Asked by: Kenny MacAskill (Alba Party - East Lothian)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what his Department's policy is on the decommissioning of North Sea oil and gas installations; and whether his Department is taking steps to help ensure that (a) direct and (b) supply chain jobs in this sector are based in the UK.
Answered by Graham Stuart
The Government requires that decommissioning of offshore oil and gas installations is undertaken in accordance with relevant UK and international regulatory obligations. The policy is underpinned by the principles of achieving a clear seabed, and those who benefited from exploitation or production of hydrocarbons bear responsibility for decommissioning, through decommissioning programme consultation and approval.
As part of the North Sea Transition Deal agreed between the Government and offshore oil and gas sector in 2021, the sector has set a voluntary target of 50% UK content, including capital investment for oil and gas decommissioning projects, and 30% for locally provided technology.
Asked by: Kenny MacAskill (Alba Party - East Lothian)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what energy support costs have been offered to users of biomass.
Answered by Graham Stuart
The use of biomass in the electricity sector is already supported by the Contracts for Difference Scheme, the Renewables Obligation Scheme and Feed in Tariff Scheme.
In the heat sector, the Government has recently consulted on a proposal temporarily to suspend the wood pellet quality requirements for the Renewable Heat Incentive to help increase the availability of pellets.
Asked by: Kenny MacAskill (Alba Party - East Lothian)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, if he will set out the basis of assessment for any discretionary funding being provided by way of energy support costs.
Answered by Graham Stuart
The Government is committed to ensuring all households receive equivalent levels of support for their energy bills.
In June 2022, the Government announced the Energy Bills Support Scheme which will provide £400 to all households, including those using alternative fuels, starting in October 2022.
The Government will also provide an additional payment of £100 to households across the UK who are not able to receive support for their heating costs through the Energy Price Guarantee. This might be because they live in an area of the UK that is not served by the gas grid and is to compensate for the rising costs of alternative fuels, such as heating oil.
Asked by: Kenny MacAskill (Alba Party - East Lothian)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether the energy support costs provided for unregulated fuels will be (a) discretionary funding or (b) provided in full.
Answered by Graham Stuart
The Government is committed to ensuring all households receive equivalent levels of support for their energy bills.
In June 2022, the Government announced the Energy Bills Support Scheme which will provide £400 to all households, including those using alternative fuels, starting in October 2022.
The Government will also provide an additional payment of £100 to households across the UK who are not able to receive support for their heating costs through the Energy Price Guarantee. This might be because they live in an area of the UK that is not served by the gas grid and is to compensate for the rising costs of alternative fuels, such as heating oil.
Asked by: Kenny MacAskill (Alba Party - East Lothian)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how much his Department has spent on external consultants in each of the last five years; and if he will publish a breakdown of the (a) amount paid to each consultancy contracted, (b) name of each consultancy contracted and (c) specific matters on which they were consulted.
Answered by Jane Hunt
All Department’s consultancy costs including details of the provider are published on gov.uk here. Further transactions will be published during 2022.
The information requested on the specific matters consulted is not held centrally and can only be obtained at a disproportionate cost.
Asked by: Kenny MacAskill (Alba Party - East Lothian)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of the UK engaging in a coordinated withdrawal from the Energy Charter Treaty alongside other European nations.
Answered by Greg Hands - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Government considers that it is important to remain a Party to the Energy Charter Treaty and support its modernisation, as the Government believes that a renegotiated Energy Charter Treaty will remain valuable in supporting clean energy investment in the future.
The Government welcomes the role of the Energy Charter Treaty in ensuring consistent legal protection for UK investors operating abroad. This allows UK companies, investing in countries that have signed the Treaty, to enjoy more protection for their assets, including those involved in renewable energy production.
Asked by: Kenny MacAskill (Alba Party - East Lothian)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether he considered putting a price cap on the sums to be paid in the recent offshore wind auction; and for what reason a decision was taken not to do so.
Answered by Greg Hands - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
Seabed leasing rounds are the responsibility of The Crown Estate and Crown Estate Scotland. It is for them to set the parameters and run the rounds. The Government is not involved in the process.
Asked by: Kenny MacAskill (Alba Party - East Lothian)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what plans his Department has to tackle the abuse of Scottish Limited Partnerships by organised crime organisations.
Answered by Paul Scully
The Government outlined its proposals for limited partnership reform in December 2018 in response to a consultation (link here). The reforms will modernise Limited Partnership law, helping to tackle illicit activity and the abuse of Scottish Limited Partnerships. The proposals include tightening registration requirements, requiring limited partnerships to demonstrate a firmer connection to the United Kingdom, increasing transparency requirements, and enabling the Registrar to strike from the register limited partnerships which are dissolved, or which are no longer carrying on business. The Government will be reforming the relevant legislation through the forthcoming Economic Crime and Transparency Bill.
Asked by: Kenny MacAskill (Alba Party - East Lothian)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what recent representations his Department has received from the Scottish Government on Scottish Limited Partnerships.
Answered by Paul Scully
Officials have had an active dialogue with counterparts from the Sottish Government and most recently met on 2 March 2022 to discuss Scottish Limited Partnerships. I anticipate that they will have further exchanges on this subject in due course.
Asked by: Kenny MacAskill (Alba Party - East Lothian)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what estimate he has made of the number of Scottish limited partnerships set up in each year since 2015.
Answered by Paul Scully
The official statistics on companies and the total size of the register are made publicly available online by Companies House. The most recent data can be found in this link here and show that 5,706 limited partnerships were incorporated in Scotland in 2015/16, 4,932 in 2016/17, 2,689 in 2017/18, 751 in 2018/19, 657 in 2019/20 and 591 in 2020/21.