Asked by: Ben Maguire (Liberal Democrat - North Cornwall)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of introducing legislation to ratify the UN Global Ocean Treaty.
Answered by Anneliese Dodds - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Government is completely committed to ratification of the Agreement under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea on the Conservation and Sustainable Use of Marine Biological Diversity of Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction (BBNJ Agreement, also known as the "High Seas Treaty" or "Global Oceans Treaty"), which is in line with our determination to reinvigorate the UK's wider international leadership on climate and nature. Work is in hand on the measures needed to implement the detailed and complex provisions of the Agreement before the UK can ratify.
Asked by: Ben Maguire (Liberal Democrat - North Cornwall)
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 it his policy that no offshore energy development projects will take place in the most sensitive marine habitats.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The UK Government is committed to accelerating to net zero, delivering clean power by 2030, and to restoring nature. New energy infrastructure must be built in a way that protects the natural environment and supports nature recovery, by following a “mitigation hierarchy” to avoid damage to marine protected areas, and minimising, restoring and delivering compensation when damage cannot be avoided.
The Department will work with Defra to bring together its ministerial colleagues, who share responsibilities for the marine environment and sectors, and The Crown Estate to discuss how best to consider wider demands on the seabed, including the marine environment.
Asked by: Ben Maguire (Liberal Democrat - North Cornwall)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what steps he plans to take to ensure that the the creation of offshore energy does not harm marine habitats and ecosystems.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The UK Government is committed to accelerating to net zero, delivering clean power by 2030, and to restoring nature. New energy infrastructure must be built in a way that protects the natural environment and supports nature recovery, by following a “mitigation hierarchy” to avoid damage to marine protected areas, and minimising, restoring and delivering compensation when damage cannot be avoided.
The Department will work with Defra to bring together its ministerial colleagues, who share responsibilities for the marine environment and sectors, and The Crown Estate to discuss how best to consider wider demands on the seabed, including the marine environment.
Asked by: Ben Maguire (Liberal Democrat - North Cornwall)
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 with (a) Cabinet colleagues and (b) The Crown Estate to help ensure that the deployment of offshore energy does not negatively impact the marine environment.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The UK Government is committed to accelerating to net zero, delivering clean power by 2030, and to restoring nature. New energy infrastructure must be built in a way that protects the natural environment and supports nature recovery, by following a “mitigation hierarchy” to avoid damage to marine protected areas, and minimising, restoring and delivering compensation when damage cannot be avoided.
The Department will work with Defra to bring together its ministerial colleagues, who share responsibilities for the marine environment and sectors, and The Crown Estate to discuss how best to consider wider demands on the seabed, including the marine environment.
Asked by: Ben Maguire (Liberal Democrat - North Cornwall)
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 with Cabinet colleagues to consult with sea users on the development of offshore energy projects.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The UK Government is committed to accelerating to net zero, delivering clean power by 2030, and to restoring nature.
Through the cross-government Marine Spatial Prioritisation Programme (MSPri) we are engaging across government and with marine users to improve our understanding of future demands and identify opportunities for greater co-location.
The Department will work with Defra to bring together its ministerial colleagues, who share responsibilities for marine sectors, to discuss how best to consider wider demands on the seabed as we develop future offshore wind.
Asked by: Ben Maguire (Liberal Democrat - North Cornwall)
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 with Cabinet colleagues to balance the needs of different sea users, in the context of offshore energy.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The UK Government is committed to accelerating to net zero, delivering clean power by 2030, and to restoring nature.
Through the cross-government Marine Spatial Prioritisation Programme (MSPri), the Department is engaging across government and with marine users to improve its understanding of future demands and identify opportunities for greater co-location.
The Department will work with Defra to bring together its ministerial colleagues, who share responsibilities for marine sectors, to discuss how best to consider wider demands on the seabed as we develop future offshore wind.
Asked by: Ben Maguire (Liberal Democrat - North Cornwall)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if she will have discussions with the Royal Household on (a) transparency and (b) accountability of money provided from the public purse.
Answered by James Murray - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
Since 2012, the Monarch has received the Sovereign Grant to fund their official duties as Head of State and maintain the Occupied Royal Palaces. No member of the Royal family receives a private income from the Sovereign Grant or any other public funds.
The rules governing the Sovereign Grant have been set by Parliament in the Sovereign Grant Act 2011. The Act provides for oversight and accountability arrangements which subject the funding for the Monarch’s official duties to the same audit scrutiny as other government expenditure. The Sovereign Grant accounts are audited by the National Audit Office and laid before Parliament every year.