Written questions by Billington.

What discussion he has had with National Grid Electricity Transmission on the siting of new substations and the consenting process for renewable projects under the Development Consent Order regime.

The Secretary of State has not held discussions with National Grid Electricity Transmission on the siting of new substations or the consenting process of renewable projects. In his quasi-judicial role in determining Nationally Significant Infrastructure Project (NSIP) applications for Development Consent Orders, he cannot comment on the merits of projects to avoid prejudicing the decision-making process. Network developers are responsible for determining the siting of new substations in line with relevant national policy, including the National Policy Statement for electricity networks (NPS EN-5). The Planning Act 2008 sets out the legislative framework for the NSIP consenting process.

What assessment his Department made of the potential merits of delaying connection offers for some protected battery projects and data centres to allow NESO and DESNZ to undertake other key activities to ensure projects can be delivered in time for 2030.

NESO’s connections reforms have reduced the queue for generation and storage connections by over half, with the queue now largely in line with the capacity ranges set out in the Clean Power 2030 Action Plan. We are aware that the volume of batteries in the queue exceeds that range. Nevertheless, the queue outcomes reflect consistent application of the agreed and published connection methodologies, designed to ensure fairness and maintain investor confidence. As set out in November 2025’s ‘Delivering AI Growth Zones’ announcement, government is working closely with the regulator, NESO, and network companies, to deliver further reforms to the grid connection process for demand, to manage speculative data centre applications.

What discussions he has had with Ofgem about the balance between standing charges and unit rates for farmer and grower businesses.

My Rt. Hon. Friend the Secretary of State has regular discussions with Ofgem on a range of issues. Standing charges predominantly recover fixed costs that do not vary by energy use. This includes supplier’s operational costs and the cost of essential network maintenance and upgrades. Levels of standing charges in the non-domestic market are a commercial decision for suppliers and are not subject to the Energy Price Cap, which only applies to the domestic market. We know that too much of the burden of the bill is placed on standing charges, and we are committed to ensuring that standing charges are fair to all consumers.

Whether he has had discussions with the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government on the potential implications of the development of the National Planning Policy Framework for the Strategic Spatial Energy Plan.

My Rt hon Friend the Secretary of State has regular discussions with Ministerial Colleagues on a number of issues, including planning. We are working with MHCLG on potential planning development and reform measures, and their interactions with the SSEP.

Whether he has had discussions with the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government on the potential implications of the development of the Strategic Spatial Energy Plan for the Planning and Infrastructure Bill.

My Rt hon Friend the Secretary of State has regular discussions with Ministerial Colleagues on a number of issues, including planning. We are working with MHCLG on potential planning development and reform measures, and their interactions with the SSEP.

Whether he has had discussions with the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs on the potential implications of the development of the Land Use Framework for the Strategic Spatial Energy Plan.

My Rt hon Friend the Secretary of State has regular discussions with Ministerial Colleagues on a number of issues.

What lessons his Department has learned from the (a) Warm Front and (b) Warmer Homes Scotland schemes.

The government is keen to learn from previous energy efficiency schemes, and from the devolved administrations. Fuel poverty is devolved, and we will work with the devolved administrations to share best practice on how to tackle fuel poverty and deliver energy efficiency improvements. We are currently consulting on a new fuel poverty strategy for England. We have kickstarted delivery of the Government’s Warm Homes Plan, which will transform homes across the country by making them cleaner and cheaper to run, from installing new insulation to rolling out solar and heat pumps. Further details on the Warm Homes Plan will be set out in due course.

When he plans to publish new guidance on Community Benefits for Electricity Transmission Network Infrastructure.

We are committed to ensuring that communities who live near new clean energy infrastructure can see the benefits of this and are currently considering how to most effectively deliver this. This includes developing guidance on community benefits for electricity transmission network infrastructure, which we will publish in due course.