Asked by: Dave Doogan (Scottish National Party - Angus and Perthshire Glens)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, how many UK nationals died in Thailand in (a) 2022 and (b) 2023; how many such deaths were due to (i) murder, (ii) manslaughter, (iii) accidental death, (iv) unknown or suspicious circumstances and (v) no recorded reason; and how many such deaths were while a person was in police custody.
Answered by Anne-Marie Trevelyan
The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) provided consular assistance in Thailand in a total of 597 new death cases in 2022 and 430 new death cases between 1 January 2023 and 16 October 2023. The data below represents the causes of death as reported to us (by the family or local authorities).
The FCDO is not responsible for determining cause of death of British Nationals overseas. Consular staff are not trained to identify nor investigate the causes of death. We do not break down numbers below five to avoid identifying individual cases. The circumstance of the death cases recorded in our case management system on the specific categories of 'accidental', 'murder or manslaughter', 'unknown' (including not recorded) and 'death in custody' are the following.
Year | Accidental | Murder or Manslaughter | Unknown / Not recorded | Death in Custody |
2022 | 8 | 155 | ||
2023 (up to 16 October) | 11 | 131 |
Asked by: Dave Doogan (Scottish National Party - Angus and Perthshire Glens)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what the cost of the Emergency Alerts system is.
Answered by John Glen - Shadow Paymaster General
The total cost to date of developing the technical architecture and systems that underpin the emergency alert capability, in addition to the first three years of operational delivery, will be a maximum of £25.3 million.
Asked by: Dave Doogan (Scottish National Party - Angus and Perthshire Glens)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of the closure of the Grangemouth oil refinery on the labour market in Scotland.
Answered by Andrew Bowie - Shadow Minister (Energy Security and Net Zero)
The owners of Grangemouth refinery noted that refining operations will continue until at least Q2 2025. My Rt hon Friend the Secretary of State met their CEO in November to discuss this transition, the future of the site and seek assurances on their continued support for their employees.
In the meantime, The Falkirk Growth Deal, supported by the UK and Scottish Governments, has a firm focus on the themes of Innovative Industry and Great Places. It will see £40m invested by the UK government in projects that will create new high-value jobs for the future.
Asked by: Dave Doogan (Scottish National Party - Angus and Perthshire Glens)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what recent assessment she has made of the adequacy of the UK’s oil refinery capacity for meeting demand for domestic energy.
Answered by Andrew Bowie - Shadow Minister (Energy Security and Net Zero)
The UK is a significant producer of both crude oil and petroleum products, and UK demand is met through a combination of domestic production and imports from a diverse range of suppliers. The UK is already a net importer of refined oil products, and we both import and export all major products.
The drive to reduce carbon emissions towards Net Zero will inevitably reduce the demand for fuels over the coming decades. The oil product market is a liquid and widely traded market, meaning the UK will continue to meet its needs for refined oil products from a flexible and diverse range of sources.
Asked by: Dave Doogan (Scottish National Party - Angus and Perthshire Glens)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of oil refinery capacity for energy security.
Answered by Andrew Bowie - Shadow Minister (Energy Security and Net Zero)
The UK is a significant producer of both crude oil and petroleum products, and UK demand is met through a combination of domestic production and imports from a diverse range of suppliers. The UK is already a net importer of refined oil products, and we both import and export all major products.
The drive to reduce carbon emissions towards Net Zero will inevitably reduce the demand for fuels over the coming decades. The oil product market is a liquid and widely traded market, meaning the UK will continue to meet its needs for refined oil products from a flexible and diverse range of sources.
Asked by: Dave Doogan (Scottish National Party - Angus and Perthshire Glens)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, if she will make an estimate of the potential impact of trends in the level of imported energy on the cost of energy for (a) domestic and (b) business customers in the last five years.
