Written questions by Coutinho.

Communities and Local Government, with reference to her Department's news story entitled British Muslim Trust appointed as new partner to monitor and tackle anti-Muslim hatred, published on 21 July 2025, when her Department was informed that Akeela Ahmed would be appointed CEO of the British Muslim Trust.

The Combatting Hatred Against Muslims Fund was established this year to respond to the evolving nature of religious intolerance and targeted hate incidents faced by Muslim communities, which are at the highest level on record.The British Muslim Trust (BMT) was appointed as the recipient of the Fund following a rigorous and transparent application process, in which it was the highest scoring applicant.The application submitted by BMT on 18 May 2025 included information on their intentions for the staffing of key individuals, including the CEO. These plans were dependent on being identified as the preferred bidder for the Fund.In establishing the BMT, The Aziz Foundation and Randeree Charitable Trust have worked closely with Akeela Ahmed MBE, who they intend to appoint as CEO, drawing on her decades of experience in working with grassroots organisations and policy-level anti-hate work.

Communities and Local Government, whether there is (a) lesbian, (b) gay and (c) bisexual muslim representation on the Working Group to define Islamophobia.

The independent working group includes members from a cross-section of society and have been selected for their technical expertise and experience and ability to work to deliver the objectives set out in the Terms of Reference. Alongside drawing on their own expertise, the working group are engaging widely to ensure their proposed definition accounts for the variety of backgrounds and experiences of Muslim communities across the United Kingdom.

How many heat pump installations have been directly funded by his Department outside the Boiler Upgrade Scheme since July 2024.

Outside of the Boiler Upgrade Scheme, between July 2024 and March 2025 inclusive, there have been 14,218 heat pumps installed under government schemes, including 11,035 under the Energy Company Obligation, 2,097 under the Home Upgrade Grant, 1,086 under the Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund. The statistics are available to access on GOV.UK (https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/heat-pump-deployment-statistics). The ECO is not a government-funded grant scheme, but instead a requirement on larger energy supplier to deliver energy efficiency and heating measures to low-income households. Heat pumps are eligible for support under the Warm Homes: Local Grant and Warm Homes: Social Housing Fund. The schemes started delivery in April 2025 and therefore installation figures are not yet available.

What assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of the target for 10GW of hydrogen production capacity on energy bills by 2030.

The Government believes that the only way to guarantee our energy security and protect billpayers permanently is to speed up the transition away from fossil fuels and towards homegrown clean energy. Low carbon hydrogen is a key option for decarbonising hard to electrify industrial processes, heavy transport, and deliver clean power. Government support is a temporary bridge to unlock private investment and reduce costs, with all supported projects having to deliver value for money. As production scales and costs fall, future projects will need less support. Our Hydrogen Strategy, which we intend to publish this Autumn, will set out more on expected hydrogen supply and demand.

What assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of aligning with the EU Emissions Trading System on the price of carbon in the UK.

The price of carbon allowances in the UK Emissions Trading Scheme is set by the market. Linking the UK and EU ETSs is expected to create a larger, more stable market, which will lower the costs of decarbonisation for UK businesses. Many industry stakeholders, including Make UK, UK steel, and Energy UK, have voiced support for linking the two schemes, citing that linkage would align carbon prices and support business investment and certainty, by creating a larger and more liquid carbon market.

What assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of the Gas Shippers Obligation on energy bills.

The Department consulted on the design of the Gas Shipper Obligation (GSO) earlier this year and published an analytical annex focusing on its impact on gas users, based on Hydrogen Allocation Round 1 estimated costs. The affordability of energy bills remains a key priority for the government and the design of the GSO will consider energy bill affordability, value for money, and fairness.

If he will make an estimate of (a) the cost to the public purse and (b) the potential impact on energy bills of Hydrogen Allocation Round 2.

In April 2025, the Government announced a shortlist of 27 projects across the UK to progress to the next stage of the Second Hydrogen Allocation Round (HAR2) process. Value for money and the affordability of energy bills will be central to decisions regarding capacity allocation and contract award. We expect final decisions on successful projects to be made in early 2026.

What proportion of total UK electricity consumption is used by businesses eligible for the British Industry Supercharger.

The British Industry Supercharger was launched in 2024 and provides support to over 450 companies in energy intensive industries with some of the highest electricity costs.The government estimates that support on electricity prices for EIIs in the form of the Supercharger could be worth (on average) around £24-£31 Per MegaWatt Hour (MWh) for eligible businesses.

What process will be used to appoint members of the Race Equality Engagement Group.

The appointment process for Baroness Lawrence of Clarendon and the other members of the Race Equality Engagement Group (REEG) was informal ministerial appointment, by invitation, following appropriate due diligence checks.This government will publish the terms of reference for the REEG, and the full membership, in due course.REEG members will not be remunerated but will be reimbursed for reasonable expenses incurred in respect of the work of the REEG.Members are expected to declare any conflicts of interest and to recuse themselves from any work where such a conflict, or perceived conflict, may arise.The REEG will be supported by the Race Equality Unit, in the Office for Equality and Opportunity, from its existing allocation of staff.

What the total cost of procuring frequency control services was in each month since January 2022.

The data requested is a matter of public record and is published by the National Energy System Operator (NESO) here under the headings “MBSS” and “MBSS Archive”.

Whether the members of the Race Equality Engagement Group will be remunerated.

The appointment process for Baroness Lawrence of Clarendon and the other members of the Race Equality Engagement Group (REEG) was informal ministerial appointment, by invitation, following appropriate due diligence checks.This government will publish the terms of reference for the REEG, and the full membership, in due course.REEG members will not be remunerated but will be reimbursed for reasonable expenses incurred in respect of the work of the REEG.Members are expected to declare any conflicts of interest and to recuse themselves from any work where such a conflict, or perceived conflict, may arise.The REEG will be supported by the Race Equality Unit, in the Office for Equality and Opportunity, from its existing allocation of staff.

