Harriet Cross

CCUS requires significant resources, and it is right that it is considered within the Spending Review. We continue to engage at both working and ministerial level with all future projects, including Track-2, and further decisions for future CCUS deployment will be taken in due course.

Developers prepare a thorough and comprehensive environmental assessment in preparation for the planning process. This is then subject to careful scrutiny by the Planning Inspectorate and during the decision-making stage, by the Secretary of State, for nationally significant energy projects considered under the Planning Act 2008. Local planning authorities do the same for those developments considered under the Town & Country Planning Act 1990. All of the issues listed, and many more, are routinely considered as relevant planning considerations, and are set out in the published Decision Letter for development consent decisions.

The Energy Skills Passport, launched in January, is designed to help oil and gas workers transition into clean energy sectors like offshore wind. In phase two, we are exploring opportunities to expand it into other clean energy sectors such as CCUS and Hydrogen. The RGU estimates the offshore renewables workforce, which includes offshore wind, CCS, and hydrogen, could increase to between 70,000 and 138,000 in 2030 creating opportunities for skilled workers as the sector matures. Further decisions for future CCUS deployment, including in the Scottish Cluster, will be taken in due course. As the Energy Skills Passport develops, we will continue working with industry to expand its scope, ensuring it effectively supports workers moving into emerging clean energy sectors.

The Office for Clean Energy Jobs is engaging widely with industry experts, and trade unions for a clear assessment of the skills opportunities and challenges. It is working closely with Skills England to ensure that skills systems reforms support the clean energy transition. It has recently launched the initial version of the Energy Skills Passport to support oil and gas workers into new roles in the clean energy sector.

In phase two, we are exploring opportunities to expand it into other clean energy sectors such as CCUS. CCUS could support up to 50,000 jobs as the sector matures into the 2030s.

The government is also transforming the existing Apprenticeship Levy into a growth and skills offer which will allow employers to invest in a wider range of training.

The Department attends the Industry Taskforce on the Radio Teleswitch Service, which was convened by Ofgem last year and is led by Energy UK.

The Taskforce involves all major energy suppliers and is working with consumer groups, local authorities, housing associations and other key stakeholders to urgently ramp up efforts to replace the remaining RTS meters in Great Britain before the service ends.

Space is a strategic priority for this government and is essential to achieving our mission to deliver growth as a priority. The National Space Strategy and our identified priority capability goals continue to drive government policy.

We will publish an ambitious programme for space when the Spending Review has completed.

The broadcasting sector plays an important role in enhancing telecoms resilience by providing robust infrastructure and rapidly circulating news and information to the public during emergencies. DSIT collaborates with TV and radio broadcast and telecom operators through the Electronic Resilience & Response Group (EC-RRG) industry forum, sharing best practices and strengthening the networks to ensure the continuity of communication services and public safety during crises. Both DSIT and DCMS (who have responsibility for the broadcast sector) recognise the importance of ongoing collaboration to maintain and enhance telecoms resilience.

The government is committed to delivering 2030 nationwide gigabit connectivity coverage, with 86% of premises now able to access a gigabit-capable connection thanks to a pro-competition regulatory environment.

Take-up is just as important as roll-out. This is primarily the responsibility of industry, but the government is encouraged to see increasing levels of gigabit take-up, and in particular the positive effects of the industry launch of the One Touch Switch (OTS) and terminology changes from Ofcom last year. We continue to work with industry towards greater roll-out and take-up.

The Shared Rural Network is designed to improve connectivity where people live, work, travel and visit. In very rural parts of Scotland, digital connectivity is vital for visitors, emergency services, lone workers and businesses utilising new technology.

To minimise environmental impact, publicly funded masts will be shared by all four mobile network operators and existing infrastructure utilised wherever possible. At each potential location, an individual assessment will consider a range of factors to strike a balance between improving connectivity and minimising impact on the surrounding landscape. All masts will comply with planning rules for these areas and go through the proper planning process, with local planning authorities responsible for reviewing applications. Achieving a perfect balance between enhanced connectivity and environmental protection will not be easy, but I am keen to see a more sympathetic approach that focuses most on where people really need a secure connection.

The Government understands how important it is that everyone can access information in times of national emergency and that television has a role to play in providing such access. The Government’s project looking into the future of TV distribution is considering a range of relevant factors, including resilience. It is important that audiences continue to receive consistent levels of service regardless of how they receive their television, and ensuring that this can happen will be a priority for the project.

The Government’s project on the future of TV distribution is seeking to understand how people receive their television now and in the next decade. This will inform any decision concerning the future of digital terrestrial television services after 2034.

As part of this process, a wide range of views are being sought from across the TV sector, audience groups and infrastructure, including through a stakeholder forum that I chair. Membership of the Stakeholder Forum includes a number of groups representing rural, older and lower income audiences, including the Rural Services Network, Silver Voices and Digital Poverty Alliance.

In addition to independent research led by Exeter University and published last year, the Government has commissioned follow up research to understand in more detail the specific preferences, motivations and barriers regarding TV viewing among a variety of groups including rural, older and low-income households.

The Government’s project on the future of TV distribution is seeking to understand how people receive their television now and in the next decade. This will inform any decision concerning the future of digital terrestrial television services after 2034.

As part of this process, a wide range of views are being sought from across the TV sector, audience groups and infrastructure, including through a stakeholder forum that I chair. Membership of the Stakeholder Forum includes a number of groups representing rural, older and lower income audiences, including the Rural Services Network, Silver Voices and Digital Poverty Alliance.

In addition to independent research led by Exeter University and published last year, the Government has commissioned follow up research to understand in more detail the specific preferences, motivations and barriers regarding TV viewing among a variety of groups including rural, older and low-income households.

The Government’s project on the future of TV distribution is seeking to understand how people receive their television now and in the next decade. As part of this project, close consideration is being given to the interrelationships between television distribution and a variety of other sectors. In particular, the project has identified both the ongoing sharing of physical infrastructure by the two sectors, and that terrestrial broadcasting and mobile telecommunications represent competing uses of ultra high frequency electromagnetic spectrum.

The Government’s project on the future of TV distribution is seeking to understand how people receive their television now and in the next decade. This will inform any decision concerning the future of digital terrestrial television services after 2034. Before any decision is made in relation to the availability of services beyond 2034, close consideration will be given to how any changes would impact audiences, and especially those who rely on digital terrestrial television as their primary means of watching television.

As part of this process, a wide range of views are being sought from across the TV sector, audience groups and infrastructure, including through a stakeholder forum which I chair. Membership of the Stakeholder Forum includes a range of broadcasters active in Scotland, including the Scottish broadcaster STV, the BBC and ITV. The forum also benefits from the perspectives of a number of groups representing the interests of Scottish and UK-wide audiences, such as Voice of the Listener and Viewer, Digital Poverty Alliance and Silver Voices.

Given the extensive relationship between the UK’s DTT and radio broadcast networks, we will separately look at how broadcast radio services may be affected and will ensure that any decision taken on the future of TV distribution fully considers the wider impacts on broadcast radio services.