recorded on customer energy accounts.

It is the role of the independent regulator Ofgem to ensure compliance with Standard Licence Conditions, including condition 21B. I meet regularly with Ofgem to discuss consumer protection issues. To ensure Ofgem’s continuing effectiveness, in December the Government launched its first comprehensive review of the regulator. The review is considering whether Ofgem has effective compliance and enforcement tools, so consumers can be confident that any failures will be investigated and rectified quickly.

How energy supplies are complying with condition 21B of the Electricity Supply Standard Licence Conditions.

It is the role of the independent regulator Ofgem to ensure compliance with Standard Licence Conditions, including condition 21B. I meet regularly with Ofgem to discuss consumer protection issues. To ensure Ofgem’s continuing effectiveness, in December the Government launched its first comprehensive review of the regulator. The review is considering whether Ofgem has effective compliance and enforcement tools, so consumers can be confident that any failures will be investigated and rectified quickly.

Innovation and Technology, what steps he is taking to ensure that the proportion of research and development funding spent by the UK Government in Wales aligns with the population share of Wales in the United Kingdom.

This government is committed to supporting R&D excellence wherever it is found. UKRI has a specific objective to develop world-class places by supporting outstanding institutions, infrastructures, sectors and clusters across the UK. In 2023-24, UKRI invested £168 million in Wales, supporting activity from the Compound Semiconductor Applications Catapult in Newport, to the Agri-tech and Food Technology Launchpad in Mid and North Wales, to the Media Cymru project in Cardiff Capital Region. Looking ahead, we are working closely with the Welsh Government to earmark at least £30 million for region in Wales from the new Local Innovation Partnerships Fund.

What information her Department holds on the number of documents lost by the Probate Registry in each of the last ten years.

HM Courts and Tribunals Service (HMCTS) retains complaint data concerning lost documentation for a period of five years. HMCTS conducts regular meetings with our bulk scanning provider to review occurrences of lost documents and is committed to continually enhancing our systems to minimize these incidents.The open probate caseload includes individual cases that may experience delays due to various factors such as family disputes or insufficient information being provided by the applicants. HMCTS actively contacts users to facilitate the progression of cases requiring additional information. Official statistics on the open caseload are regularly published via the following link: Family Court Statistics Quarterly - GOV.UK.

With reference to the Family Court Quarterly Statistics, published on 27 March 2025, for what reason 8,150 bereaved families waited over six months for the Probate Registry to issue grants of (a) probate and (b) administration in 2024.

HM Courts and Tribunals Service (HMCTS) retains complaint data concerning lost documentation for a period of five years. HMCTS conducts regular meetings with our bulk scanning provider to review occurrences of lost documents and is committed to continually enhancing our systems to minimize these incidents.The open probate caseload includes individual cases that may experience delays due to various factors such as family disputes or insufficient information being provided by the applicants. HMCTS actively contacts users to facilitate the progression of cases requiring additional information. Official statistics on the open caseload are regularly published via the following link: Family Court Statistics Quarterly - GOV.UK.

Innovation and Technology, what steps he is taking with the Welsh Government to ensure full gigabit coverage by 2030 in Brecon, Radnor and Cwm-Tawe constituency.

The Government has recently reconfirmed its commitment to achieving nationwide gigabit coverage and now expects 99% of premises to have access to a gigabit-capable connection by 2032.As part of Project Gigabit, Openreach is already delivering a contract across North West, Mid and South East Wales to bring gigabit-capable broadband to homes and businesses that would otherwise miss out. This contract currently includes approximately 3,500 premises in the Brecon, Radnor and Cwm Tawe constituency.Building Digital UK (BDUK) will continue to work closely with the Welsh Government to improve broadband connectivity across Wales as we refresh our delivery plans for the remaining premises in the UK.

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to ensure (a) cross-border coordination and (b) strategic support for (i) species reintroductions, (ii) ecological corridor planning and (iii) access to funding between (A) England and the devolved administrations and (B) mid-Wales and the Welsh Marches.

