Written questions by Heylings.

Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the carbon storage potential of natural blue carbon habitats; and what steps he is taking to help protect these habitats.

To progress the evidence base on blue carbon habitats in UK waters the UK Blue Carbon Evidence Partnership (UKBCEP) was established in 2022. Through the UKBCEP, Defra is working together with Devolved Governments and DESNZ to address key blue carbon research questions including assessing their carbon storage potential. A working group was set up under the UKBCEP to help to address the evidence gaps preventing the inclusion of saltmarsh in the UK Greenhouse Gas Inventory (UKGHGI). In January 2025, Defra published a roadmap towards the potential inclusion of saltmarsh in the UKGHGI. We also published initial outputs from a multi-year research project to increase our understanding of UK seabed sediment carbon storage in January 2025. In England, we have established a comprehensive network of 181 Marine Protected Areas (MPAs), which cover the majority of our saltmarsh and seagrass habitats. While blue carbon habitats may not always be an explicitly designated feature, MPA protection may still yield benefits. Our focus is now on ensuring that these MPAs are effectively protected to allow the designated features to achieve favourable condition. Three Highly Protected Marine Area (HPMAs) designations in English waters came into force in summer 2023. Two of the three designated sites, Allonby Bay and North East of Farnes Deep, contain blue carbon habitats.

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to support the UK’s declining wild bird populations.

This Government remains committed to taking action to recover our threatened native species including wild birds. That is why, on the 30 July 2024 the Government announced a review of the 2023 Environmental Improvement Plan (EIP) and the intention to develop a revised EIP to protect and restore the natural environment with delivery information to meet the Environment Act targets. This includes reversing the decline in species and reducing the risk of extinction. Government actions to restore and create more than 500,000 hectares of wildlife-rich habitat by 2042 will support a wide range of native bird species. In addition, under the Environmental Land Management scheme we have several offers to support the management, restoration and creation of habitats that support a range of bird species.

Food and Rural Affairs, whether he plans to take steps to help support authorities responsible for local nature recovery strategies to (a) facilitate partnership working, (b) collate a pipeline of nature recovery projects and (c) monitor delivery progress of local nature recovery strategies.

The Secretary of State for the Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs has appointed 48 responsible authorities to prepare Local Nature Recovery Strategies (LNRSs) across England. Responsible authorities must follow the LNRS regulations when preparing the strategies and use the statutory guidance provided. Once complete, each responsible authority will publish the LNRS for their area. Two strategies have been published so far, in the West of England and North Northamptonshire. LNRSs will be delivered through a combination of legal duties, funding and incentives. The Government has set out a clear leadership and coordination role for responsible authorities in the English Devolution White Paper.

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to support the delivery of local nature recovery strategies by responsible authorities.

The Secretary of State for the Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs has appointed 48 responsible authorities to prepare Local Nature Recovery Strategies (LNRSs) across England. Responsible authorities must follow the LNRS regulations when preparing the strategies and use the statutory guidance provided. Once complete, each responsible authority will publish the LNRS for their area. Two strategies have been published so far, in the West of England and North Northamptonshire. LNRSs will be delivered through a combination of legal duties, funding and incentives. The Government has set out a clear leadership and coordination role for responsible authorities in the English Devolution White Paper.

What role the Treasury holds in approving new oil and gas fields.

The Oil & Gas Authority (operating as the North Sea Transition Authority (NSTA)) are the licensing authority for offshore oil & gas. The NSTA are also responsible for granting consents and authorisations for subsequent activities (including development consents) under the Petroleum Act 1998. The NSTA requires Secretary of State’s agreement under relevant environmental regulations prior to granting any licence, consent or authorisation.

Food and Rural Affairs, if he will provide guidance to authorities responsible for local nature recovery strategies on the delivery of those strategies.

The Secretary of State for the Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs has appointed 48 responsible authorities to prepare Local Nature Recovery Strategies (LNRSs) across England. Responsible authorities must follow the LNRS regulations when preparing the strategies and use the statutory guidance provided. Once complete, each responsible authority will publish the LNRS for their area. Two strategies have been published so far, in the West of England and North Northamptonshire. LNRSs will be delivered through a combination of legal duties, funding and incentives. The Government has set out a clear leadership and coordination role for responsible authorities in the English Devolution White Paper.

