Written questions by Timothy.

Whether he has considered mandating market payments from intermittent renewable generators for costs associated with system inertia provision.

The National Energy System Operator (NESO) continuously monitors the electricity system and ensures that there is sufficient inertia. In the transition to clean power, we are deploying the technologies needed for this. NESO is procuring technologies such as synchronous condensers and flywheels and use sub-second response services to manage frequency changes and maintain system stability.

What (a) his Department’s and (b) NESO’s estimate of the magnitude in MWh and the aggregate cost of any constraints of embedded solar generation resulting from instructions at the distribution level by Distribution Network Operators in their emerging role as Distribution System Operators for all years in which such constraints and costs have occurred since 2020.

The National Energy System Operator (NESO) is responsible for operating Great Britain’s electricity system, which includes managing constraints. NESO publishes total balancing costs, which can be found here: Constraint Breakdown 2025-2026 | National Energy System Operator. Actions taken in the Balancing Mechanism, including bids taken by individual Balancing Mechanism Units, can be accessed here API documentation | Insights Solution. Government is working to reduce constraints and improve energy security and resilience by accelerating the building of new electricity network infrastructure to increase capacity on the system.

What (a) his Department’s and (b) NESO’s projection of solar constraint costs is in (i) within and (ii) outwith the Balancing Mechanism up to 2030 and assuming that the Clean Power 2030 targets are met or exceeded.

The National Energy System Operator (NESO) is responsible for operating Great Britain’s electricity system, which includes managing constraints. NESO publishes forecast constraint volumes and costs, but data is not available on the split of costs between different types of generators. NESO's latest balancing costs report can be found here. Government is working to reduce constraints and improve energy security and resilience by accelerating the building of new electricity network infrastructure to increase capacity on the system. NESO’s independent advice shows we can achieve clean power by 2030 with cheaper electricity, even factoring in constraint payments.

What estimate (a) his Department and (b) NESO has made of constraint payments and the prices of constraint payments per MWh constrained to solar generation in the Balancing Mechanism for all years in which such constraints have occurred.

The National Energy System Operator (NESO) is responsible for operating Great Britain’s electricity system, which includes managing constraints. NESO publishes total balancing costs, which can be found here: Constraint Breakdown 2025-2026 | National Energy System Operator. Actions taken in the Balancing Mechanism, including bids taken by individual Balancing Mechanism Units, can be accessed here API documentation | Insights Solution. Government is working to reduce constraints and improve energy security and resilience by accelerating the building of new electricity network infrastructure to increase capacity on the system.

What (a) his Department’s and (b) NESO’s estimate is of the likely (i) scale and (ii) cost of constraints of embedded generation up to 2030 and assuming that the Clean Power 2030 targets are met or exceeded.

The National Energy System Operator (NESO) is responsible for operating Great Britain’s electricity system, which includes managing constraints. NESO publishes forecast constraint volumes and costs, but data is not available on the split of costs between different types of generators. NESO's latest balancing costs report can be found here. Government is working to reduce constraints and improve energy security and resilience by accelerating the building of new electricity network infrastructure to increase capacity on the system. NESO’s independent advice shows we can achieve clean power by 2030 with cheaper electricity, even factoring in constraint payments.

With reference to the oral contribution of Baron Wilson of Sedgefield in the House of Lords on 3 July 2025, Official Report, column 867, what plans he has to take up internationally fuel refining industry margins.

Refining margins differ from site to site and are driven by the prices of the crude oils each refinery buys and of the products that they produce. These prices are largely set by international traded markets. The Government is determined to work with industry, workers and trade unions to ensure our UK refineries can compete in this international context. That is why, in less than 12 months in office, we have invested in carbon capture, usage and storage, which can help key refineries, such as Phillips 66 and Stanlow, through Viking and HyNet; and we are driving forward with the sustainable aviation fuel mandate, to help the refining sector maximise the opportunities created by the clean energy revolution. We are also reviewing the methodology for the energy-intensive industries compensation scheme, to help assess whether sectors such as this should be covered in the future, and whether more can be done to help their competitiveness.

