Asked by: Alex Cunningham (Labour - Stockton North)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will list the maintenance shutdowns which have been carried out on offshore oil and gas installations since January 2020.
Answered by Mims Davies - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) does not hold this information. Duty holders are not required to inform HSE of their maintenance shutdowns.
Asked by: Alex Cunningham (Labour - Stockton North)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what discussions his Department has had with counterparts in the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy on the regulation of maintenance backlogs in the offshore oil and gas sector since January 2020.
Answered by Mims Davies - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Since January 2020, officials at the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) have held regular discussions on the regulation of maintenance backlogs with their counterparts at the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS). I have been informed by HSE that senior managers at HSE and BEIS work together through attending formal meetings and forums including those involving other North Sea regulators such as the North Sea Transition Authority to maintain a strategic focus on reduction of maintenance backlogs by duty holders.
Asked by: Alex Cunningham (Labour - Stockton North)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many offshore oil and gas workers completed basic offshore and induction emergency training in each year from 2014-15 to 2021-22.
Answered by Mims Davies - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Health and Safety Executive does not hold this information. The information is held by OPITO, the global skills body for the energy industry.
Asked by: Alex Cunningham (Labour - Stockton North)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 17 October 2022 to Question 61899, if he will list the HSE’s Process Safety Leadership interventions since the start of that programme; and what the (a) outcome or (b) status is of each of those interventions.
Answered by Mims Davies - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has completed Process Safety Leadership interventions at CNR International (UK) Ltd and BW Catcher Offshore (UK) Ltd.
At CNR the intervention identified integrity management deficiencies at its installations for which an improvement notice was served. Other non-compliance issues were identified and have been confirmed in a letter to CNR and will be followed up.
At BW five non-compliance issues were identified and have been confirmed in writing to the duty holder and will be followed up.
A Process Safety Leadership intervention is currently in progress with Perenco UK Ltd. It has identified maintenance management deficiencies for which an improvement notice has been served, and other issues identified, which were confirmed in a letter to Perenco and will be followed up. The intervention will be completed when HSE’s team has met with Perenco’s leadership to learn of their plans to improve their performance in relation to the findings and the underlying causes.
A Process Safety Leadership intervention has commenced at Shell, but its conclusions have not been finalised.
Asked by: Alex Cunningham (Labour - Stockton North)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what discussions he has had with the (a) Health and Safety Executive and (b) developers on the evacuation of a transformer platform on the Seagreen offshore wind farm off the coast of Angus in June 2022.
Answered by Mims Davies - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) is aware of the incident and is using the information gained to inform its future interventions with the dutyholders. HSE is not aware of any other discussions with the developers.
HSE has not held discussions with the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions in relation to this matter.
Asked by: Alex Cunningham (Labour - Stockton North)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
"To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, when the provisions of the Social Security (Special Rules for End of Life) Act 2022 enabling people who are thought to be in the final year of their life to receive fast-tracked access to disability benefits such as Personal Independent Payments will come into effect.
Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)
The Social Security (Special Rules for End of Life) Bill received Royal Assent on 25th October 2022 and the Government will implement it as soon as is practicable.
The Act will enable people who are thought to be in the final year of their life to get fast-tracked access to Disability Living Allowance (DLA), Personal Independence Payment (PIP) and Attendance Allowance (AA). Similar changes were made to the definition of end of life used in Universal Credit and Employment Support Allowance in April 2022.
Asked by: Alex Cunningham (Labour - Stockton North)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether he has made an assessment of the cost of providing a one-off top-up payment of £500 to unpaid carers, who are in receipt of Carer's Allowance, to support them through the cost-of-living crisis.
Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)
Carer’s Allowance is a devolved benefit under the Scotland Act 2016. The Scottish Government pays a Supplement to all its recipients, regardless of their means.
The payment made by the Welsh Government was part of the discretionary local welfare support offered under the Government of Wales Act 2006. It, similarly, was made regardless of means.
The UK Government takes a different approach and directs more of its financial support across Great Britain towards unpaid carers on the lowest incomes. For example, unpaid carers in receipt of Universal Credit can receive an additional £2,000 a year through the Carer Element, helping ensure this support goes to those most in need. The UK Government has therefore made no assessment relating to a top up payment to all recipients of Carer’s Allowance regardless of their means.
Asked by: Alex Cunningham (Labour - Stockton North)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of providing a top-up payment to unpaid carers who are in receipt of Carer's Allowance, reflecting the supplementary and one-off payments received by unpaid carers in Scotland and Wales.
Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)
Carer’s Allowance is a devolved benefit under the Scotland Act 2016. The Scottish Government pays a Supplement to all its recipients, regardless of their means.
The payment made by the Welsh Government was part of the discretionary local welfare support offered under the Government of Wales Act 2006. It, similarly, was made regardless of means.
