Written questions by Maguire.

What steps his Department plans to take to support (a) lower income families and (b) pensioners impacted by the energy price cap increase.

The Government knows that more needs to be done to support vulnerable households struggling with their energy bills. That's why we are expanding the Warm Home Discount to around an additional 2.7 million households. This means that from this winter, around 6 million low-income households will receive the £150 support to help with their energy bill costs. The Warm Home Discount regulations expire in 2026, and we will want to consider all options for future bill support beyond this point. I have been clear with suppliers that they should do all that they can to support their customers – including vulnerable consumers – who may be struggling with their bills. I would urge any consumers who are struggling to pay their bills to speak to their supplier, local authority, or Citizens Advice who may be able to provide help and support. Your constituent can also visit the GOV.UK website, where extra cost-of-living support can be found - www.gov.uk/cost-of-living.

When the first contract with a Russian uranium supplier was signed for Sizewell B; what the value is of that contract; whether his Department has considered cancelling that contract; and what alternative supplies of uranium there are that could replace the uranium contracted from Russia.

The procurement of nuclear fuel is a commercial matter for reactor operators. The Government works closely with these operators to ensure a secure and resilient supply of nuclear fuel but does not routinely collect information relating to the contracts held by UK operators. This is commercially sensitive, and disclosure would be at the discretion of the operator. The Government has already committed to removing any Russian fuel and uranium supply to the UK by 2030. All reactor operators must comply with UK domestic and international legal obligations, including any sanctions or trade measures in place against Russian-origin uranium.

What information his Department holds on the proportion of imported uranium that originates from Russia.

The procurement of nuclear fuel is a commercial matter for reactor operators. The Government works closely with operators and the nuclear industry to ensure there is a secure, resilient supply for the UK fleet, but the requested information on the operators’ source of imported uranium is a commercial matter. Disclosure of this information is at the discretion of the responsible commercial entities. The Government has already committed to removing any Russian fuel and uranium supply to the UK by 2030. All reactor operators must comply with UK domestic and international legal obligations, including any sanctions or trade measures in place against Russian-origin uranium.

What steps he is taking to help mitigate the environmental impacts of AI data centres in relation to the target of Net Zero by 2050.

The Government’s forecasts for data centre demand to 2030 are consistent with its Clean Power 2030 Action Plan. The Government expects to be able to meet this demand through its plans to increase renewable power capacity, other low carbon generation and flexible and dispatchable power.

Whether he plans to review standing charges on electricity bills for households on prepayment meters.

The Government knows that too much of the burden of the bill is placed on standing charges. We are committed to lowering the cost of standing charges and have worked constructively with the regulator, Ofgem, on this issue. Ofgem have been considering how to ensure that consumers have a range of choices, including tariffs with no standing charges, available, including for prepayment meter customers. Ofgem launched a consultation on proposals to introduce zero standing charge tariffs which closed on 20 March. Ofgem will issue a response to this consultation in due course.

What steps he is taking to ensure that households on heat network schemes have access to the same consumer protections as people on standard tariffs.

DESNZ is introducing heat network regulation which aims to provide consumers with comparable protections to existing gas and electricity consumers.From 27 January 2026 Ofgem will formally commence their role as the market regulator, with powers to investigate high prices and enforce authorisation conditions. These conditions will include rules on treatment of vulnerable consumers, transparent billing and quality of service. The scope of Consumer protection is not limited to the item’s bellow, but includes powers to investigate unfair pricing, require suppliers to institute protections for vulnerable consumers, and establish guaranteed standards of performance to ensure that a minimum quality of service is provided at all timesIn addition, from 1 April 2025 heat networks consumers have been able to access support specific to heat networks from Citizens Advice or Consumer Scotland, and have had add access to the Energy Ombudsman’s Consumer Redress .

Whether he has had discussions with the British Standards Institution on the implications of Publicly Available Specification 63100:2024 for the installation of domestic battery storage systems; and whether he has made an assessment of the potential impact of the one metre clearance requirement in section 6.5.5 of that specification on the uptake in housing stock.

Details of Ministers' and Permanent Secretaries' meetings with external individuals and organisations are published quarterly in arrears on GOV.UK. Publicly Available Specification (PAS) 63100:2024 is a standard and not part of government regulation. The content of the draft standard was publicly consulted on and considered by the PAS Steering Group, which included battery manufacturers with an interest in ensuring rules are not unduly restrictive with regards to sale and installation.

What assessment he has made of the potential impact of improving the efficiency of existing Combined Cycle Gas Turbine power stations on wholesale electricity prices.

No direct assessment has been made of the impact of more efficient CCGTs on wholesale electricity prices, nor of the efficiency of CCGTs versus small modular reactors. An efficient electricity system needs a range of technologies to ensure that we reach our carbon goals while ensuring cost-effective energy security. Increasing participation of renewables in the wholesale market means that, over time, those technologies will determine the price more often and gas will play a much more limited role in setting the market price. Improving efficiency of CCGTs is a commercial decision for plant operators. Great British Nuclear (GBN) is driving forward its small modular reactor (SMR) competition for UK deployment. As with any technology, the economic case for SMRs would be factored into any investment decision.

Whether he has made an assessment of (a) the comparative efficiency and (b) cost-effectiveness of (i) improving the thermal efficiency of existing Combined Cycle Gas Turbine power stations and (ii) investing in small modular nuclear reactors.