This is a devolved matter, and the information provided therefore relates to England only. Defra has not taken steps on cross-border co-ordination or strategic support for reintroductions between England and the devolved administrations, including mid-Wales and the Welsh Marches. All reintroductions in England are expected to follow the Code for Reintroductions and other Conversations Translocations. The Code states that, while it is specific to England, cross-border co-operation and engagement with relevant authorities and stakeholders is essential where releases occur close to England’s neighbours or involve a reintroduction of a species to Great Britain. We would therefore expect any reintroduction project to carry out cross-border coordination as part of the planning phase of their reintroduction project. On strategic support for ecological corridors, delivering the Environment Act habitat target will create more ecologically functional, better-connected habitats. Creating and restoring wildlife-rich habitat can help improve habitat connectivity to support larger and more resilient species populations, especially in the context of a changing climate. The Four Countries’ Biodiversity Group (4CBG) provides a forum to take forward substantive and policy-development issues relating to biodiversity common to all four countries.

Food and Rural Affairs, what discussions his Department has had with (a) devolved administrations and (b) local communities on the potential merits of providing (i) funding and (ii) funding through the (A) Shared Prosperity Fund and (B) other environmental or rural development mechanisms to support the reintroduction of (1) beavers, (2) pine martens, (3) elk and (4) golden eagles in Wales.

Defra has not had discussions with devolved administrations and local communities on the potential merits of providing funding to Wales to support the reintroduction of beavers, pine martens, elk, and golden eagles. This is because this is a devolved matter, and funding is therefore the responsibility of the Welsh Government. Natural England, NatureScot and Natural Resources Wales meet quarterly to discuss all species reintroductions projects in their respective countries including beavers. The agencies have an informal agreement to consult each other for any proposal that would impact cross-border. This has already been done for pine marten and white-tailed eagle reintroductions. Regarding beaver reintroductions, the agencies consult with each other on licence applications near borders. For the English licensing scheme, licence applicants are required to consult Natural Resources Wales or NatureScot as well as impacted cross-border stakeholders prior to submitting an application to Natural England. Natural England will then carry out their own formal cross-agency consultation once the licence application has been received.

Food and Rural Affairs, whether his Department is taking steps to develop (a) fiscal and (b) regulatory frameworks to support (i) private and (ii) blended finance for large-scale rewilding and nature recovery projects in (a) England, (b) Scotland, (c) Wales and (d) Northern Ireland.

The UK Government is committed to scaling up private and blended finance for nature recovery and sustainable farming. In England, we are actively working to strengthen regulatory frameworks for high-integrity nature markets. This includes a Call for Evidence (published 12 June) on clarifying demand from nature-dependent sectors, and a public consultation (27 April) on improving standards and oversight for carbon and nature markets. The deadline for submitting comment to the Call for Evidence is 7 August. Environmental and agricultural policy are devolved matters. However, the UK and Devolved Governments are collaborating to ensure coherence across the UK, including through joint governance of the British Standards Institution’s UK Nature Investment Standards programme.

Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of excess sewage sludge on levels of river pollution.

Sludge (Use in Agriculture) Regulations 1989 (SUiAR) supported by the Sewage Sludge Code of Practice provide environmental and health protections from sludge spreading. The Government is continuing to work with the Environment Agency to assess the regulatory framework for spreading sludge.

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to support the native (a) timber and (b) hardwoods market through (i) sustainable woodland creation, (ii) supply chain development and (iii) local processing infrastructure.

The Timber in Construction Innovation Fund has awarded £2.3 million to support 14 projects to show the suitability and viability of England’s woodlands resource. We will continue our current approach of funding the establishment of native broadleaf woodlands and supporting the planting of well-designed and managed mixed and conifer-dominated woodlands. We aim to increase the use of both softwood and hardwood sourced from domestic forests in construction projects. We are working in collaboration with the forestry, wood processing and construction sectors to boost the use of timber in construction and drive innovation in the sector through the Timber in Construction Roadmap.

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that bluetongue regulatory regimes in England and Wales are adequately joined-up to support farmers on the border who need to move stock between England and Wales to access land and markets.

Disease control is a devolved matter, and it is for the devolved administrations to assess their disease risks and respond accordingly. However, Defra and the Devolved Governments work closely together with the aim of providing, where possible, a consistent and coordinated response to disease prevention, mitigation, and control across the UK. A key forum for this is the Animal Disease Policy Group (ADPG), which is a UK wide policy decision making group. Defra and Devolved Governments also engage closely with industry to inform policy development and implementation through the Livestock Core Group.

When he plans to implement the Fuel Finder open data scheme.