The UK Government takes a different approach and directs more of its financial support across Great Britain towards unpaid carers on the lowest incomes. For example, unpaid carers in receipt of Universal Credit can receive an additional £2,000 a year through the Carer Element, helping ensure this support goes to those most in need. The UK Government has therefore made no assessment relating to a top up payment to all recipients of Carer’s Allowance regardless of their means.
Asked by: Alex Cunningham (Labour - Stockton North)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether she has had recent discussions with the Health and Safety Executive on the status of safety critical maintenance backlogs in North Sea oil and gas fields.
Answered by Claire Coutinho - Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero
Pursuant to the answer given to the hon. Member on 29th November 2021 to Question UIN 80980, the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has continued to request data on safety critical maintenance backlogs from production installation dutyholders. HSE uses this data in its regulation of dutyholders to ensure that they focus on managing their particular safety critical maintenance backlog issues.
Additionally, a programme of Process Safety Leadership (PSL) interventions is ongoing, which focus on the integrity of installations and their equipment. HSE inspectors engage directly with dutyholder senior management on their ‘line of sight’ from board room to control room on their safety critical maintenance backlog data. HSE inspects the actions taken to achieve and maintain safe operations offshore and where significant compliance gaps have been found on safety critical maintenance backlog issues HSE has taken formal enforcement action.
HSE is also working with the industry, in particular Offshore Energies UK (OEUK), to better define and clarify the term ‘backlog’ to ensure there is a focus on “deferred work”, i.e. work that has been risk assessed for completion beyond its original planned date, and a new date set. An OEUK sub-group, the Asset Integrity Task Group, has recently been reinvigorated, partly by challenge from HSE, and continues to work with dutyholders in this area; including re-emphasising the well-known practices for the management of ageing installations (e.g. HSE’s Key Programme 4, 2011-2013 https://www.hse.gov.uk/offshore/ageing/kp4-report.pdf).
HSE’s PSL interventions target how effectively duty holders are managing challenges arising from trends in oil and gas prices and their management of safety, including any potential impact on maintenance. All PSL inspections are targeted based upon HSE’s assessment of dutyholder capability and performance, which includes the analysis of data referred to in the response to Question UIN 80980.
There have been no recent discussions between HSE and the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions on the status of safety critical maintenance backlogs in North Sea oil and gas fields. However, following an earlier meeting between yourself and HSE’s Director of Energy Division, a further meeting will be scheduled shortly, as agreed, to provide an update on HSE’s views on how dutyholders are managing any risks associated with their safety critical maintenance backlogs.
Asked by: Alex Cunningham (Labour - Stockton North)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if she will take steps to assess the impact of trends in oil and gas prices on maintenance work on North Sea installations.
Answered by Claire Coutinho - Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero
Pursuant to the answer given to the hon. Member on 29th November 2021 to Question UIN 80980, the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has continued to request data on safety critical maintenance backlogs from production installation dutyholders. HSE uses this data in its regulation of dutyholders to ensure that they focus on managing their particular safety critical maintenance backlog issues.
Additionally, a programme of Process Safety Leadership (PSL) interventions is ongoing, which focus on the integrity of installations and their equipment. HSE inspectors engage directly with dutyholder senior management on their ‘line of sight’ from board room to control room on their safety critical maintenance backlog data. HSE inspects the actions taken to achieve and maintain safe operations offshore and where significant compliance gaps have been found on safety critical maintenance backlog issues HSE has taken formal enforcement action.
HSE is also working with the industry, in particular Offshore Energies UK (OEUK), to better define and clarify the term ‘backlog’ to ensure there is a focus on “deferred work”, i.e. work that has been risk assessed for completion beyond its original planned date, and a new date set. An OEUK sub-group, the Asset Integrity Task Group, has recently been reinvigorated, partly by challenge from HSE, and continues to work with dutyholders in this area; including re-emphasising the well-known practices for the management of ageing installations (e.g. HSE’s Key Programme 4, 2011-2013 https://www.hse.gov.uk/offshore/ageing/kp4-report.pdf).
HSE’s PSL interventions target how effectively duty holders are managing challenges arising from trends in oil and gas prices and their management of safety, including any potential impact on maintenance. All PSL inspections are targeted based upon HSE’s assessment of dutyholder capability and performance, which includes the analysis of data referred to in the response to Question UIN 80980.
There have been no recent discussions between HSE and the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions on the status of safety critical maintenance backlogs in North Sea oil and gas fields. However, following an earlier meeting between yourself and HSE’s Director of Energy Division, a further meeting will be scheduled shortly, as agreed, to provide an update on HSE’s views on how dutyholders are managing any risks associated with their safety critical maintenance backlogs.