Written questions by Gilbert.

Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of the Marine Recovery Fund on offshore wind deployment targets.

As announced in the Clean Power Action Plan, we will establish an industry‑funded Marine Recovery Fund into which applicants can pay to discharge their compensation obligations, underpinned by a library of approved strategic compensation measures. This will be launched in late 2025. A consultation on the Marine Recovery Fund will be published this Spring. The library of approved compensation measures for offshore wind projects in England is being developed by Defra in collaboration with stakeholders through the Collaboration in Offshore Wind Strategic Compensation programme (COWSC). COWSC brings together Government representatives, Statutory Nature Conservation Bodies (SNCBs), environmental NGOs, offshore wind industry representatives, and Devolved Governments to work together in partnership. The focus of the programme is to propose sufficient measures to meet the Government’s offshore wind ambitions. DESNZ estimates that delivery of strategic compensation through the Marine Recovery Fund will remove environmental barriers to up to 16GW of offshore wind.

Food and Rural Affairs, when his Department plans to publish guidance on the Marine Recovery Fund; and what his planned timeline is for the implementation of that fund.

As announced in the Clean Power Action Plan, we will establish an industry‑funded Marine Recovery Fund into which applicants can pay to discharge their compensation obligations, underpinned by a library of approved strategic compensation measures. This will be launched in late 2025. A consultation on the Marine Recovery Fund will be published this Spring. The library of approved compensation measures for offshore wind projects in England is being developed by Defra in collaboration with stakeholders through the Collaboration in Offshore Wind Strategic Compensation programme (COWSC). COWSC brings together Government representatives, Statutory Nature Conservation Bodies (SNCBs), environmental NGOs, offshore wind industry representatives, and Devolved Governments to work together in partnership. The focus of the programme is to propose sufficient measures to meet the Government’s offshore wind ambitions. DESNZ estimates that delivery of strategic compensation through the Marine Recovery Fund will remove environmental barriers to up to 16GW of offshore wind.

What proportion of pensioners were claiming pension credit in (a) Edinburgh North and Leith constituency and (b) Scotland on 31 December 2024.

In Winter 2023 to 2024, there were 10,051 pensioner households living in the Edinburgh North and Leith constituency and 751,246 pensioner households living in Scotland. This is based on winter-fuel-payments-household-2023-to-2024.ods. At that point in time, 1,659 pensioner households received Pension Credit in the Edinburgh North and Leith constituency and 125,136 pensioner households received Pension Credit in Scotland. This is based on February 2024 Pension Credit statistics which are available via DWP Stat-Xplore. Based on these figures, 16.5% of pensioner households in the Edinburgh North and Leith constituency and 16.7% of pensioner households in Scotland received Pension Credit in February 2024. The latest Pension Credit statistics were published in November 2024 and cover the period up to May 2024. The next iteration of Pension Credit caseload statistics will be released on 18th February 2025, as part of the DWP Benefits Statistics quarterly release. This will contain data for the period from June 2024 to the end of August 2024. Following release, the data can also be accessed at Stat-Xplore - Home.

Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department plans to take to ensure that the Marine Recovery Fund has a sufficient library of appropriate compensation measures to deliver the environmental compensation necessary to meet Government's Offshore Wind targets.

As announced in the Clean Power Action Plan, we will establish an industry‑funded Marine Recovery Fund into which applicants can pay to discharge their compensation obligations, underpinned by a library of approved strategic compensation measures. This will be launched in late 2025. A consultation on the Marine Recovery Fund will be published this Spring. The library of approved compensation measures for offshore wind projects in England is being developed by Defra in collaboration with stakeholders through the Collaboration in Offshore Wind Strategic Compensation programme (COWSC). COWSC brings together Government representatives, Statutory Nature Conservation Bodies (SNCBs), environmental NGOs, offshore wind industry representatives, and Devolved Governments to work together in partnership. The focus of the programme is to propose sufficient measures to meet the Government’s offshore wind ambitions. DESNZ estimates that delivery of strategic compensation through the Marine Recovery Fund will remove environmental barriers to up to 16GW of offshore wind.

Food and Rural Affairs, what processes are in place for Statutory Nature Conservation Bodies to consider (a) new scientific research and (b) evidence on the impact of offshore wind on the marine environment; and how this evidence is incorporated into the modelling parameters which developers use when assessing the impact of offshore wind projects on (i) ornithology and (ii) benthic ecology.

Defra’s Statutory Nature Conservation Bodies, Natural England and the Joint Nature Conservation Committee, work closely together on assessing and advising on the impacts of offshore wind on the marine environment. Advice is based on robust scientific methods and all new scientific research is scrutinised before incorporating it into advice. Specialists at Natural England are directly involved in many offshore wind research projects and contribute to the Offshore Wind Environmental Evidence Register to support the knowledge base for the development of new offshore wind farms. New evidence is incorporated into Natural England’s guidance to offshore wind developers on environmental impact assessments. The guidance covers both ornithology and benthic assessments and is updated when new evidence comes to light.

What discussions she has had with the Welsh Government on electoral registration in Wales.

The UK Government is committed to strengthening our democracy, widening participation, and upholding the integrity of elections. The Interministerial Group on Elections, which will meet next week, provides a regular forum for the UK Government and the Devolved Governments to discuss our shared ambitions.

What support her Department is providing to SMEs on the changes to employer National Insurance contributions.

The Government has protected the smallest businesses and charities from the impact of the increase to Employer National Insurance by increasing the Employment Allowance from £5,000 to £10,500, which means that 865,000 employers will pay no NICs at all next year, more than half of employers will see no change or will gain overall from this package, and all eligible employers will be able to employ up to four full-time workers on the National Living Wage and pay no employer NICs.Businesses will also still be able to claim employer NICs reliefs including those for under 21s and under 25 apprentices, where eligible.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of suspending export licences for F-35 components to Israel.

On day one in office, the Foreign Secretary commissioned a thorough review into Israel's compliance with International Humanitarian Law (IHL), given the grave concerns about the conduct and consequences of the war in Gaza for civilians. The UK's robust export licensing criteria state that the Government will not issue export licences if there is a clear risk that the items might be used to commit or facilitate serious violations of IHL. Given the conclusions of the review, on 2 September the Government suspended around 30 export licences to Israel, effectively covering all arms exports for use in the current conflict in Gaza, exempting components for F-35 aircraft which, for reasons outlined in the Foreign Secretary's Statement and the Business and Trade Secretary's Written Ministerial Statement, have been excluded from the suspension.

What remit the Great British Energy satellite sites in (a) Edinburgh and (b) Glasgow will have.

This Government has been clear that Great British Energy (GBE) will be operationally independent, and decisions such as these will ultimately sit with the company itself. These additional sites in Glasgow and Edinburgh will allow GBE to tap into other expertise across Scotland, and workforce planning is ongoing to ensure the company secures the right skills in the right locations. The work GBE delivers across all of its locations will be in accordance with the strategic priorities, which will be set by the Secretary of State.

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.

Communities and Local Government, when her Department will confirm allocations for the £900 million Shared Prosperity Funding announced in the Autumn budget.

Allocations for the UK Shared Prosperity Fund in 2025-26 were published on GOV.UK on 13 December and can be found here.

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 matt...

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 manife...

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 fo...

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, achiev...

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 cha...

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 consid...

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 n...