Asked by: Baroness Worthington (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the case for increasing the proportion of electric cars sold by introducing a trading obligation on manufacturers; and what plans they have to publish any such assessment.
Answered by Lord Callanan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
In 2019, registrations of battery electric vehicles were at record levels. This was almost double compared to 2018 with nearly 38,000 units sold, overtaking plug-in hybrid electric vehicle registrations for the first time, at nearly 35,000 units.
We are consulting on bringing forward the end to the sale of new petrol and diesel cars and vans from 2040 to 2035, or earlier if a faster transition appears feasible, as well as including hybrids for the first time. As part of this consultation, we are asking what the accompanying package of support will need to be to enable the transition and minimise the impacts on businesses and consumers across the UK, building on the significant demand and supply side measures already in place. We plan to conclude the consultation this summer. We are also exploring what more needs to be done to reduce carbon emissions from road transport through the Transport Decarbonisation Plan.
In addition, we are investing around £2.5 billion ?in grants to support the purchase of plug-in cars, vans, lorries, buses, taxis, and motorcycles, as well?as providing funding?to support the installation of chargepoint infrastructure at homes,?workplaces,?on residential streets,?and across the wider roads network.
Asked by: Baroness Worthington (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the remarks by Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth on 4 November during the Report stage of the Energy Bill [HL] (HL Deb, col 1641), what progress has been made towards establishing a Parliamentary Advisory Group on carbon capture and storage.
Answered by Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth
We remain committed to establishing a Parliamentary Advisory Group on carbon capture and storage and met with Lord Oxburgh recently to discuss the group.
Asked by: Baroness Worthington (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the amount of stamp duty reserve tax that will be repaid following the 2012 decision of the First-Tier Tribunal (Tax) in the case of <i>HSBC Holdings PLC and the Bank of New York Mellon Corporation v HMRC </i>(TC/2009/165484)<i>.</i>
Answered by Lord O'Neill of Gatley
HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) is not in a position to provide an assessment of Stamp Duty Reserve Tax that may be repaid following the 2012 First Tier Tribunal decision in the case of HSBC Holdings PLC and the Bank of New York Mellon Corporation v HMRC. This is due to ongoing litigation of cases arising from that decision.
Asked by: Baroness Worthington (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government how much stamp duty reserve tax has been repaid following the 2012 decision of the First-Tier Tribunal (Tax) in the case of<i> HSBC Holdings PLC and the Bank of New York Mellon Corporation v HMRC</i> (TC/2009/165484).
Answered by Lord O'Neill of Gatley
The First Tier Tribunal in the case of HSBC Holdings PLC and the Bank of New York Mellon Corporation v HMRC decided in March 2012 that the taxing of Stamp Duty Reserve Tax at 1.5% on a transfer of shares which is integral to a share capital raising exercise to a depositary receipt issuer or clearance service, infringed the Capital Duty Directive. Following that decision, HMRC has repaid a total of £168 million Stamp Duty Reserve Tax to various claimants.
Asked by: Baroness Worthington (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question
To ask Her Majesty’s Government when they plan to undertake a review of the Emissions Performance Standard under section 66 of the Energy Act 2013.
Answered by Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth
Section 66 of the Energy Act 2013 requires the Emissions Performance Standard to be reviewed as soon as reasonably practicable after December 2018.
Asked by: Baroness Worthington (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what measures are in place to limit the exposure of the public purse to costs arising through reliefs and repayments of Ring Fence Corporation Tax, Petroleum Revenue Tax, and the Supplementary Charge, incurred by the decommissioning of North Sea oil and gas infrastructure.
Answered by Lord O'Neill of Gatley
The Government believes in making the most of the UK’s oil and gas resources – to date the oil and gas industry has contributed £330bn to the Exchequer and is the UK’s largest industrial investor, supporting hundreds of thousands of jobs, supplying a large portion of the UK’s primary energy needs and making a significant contribution to GDP. With between 11 and 21 billion barrels of oil equivalent still to be exploited, the UK Continental Shelf can continue to provide considerable economic benefits for many years to come.
The Government is committed to ensuring decommissioning programmes represent value for money, which is why we have introduced provisions through the Energy Bill to:
Asked by: Baroness Worthington (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the share of the total cost of decommissioning gas and oil infrastructure in the North Sea that will be met by the public purse under the current fiscal regime.
Answered by Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth
The Government believes in making the most of the UK’s oil and gas resources – to date the oil and gas industry has contributed £330bn to the Exchequer and is the UK’s largest industrial investor, supporting hundreds of thousands of jobs, supplying a large portion of the UK’s primary energy needs and making a significant contribution to GDP. With between 11 and 21 billion barrels of oil equivalent still to be exploited, the UK Continental Shelf can continue to provide considerable economic benefits for many years to come.
