Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:

To ask His Majesty's Government whether they plan to reconsider the ban on new oil and gas production licences for the North Sea in the light of the conflict in Iran.

Answered by Lord Whitehead - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)

The government set out details of how it will deliver on its commitment not to issue further oil and gas licences to explore new fields in the North Sea Future Plan. The government has no intention of reconsidering this.

It typically takes up to 10 years for new licences to explore new fields to lead to production. Any additional supply from such fields would make only a marginal difference to overall production. It would not change the UK’s status as a net importer of oil and gas. It would have no material impact on prices nor on security of supply.

Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:

To ask His Majesty's Government what estimate they have made of the additional cost to ferry travellers between Great Britain and Northern Ireland as a result of the Greenhouse Gas Emissions Trading Scheme (Amendment) (Extension to Maritime Activities) Order 2026.

Answered by Lord Whitehead - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)

The Impact Assessment does not identify significant consumer price impacts and finds that compliance costs for domestic maritime operators are modest relative to their overall operating costs, with fuel and carbon costs forming only one part of total running costs. These findings are consistent with international evidence showing changes to ferry ticket prices in the low single digit range under equivalent carbon pricing.

The Government will review the maritime element of the United Kingdom Emissions Trading Scheme in 2028 to ensure that its impacts remain accurate, proportionate and fully assessed as the sector continues to decarbonise.

Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:

To ask His Majesty's Government whether they plan to provide an exemption to passenger ferry operators between Great Britain and Northern Ireland from the provisions of the Greenhouse Gas Emissions Trading Scheme (Amendment) (Extension to Maritime Activities) Order 2026 which is similar to the exemption for operators to the Scottish Islands.

Answered by Lord Whitehead - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)

There is a high bar for any exemptions from the UK ETS. We are exempting ferries serving Scotland’s islands and peninsula communities given the unique and pressing challenges they face and the legal duties to consider island populations under the Islands (Scotland) Act 2018.

We will be evaluating the impacts of the scheme, as well as the existing exemptions, in a review of the maritime regime in 2028. We will not be extending this exemption to other UK islands at this time.

Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:

To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure that Environmental, Social and Governance frameworks prevent the displacement of emissions to unregulated regions.

Answered by Lord Whitehead - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)

The Government is working to reduce the risk of emissions displacement through adopting and supporting the use of internationally recognised sustainability standards.

The Government is also taking action to address carbon leakage, including by introducing a carbon border adjustment mechanism from January 2027. This will ensure highly traded, carbon intensive products from jurisdictions outside the UK face a comparable carbon price to that paid by UK manufacturers, so that UK decarbonisation efforts lead to a true reduction in global emissions rather than simply displacing carbon emissions overseas.

Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the effectiveness of corporate Environmental, Social and Governance targets in reducing global emissions.

Answered by Lord Whitehead - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)

Evidence from DESNZ analysis and evaluations, including the evaluation of the Streamlined Energy and Carbon Reporting framework, suggests that well-designed climate and ESG disclosures can strengthen corporate governance, improve monitoring and management of emissions, and support firms to identify and implement emissions reduction measures. The Government therefore supports approaches that promote credible, science-based targets and transition planning.

Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:

To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to speed up the reduction of the proportion of the UK's energy needs met by oil and gas.

Answered by Lord Whitehead - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)

Through our Clean Power 2030 mission, we are reducing dependency on volatile global fossil fuel markets and delivering a diverse, secure and clean energy system based on renewables and nuclear, backed by a reserve of gas supply to be used only when essential.

Our work to date - reforming the connections queue, taking a clear decision on REMA and publishing roadmaps for key technologies like Solar and Clean Flexibility - has given a clear signal to industry. And we have now delivered the most successful renewables auction in history, with AR7 securing a record-breaking 8.4 gigawatts of offshore wind, which will power the equivalent of around 12m homes.

Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:

To ask His Majesty's Government what estimate they have made of oil and gas reserves in the North Sea that are not yet licensed for extraction.

Answered by Lord Whitehead - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)

The North Sea Transition Authority (NSTA) publishes a Reserves and Resources report detailing annual estimates of remaining UK Continental Shelf (UKCS) oil and gas reserves and resources, including volumes that are not currently licensed or developed.

The most recent North Sea Transition Authority (NSTA) report was published in October 2025 and is available on the NSTA’s website. It estimates that the total unlicensed resource is around 5.1bn barrels of oil equivalent (bnboe), comprising 2.0 bnboe of marginal discoveries (42% gas) and 3.1 bnboe of prospective resource (34% gas).

This does not reflect the viability of reserves and probability of production. Due to the maturity of the basin, remaining reserves are often technically challenging and may not be commercially viable to extract.

Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:

To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to decouple the price of wholesale electricity from the cost of gas beyond moving more renewables into Contracts for Difference.

Answered by Lord Whitehead - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)

Accelerating the deployment of renewable generation, as we are through our Clean Power 2030 Mission, will reduce the amount of time when gas is setting the price and will help to decouple electricity from gas prices without the need for more complex arrangements.

The Government is determined to increase the share of renewables on the system so that the electricity price is set by cheaper clean power sources rather than gas. Every wind turbine we switch on and solar panel we deploy helps push gas off as the price setter.

Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:

To ask His Majesty's Government whether they intend to reverse the prohibition on domestic production of coking coal; and if so, on what timetable.

Answered by Lord Whitehead - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)

The Government announced on 14th November 2024 its intention to introduce new legislation to restrict the future licensing of all new coal extraction. It will bring forward legislation to do this when parliamentary time allows.

Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the proposal in the report by Greenpeace and Stonehaven, Power Shift, published in March, to move gas-fired power stations into a Regulated Asset Base strategic reserve.

Answered by Lord Whitehead - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)

This government has been clear that the answers to the challenges around energy security, affordability and sustainability point in the same direction – clean energy.

Under current market frameworks, technologies with the lowest marginal cost dispatch first. Unabated gas generators have high marginal costs so generally dispatch last.

By 2030 unabated gas will account for less than 5% of total generation. As low‑carbon technologies are deployed at scale, gas will increasingly shift to a reserve role in the system, meaning it will set electricity prices less often over time, reducing consumers’ exposure to volatile fossil fuel prices.

As the role of unabated gas diminishes, we continue to work with NESO and Ofgem to explore how market and system arrangements can evolve to minimise its impact on consumer bills, including considering the potential benefits and risks of alternative market reforms.

Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:

To ask His Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with Ofgem and the National Energy System Operator about the feasibility and potential impact of implementing a Regulated Asset Base model for gas-fired power stations.

Answered by Lord Whitehead - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)

This government has been clear that the answers to the challenges around energy security, affordability and sustainability point in the same direction – clean energy.

Under current market frameworks, technologies with the lowest marginal cost dispatch first. Unabated gas generators have high marginal costs so generally dispatch last.

By 2030 unabated gas will account for less than 5% of total generation. As low‑carbon technologies are deployed at scale, gas will increasingly shift to a reserve role in the system, meaning it will set electricity prices less often over time, reducing consumers’ exposure to volatile fossil fuel prices.

As the role of unabated gas diminishes, we continue to work with NESO and Ofgem to explore how market and system arrangements can evolve to minimise its impact on consumer bills, including considering the potential benefits and risks of alternative market reforms.

Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the Peak Cluster project which proposes building a pipeline to carry compressed carbon dioxide from cement producers in Staffordshire and Derbyshire to gas storage facilities in Morcombe.

Answered by Lord Whitehead - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)

In July 2023, the previous government outlined the next two clusters it felt were best placed to take forward carbon capture after ECC and Hynet. These were Acorn, in the Northeast of Scotland, and Viking in the Humber. The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero are continuing to engage with potential future projects, including the Peak Cluster, to understand their proposals.

The assessment for commissioning this project is undertaken through the Development Consent Order (DCO) process itself. The planning system is designed to assess whether the anticipated benefits of the project outweigh its potential costs and adverse impacts.

Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:

To ask His Majesty's Government on what dates companies and individuals fully paid the fines levied by Ofgem during 2024 and 2025.

Answered by Lord Whitehead - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)

Ofgem is directly accountable to Parliament for the performance of its functions. The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) does not oversee Ofgem’s regulatory or organisational activities. As such, this information is not held by DESNZ and so is not readily available. However, I have asked the Chief Executive of Ofgem to write to my noble Friend to provide the information. A copy of the letter will be placed in the Library of the House.

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Found: Recommendation implemented 4.2 Risk management and associated escalation within DESNZ is managed through

Found: Recommendation implemented 4.2 Risk management and associated escalation within DESNZ is managed through

Found: Recommendation implemented 4.2 Risk management and associated escalation within DESNZ is managed through

Found: Recommendation implemented 4.2 Risk management and associated escalation within DESNZ is managed through

Found: Recommendation implemented 4.2 Risk management and associated escalation within DESNZ is managed through

Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask His Majesty's Government whether they plan to establish a minister for critical mineral security.

Answered by Baroness Lloyd of Effra - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)

Chris McDonald MP was appointed Minister for Industry in the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) and the Department for Business and Trade (DBT) on 11 September 2025. As Minister for Industry, his responsibilities cover critical minerals, including their security of supply.

Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask His Majesty's Government, in regard to the Critical Minerals Strategy, published on 22 November 2025, what assessment they have made of the potential merits of appointing a single minister responsible for coordinating critical mineral security policy between departments.

Answered by Baroness Lloyd of Effra - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)

The Department for Business and Trade holds regular meetings to discuss critical minerals policy with other departments, reflecting the cross-cutting nature of critical mineral supply chains. Chris McDonald MP as Minister for Industry in the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) and the Department for Business and Trade (DBT) holds responsibility for critical minerals and regularly engages other Ministers on critical minerals policy.

Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask His Majesty's Government what actions they are taking to improve the quality and consistency of sorted scrap metal to meet increased demand for future electric arc furnace steelmaking in the UK.

Answered by Baroness Lloyd of Effra - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)

The Steel Strategy, announced on 19 March 2026, sets out the creation of a cross-government group consisting of DBT, DEFRA, DESNZ, other departments and devolved governments. The group will evaluate proposals and engage representatives from industry, unions, academia, and other stakeholders across the market, to ensure a sustainable supply of high-quality scrap for the domestic steel sector.

The Group will take into account that the UK demand for scrap could grow to 6.7m tonnes, whilst UK supply is around 10-11m tonnes a year.

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