Written questions by Garnier.

With reference to the guidance entitled Pensions dashboards: guidance on connection: the staged timetable, published 25 March 2024, if she will set out a revised timeline for making the connection of occupational pension schemes to the Pensions Dashboard Scheme available to the public.

The Government is committed to the existing timetable in guidance for the connection of occupational pension schemes and personal and stakeholder providers to the pensions dashboards ecosystem, as well as the overall connection deadline of 31 October 2026.

What discussions she has had with the Bank of England on encouraging economic growth in relation to its consultation entitled Amendments to the Bank of England’s approach to setting a minimum requirement for own funds and eligible liabilities, published on 15 October 2024.

As set out in the Government’s Written Ministerial Statement published on 15 October, the Government welcomed the Bank of England’s proposals for consultation in relation to its approach to setting minimum requirements for own funds and eligible liabilities. The consultation closed on 24 January and the Government will continue to engage closely with the Bank of England as it considers the feedback it has received. This engagement has included and will continue to include consideration of the impacts on economic growth.

With reference to the press notice entitled Pension reforms to go further to unlock billions to drive growth and boost working peoples’ pension pots, published on 28 January 2025, what estimate she has made of the potential value of additional business investment as a result of reforms to the occupational defined benefit pension funds over the next five years.

The Government will pave the way for more well-funded defined benefit pension schemes to share surplus funds with sponsoring employers and members, subject to stringent funding safeguards.It will be for individual trustees and employers to determine how best to use surplus funding. The amount of surplus will vary from scheme to scheme and trustees will need to be satisfied that sharing surplus is in the interest of their scheme members.The Government will be setting out the details of the surplus policy in in in its response to the Options for Defined Benefits consultation, due this Spring.

What the expected timeframe is for the publication of the final report by the Digitisation Taskforce.

The Digitisation Taskforce is in the process of producing its final report, having set out an interim report under the previous government. The government is fully committed to ensuring the UK’s shareholding framework is fit for purpose and looks forward to receiving the taskforce’s final report. Once the final report is received, the government will assess its recommendations and outline the next steps it intends to take.

How many investigations by the Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation into breaches of Russian sanctions (a) are open and (b) have been undertaken since February 2022.

The Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation (“OFSI”) currently has 318 investigations open regarding potential breaches of The Russia (Sanctions) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019 (the “Russia Regulations”). Since February 2022, OFSI has investigated and closed 388 cases relating to potential breaches of the Russia Regulations.

What steps the Government is taking to promote the UK as a place for international investment in digital assets.

The government is taking a range of steps to promote digital asset adoption. This includes initiatives such as the recently announced Digital Gilt Instrument, or DIGIT, and the new Digital Securities Sandbox, which opened in September.Innovation and techn...

Whether her Department has had discussions with the Financial Conduct Authority on regulation of digital assets.

HM Treasury works closely with the regulators, including the Financial Conduct Authority, on digital assets regulation. This includes the recent opening of the Digital Securities Sandbox, legislated for by HM Treasury and jointly operated by the Bank of E...

With reference to her Department's Motorcycles in bus lanes consultation outcome, updated on 21 November 2024, what account her Department took of the outcomes of local authority trials allowing motorcycle acce

The consultation was designed to gather up to date information primarily from local authorities to expand the evidence base. The questions for local authorities included asking about existing levels of motorcycle use in bus lanes on their networks and wha...

How many purchases with a value of less than £500 were made by his Department using an electronic purchasing card solution in October 2024, what the value was of those purchases; and if he wi

This data is not published by the Department, in line with Section 8.2 Transparency in the Crown Commercial Services’ Procurement Cards Pan-Government Policy.

How many officials in his Department work full-time on COP summits.

The annual UNFCCC Conference of the Parties (COP) is a crucial opportunity to tackle climate change internationally. As a top Government priority, officials across HMG are involved in making these summits as successful as they can be, from negotiations, l...

With reference to the data on Departmental spending over £500 with an electronic purchasing card solution, when he plans to publish this data for (a) October and (b) November 2024.

The Department intends to publish the October and November data on Departmental spending over £500 with an electronic purchasing card before the end of the financial year.

What steps the Government is taking to increase access to EU markets for UK collective Investment in transferable securities schemes; and what steps her Department is taking to help promote UK funds given their clas

The UK has granted market access to certain retail funds from the European Economic Area under the Overseas Funds Regime. Decisions regarding market access for UK firms or products into the European Union are an autonomous decision for the European Union....

How many gifts were received by Ministers in his Department for travel to COP conferences in the last 12 months.

No gifts were received by Ministers for travel to COP conferences in the last 12 months.

How many fax machines are in use by the National Energy System Operator; and whether his Department plans to provide funding to digitalise the energy grid.

The Government does not hold any information on the number of fax machines in use at the National Energy System Operator (NESO). Government, Ofgem and NESO are working to digitalise the energy system. In August the government published a response to the d...

Whether he has made an estimate of the number of unfinanced energy projects in the queue to be connected to the power grid.

Data on financing of projects in the connections queue is not available. However, National Energy System Operator estimates that historically, 60-70% of transmission connection projects do not ultimately connect, including those that do not secure financi...

Whether he has had discussions with the National Energy System Operator on pylon presumption.

Details of Ministers’ meetings with external individuals and organisations are published quarterly in arrears on GOV.UK. The National Policy Statement for electricity networks (NPS EN-5) sets out that overhead lines should be the strong starting presumpti...

Whether she has made an assessment of the potential impact of the removal of the investment allowance on the amount of (a) oil and (b) gas extracted from the North Sea in the next five years.

At Autumn Budget 2024 the government confirmed that from 1 November 2024, the Energy Profits Levy (EPL) rate would increase by 3 percentage points to 38%, the EPL investment allowance would be abolished and the EPL decarbonisation allowance rate would be ...

What proportion of GB Energy staff will be based at its headquarters in Aberdeen.

GBE’s workforce planning is ongoing, and we are committed to ensuring we have the right skills, across the right locations, so that GBE can deliver maximum impact. A significant proportion of GBE’s staff will be employed in Aberdeen, including the permane...

With reference to paragraph 3.71 of Autumn Budget 2024, HC 295, published on 30 October 2024, how much funding will be available for fusion energy research in the 2025-26 financial year.

Confirmation of the amount of funding will be shared in due course.

Whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of the use of deep boreholes as an alternative to the Geological Disposal Facility for nuclear waste.

Deep borehole technology is at a developmental stage of technical maturity and has not yet been implemented anywhere in the world. It is possible the technology could play a complementary role in managing some radioactive hazardous waste in the future. Ho...