Decommissioning is an inherent cost of doing business in the UK Continental Shelf. As a result, capital allowances are available on decommissioning expenditure (for the purposes of Ring Fence Corporation Tax and Supplementary Charge) and the expenditure is tax deductible for the purposes of Petroleum Revenue Tax. The provision of relief requires a company to have current or previously taxed upstream profits against which to offset losses. Relief is not available where a company has not paid tax or where a company’s decommissioning costs exceed the amount of profits on which they have previously paid tax.
We are committed to ensuring decommissioning programmes represent value for money, which is why the Government intends to bring forward amendments at Lords Report Stage of the Energy Bill to: require decommissioning programmes to be cost effective, ensure the Oil and Gas Authority has the powers it needs to scrutinise companies’ decommissioning plans to ensure they are cost effective, and enable the Secretary of State to require a company to take specific action to reduce the costs of decommissioning to address cost overruns.
HMRC’s annual accounts include an estimate of, and provision for, the liabilities associated with the decommissioning of oil and gas infrastructure. Their annual accounts for 2014-15 are available below in the attached (page 115, Section 8).
Asked by: Baroness Worthington (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the cost to the public purse of decommissioning gas and oil infrastructure in the North Sea over the period 2014–15 to 2019–20.
Answered by Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth
The Government believes in making the most of the UK’s oil and gas resources – to date the oil and gas industry has contributed £330bn to the Exchequer and is the UK’s largest industrial investor, supporting hundreds of thousands of jobs, supplying a large portion of the UK’s primary energy needs and making a significant contribution to GDP. With between 11 and 21 billion barrels of oil equivalent still to be exploited, the UK Continental Shelf can continue to provide considerable economic benefits for many years to come.
Decommissioning is an inherent cost of doing business in the UK Continental Shelf. As a result, capital allowances are available on decommissioning expenditure (for the purposes of Ring Fence Corporation Tax and Supplementary Charge) and the expenditure is tax deductible for the purposes of Petroleum Revenue Tax. The provision of relief requires a company to have current or previously taxed upstream profits against which to offset losses. Relief is not available where a company has not paid tax or where a company’s decommissioning costs exceed the amount of profits on which they have previously paid tax.
We are committed to ensuring decommissioning programmes represent value for money, which is why the Government intends to bring forward amendments at Lords Report Stage of the Energy Bill to: require decommissioning programmes to be cost effective, ensure the Oil and Gas Authority has the powers it needs to scrutinise companies’ decommissioning plans to ensure they are cost effective, and enable the Secretary of State to require a company to take specific action to reduce the costs of decommissioning to address cost overruns.
HMRC’s annual accounts include an estimate of, and provision for, the liabilities associated with the decommissioning of oil and gas infrastructure. Their annual accounts for 2014-15 are available below in the attached (page 115, Section 8).
Asked by: Baroness Worthington (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what measures they have taken to limit their exposure to costs arising from the decommissioning of North Sea oil and gas infrastructure.
Answered by Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth
There are robust safeguards in place to prevent the costs of decommissioning falling to the taxpayer. Measures under Part 4 of the Petroleum Act include the ability for the Secretary of State to require the owners of an offshore installation or pipeline to prepare and execute a decommissioning programme for those assets, and to take financial securities from those companies to protect the tax-payer from any default.
We are committed to ensuring decommissioning programmes represent value for money, which is why the Government intends to bring forward amendments at Lords Report Stage of the Energy Bill to: require decommissioning programmes to be cost effective, ensure the Oil and Gas Authority has the powers it needs to scrutinise companies’ decommissioning plans to ensure they are cost effective, and enable the Secretary of State to require a company to take specific action to reduce the costs of decommissioning to address cost overruns.
Asked by: Baroness Worthington (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, given the requirements of the Climate Change Act 2008, how they will ensure that all new and refurbished power generating capacity in the United Kingdom is contributing towards the meeting of carbon targets; and how they will ensure that higher carbon infrastructure is not being locked in that will make the meeting of carbon targets harder and more expensive in the future.
Answered by Baroness Verma
The Climate Change Act established a legally binding target to reduce the UK’s greenhouse gas emissions by at least 80% below base levels by 2050. The Act introduced a system of carbon budgets which provide legally binding limits on the amount of emissions that may be produced in successive five-year periods, setting the UK on a least cost trajectory to 2050.
A comprehensive package of policies has been put in place to meet future carbon budgets, which includes reducing the carbon intensity of power generation.
Electricity market reform (EMR) provides support for all low carbon technologies including nuclear, Carbon Capture Storage and renewables. The EMR delivery plan also provides an outlook to 2030 illustrating different scenarios for power sector decarbonisation consistent with our carbon plan and budgets.
This approach increases energy security and minimises costs to taxpayers and consumers, while reducing emissions.