My View - Who scrutinises the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero?
This article was written by Mike Reader, MP for Northampton South, who will also be the guest speaker at our September 2025 meeting
Scrutinising the department for energy security and net zero
Delivering the Clean Energy Mission and reaching net zero is critical for the UK. At the heart of it sits the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ). Its work must be properly held to account, and that’s where the Energy Security and Net Zero Select Committee plays a vital role.
On 13th January 2025, I was invited to join the Select Committee. It’s an honour to be asked to join in a role that is normally contested through elections. But what does a Select Committee do? And how do we keep DESNZ to task?
The role of a select committee – committee inquiries
A Select Committee has three core focuses. The primary focus of select committees is to carry out inquiries into topics that relate to the department it scrutinises. In our case, we have a number of ongoing inquiries and two completed ones which are:
- Retrofitting homes for net zero (completed)
- National planning for energy infrastructure (completed)
- The cost of energy
- Industrial strategy for clean power
- Building the support for energy transition
- Workforce planning to deliver clean, secure energy
- Revisiting the Nuclear Roadmap
- Unlocking community energy at scale
- The work of the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero
Each inquiry starts with a problem statement and a set of questions put out to the market. We receive written responses from a range of different organisations from academia to NGOs and charities through to businesses and even individuals. In fact, Climate Action-West Northants are very welcome to submit evidence to any one of our inquiries during the evidence window.
Once written responses are received, we select a number of strong submissions from varied voices to give oral evidence to our committee. These evidence sessions typically last two to three hours, are broadcast online and recorded for future watching, and help us to delve deeper into the evidence that people have provided.
With oral and written evidence received, the committee agrees a report summarising our findings and recommendations, and then that report is published, and the government must provide a written response to the recommendations in the report.
By having a formal inquiry process we're able to provide evidence-based guidance and recommendations to government and guide their work in partnership with the wider sector. We can also call out poor practice or learnings that are needed when things don’t go so well.
The role of a select committee – non-inquiry work
The second role of a Select Committee is to carry out non-inquiry work. This typically focuses on short, evidence-gathering sessions around topical issues. Our committee has carried out non-inquiry work in areas including The Work of Ofgem and Back Billing by Energy Companies (a topic which Martin Lewis has campaigned heavily on).
These non-inquiry sessions enable us to provide a quick but thorough review of the topics of the moment and ensure that our committee remains up to date and informed on issues that may affect constituents or the work of the department.
The role of a select committee – pre-appointment hearings
The third role of security is to provide pre-appointment interview of key government appointments. So far, I've completed one interview. We had a chance to question the now new chair of the Climate Change Committee. It was a fantastic opportunity for me personally to be able to dig deep into the subject matter area of sustainability and climate change with a world expert and have an opportunity to hear his views first hand on how the Climate Change Committee will hold government to account.
What does this mean for Northamptonshire, and CA-WN?
For Northamptonshire, this means having a voice at the heart of scrutiny on climate change, energy security and net zero. I see my role not only as a parliamentarian but also as a campaigner for a just transition. I hope all CA-WN members know, that in me, you have a campaigner and activist who will not let our commitment to the world be watered down, locally by West Northants Council, or nationally.