Asked by: Emma Hardy (Labour - Kingston upon Hull West and Hessle)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what steps her Department plans to take to monitor the environmental impact of oil and gas exploration in the period after licensing rounds increase in frequency.
Answered by Graham Stuart
The UK has a comprehensive legal framework of environmental protection measures for offshore oil and gas activities which will continue to apply. This covers the entire oil and gas life cycle, from the initial licence application to decommissioning activities. All activities that could impact the environment are subject to rigorous environmental assessment, and offshore activities are controlled through an environmental permitting process. There is also an inspection and enforcement regime in place to monitor compliance with the conditions included in environmental approvals.
Asked by: Emma Hardy (Labour - Kingston upon Hull West and Hessle)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what discussions she has had with the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs on the potential impact of new offshore oil and gas licences on the UK’s ability to meet the 30x30 commitment under the Kunming-Montreal Agreement.
Answered by Graham Stuart
The UK is committed to the 30 by 30 global target under the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework. The UK has a comprehensive legal framework of environmental protection measures for offshore oil and gas activities, and this will continue to apply to new licences. It covers the entire oil and gas life cycle, from the initial licence application to decommissioning activities.
Asked by: Emma Hardy (Labour - Kingston upon Hull West and Hessle)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether she has had recent discussions with the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs on the potential environmental impact of new offshore oil and gas licences on marine protected areas.
Answered by Graham Stuart
The UK has a comprehensive legal framework of environmental protection measures for offshore oil and gas activities, which will apply to new licences. It covers the entire oil and gas life cycle, from the initial licence application to decommissioning activities.
Asked by: Emma Hardy (Labour - Kingston upon Hull West and Hessle)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what her Department’s policy is on managing the marine impacts of oil and gas licensing.
Answered by Graham Stuart
The mission of the Offshore Petroleum Regulator for Environment and Decommissioning (OPRED) is to drive up the environmental performance of the offshore oil and gas industries, ensuring they minimise their impact on the environment and support the UK’s net zero transition.
Asked by: Emma Hardy (Labour - Kingston upon Hull West and Hessle)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what recent steps he has taken to help decarbonise the Humber industrial region.
Answered by Graham Stuart
The Zero Carbon Humber Partnership is supported by UK Government funding through the Industrial Decarbonisation Challenge to support the rollout of decarbonisation technologies.
CCUS technologies have the potential to accelerate the Government's decarbonisation ambitions in the Humber region. The East Coast Cluster was selected as part of the CCUS Programme’s Track-1. The process will be launched later this year to enable expansion of Track-1 clusters, including in the Humber. The Government has also set out its view that the Viking (Humber) transport and storage system, given its maturity, is one of those best placed to deliver the Government's objectives for Track-2 and an update will be provided in the summer.
Asked by: Emma Hardy (Labour - Kingston upon Hull West and Hessle)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what recent estimate he has made of when the carbon dioxide pipeline from the Endurance carbon dioxide store will reach the Humber industrial region.
Answered by Graham Stuart
To contribute to the ambition of capturing and storing 20-30Mt CO2 per year, the Government will develop the Track-1 clusters to increase the benefits they can deliver. The Government announced in Powering Up Britain that it will launch a process later this year to enable further expansion of the Track-1 clusters, beyond the initial deployment, identifying and selecting projects for the HyNet and East Coast Clusters – including the Humber – and their associated stores, as they become viable, to be operational by 2030.
Asked by: Emma Hardy (Labour - Kingston upon Hull West and Hessle)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what assessment has he made of the potential impact of (a) carbon capture and storage and (b) hydrogen power on decarbonisation of the Humber industrial region.
Answered by Graham Stuart
Analysis suggests there are more than 10MtCO2 per year in the Humber industrial area which carbon capture and storage and hydrogen projects could play a key role in decarbonising.
Asked by: Emma Hardy (Labour - Kingston upon Hull West and Hessle)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what estimate he has made of the potential impact of the Humber industrial region's contribution to the total UK greenhouse gas output.
Answered by Graham Stuart
Greenhouse gas (carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide) emissions estimates are published annually by the department at a local authority and regional level, including Yorkshire & The Humber. The latest publication covers 2005 – 2021.
This information – as well as emissions estimates for large point sources – is also viewable in emissions maps on the National Atmospheric Emissions Inventory (NAEI) website, maintained by Ricardo Energy & Environment:
https://naei.beis.gov.uk/data/map-large-source
https://naei.beis.gov.uk/laghgapp/
Asked by: Emma Hardy (Labour - Kingston upon Hull West and Hessle)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of extending the definition of businesses eligible for the Energy and Trade Intensive Industries discount to include the IT industry.
Answered by Amanda Solloway - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
The Energy Bill Relief Scheme (EBRS) review assessed a range of qualitative and quantitative evidence and contributions from businesses and other stakeholders, on sectors that may be most affected by price increases based on energy and trade intensity (ETII). To qualify as an ETII sector, the sector had to be above the 80th percentile for energy intensity and the 60th percentile for trade intensity. The IT industry does not meet these criteria and is therefore not included in the ETII scheme.
The new Energy Bill Discount Scheme will provide a baseline discount to all eligible non-domestic customers, including the IT industry, until 2024. The unit discount is capped at £19.61/MW for electricity, and £6.97/MW for gas.
Asked by: Emma Hardy (Labour - Kingston upon Hull West and Hessle)
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 estimate of the number of people claiming Employment Support Allowance who are no longer eligible for the Warm Homes Discount following the changes to eligibility in 2022; and what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of changing the criteria on people who are no longer eligible.
Answered by Graham Stuart
As households previously applied through their suppliers, who set their own application processes and eligibility criteria and selected successful applicants each year, the Government has not been able to assess how many households in receipt of Employment Support Allowance are no longer eligible.
The Government has expanded the scheme this year, providing £150 rebates to low-income and vulnerable households. The Government published impact assessments alongside the consultation and the final policy, which compared the option for reforming the scheme in England and Wales to continuing the previous scheme. These can be found at:
https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/warm-home-discount-better-targeted-support-from-2022.