No direct assessment has been made of the impact of more efficient CCGTs on wholesale electricity prices, nor of the efficiency of CCGTs versus small modular reactors. An efficient electricity system needs a range of technologies to ensure that we reach our carbon goals while ensuring cost-effective energy security. Increasing participation of renewables in the wholesale market means that, over time, those technologies will determine the price more often and gas will play a much more limited role in setting the market price. Improving efficiency of CCGTs is a commercial decision for plant operators. Great British Nuclear (GBN) is driving forward its small modular reactor (SMR) competition for UK deployment. As with any technology, the economic case for SMRs would be factored into any investment decision.

How many meetings his Department has had with (a) representatives of commercial nuclear manufacturers, (b) power utilities interested in building a new nuclear plant and (c) non-governmental organisations concerned with nuclear power in the last six months; and if he will publish the minutes of each meeting.

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

What discussions he has had with energy companies on policy cost rebalancing on energy bills to incentivise the uptake of low-carbon technologies.

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

Whether he plans to continue the Energy Company Obligation after April 2026.

We are committed to meeting fuel poverty and Net Zero targets, and we are currently considering what policy mix will best achieve that, including what role energy company obligations should play post-2026. We will ensure that lessons learned from the Energy Company Obligation 4 (ECO4) and the Great British Insulation Scheme (GBIS) form part of these considerations and that any successor schemes are confirmed once decisions have been made.

What proportion of energy efficiency measures were funded by the (a) Energy Company Obligation, (b) Great British Insulation Scheme, (c) Home Upgrade Grant, (d) Warm Homes: Local Grant and (e) Warm Homes: Social Grant in (i) 2023 and (ii) 2024.

The Department publishes Household Energy Efficiency Statistics reports which provide detailed breakdowns of measures installed under various government support schemes. Statistics for 2023 are available on GOV.UK: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/household-energy-efficiency-statistics-detailed-report-2023 Statistics for 2024 are available on GOV.UK: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/household-energy-efficiency-statistics-detailed-report-2024 The Warm Homes: Local Grant has started delivery this year.

What progress his Department has made on developing an online consumer advice service for retrofit.

The Government is working to enhance our existing digital consumer advice offer on gov.uk by streamlining services into a single access point for all domestic consumers (homeowners, landlords and tenants. This will simplify the user experience and enable consumer to begin and progress their home upgrade and clean heat journeys. It will bring information, advice, sources of funding and links to trusted installers into one place and will consolidate existing services that enable consumers to create their own energy efficiency action plans and create direct referrals to grant scheme providers.

With reference to his Department's publication entitled Government's response to the Boiler Upgrade Scheme Regulations consultation, published in March 2024, whether the Boiler Upgrade Scheme budget will rise in line with the figures on page 21 for scheme years (a) 2026-27 and (b) 2027-28.

Following the conclusion of the first phase of the Spending Review on 30 October 2024, the Boiler Upgrade Scheme has a committed budget of £295 million for this financial year (2025/26). The Boiler Upgrade Scheme is a critical element of the Government’s Warm Homes Plan. A decision on funding for 2026/27 onwards will be confirmed as part of the second phase of the multi-year Spending Review, which will conclude in June this year.

What assessment he has made of the potential impact of increasing capacity for Scottish onshore wind by 700MW between 2030 and 2035 on net zero targets.

We don't consider the increase in capacity planned for Scotland between 2030 and 2035 to have an impact on our ability to reach our net zero targets. The 2035 capacity number for Scotland is based on the National Energy System Operator’s Future Energy Scenarios, which present credible pathways to decarbonise our energy system as we strive towards the 2050 target.

What steps his Department is taking to prevent (a) stalled and (b) speculative schemes from preventing viable renewable energy projects from progressing.

The government is working closely with Ofgem, National Energy System Operator (NESO) and network companies to reform the connections process and enable advanced projects, that align with our strategic needs, to connect faster. Ofgem is currently considering connection reform proposals from NESO, which include requirements for projects to demonstrate sufficient progress to obtain, and retain, a connection agreement.

How many and what proportion of households are (a) eligible for and (b) in receipt of the Warm Homes Discount in Epsom and Ewell constituency.

The latest published Warm Home Discount statistics are for 2023/4 and use the constituency boundaries operating prior to the 2024 General Election. Most (87%) of the residential premises in Epsom and Ewell constituency come from Epsom and Ewell constituency under the previous boundaries, in which 2,369 households received the Warm Home Discount rebate in 2023-24. The statistics only cover receipt of the Warm Home Discount and not eligibility.

What steps his Department is taking to help ensure that fuel poverty interventions are (a) sufficient and (b) well targeted.

The Government believes the only way to protect consumers permanently is to speed up the transition towards homegrown clean energy. 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. We continue to monitor energy prices and the price cap and are working to ensure bills are affordable for consumers in the long-term, including through our work with Ofgem to reform standing charges, and through our Warm Homes Plan which will upgrade millions of homes to make them warmer and cheaper to run. The Government's review of the 2021 fuel poverty strategy reveals progress towards the statutory target has stalled. A new strategy is required, with a consultation open until 4 April.

If he will make an assessment of the potential merits of a national strategy to make properties built before 1920 more energy efficient.

The UK has the oldest housing stock in Europe and the government recognises that there is no “one-size-fits-all" approach to tackle the UK’s diverse building stock, and the need to ensure more historic buildings are able to achieve Net Zero. The Department commissioned research into complex to decarbonise homes and is currently considering the findings available at: www.gov.uk/government/publications/defining-and-identifying-complex-to-decarbonise-homes.Our Warm Homes Plan will help people find ways to save money on energy bills and transform our ageing building stock. We have committed £3.4 billion over the next 3 years towards heat decarbonisation and household energy efficiency. Further details will be set out in due course.