Lord Redwood

The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority.

Please see the letter attached from the National Statistician and Chief Executive of the UK Statistics Authority.

The Rt Hon. the Lord Redwood

House of Lords

London

SW1A 0PW

28 April 2026

As Permanent Secretary of the Office for National Statistics (ONS), I am responding to your Parliamentary Question asking how many jobs have been lost in the last year in the oil, gas, petrochemicals, refining and general chemical sectors (HL16637).

In December 2025, in the UK, there were an estimated 10,000 workforce jobs1 in the mining of coal and lignite; extraction of crude petrol/gas sector (standard industrial classification (SIC) divisions 05-06), a decrease of 2,000 compared with December 2024.

In December 2025, in the UK, there were an estimated 8,000 workforce jobs1 in the manufacture of coke and refined petroleum products sector (standard industrial classification (SIC) division 19), a decrease of 2,000 compared with December 2024.

In December 2025, in the UK, there were 99,000 workforce jobs2 in the manufacture of chemicals and chemical products sector (standard industrial classification (SIC) division 20), an increase of 2,000 compared with December 2024.

A full time series of data can be found in Table 1. Please note that these data are not

seasonally adjusted.

Table 1: Number of workforce jobs3 in the manufacture of motor vehicles, trailers and

semi-trailers sector, UK, not seasonally adjusted.

Source: Office for National Statistics

These data are published quarterly in tables JOBS03: Employee jobs by industry4 and JOBS04: Self-employment jobs by industry5. The most recent data, up to December 2025, were published as part of our Vacancies and jobs in the UK: March 20266 bulletin, which was published on 19 March 2026.

Yours sincerely,

Darren Tierney

1Estimates of workforce jobs include employee jobs and self-employment jobs only, these estimates

exclude any government supported trainees in these sectors.

2 Estimates are presented to the nearest 1,000 and changes have been calculated on rounded

estimates.

3 Estimates of workforce jobs include employee jobs and self-employment jobs only, these estimates

exclude any government supported trainees in these sectors.

4https://www.ons.gov.uk/employmentandlabourmarket/peopleinwork/employmentandemployeetypes/d

atasets/employeejobsbyindustryjobs03

5https://www.ons.gov.uk/employmentandlabourmarket/peopleinwork/employmentandemployeetypes/d

atasets/selfemploymentjobsbyindustryjobs04

6https://www.ons.gov.uk/employmentandlabourmarket/peopleinwork/employmentandemployeetypes/b

ulletins/jobsandvacanciesintheuk/march2026

The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority.

Please see the letter attached from the Permanent Secretary of the Office for National Statistics.

Lord Redwood

House of Lords

London

SW1A 0PW

26 March 2026

Dear Lord Redwood,

As Permanent Secretary of the Office for National Statistics (ONS), I am responding to your Parliamentary Question asking how many industrial plants employing over 200 people have closed in the last year (HL15771).

It is not possible to answer the question as asked because these data are not available by the number of employees. However, by using the quarterly business demography dataset[1], it is possible to make an estimate of the number of businesses within the production industries which have closed in the last year.

The number of businesses within the production industries which have closed in the year 2025 is estimated to be 12,510.

The quarterly business demography statistical release is regarded as ‘official statistics in development’.

Yours sincerely,

Darren Tierney

[1] https://www.ons.gov.uk/businessindustryandtrade/business/activitysizeandlocation/bulletins/businessdemographyquarterlyexperimentalstatisticsuk/latest

We have agreed that we will work towards the establishment of a balanced youth experience scheme with the EU. This will provide a valuable form of cultural exchange for young Brits and EU citizens with the opportunity to travel, work, study and experience other cultures. We have agreed that any scheme will be capped, subject to a visa requirement as well as time-limited. We have also been clear that it should be in line with the UK’s existing schemes with countries like Australia and New Zealand. The exact parameters are subject to ongoing negotiation, but any scheme will need to be in the UK’s national interests.

We have agreed that we will work towards the establishment of a balanced youth experience scheme with the EU. This will provide a valuable form of cultural exchange for young Brits and EU citizens with the opportunity to travel, work, study and experience other cultures. The UK and EU agreed ahead of the Summit that any scheme will be subject to a cap. This is what the Common Understanding language means by ‘ensure that the overall number of participants is acceptable to both sides’. Any scheme would create new opportunities for young Brits, while being in line with the Government’s plans to restore control over the immigration system and reduce net migration. The exact details are subject to ongoing negotiations, but any scheme will need to be in the UK’s national interests.

Budgets for British Steel are subject to the usual government approvals processes and ministerial decisions. The need for HMG support is kept under constant review and all efforts are being made to secure a viable future for the company. All support for British Steel has been drawn from existing HMG budgets, with no additional borrowing required.

To date, we have provided approximately £504 million for working capital, covering items such as raw materials and salaries. This will be reflected in the Department for Business and Trade’s accounts for both 2025-26 and 2026-27.

The Government has not made a single estimate of annual battery electric vehicle production capacity, however the latest forecasts from the Advanced Propulsion Centre estimate the UK will produce 200k battery electric vehicles (passenger cars and commercial vehicles) in 2027, rising to 600k in 2030. We are supporting UK battery manufacturing via DRIVE35, which helped strategic investments like the Agratas gigafactory in Somerset, and have already committed £47 million for key R&D battery projects across the UK through the Battery Innovation Programme, helping to create skilled jobs, a stronger supply chain and position the UK as a globally competitive destination for battery manufacturing.

