Written questions by Gilbert.

What estimate his Department has made of when the satellite sites for Great British Energy in Edinburgh will (a) be announced and (b) open.

This Government is focused on establishing Great British Energy at its Headquarters in Aberdeen. Additional sites in Glasgow and Edinburgh will follow in the longer term to ensure the company can tap into expertise across Scotland. Estimates for these additional sites will depend upon the detailed workforce plans for the new company, which are being developed.

What funding from ending the VAT exemption on private schools she plans to provide to the Scottish Government.

Ending tax breaks for private schools will raise revenue that can help fund priorities in the state education sector in England. The Barnett formula will be applied in the usual way to any resulting additional funding for UK Government departments provided in devolved areas. The Scottish Government’s block grant funding is growing in real terms in 2025-26 and its spending review settlement for 2025-26 is the largest in real terms of any settlement since devolution. The Scottish Government will receive over 20% more per person than equivalent UK Government spending in the rest of the UK in 2025-26 which translates into over £8.5 billion more.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential implications for his policies of the banning of windows overlooking places used by women in Afghanistan.

We condemn the appalling erosion of human rights in Afghanistan, particularly for women and girls, including the most recent ridiculous ban on windows overlooking spaces used by women. As the Foreign Secretary has said, the exclusion of women from all aspects of public life is another tragic setback for Afghanistan. FCDO officials regularly press the Taliban to reverse their inhuman restrictions, including during a visit to Kabul in December. We also condemned the Taliban's actions against women and girls in a joint statement with the G7+ in December. We are discussing with international partners ways to hold the Taliban accountable for their actions.

With reference to the Nursing and Midwifery Council's review entitled Independent Culture Review, published in July 2024, if his Department will launch an independent review into that organisation.

The Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) is the regulator of nurses and midwives in the United Kingdom, and nursing associates in England. The NMC is independent of the Government, directly accountable to Parliament, and is responsible for operational matters concerning the discharge of its statutory duties. The Department has no current plans to launch an independent review, but we expect the NMC to ensure swift and robust action is taken to deliver against the 36 recommendations set out in the Independent Culture Review report.

How the National Wealth Fund will support developing port capacity.

The National Wealth Fund (NWF) will create a step change in our ability to mobilise private capital in the UK’s most important sectors and assets. At least £5.8 billion of the NWF’s additional capital will focus on the five sectors announced in the manifesto: green hydrogen, carbon capture, ports, gigafactories and green steel and will be committed over this Parliament.The NWF is actively engaging across a number of opportunities where financing support for ports could have a catalytic effect on the floating offshore wind market.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, when he last discussed women's rights with the Iranian ambassador to the UK.

There is currently no Iranian ambassador to the UK. However, we regularly deliver robust messages on human rights directly to the Iranian regime, including through our Ambassador in Tehran. On 13 August, I highlighted, via X, the UK’s continued support for Iranian women and girls and our commitment to calling out the regime’s unacceptable behaviour.

Communities and Local Government, what steps her Department is taking to help increase the availability of co-housing for older people.

The Government recognises that the community-led housing sector - of which cohousing is an important part - delivers a wide range of benefits, including strengthening community participation in local decision-making, engendering community cohesion, achieving high quality design and strengthening the co-operative economy. Cohousing in particular has been shown to provide an excellent solution to meeting the housing needs of some older people.A range of funding and finance is available which can be used to support the development of community-led housing (though eligibility may depend on the nature of specific developments). This includes the Levelling-Up Home Building Fund, which provides affordable loan finance for the development of sites of 5 units or more and the Affordable Homes Programme, which provides grant funding to support the capital costs of developing affordable housing in England.Beyond funding, our recent consultation on the National Planning Policy Framework, to which we will be responding shortly, specifically included proposals designed to strengthen support for community-led housing, including changes to the size limit on community-led exception sites and a broadening of the definition of organisations able to deliver community-led housing.As we develop our Long Term Housing Strategy, we will consider how the Government may further support the growth of the community-led housing sector, helping to deliver the additional homes the country needs.

If he will make an assessment of the potential merits of reforming the Transmission Network Use of System charges.

Ofgem is legally responsible for network charging arrangements and both Government and Ofgem recognise the importance of transmission network charges in considering wider electricity system reform. There are both near- and long-term proposals being considered for reform of Transmission Network Use of System charges and Government officials will continue to work closely with Ofgem as these proposals develop.

What steps her Department is taking to support migrant victims of domestic abuse.

We keep under constant review the support we provide to migrant victims of domestic abuse, including how we can increase their confidence to report to the police and their ability to access help from specialist agencies. This government continues to support the Support for Migrant Victims scheme which provides vital support for migrant victims of domestic abuse, including accommodation, subsistence, counselling and legal advice. All decisions on funding for the next financial year will be made in due course as part of the Spending Review process.

What steps his Department is taking to consult with stakeholders ahead of the Contract for Difference Allocation Round 7.

We are currently working with industry to accelerate ways to build upon the successful outcome of the last Contracts for Difference auction, so that we can deliver our goal of clean power by 2030. We will also consult formally with stakeholders on any changes to the scheme ahead of Allocation Round 7.

Whether her Department plans to continue to fund the Support for Migrant Victims Scheme beyond March 2025.

We keep under constant review the support we provide to migrant victims of domestic abuse, including how we can increase their confidence to report to the police and their ability to access help from specialist agencies. This government continues to support the Support for Migrant Victims scheme which provides vital support for migrant victims of domestic abuse, including accommodation, subsistence, counselling and legal advice. All decisions on funding for the next financial year will be made in due course as part of the Spending Review process.