When she plans to announce the members of the Race Equality Engagement Group.

The appointment process for Baroness Lawrence of Clarendon and the other members of the Race Equality Engagement Group (REEG) was informal ministerial appointment, by invitation, following appropriate due diligence checks.This government will publish the terms of reference for the REEG, and the full membership, in due course.REEG members will not be remunerated but will be reimbursed for reasonable expenses incurred in respect of the work of the REEG.Members are expected to declare any conflicts of interest and to recuse themselves from any work where such a conflict, or perceived conflict, may arise.The REEG will be supported by the Race Equality Unit, in the Office for Equality and Opportunity, from its existing allocation of staff.

Whether she plans to publish terms of reference for the Race Equality Engagement Group.

The appointment process for Baroness Lawrence of Clarendon and the other members of the Race Equality Engagement Group (REEG) was informal ministerial appointment, by invitation, following appropriate due diligence checks.This government will publish the terms of reference for the REEG, and the full membership, in due course.REEG members will not be remunerated but will be reimbursed for reasonable expenses incurred in respect of the work of the REEG.Members are expected to declare any conflicts of interest and to recuse themselves from any work where such a conflict, or perceived conflict, may arise.The REEG will be supported by the Race Equality Unit, in the Office for Equality and Opportunity, from its existing allocation of staff.

How many full time equivalent civil service staff will be allocated to support the work of the Race Equality Engagement Group.

The appointment process for Baroness Lawrence of Clarendon and the other members of the Race Equality Engagement Group (REEG) was informal ministerial appointment, by invitation, following appropriate due diligence checks.This government will publish the terms of reference for the REEG, and the full membership, in due course.REEG members will not be remunerated but will be reimbursed for reasonable expenses incurred in respect of the work of the REEG.Members are expected to declare any conflicts of interest and to recuse themselves from any work where such a conflict, or perceived conflict, may arise.The REEG will be supported by the Race Equality Unit, in the Office for Equality and Opportunity, from its existing allocation of staff.

What process was used to appoint Baroness Lawrence of Clarendon as Chair of the Race Equality Engagement Group.

The appointment process for Baroness Lawrence of Clarendon and the other members of the Race Equality Engagement Group (REEG) was informal ministerial appointment, by invitation, following appropriate due diligence checks.This government will publish the terms of reference for the REEG, and the full membership, in due course.REEG members will not be remunerated but will be reimbursed for reasonable expenses incurred in respect of the work of the REEG.Members are expected to declare any conflicts of interest and to recuse themselves from any work where such a conflict, or perceived conflict, may arise.The REEG will be supported by the Race Equality Unit, in the Office for Equality and Opportunity, from its existing allocation of staff.

Whether members of the Race Equality Engagement Group will subject to an assessment of any (a) potential and (b) actual conflicts of interest.

The appointment process for Baroness Lawrence of Clarendon and the other members of the Race Equality Engagement Group (REEG) was informal ministerial appointment, by invitation, following appropriate due diligence checks.This government will publish the terms of reference for the REEG, and the full membership, in due course.REEG members will not be remunerated but will be reimbursed for reasonable expenses incurred in respect of the work of the REEG.Members are expected to declare any conflicts of interest and to recuse themselves from any work where such a conflict, or perceived conflict, may arise.The REEG will be supported by the Race Equality Unit, in the Office for Equality and Opportunity, from its existing allocation of staff.

When he plans to publish his Department's hydrogen to power business model.

In December 2024, the Government committed to implementing a Hydrogen to Power Business Model (H2PBM) to de-risk Hydrogen to Power investment by mitigating deployment barriers.Later this year, we will publish a H2PBM market engagement exercise outlining further design details for the H2PBM, including our minded to positions on eligibility and assessment criteria and proposed next steps for allocating support through the business model.

For what reason his Department has not conducted an impact assessment of its proposed extension of the Drax Power Station subsidy arrangements.

We are conducting a rigorous economic assessment of the proposed support for Drax, including detailed value for money analysis. Our current analysis shows that the new arrangement will halve the level of consumer subsidy compared to existing arrangements. This is equivalent to a saving of nearly £6 per household in average annual bills. When compared to the cost of securing alternative dispatchable capacity for this timeframe, the arrangement with Drax will save consumers £170m a year.

Pursuant to the Answer of 11 April 2025 to Question 43723 on Carbon Emissions: Trees, if he will ask Drax Group plc to share the interim KPMG report of December 2022 with Members of Parliament.

The KPMG reports were commissioned by Drax as a confidential internal fact-finding exercise and are the property of Drax. The government does not hold them. It is for Drax to decide whether they wish to release them to Parliament or the public. Ofgem has already published significant details as to how these reports were considered as part of their investigation.

If he will make an assessment of the potential impact of increasing the price per megawatt hour of the subsidies received by the Drax Power Station by 13% on his plans to reduce household energy bills by up to £300.

The strike price for the proposed low carbon dispatchable CfD with Drax is £113 MWh (2012 prices) compared to £100 MWh (2012 prices) currently. This modest increase reflects that Drax’s fixed operating costs will be spread over far fewer units of generation. However, the proposed CfD arrangement caps the volume of supported generation to an annual load factor of 27%. Our analysis shows this would halve overall subsidy payments relative to current arrangements, resulting in a decrease of around £6 on the average household bill. Further, this arrangement incentivises dispatchable biomass generation only when the system needs it, ensuring consumers can benefit from cheaper wind and solar power at other times.