Who approves new oil and gas fields.

The Oil & Gas Authority (operating as the North Sea Transition Authority (NSTA)) are the licensing authority for offshore oil & gas. The NSTA are also responsible for granting consents and authorisations for subsequent activities (including development consents) under the Petroleum Act 1998. The NSTA requires Secretary of State’s agreement under relevant environmental regulations prior to granting any licence, consent or authorisation.

Whether he plans to announce further steps to help reduce waiting times for mental health treatment.

Nationally, we plan to recruit an additional 8,500 mental health workers across children and adult mental health services in England to reduce delays and provide faster treatment. We will also introduce access to a specialist mental health professional in every school and roll out Young Futures hubs in every community.Despite the challenging fiscal environment, the Government has chosen to prioritise the funding to deliver expansions of NHS Talking Therapies and Individual Placement & Support schemes, demonstrating our commitment to addressing the root cause of mental health issues and providing support for people with severe mental illness to contribute to the economy by remaining in or returning to work.In addition, people of all ages who are in crisis or who are concerned about a family or loved one can now call NHS111, select the mental health option, and speak to a trained mental health professional. National Health Service staff can guide callers with next steps such as organising face-to-face community support or facilitating access to alternative services, like crisis cafés or safe havens, which provide a place for people to stay as an alternative to accident and emergency or a hospital admission.

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to support nature-friendly farming.

The Government is supporting farmers to implement nature-friendly farming practices through a range of measures. These include habitat restoration and creation, and changes to limit emissions while maintaining agricultural profitability and increasing productivity. These measures will be delivered through the Government’s environmental land management schemes. In the Budget announced in October 2024, the Government committed £5 billion to the farming budget over two years, including £1.8 billion for environmental land management schemes in 2025/26.

When he plans to stop unabated burning of wood at Drax power station.

The Government has agreed Heads of Terms with Drax for time-limited support from 2027 to 2031. The National Energy System Operator advised that without Drax we would face increased security of supply risks from 2027 to 2031. No decisions have been made on Drax’s future after 2031. Over the next decade, more and more of our ageing gas and nuclear assets will retire. Government is bringing forward options for low carbon dispatchable power such as hydrogen and gas with carbon capture. But energy security is essential and we will retain existing assets where it is in the country’s interest to do so.

Whether he plans to legislate to prevent the Drax power station burning wood from primary forests for producing non-subsidised electricity.

The Government only provides support for biomass sourced from forests which are sustainably managed.Under the agreed Heads of Terms for short term support from 2027-2031, Drax must source 100% of its biomass from sustainable sources, and must exclude primary forest to receive support. Drax will be supported at a 27% load factor and we do not anticipate they will be incentivised to generate further, without subsidies. Nevertheless, we are considering further options through the new contract and the consultation on the Common Biomass Sustainability Framework to provide additional protection for primary forests.

Whether his proposed extension of subsidies for the Drax power station would raise the guaranteed strike price for the company from £100 MW/h to £113 MW/h.

The new CfD arrangement caps the volume of supported generation to an annual load factor of 27% compared to Drax’s current 65%. This incentivises dispatchable biomass generation only when the system needs it, ensuring consumers can benefit from cheaper wind and solar power at other times. The new arrangement is estimated to halve subsidies to Drax, saving around £6 per household per year compared to current arrangements. The strike price for the new CfD is £113 (2012 prices) compared to £100 MWh currently. This modest increase reflects that Drax’s fixed operating costs will be spread over fewer units of generation, but consumers get more valuable power for lower overall subsidy.

What steps he is taking to support low-income households with the costs of installing (a) insulation and (b) heat pumps.

As the first step towards the Warm Homes Plan, the Government has committed an initial £3.4 billion over the next 3 years towards heat decarbonisation and household energy efficiency.Government energy efficiency schemes such as the Energy Company Obligation, Great British Insulation Scheme, Warm Homes: Social Housing Fund and Warm Homes: Local Grant are targeted at low-income households to fund energy efficiency upgrades and low-carbon heating for those eligible. Further details on the Warm Homes Plan will be set out in due course.

Whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of allowing hon. Members to access (a) the KPMG interim report of December 2022 and (b) the full NESO report on the alternatives to burning 27 million trees a year.

