Finance (No. 3) Bill

Debate between Lord Bruce of Bennachie and Malcolm Wicks

Tuesday 3rd May 2011 Commons Chamber

[Malcolm Bruce]

I want to make a bit more progress.

The Government have made their case, and have defended it. I am simply asking them to consider the real and legitimate concerns of the industry, to look at the independent assessments, and to accept that there is a danger of losing as much as £20 billion of investment and between 1 billion and 2 billion barrels of production over the next 10 years or so. That is a Forties field that we would simply discard. It would be a huge loss, and it would be very significant in the context of the British economy. If that investment is lost—or, indeed, secured—future jobs, export opportunities, imports and future tax revenues will be affected. They all hang on the restoration of that trust, and on the industry’s being persuaded to invest in the marginal projects that might be put at risk in the absence of negotiation.

[Malcolm Wicks (Croydon North) (Lab)]

Will the right hon. Gentleman give way?

[Malcolm Bruce]

I will give way to the former Minister.

[Malcolm Wicks]

The right hon. Gentleman is making a very thoughtful speech. Does he agree that there is a geopolitical and a national security implication? With global demand for energy increasing by a third or more over the next two decades, at the very time when the United Kingdom is becoming more dependent on imports, is it not important from a national security point of view for us to look after and nurture the North sea, and for that to have an impact on our fiscal treatment of North sea gas and oil?

[Malcolm Bruce]

It certainly is. The United Kingdom continental shelf has the potential to supply up to 70% of our requirements for quite a few years ahead. It is a more secure source, geographically and practically, than other parts of the world where the politics are uncertain. Given a high oil price, the Government, the industry and the economy can all benefit if we get the balance right, and can all lose if we get the balance wrong. It seems to me that negotiation is the way forward.

Let me explain how the amendments address some of the industry’s specific concerns. On amendment 13, the Government stated in the Budget that they will reduce the supplementary charge back to 20% on a “staged and affordable basis”. That is a welcome approach, but it would be more welcome if the charge had also been raised on a staged and affordable basis, instead of having a sudden 22% step increase. The amendment therefore proposes a graduated levy, increasing by 1% for every $5 the oil price rises above the Government’s arbitrary set trigger price of $75, up to a maximum of 32%. I stress that these amendments express the proposals of myself and my hon. Friend the Member for West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine (Sir Robert Smith) as to how this could be done in a staged manner; they are not the amendments of the industry, although it is aware of them.

Amendment 14 sets up the basis for calculating the reference price. The Government seek to choose the spot price, but as I have said, few producers actually receive anything close to that. Indeed, it is not clear what calculations of what price the Treasury has made in determining its revenue projections. The amendment therefore proposes that there should be an independent mechanism for calculating a reference price, based on what producers actually receive. That would give predictability to the process and ensure that the tax base would adjust more smoothly when prices are volatile. I do not expect the Government to accept this proposal, but I hope they will accept that it is a constructive contribution to how an escalator could work both up and down, and in ways that would give the industry a lot more predictability than the Budget proposals as they stand.