The National Planning Policy Framework is clear that the planning system should contribute to and enhance the natural and local environment by preventing both new and existing development from contributing to unacceptable levels of noise pollution. Local authorities should consider the use of planning conditions to mitigate and reduce to a minimum adverse impact on health and quality of life arising from noise from new development.

Government officials have been working to address potential safety and environmental impacts of battery energy storage system (BESS) sites. This includes recent updates to planning practice guidance, which encourages battery storage developers to engage with local fire and rescue services and local planning authorities to refer to the guidance published by the National Chiefs Fire Council. This ensures that matters relating to the siting and location of battery energy storage systems can be considered before an application is made.

With regard to any meetings between the Secretary of State and Rotheram Metropolitan Borough Council, I hope that you will appreciate that the Secretary of State's role in the planning system means that he cannot comment on any development proposal and neither can I comment on his behalf.

The National Planning Policy Framework is clear that the planning system should contribute to and enhance the natural and local environment by preventing both new and existing development from contributing to unacceptable levels of noise pollution. Local authorities should consider the use of planning conditions to mitigate and reduce to a minimum adverse impact on health and quality of life arising from noise from new development.

Government officials have been working to address potential safety and environmental impacts of battery energy storage system (BESS) sites. This includes recent updates to planning practice guidance, which encourages battery storage developers to engage with local fire and rescue services and local planning authorities to refer to the guidance published by the National Chiefs Fire Council. This ensures that matters relating to the siting and location of battery energy storage systems can be considered before an application is made.

With regard to any meetings between the Secretary of State and Rotheram Metropolitan Borough Council, I hope that you will appreciate that the Secretary of State's role in the planning system means that he cannot comment on any development proposal and neither can I comment on his behalf.

We have set out our plans in ‘A Plan for Digital Health and Care’ in June 2022 to update and improve technology efficiency and efficacy in the National Health Service, including plans to digitise the frontline of the NHS and improve services for patients and staff. Further detail is also set out in the ‘Data Saves Lives’ strategy, and in the annual business plans for both the Department and NHS England.

More specifically, NHS IT capability in England is being measured and tracked through an annual digital maturity assessment designed to support trusts to understand their digital and data maturity and develop plans to meet our digitisation standards. This was carried out for the first time in 2023.

Additionally, NHS England does not have plans to make an assessment on the adequacy of NHS storage systems for patient letters. NHS service providers are responsible for arrangements on storing patient letters.

The Government has put in place a robust regulatory framework for grid-scale battery storage that protects people and the environment, which is kept under review to respond to changing circumstances. Recent reviews have considered both the planning system and environmental permitting regulations.

The Government has recently updated Planning Practice Guidance, which encourages battery storage developers to engage with local fire and rescue and local planning authorities to refer to the guidance published by the National Fire Chiefs Council. The Government intends to consult on including battery storage systems in the environmental permitting regulations at the earliest opportunity.

The Government has put in place a robust regulatory framework for grid-scale battery storage that protects people and the environment, which is kept under review to respond to changing circumstances. Recent reviews have considered both the planning system and environmental permitting regulations.

The Government has recently updated Planning Practice Guidance, which encourages battery storage developers to engage with local fire and rescue and local planning authorities to refer to the guidance published by the National Fire Chiefs Council. The Government intends to consult on including battery storage systems in the environmental permitting regulations at the earliest opportunity.

Operation of the Balancing Mechanism is the responsibility of the Electricity System Operator, which has a responsibility to minimise the cost of balancing for electricity consumers.

The Government, through the Review of Electricity Market Arrangements (REMA) programme, is considering reforms needed to electricity market arrangements to drive the necessary investment and efficient operation of a secure, cost-effective, low-carbon electricity system. This includes reform options to maximise the potential for a range of flexible technologies to deploy and operate flexibly, including battery storage.

Investing in proper slurry storage is a critical step livestock farmers need to take to make best use of their organic nutrients and prevent pollution.

In December 2022, my Department launched the first round of the Slurry Infrastructure grant with a budget of £34m. The scheme offers grants of £25,000 to £250,000 to help cattle and pig farms invest in enlarged, covered slurry stores.

We will run two further, larger rounds of the grant in Autumn 2023 and 2024. Farmers interesting in applying for the scheme should read the updated guidance we recently published on GOV.UK.

The Government is facilitating the deployment of electricity storage, including battery storage, through actions set out in the 2021 Smart Systems and Flexibility Plan.

On longer duration electricity storage, the Government has committed to developing an appropriate policy framework by 2024 to enable investment and deploy sufficient storage to balance the system. The Department is planning to consult on the framework this year.

On hydrogen storage, the Government has set out its preferred hydrogen storage business model to unlock private sector investment and remove barriers. The Government has secured amendments to the Energy Bill to introduce the primary powers to deliver this business model by 2025.

The £20 billion announced in the Budget sets up the UK to deliver four Carbon Capture, Usage and Storage (CCUS) clusters by 2030. The Government will publish a vision for the CCUS sector in 2023. The Government's ambition is for up to 2GW of low-carbon hydrogen capacity to be in operation or construction by 2025. Government aims to complete the first Hydrogen Allocation Round by the end of 2023.

The Government is working with Ofgem and industry to implement the actions of the Smart Systems and Flexibility Plan to achieve a more flexible energy system.

In 2021 we commissioned external analysis from AFRY,[1] to understand the role that long-duration energy storage could play in the system across Great Britain, how much may be required over different periods of time and the benefits of different technologies including pumped hydro storage. The analysis highlighted that storage technologies were able to effectively address the increasingly seasonal balancing requirements that emerge in a weather-driven electricity system.

[1] Benefits of long-duration electricity storage (2022), BEIS. Available from: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/benefits-of-long-duration-electricity-storage

The United Kingdom currently stockpiles medicines, vaccines, respiratory equipment including ventilators, and clinical consumables for a future pandemic.

The Department holds a strategic reserve of Intensive Care Unit equipment, originally set up in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. It is currently scaled to provide support for up to 1,000 intensive care unit bays and holds both invasive and non-invasive ventilators which can be accessed by National Health Service trusts across the UK.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, the Department additionally procured a range of medicines to support intensive care, based on critical need and supply resilience. This included, but was not limited to, analgesia, sedation, and antibiotics. Options to maintain access to these products, including stockpiling for a future pandemic and potential volumes required, are currently being considered.