Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of the proposed ban on issuing new licences to explore oil and gas fields on investment, jobs, tax revenue and the balance of payments.

Answered by Lord Livermore - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)

Forecasts for oil and gas tax revenues are published by the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR), which take into account many factors including the sector’s expectations and the Government’s policy at the time. The most recent forecast was published at Autumn Budget 2024 in the Economic and Fiscal Outlook October 2024 [1] . This also includes other economic projections, including in relation to future investment in the oil and gas sector and the UK’s balance of payments.

Future OBR forecasts will consider any changes to policy that may have an impact on investment in the oil and gas sector, oil and gas production or tax revenues from the sector.

1. https://obr.uk/efo/economic-and-fiscal-outlook-october-2024/

Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Twycross on 13 February (HL4762), what routes are available to owner-occupiers of listed buildings that are exempt from requiring an energy performance certificate to access the Boiler Upgrade Scheme.

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

A property must have a valid Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) to be eligible for the Boiler Upgrade Scheme (BUS) as they support property owners to understand how energy efficient their building is, enabling them to make an informed choice on whether to proceed with an installation.

While completing an EPC is generally not a requirement for listed buildings, they can still be obtained from an accredited EPC assessor, to meet BUS eligibility requirements. The Government will continue to review scheme eligibility criteria, and consider changes to drive further demand, making low carbon heating accessible to a wider range of households.

Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (HC37979), whether the decision to plug and abandon Preston New Road shale gas well was a matter for (1) the company, (2) the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero, or (3) the North Sea Transition Authority.

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

As stated in the previous answer, decisions on whether to abandon wells are ultimately a matter for the company.

Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by the Minister of State for Culture, Media and Sport on 24 February (HC30997), what measures they have agreed with Historic England to ensure that the necessary workforce is in place in the UK heritage skills sector.

Answered by Baroness Twycross - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)

Historic England are working across government and with sector partners to develop the infrastructure needed for heritage building skills.

For example, Historic England is engaging with the Department for Education via the Construction Skills Delivery Board, as well as on changes to vocational education, such as the introduction of Skills England. Historic England is also involved in regional pilot programmes aiming to tackle traditional building skills needs locally, and collaborating with Cadw and Historic Environment Scotland to improve the standard of retrofit training, to care for our historic buildings, while also making them more energy efficient.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the effectiveness of VAT relief on new build properties on increasing house building, and what plans they have to extend VAT relief to the refurbishment of listed buildings.

Answered by Lord Livermore - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)

To support the construction of new homes, the Government maintains a zero rate of VAT on new-build residential buildings and a reduced rate of VAT of five per cent for residential renovations that meet certain conditions.

To preserve heritage, restorative work carried out on listed buildings previously benefited from a zero rate of VAT. However, this relief was abolished in 2012, as it was primarily used to carry out extension work unnecessary for heritage purposes. The Government has no current plans to reduce the VAT charged on work to maintain and repair listed properties, but keeps all taxes under review.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to implement an entry/exit border control system to aid the identification and removal of individuals who have overstayed across all visa types.

Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)

The UK has introduced Electronic Travel Authorisations (ETAs) to enhance our ability to screen travellers upstream, and improve the customer experience. The introduction of the ETA scheme is in line with the approach many of the UK’s international partners have already taken to border security, including the European Union’s forthcoming ETIAS and EES. The UK’s scheme was extended to eligible European nationals on 5 March 2025, and will be a requirement for this cohort for travel from 2 April 2025.

Found: Marie Goldman MP Andy Helliwell (Lords) Mark Tami MP Russ MacMillan (Delivery Authority) Lord Mackinlay of Richborough

Found: Marie Goldman MP Andy Helliwell (Lords) Mark Tami MP Russ MacMillan (Delivery Authority) Lord Mackinlay of Richborough