The Government aims to implement Fuel Finder by the end of 2025, subject to legislation and parliamentary time. The Data (Use and Access) Bill will provide the legislative basis to set up Fuel Finder to increase price transparency for UK drivers.

What steps his Department is taking through (a) regulatory reform and (b) market incentives to encourage the growth of green hydrogen production capacity.

We continue to work closely with industry, regulatory bodies and devolved administrations to ensure that appropriate regulatory frameworks are in place for low-carbon hydrogen infrastructure, including through the Hydrogen Delivery Council’s Regulators Forum and the Transport and Storage Working Group. We are taking a proactive approach to identify and address existing and emerging regulatory challenges for the hydrogen economy.For example, we will consult this summer on a proposed economic regulatory framework for 100% hydrogen pipelines. The Hydrogen Production Business Model incentivises investment in new low carbon hydrogen production and encourages users to switch to low carbon hydrogen by making it a price competitive decarbonisation option.

What steps he is taking to increase the production of green hydrogen to support the transition to net zero.

The Hydrogen Production Business Model (HPBM) incentivises investment in new low carbon hydrogen production and encourages users to switch to low carbon hydrogen by making it a price competitive decarbonisation option. In the Autumn Budget, we confirmed support for 11 green hydrogen projects from the first Hydrogen Allocation Round (HAR1), which comprised £90 million in capital grant support through the Net Zero Hydrogen Fund and c. £2.3bn revenue support through the HBPM once projects are operational and over a 15 year period. Following this, on 7 April 2025 the Government announced a shortlist of 27 projects across England, Scotland and Wales that have been invited to the next stage of the Second Hydrogen Allocation Round (HAR2).

What discussions he has had with Cabinet colleagues on increasing the production of green hydrogen for use in the (a) energy, (b) industry, (c) transport and (d) innovation sectors.

Our strategic approach to hydrogen production and use is grounded in robust, cross-government analysis to ensure hydrogen fulfils its role in the UK’s Clean Energy Superpower and Growth Missions. We continue to work closely across departments to align efforts and reflect the latest evidence. Including through the development of a refreshed Hydrogen Strategy, set to be published later this year.

What assessment he has made of the potential implications for his policies of vulnerable people receiving an (a) inadequate service and (b) inappropriate installation under the ECO4 scheme; and what steps his Department is taking to support vulnerable people to help resolve complaints against participating companies.

The Energy Company Obligation (ECO4) scheme includes consumer protections for vulnerable households, requiring industry standards and warranties for installed measures. Energy efficiency and low carbon installations under ECO4 must be undertaken by TrustMark registered businesses and TrustMark have a route to redress for any issues arising from poor quality installs. Installations of low carbon measures must comply with Microgeneration Certification Scheme standards. The government recognises that the system of quality assurance and consumer redress that we inherited needs reform and we will set out plans for root and branch reform as part of the Warm Homes Plan.

Whether his Department is taking steps with (a) industry and (b) investors to help de-risk investment in green hydrogen (i) infrastructure and (ii) projects.

Hydrogen transport and storage (T&S) infrastructure will be critical to the development of the hydrogen economy and to meeting government’s net zero and climate budget goals.To facilitate the development of this critical infrastructure, we are committed to designing new business models for hydrogen transport and storage by the end of 2025. The Hydrogen Production Business Model (HPBM) incentivises investment in new low carbon hydrogen production and encourages users to switch to low carbon hydrogen by making it a price competitive decarbonisation option. HPBM support is being allocated through the Hydrogen Allocation Rounds (HARs) and the Carbon Capture, Usage and Storage (CCUS) Cluster Sequencing programme.

What steps his Department is taking to help enable the scale-up of large-scale green hydrogen projects to commercial operation.

The Hydrogen Production Business Model (HPBM) incentivises investment in new low carbon hydrogen production and encourages users to switch to low carbon hydrogen by making it a price competitive decarbonisation option. In the Autumn Budget, we confirmed support for 11 green hydrogen projects from the first Hydrogen Allocation Round (HAR1), which comprised £90 million in capital grant support through the Net Zero Hydrogen Fund and c. £2.3bn revenue support through the HBPM once projects are operational and over a 15 year period. Following this, on 7 April 2025 the Government announced a shortlist of 27 projects across England, Scotland and Wales that have been invited to the next stage of the Second Hydrogen Allocation Round (HAR2).