Asked by: Baroness Sheehan (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the recommendation of the House of Commons Environmental Audit Committee in is report Greening imports: a UK carbon border approach, published on 4 April 2022 (HC 737) that a UK Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism design should reflect engagement with low and middle income country trading partners, given the fact that less developed countries are less likely to have carbon pricing or the systems in place to calculate the emissions of their exports.
Answered by Baroness Penn - Minister on Leave (Parliamentary Under Secretary of State)
The government has recently consulted on potential future measures to mitigate carbon leakage risks, including the potential for a UK Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM). The consultation closed on 22 June 2023. The government will respond to the consultation in due course.
Asked by: Baroness Sheehan (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they have received the letter from Mishcon De Reya on behalf of Community Windpower Ltd about impending legal action in respect of the Electricity Generator Levy; and what steps they intend to take in response.
Answered by Baroness Penn - Minister on Leave (Parliamentary Under Secretary of State)
The Treasury engages in good faith with all requests for further information it receives, just as it will in responding to any letter before claim should any be served in compliance with the established pre-action protocols. It is confident that it has, and continues to act, lawfully in the development of the Electricity Generator Levy.
Asked by: Baroness Sheehan (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what was the net amount received in tax from North Sea oil and gas operations in each of the past six financial years, accounting for rebates and subsidies.
Answered by Lord Agnew of Oulton
Government revenues received from North Sea oil and gas operations, net of allowable deductions and tax reliefs, are presented in HM Revenue & Custom’s (HMRC) “Statistics of government revenues from UK oil and gas production” publication which is available on Gov.uk.
Asked by: Baroness Sheehan (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Her Majesty's Government which departmental budgets will be affected by the £2.9 billion package of reductions to the Government’s planned Official Development Assistance spend for 2020 announced by the First Secretary of State on 22 July; and what is the value of each department’s reduction in spending.
Answered by Lord Agnew of Oulton
Official Development Assistance (ODA) spending departments have identified changes to their budget to make sure we meet, but do not exceed the 0.7% commitment. This package includes underspends, delaying activity and stopping some activity to maintain our flexibility in managing our ODA spending against an uncertain 0.7% position.
As normal, there will continue to be adjustments in-year to individual departmental ODA spend to meet the 0.7% commitment. Revised ODA allocations for 2020/21 will be published by HM Treasury at Autumn Budget and the Statistics for International Development to be published in 2021 will provide a full breakdown of the UK’s ODA spend for 2020.
Asked by: Baroness Sheehan (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans, if any, they have for the criteria for allocating Official Development Assistance to be redefined.
Answered by Lord Agnew of Oulton
HM Treasury will allocate future Official Development Assistance (ODA) budgets at the 2020 Comprehensive Spending Review.
We will build on the process and criteria used at the 2015 Spending Review to allocate ODA, taking into account a range of factors, including, but not limited to, value for money and strategic alignment with the Government’s priorities, in line with the conclusions of the Integrated Review.
The Government expects the same high standards from ODA as it does from all Government expenditure.