If he will bring forward plans for hybrid backup power systems combining (a) diesel generators, (b) battery storage and (c) hydrogen fuel cells in NHS hospitals.

National Health Service trusts are responsible for ensuring adequate back-up power systems in line with national guidelines. This includes conducting risk assessments to determine which systems meet their specific needs. Health Technical Memorandum 06-01 provides technical guidance on the supply and distribution of electrical services.We continue to support the NHS to increase its energy resilience, including by diversifying its power sources. Some trusts have already implemented Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS), and we are funding a number of the solar projects via our £100 million collaboration with Great British Energy, which also includes BESS.

What information his Department holds on the timeline for the deployment of synchronous condensers that (a) have been contracted and (b) are planned; and what the scale of each deployment is.

The Department does not hold detailed information on the timeline or scale of synchronous condenser deployments. The responsibility for balancing the electricity system, including the contracting and deployment of synchronous condensers, lies with the National Energy System Operator (NESO). NESO is best placed to provide information on the status of contracted and planned deployments, as well as the associated technical specifications and timelines.

What the scope is of Palantir’s involvement in NHS data systems.

In 2023, NHS England awarded the contract for the NHS Federated Data Platform and Associated Services to a consortium led by Palantir Technologies.Access to National Health Service health and social care data within the NHS Federated Data Platform is carefully controlled. Only authorised users are granted access to data for approved purposes. The contract has strict stipulations about confidentiality, and there is governance in place to monitor delivery and usage of the NHS Federated Data Platform. Palantir only operates under the instruction of the NHS when processing data on the platform. Palantir does not control the data in the platform, nor are they permitted to access, use, or share it for their own purposes.Palantir previously provided the COVID-19 Data Platform.

What contingency plans he has to maintain pharmaceutical cold chain logistics in instances of loss of load events that exceed 12 hours.

The Department works across the health and care landscape to monitor, manage, and where possible, mitigate risks to medical supply chains.The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) has engaged with industry on disaster recovery plans in the event of disruption to energy supplies, including the impact on cold chain, and is confident that full line wholesalers have the necessary resilience to weather short to medium term failures of energy infrastructure and to ensure the continued integrity of medicines across all temperature limits.Under the MHRA’s Rules and Guidance for Pharmaceutical Wholesalers, wholesalers are expected to have a full, demonstrable understanding of their equipment, its limitations, and its ability to operate in extreme conditions.

Whether the NHS has made an assessment of the level of the resilience of digital health records systems to prolonged power outages during electricity system stress events.

In the event of a disruption, the National Health Service maintains business continuity and emergency preparedness arrangements, including fallback systems, and protocols to mitigate the impact on health and patient care.The NHS has long standing measures in place to manage disruption which would be caused by a power outage. Electronic patient record systems usually have a back-up power source, and paper patient records and handwritten notes may also be used as a contingency.All NHS-funded organisations must meet the requirements of the Civil Contingencies Act 2004, the NHS Act 2006, and the Health and Care Act 2022. These requirements are also supported by the NHS Standard Contract, the NHS Emergency Preparedness, Resilience and Response (EPPR) Framework, NHS Core Standards for EPRR, and the NHS England Business Continuity Management Toolkit.

What assessment he has made of the potential impact of power outages on mental health (a) service delivery, (b) remote digital therapy and (c) crisis response platforms.

No such assessment has been made. Planning for power outages is a core function of business continuity arrangements for all National Health Service organisations, including mental health providers. NHS England monitors such incidents to identify root causes, solutions, and learning to share across the system.

Whether his Department has undertaken economic modelling on the potential impact of sustained high industrial electricity prices on the competitiveness of the manufacturing sector until 2035.