The KPMG report is an internal fact-finding document, commissioned by Drax to review their biomass supply chain against the sustainability requirements of existing arrangements. Whilst DESNZ Officials were granted time limited access to view the report, we do not hold a copy. We therefore have no means or rights to share the report. NESO published a summary of its advice to DESNZ (here). Given the focus of this analysis is on specific companies, it is commercially sensitive and cannot be shared publicly. This is the right approach to ensure security of our electricity system at a fair price for consumers.

Whether he is taking steps (a) reduce and (b) remove policy costs on electricity bills.

The Government believes that our mission to deliver clean power by 2030 is the best way to break our dependence on global fossil fuel markets and protect billpayers permanently. With this, the Government is also committed to ensuring a fair and affordable transition to Net Zero while considering the impact of policy costs on all energy consumers. NESO’s advice in their Clean Power 2030 Report on the impact of clean power on energy bills finds that a 2030 clean power system can be cheaper for the consumer than the one we have today. Policy costs, or levies, fund essential schemes that have delivered significant benefits, including increasing renewable generation capacity and reducing reliance on fossil fuels. The Department keeps the aggregate impact of these policies under review. The Government’s main mechanism to invest in new renewables capacity are our Contracts for Difference. We have consulted on reforms to the Contracts for Difference, which are intended to ensure we secure the capacity needed to deliver Clean Power by 2030, whilst minimising the costs to consumers. The Government will publish a response with a view to implementing any changes in time for Allocation Round 7 to open in summer 2025.

Whether the trees burnt at the Drax power station are imported and transported on diesel freighters.

Drax sources the vast majority of its supply of biomass pellets from the US, with a small percentage from Canada, and elsewhere. It transports pellets to the UK by shipping them on bulk carriers, unloading at ports including Immingham, Liverpool and Port of Tyne before final transport to the Drax site by rail. Bulk transport of biomass pellets can be a highly carbon-efficient way of moving material across large distances. Under the new arrangements agreed with Drax we have strengthened the supply chain emissions threshold in line with European standards.

What steps he is taking to ensure the Climate Change Committee assesses the upcoming sixth carbon budget plan before it is published.

We value the CCC’s independent advice and expertise on progress against our targets. We will deliver an updated plan that sets out the policy package out to the end of Carbon Budget 6 in 2037 for all the sectors in due course. This will outline the policies and proposals needed to deliver Carbon Budgets 4-6 and our NDC commitments on a pathway to net zero. Government will consider CCC’s already published independent advice on Carbon Budgets as well as annual progress reports to Government ahead of publishing the new Plan.

Whether his Department has issued a response to BBC Panorama’s reports that the Drax powerplant has burned wood from primary forest sites.

Following the Panorama reports, Ofgem, as the independent regulator, conducted a comprehensive investigation into Drax’s sustainability arrangements and concluded that, whilst no subsidies were issued for unsustainable biomass, there was an absence of adequate data governance and controls. We are confident in Ofgem’s conclusion, and Drax accepted the findings of the investigation and made a voluntary redress payment of £25m. Further to this, we have tightened the sustainability criteria under the new Contract for Difference, including strict provisions to exclude material sourced from primary and old growth forests under the contract.

Whether he has made an assessment of the potential implications for the Government’s Clean Power 2030 target of limiting the supply of solar and battery storage projects as a result of the 2035 regional technology capacities.

The Clean Power Action Plan (CPAP) sets out regional capacities for solar and battery storage required to achieve Clean Power by 2030. Regional capacities out to 2035 are also included to provide a 10-year time horizon for connections offers. 2035 capacities are based on the top of the range of NESO's Future Energy Scenarios. NESO analysis suggests that projects allocated to the 2031-35 period may be able to connect pre-2030 where there is spare network capacity or if needed to deal with attrition. However, the reformed queue to 2030 will already contain additional capacity beyond the amount needed to achieve Clean Power by 2030.

Whether she has made an assessment of the potential merits of making the adoption and special guardianship support fund permanent.

On 1 April, it was announced that the adoption and special guardianship support fund (ASGSF) would continue into 2025/26, with a budget of £50 million.All future decisions regarding the ASGSF will be considered as part of the next spending review.