Answered by Graham Stuart
The main driver of trends in energy prices for domestic and business customers over the last 5 years has been movements in international gas prices, which determine the amounts charged for both domestically produced and imported gas. The Department publishes data on the UK's overall net imports, with separate data on imports of gas and other energy products, alongside energy prices. Developing more home-grown sources of energy supply – including renewables – will help reduce the exposure of UK energy prices to volatile international markets.
Asked by: Dave Doogan (Scottish National Party - Angus and Perthshire Glens)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether clause 128 and schedule 11 of the Data Protection and Digital Information Bill would apply (a) only to recipients of Pension Credit and (b) to all recipients of the State Pension.
Answered by Paul Maynard
Fraud is a growing problem across the economy, accounting for over 40% of all crime and the welfare system is not immune to this. Although down by 10% in 2022-23, £8.3bn was overpaid in fraud and error last year in the benefit system and it is vital that the Government takes measures to see that fall further so the right support is provided to the right people.
The DWP third-party data gathering measure, contained in the Data Protection and Digital Information Bill, will give the department better access to relevant data which will help us identify fraud and error in the system. We expect this to save up to £600m in the next five years.
The proposed powers cover all DWP benefits, grants and other DWP payments as set out in paragraph 16 of the schedule. This is to ensure that, where fraud and error arises, the Department has the power to address it. The power does not, however, give DWP access to millions of pensioners’ bank accounts, either those claiming the State Pension or Pension Credit. What this power does is require third parties to look within their own data and provide relevant information to DWP that may signal where some DWP claimants may not meet the eligibility criteria for the benefit they are receiving. This data may signal fraud or error and require a further review by DWP – through business-as-usual processes - to determine whether wrongful payments are being made. No personal information will be shared by DWP with third parties and only the minimum amount of information on those in receipt of DWP payments will be provided by banks to the Department to enable us to make further enquiries.
In 2022/33, £100m was overpaid in the State Pension and £330m was overpaid in the Pension Credit. This compares to over £5,540m that was overpaid in Universal Credit. Only those people flagged as potentially being ineligible for the support they are receiving would be flagged through this measure and we are clear we will focus the powers in areas where there is a significant and pressing fraud and error challenge. In the first instance, we will be focusing the use of this power within Universal Credit, Employment and Support Allowance and Pension Credit
Asked by: Dave Doogan (Scottish National Party - Angus and Perthshire Glens)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, if she will make it her policy to negotiate the removal of the sunset clause from the Energy Charter Treaty.
Answered by Amanda Solloway
The Energy Charter Treaty sunset clause applies if Contracting Parties withdraw from the Treaty. On 1 September 2023, the UK announced it is reviewing its membership of the ECT if the modernised Treaty was not adopted by November 2023. The Government is considering the views of stakeholders in business, civil society, and Parliament as part of this process. Parliament will be informed at the earliest opportunity.
Asked by: Dave Doogan (Scottish National Party - Angus and Perthshire Glens)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if he will make it his policy to reinstate the offshore wind workers concession.
Answered by Robert Jenrick
The government is fully supportive of businesses involved in delivering the UK’s net zero ambitions. The wind farm sector has many roles which meet the requirements of the UK’s main economic migration route, the Skilled Worker route.
The offshore wind farm worker immigration rules concession ended on 30 April. There are no plans to reinstate the concession given the industry has a visa route available to them to use if they are unable fill vacancies from the domestic workforce.
Asked by: Dave Doogan (Scottish National Party - Angus and Perthshire Glens)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether she has made an assessment of the potential merits of establishing energy islands in the North Sea.
Answered by Graham Stuart
The Government has not made any such assessment as it does not plan or develop energy infrastructure but sets the regulatory framework for the independent energy industry. The development of energy islands is subject to consent through the planning system and consistency with environmental protections and value for money requirements set by the regulator Ofgem. The Holistic Network Design and the Centralised Strategic Network Plan will set the high-level design for offshore transmission and identifies those responsible for its construction. It is for those companies to assess options for the detailed design.