It has not proved possible to respond to this question in the time available before Prorogation. I will correspond directly with the noble Lord.

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.

The government have now concluded negotiations with the European Commission on the UK’s association to Erasmus+ in 2027. This commitment covers the 2027/28 academic year. Any participation in Erasmus+ into the next Multiannual Financial Framework will need to be agreed in the future and be based on a fair and balanced contribution.

We have secured significantly improved financial terms compared to default arrangements, ensuring a fairer balance between the UK’s contribution to the EU and the number of UK participants who receive funding. We negotiated a 30% discount, securing participation for 2027 at a cost of approximately £570 million, saving UK taxpayers around £240 million while securing the benefits of participation for young people in the UK and across the EU.

The UK will receive most of that money back to distribute amongst UK beneficiaries. UK participants will also have the opportunity to compete for grants from a c.£1 billion central pot directly managed by the European Commission.

The department will report to Parliament the costs arising from our participation, including costs related to the implementation of the programme, in its annual accounts.

Defra publishes official estimates of crop areas in England relating to 1 June each year. 2026 crop areas will be collected throughout June/July and cereal area estimates are due to be published here [https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/cereal-and-oilseed-rape-areas-in-england] on 27 August 2026. Areas for previous years are available via the same link.

The Government has been clear on the potential benefits of a new SPS Agreement – which could add up to £5.1 billion per year to our economy in the long run and increase the volume of UK exports of major agricultural commodities to the EU by 16%. Notes on the methodology of these calculations can be found on gov.uk: Methodology Note: Assessing the long-run growth impact of a UK-EU Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures Agreement - GOV.UK [see attached].

However, the Government recognises that beneath these figures the impacts on different sectors are more nuanced. As technical negotiations progress, the Government expects to follow normal processes for any necessary legislative changes and assess impacts accordingly.

The fisheries access deal announced in May 2025 secured the continuation of existing UK-EU fishing access arrangements. This means continued access for UK vessels to EU waters and retention of the quota uplift the UK secured through the Trade and Cooperation Agreement.

It is not possible to accurately estimate the value of EU catches in UK waters for 2026-2038, as this depends on annual quota negotiations, catches of non-quota species, and market prices, which fluctuate year on year.

The Office of Rail and Road sets out Network Rail's expenditure for the financial year 2024-25. Network Rail does not invest capital in train operating companies.

In their annual report on rail industry finance in the UK, the Office of Rail and Road set out a total government support figure of £21.6 billion in financial year 2024-25.

DfT worked with HS2 Ltd to provide high level assessment of the changes to the operational costs as part of the Accounting Officer Assessment for the Reset. However, as the Reset Ranges focus on the capital cost of delivery, an Operational Expenditure Baseline is currently being produced as part of Baseline 8.0, and DfT and HS2 Ltd are continuing to work together on the updated Business Case to be published in 2027.

The first HS2 trains are now expected to start between Old Oak Common in West London and Birmingham Curzon Street between May 2036 and October 2039. We estimate that the full scheme, including both Euston to the south and Handsacre Junction to the north, will open between May 2040 and December 2043.

I refer the Noble Lord to the statement made by the Minister of State for Europe, North America and Overseas Territories to the House on 26 February, repeated in the House of Lords on 3 March (Official Report, Volume 853, column. 1150-1160), and the draft treaty documents published on the same day. The Noble Lord will have ample opportunity to scrutinise the final text when it is brought before the House in due course. I note that on 4 March the Parliament of Gibraltar unanimously voted to support a motion calling on the UK to ratify the Treaty.

Energy supplies used in certain forms of transport are exempt from the main rate of Climate Change Levy (CCL). This includes electricity used to electrify rail lines, light a railway carriage transporting passengers and light the cab interior of a freight train transporting goods.

Information on the estimated cost of tax reliefs, including CCL exemptions, is published on GOV.UK and can be found in the annual statistics on tax reliefs. However, it is not possible to provide the annual tax cost of exempting rail operators from CCL, as HMRC does not collect this information.

HMRC’s published statistics on the cost of tax reliefs^[1] provide an estimate of the cost of the VAT Zero Rate for domestic passenger transport of £5.8 billion in 2025-26. This includes other public transport such as buses; a breakdown for rail fares is not available.

^[1] Tax reliefs - GOV.UK

Qualifying locomotives for passenger and freight trains, and rail maintenance vehicles can use red diesel for propulsion. The Treasury does not hold information on the cost of rebated fuel used specifically by train operators.

To assist the Noble Lord, I can point to the most relevant published statistics available. HMRC’s non-structural tax reliefs publication sets out the overall estimated Exchequer cost of the rebate for red diesel (and kerosene used as fuel in an engine), while DESNZ’s Digest of UK Energy Statistics provides data on petroleum products consumed by the rail sector.

Although these publications do not provide a separate official estimate for train operators, they provide the best available published information on the overall cost of the relief and the scale of rail-sector fuel use.

The latest data from the ONS show that GDP per capita rose by 1.1 per cent in 2025, the fastest of any European G7 economy. Over the same period, GDP per capita rose 1.6 per cent in the United States and 1.3 per cent in the EU.

UK GDP per capita has grown by 1.0 per cent since the start of the Parliament, whereas it declined by 0.2 per cent during the previous Parliament.

Whilst Carbon Price Support and Emissions Trading Scheme comprise the total carbon price applied to electricity generators, this does not translate into a single per kilowatt-hour tax rate on delivered retail electricity. It is therefore not possible to provide a single figure for the total tax received per kWh of delivered retail electricity generated by gas from carbon levies.