Asked by: Andrew Bowie (Conservative - West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how many bountied Hong Kongers living in the UK (a) she and (b) her Department have consulted while updating the Defending Democracy Taskforce.
Answered by Catherine West - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The safety and security of Hong Kongers in the UK is, and always will be, a priority. Owing to the sensitive nature of this topic and the need to protect individuals who may be at threat, it would be inappropriate to provide further detail of any specific discussions we have had.
Asked by: Andrew Bowie (Conservative - West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what assessment he has made of the potential for energy usage data collected by smart grid components to be exploited for (a) strategic and (b) military intelligence purposes by foreign state actors.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Recognising the importance of renewable and smart energy systems for flexibility and decarbonisation, the Department is working to ensure these systems are developed in a way that is secure by design, protecting energy supply, infrastructure and consumers, as well as national security. As part of this work, Government has published two consultation packages which set out proposals for minimum security and grid stability requirements, including for organisations remotely controlling electrical load.
The Department collaborates with other government departments, agencies, Ofgem and industry partners to understand and mitigate threats to energy infrastructure, setting robust regulatory standards for cyber security through the Network and Information Systems Regulations. This includes working with regulators to ensure these regulations cover critical operators as the sector evolves.
Asked by: Andrew Bowie (Conservative - West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what steps he is taking to ensure that firmware updates to photovoltaic inverters connected to the UK grid cannot be used as a vector for cyber or physical disruption.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Maintaining security of energy supplies is a key priority and critical energy operators are required to meet a minimum standard of cyber security and resilience, through the Network and Information Systems Regulations 2018.
The Department works continually with Ofgem and the National Cyber Security Centre to ensure that these regulations continue to capture all the most critical operators of energy generation systems. Distributed and smaller-scale generation are key components of a smart and resilient energy system. We are working to ensure that the system is developed in a way which is secure by design.
Asked by: Andrew Bowie (Conservative - West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of prohibitions under the Electricity Act 1989 of the use of high-risk foreign vendors in licensed electricity infrastructure on energy security.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
As an open economy the UK welcomes foreign trade and investment where it supports growth, meets our regulatory requirements, and does not compromise our national security. The protection and security of the energy sector is a priority of this Government.
As well as the Electricity Act 1989, we have a range of effective measures in place which give the Government powers to balance an open investment environment to facilitate growth with protecting the parts of our economy that are the most sensitive to national security.
Asked by: Andrew Bowie (Conservative - West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what his Department’s planned timeline is for reviewing the electricity licensing regime to address the use of equipment from high-risk foreign vendors.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The protection and security of the energy sector is a priority for this Government, including manging risks from supply chains. DESNZ will continue to work closely with cross-government counterparts alongside industry to explore what further proportionate action can be taken to reduce the risks to energy infrastructure.
Ofgem and DESNZ have robust market monitoring schemes to assess electricity generation licence applications. Ofgem’s principal objective is to protect the interests of existing and future consumers, including the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions and security of supply.
Asked by: Andrew Bowie (Conservative - West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of a coordinated shutdown of photovoltaic inverters manufactured by companies headquartered in China on UK power grid stability.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Recognising the importance of renewable and smart energy systems for flexibility and decarbonisation, the department is working to ensure the system continues to be secure by design, and protects energy supply, infrastructure and consumers. As part of this work, Government has published two consultation packages which sets out proposals for minimum security and grid stability requirements, including for organisations remotely controlling electrical load.
Maintaining security of energy supplies is a key priority and critical energy operators are required to meet a minimum standard of cyber security and resilience, through the Network and Information Systems Regulations 2018. Distributed and smaller-scale generation are key components of a smart and resilient energy system.
Asked by: Andrew Bowie (Conservative - West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what steps he is taking to (a) mitigate the effects of market dumping of and (b) reduce strategic dependency on imported photovoltaic inverters from China.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Solar goods and services are global commodities, and it is likely that we will continue to require imports in the short to medium term.
The UK has a strong electrical manufacturing sector and there is an opportunity to scale this up through our ambitious Industrial Strategy, which has identified advanced manufacturing and clean energy industries as priority growth sectors, providing benefits for the manufacture of balance of system components, which are essential to enabling solar installations.
The Solar Roadmap also commits government to consider the case to further support companies wishing to scale up production of solar technologies and processes, including inverters.
Asked by: Andrew Bowie (Conservative - West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, if he will make an assessment of the potential impact of different rules on the eligibility of biomethane to the (a) UK and (b) EU emissions trading scheme on costs to industry.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Government recognises biomethane as a practical and cost-effective way of contributing to net zero greenhouse gas emissions. The UK Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) applies a zero emissions factor to combustion of biomethane where supplied directly to ETS installations. Where biomethane is injected into the gas grid, there is not currently a mechanism to ensure biomethane is accounted for separately.
The UK Government and the EU commission have committed to work towards establishing a link between carbon markets, with the details of a potential link subject to negotiations.
Asked by: Andrew Bowie (Conservative - West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether she has made an assessment of the potential impact of taxation of the oil and gas sector on levels of future development in the North Sea.
Answered by James Murray - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Government is taking a responsible and proportionate approach to managing the taxation of the North Sea which recognises the ongoing role of the oil and gas industry and workforce in our current energy mix while ensuring the sector contributes more towards our energy transition. The Government engages regularly with industry stakeholders and monitors independent analysis, to assess the effects of taxation on investment and development activity in the basin.
The Government’s Building the North Sea’s Energy Future consultation sought to gather responses on the long term future of the North Sea. Britain is well-placed to mobilise its natural advantage, using the skills and expertise of our offshore workforce and supply chain to support the energy transition.
Asked by: Andrew Bowie (Conservative - West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether she has made an assessment of the potential impact of the energy profits levy on government revenue.
Answered by James Murray - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Office for Budget Responsibility’s (OBR) forecast at Spring Statement 2025 estimated that revenues from the Energy Profits Levy (EPL) will be £10.8 billion between 2025-26 and 2029-30. This is in addition to more than £10 billion in tax revenues already raised through the EPL since its introduction.
A full breakdown of revenue projections for all North Sea oil and gas taxes is available in the OBR’s Economic and Fiscal Outlook, published at Spring Statement 2025 (https://obr.uk/efo/economic-and-fiscal-outlook-march-2025/). Information on tax receipts already raised by the EPL is published and regularly updated by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) (https://www.ons.gov.uk/economy/governmentpublicsectorandtaxes/publicsectorfinance/datasets/appendixdpublicsectorcurrentreceipts).