Competitiveness depends on a wide range of factors. The Government recognises that high industrial electricity costs negatively impact the competitiveness in UK manufacturing, in line with the academic literature.The Government announced the British Industrial Competitiveness Scheme in the Industrial Strategy to reduce industrial electricity prices by c. £35 - £40/MWh from 2027 for around 7000 businesses. In addition, we also announced an increase in support for our most energy-intensive industries eligible for the British Industry Supercharger package, with an uplift of the Network Charging Compensation (NCC) scheme from 60% to 90%.

Pursuant to the Answer of 30 June 2025 to Question 61313 on NHS: Fees and Charges, how much revenue was raised by National Health Service penalty charges by type of (a) prescription and (b) dental treatment in each year between 2020 and 2024.

I refer the Hon. Member to the answer I gave the Hon. Member on 30 June 2025 to Question 61313.

Whether contingency planning is in place for potential macroeconomic disruption resulting from prolonged national electricity blackouts.

HM Treasury has a comprehensive framework for assessing and managing potential risks to the economic outlook, including those posed by national power outages. This framework involves systematic monitoring through internal risk monitors, risk governance forums, and collaboration with other government departments such as the Cabinet Office and the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero.HM Treasury also engages with the Bank of England and Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), as the financial sector regulators, to ensure the sector is prepared to respond to a range of risks, including national power outages.

How he plans to improve the integration of (a) demand-side response and (b) distributed energy resources to help reduce risks of blackouts in the next five years.

Great Britain has a highly resilient energy network. The National Energy System Operator has all the tools it needs to operate the electricity system reliably and can call on a range of technologies to balance electricity supply and demand, including gas-fired generation and flexible technologies such as batteries and demand side response. The Clean Power 2030 Action Plan sets out measures to increase consumer led flexibility (also known as demand-side response). Further details will be set out in the Clean Flexibility Roadmap that Government committed in the Action Plan to publish this year.

What assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of changes to Contracts for Difference liabilities if wholesale electricity prices remain elevated on levels of fiscal risk.

Scaling up homegrown renewables reduces the UK’s exposure to volatile global fossil fuel prices, which protects consumer energy bills against future price shocks. The CfD two-way payment mechanism protects consumers when electricity prices are high, as if the reference price is above the strike price, the generator must pay back the difference.During the energy bill crisis over Winter 22/23, when wholesale electricity prices were higher, the CfD scheme reduced the amount needed to deliver our energy bill support schemes by around £18 per typical household. [1] [1] This estimate is based on DESNZ analysis of the 2022/23 Ofgem price cap and wholesale cost allowance methodology for Q4 2022 and Q1 2023.

Whether his Department has participated in cross-Government exercises simulating the potential impact of national blackouts on (a) health services, (b) emergency responders and (c) energy regulators used by healthcare services.

The Department has participated in a cross-Government exercise simulating the potential impacts of national power outages on health services and emergency responders. The Department has been working on the lessons identified from this exercise to improve the resilience of the health and social care sector against the risk of a national power outage. This includes developing response plans and participating in cross-sector exercises.The Government, through the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero, works closely with industry to continually improve and maintain the resilience of energy infrastructure, networks, and assets, including those offshore.

What assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of requiring private rental properties to have a C grade on their Energy Performance Certificate by 2030 on (a) landlords and (b) renters.

Government recently consulted on increasing minimum energy efficiency standards in the domestic private rented sector. The consultation included proposals for rented homes to achieve Energy Performance Certificate C or equivalent by 2030, and was accompanied by the Department’s initial consultation-stage impact assessment. The consultation has now closed, and we are currently analysing responses and reviewing evidence on the potential impact of these proposals. Following this, a government response and further impact assessment will be published.

If he will publish a risk register outlining potential system stability risks under Clean Power 2030 decarbonisation scenarios.

There are no current plans to publish a risk register. Great Britain has a highly resilient energy network. The National Energy System Operator has all the tools it needs to operate the electricity system reliably and can call on a range of technologies to balance electricity supply and demand, including gas-fired generation and flexible technologies such as batteries and demand side response.