Whether his Department plans to extend Contract for Difference terms in future allocation rounds.

The Government reviews the Contracts for Difference scheme before every round to ensure it continues to deliver our objectives. We are currently working with industry to accelerate ways to build upon the successful outcome of the last auction so that we can deliver our goal of clean power by 2030.

What assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of Transmission Network Use of System charges on the viability of potential renewable energy projects in Scotland.

Ofgem is legally responsible for network charging arrangements. Government and Ofgem recognise the importance of transmission charges to the development of renewable generation in Scotland. This is why Ofgem established an industry Taskforce to consider near-term improvements to transmission charges and has proposed a temporary cap and floor to alleviate the projected rise, and increasing volatility, in Transmission Network Use of System charges. This is expected to provide generators with greater certainty in time for future Contracts for Difference allocation rounds, including the next - Allocation Round 7.

Whether she plans to uprate the state pension for British pensioners residing overseas.

The UK's policy on the up-rating of the UK State Pension for recipients living overseas is a longstanding one. The UK State Pension is payable worldwide and is only uprated abroad where there is a legal requirement to do so, for example in countries with which we have a reciprocal agreement that provides for up-rating. Over many years, priority is given to those living in the United Kingdom when drawing up expenditure plans for additional pensioner benefits.

What steps she is taking to support British pensioners residing overseas.

UK State Pensions are payable worldwide, based on a person’s National Insurance record and are only uprated abroad where there is a legal requirement to do so, for example in countries with which we have a reciprocal agreement that provides for up-rating. People move abroad for many reasons and may have access to their host country’s benefit system or other sources of income such as an occupational pension. Information about the impact on State Pensions of moving abroad is available on Gov.uk.

Whether she plans to provide additional funding to GPs for the cost of the increase in employers' National Insurance Contributions.

Resource spending for the Department of Health and Social Care is set to increase by £22.6 billion in 2025-26 compared to 2023-24 outturn, providing a real-terms growth rate of 4% for the NHS, the largest since before 2010 excluding Covid-19 years. The Government will support local authority services through a real terms increase in core local government spending power of around 3.2%, including at least £600 million of new grant funding to support social care.The government recognises the need to protect the smallest businesses and charities, which is why we have more than doubled the Employment Allowance to £10,500, meaning more than half of businesses with NICs liabilities either gain or see no change next year. Our tax regime for charities, including exemption from paying business rates, is among the most generous of anywhere in the world with tax reliefs for charities and their donors worth just over £6 billion for the tax year to April 2024.The Budget will provide support for government departments and other public sector employers for additional Employer NICs costs only. Private sector firms or charities including hospices or social care providers that are contracted by central or local Government will not be exempt from these changes. General Practitioners are independent contractors and therefore will not be exempt from these changes.This is consistent with the approach to previous Employer NICs changes, as was the case with the previous Government’s Health and Social Care Levy.DHSC will confirm funding for General Practice for 25/26 as part of the usual GP contract process later in the year, including through consultation with the sector.

Whether she plans to make wildlife crimes notifiable.

This Government recognises the importance of tackling wildlife crime, which is why, along with the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, the Home Office directly funds the National Wildlife Crime Unit to help tackle these crimes.There are currently no plans to make wildlife crimes notifiable. Any non-notifiable wildlife crime reported to the police can still be investigated where appropriate, as Chief Constables have operational independence to tackle the crimes that matter most to their communities.

Whether she has made an assessment of the potential impact of VAT on private schools on children with special educational needs in Scotland.

Education is a devolved matter, and the response outlines the information for England only.HM Treasury (HMT) is responsible for UK wide VAT policy. HMT has published its assessment of the impacts of removing the VAT exemption that applied to private school fees. This assessment also considers impacts on Scotland and can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/vat-on-private-school-fees/applying-vat-to-private-school-fees#summary-of-impacts.While VAT is a reserved tax and the VAT policy will apply across the UK, education policy is devolved. The Scottish government will be able to provide further details of special educational needs support available to pupils in Scotland.

Whether he plans to regulate non-domestic energy prices.

The Government does not currently have plans to introduce an energy price cap for non-domestic energy consumers. The Government believes the only way to protect billpayers permanently, including non-domestic organisations, is to speed up the transition away from fossil fuels and 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. From 19 December we are expanding the remit of the Energy Ombudsman services so that small business consumers with fewer than 50 employees can resolve issues with their supplier through this service. This expands the level of support to 99% of businesses in Great Britain. In September we also launched a public consultation on regulating Third Party Intermediaries for non-domestic consumers, seeking views on different potential regulatory options for this market. Heat network consumers are not currently protected by the energy price cap, that is why the Government is introducing regulations to give them comparable protections that existing gas and electricity regulations provide. We are appointing Ofgem as heat network regulator who will have the power to intervene if prices appear to be disproportionate or unfair.

What support his Department is providing to small and medium sized enterprises for energy bills.

The Government recognises that some businesses may be struggling to pay their bills. The Government believes that the only way to protect billpayers permanently, including small and medium sized enterprises, is to speed up the transition away from fossil fuels and 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. For non-domestic consumers who agreed to contracts at very expensive rates at the peak of price spikes, I recommend that they contact their supplier to enquire about ‘blend and extend’ contracts. These contracts blend the original, higher, unit rate with a new lower rate, spreading the cost over the course of an extended contract lifetime.