Asked by: Carla Denyer (Green Party - Bristol Central)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what definition his Department uses for new exploration in the context of a Transitional Energy Certificate; and whether that definition includes seismic activity.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The North Sea Transition Authority will publish detailed guidance on the application and assessment process for Transitional Energy Certificates in due course, including plans to ensure that the changes do not adversely impact seismic and other activity which is not for the purposes of oil and gas exploration.
Asked by: Carla Denyer (Green Party - Bristol Central)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether Transitional Energy Certificates will be required to supply environmental statements that (a) include Scope 3 emissions and (b) consider potential environmental impacts in line with what is required from other production.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Transitional Energy Certificates will give the holder exclusivity over a specific area of the seabed. These areas of the seabed must be adjacent to an existing licensed block and will be managed on an ‘out of round’ basis by the North Sea Transition Authority.
Prior to undertaking any development activities within areas covered by Certificates, project developers will need to submit applications for consents or directions in accordance with the requirements of offshore environmental impact assessment legislation and associated guidance.
Asked by: Carla Denyer (Green Party - Bristol Central)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, with reference to the North Sea Future Plan published on 26 November 2025, if he will clarify his Department's definition of a (a) managed, (b) prosperous and (c) orderly transition; and how these terms will be applied when deciding whether to approve a Transitional Energy Certificate.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The North Sea Transition Authority will publish detailed guidance on the application and assessment process for Transitional Energy Certificates in due course.
Asked by: Carla Denyer (Green Party - Bristol Central)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what is the timeline for the introduction of new earned income disregards for Housing Benefit claimants in supported housing.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Autumn Budget 2025 included an announcement to introduce four new earned income disregards into Housing Benefit for residents in Supported Housing and Temporary Accommodation.
This will remove a significant barrier to entering work or increasing hours, ensuring that work pays and residents are better able to achieve financial independence from Autumn 2026. The Department’s latest data for August 2025 shows there were around 300,000 working-age people on Housing Benefit living in either supported housing or temporary accommodation of which around 200,000 were living specifically in supported housing.
Asked by: Carla Denyer (Green Party - Bristol Central)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people are expected to be supported by the introduction of new earned income disregards for Housing Benefit claimants in supported housing.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Autumn Budget 2025 included an announcement to introduce four new earned income disregards into Housing Benefit for residents in Supported Housing and Temporary Accommodation.
This will remove a significant barrier to entering work or increasing hours, ensuring that work pays and residents are better able to achieve financial independence from Autumn 2026. The Department’s latest data for August 2025 shows there were around 300,000 working-age people on Housing Benefit living in either supported housing or temporary accommodation of which around 200,000 were living specifically in supported housing.
Asked by: Carla Denyer (Green Party - Bristol Central)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps his Department is taking to address the 18% of people who are dying annually in poverty in Bristol Central, as identified in Marie Curie's Dying in Poverty 2025 report.
Answered by Stephen Timms - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
This Government is committed to providing a financial safety net for those who need it. Support is available through the social security system to those who are unable to work, are on a low income or have additional costs as a consequence of a long-term health condition or disability, but are not eligible for pensioner benefits because of their age.
For those nearing the end of their life, the Government’s priority is to provide financial support quickly and compassionately. The main way this is applied is through the Special Rules for End of Life (SREL) which enable people who are nearing the end of their lives to get faster, easier access to certain welfare benefits, without needing to attend a medical assessment or serve waiting periods, and in most cases, receive the highest rate of benefit.
The Universal Credit Act 2025, ensures that all SREL claimants will receive the higher LCWRA rate, no matter when they make their claim.
Asked by: Carla Denyer (Green Party - Bristol Central)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment she has made of (a) the availability of global supply of the feedstocks used for sustainable aviation fuel and (b) the amounts of that feedstock the Government has identified as being needed for decarbonisation of (i) road transport and (ii) aviation.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
As of the 1st of January 2025, a market for low carbon fuels for use in aviation and road transport has been supported under two separate schemes: the Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) Mandate and the Renewable Transport Fuel Obligation (RTFO).
Targets under both the SAF Mandate and RTFO are set considering global availability of feedstocks and competing demands between transport modes and across sectors of the economy. Any proposals to introduce or change future targets under the RTFO or SAF mandate scheme design will always consider these competing demands.
Accordingly, the Department published a Cost Benefit Analysis for the SAF Mandate, alongside the Renewable Transport Fuel Obligations (Sustainable Aviation Fuel) Order 2024 SI No.1187 which introduced the scheme. The Cost Benefit Analysis set out our assessment of the availability of sustainable feedstocks and considered potential feedstock and production constraints. The Department is confident that the SAF Mandate targets have struck the right balance between ambition and deliverability.
Asked by: Carla Denyer (Green Party - Bristol Central)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to the Adura joint venture, whether HMRC has investigated potential breaches of loss-buying prohibitions under the Corporation Tax Act 2010.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
In 2024-25 HMRC secured £19.7bn in additional tax revenue from the largest and most complex businesses. This is money that would otherwise have gone unpaid.
I cannot comment on specific taxpayers or provide comment on individual businesses.
In reviewing a large business's tax affairs, HMRC will consider all relevant challenges, including loss-buying provisions where appropriate. HMRC is committed to ensuring everyone pays the right tax under the law, regardless of the size of business.
Asked by: Carla Denyer (Green Party - Bristol Central)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if she will conduct and publish a comparative assessment of the (a) fiscal returns from the Energy Profits Levy and (b) value of tax reliefs and investment and capital allowances granted to oil and gas producers since 2022.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Office for Budget Responsibility’s (OBR) forecast at Autumn Budget 2025 estimates that revenues from the Energy Profits Levy (EPL) will be £8.5 billion between 2025-26 and 2030-31. This is in addition to more than £11 billion in tax revenues already raised through the EPL since its introduction in May 2022.
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 Autumn Budget 2025 (Economic and fiscal outlook – November 2025 - Office for Budget Responsibility). 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).
Estimates of the cost of tax reliefs available to oil and gas companies under the Ring-Fence Corporation Tax (RFCT) and the Supplementary Charge (SC) are published at https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/tax-relief-statistics.
Estimates are not available for every relief due to data collection and estimation challenges but are kept under regular review.
Asked by: Carla Denyer (Green Party - Bristol Central)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether his Department's proposed policy on tiebacks in oil and gas drilling allows for the exploitation of new fields via tiebacks to existing infrastructure in fields that have already been licenced.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
On 26 November, the Government published its North Sea Future Plan.
The plan implements the Government’s manifesto commitments to manage existing fields for the entirety of their lifespan, and to not issue new licences to explore new oil and gas fields. As part of this, the government will introduce new Transitional Energy Certificates which will enable limited oil and gas production on or near to existing fields, so long as this additional production does not require new exploration, is already part of or links back to existing fields and infrastructure, and is necessary for a managed, orderly and prosperous transition.