Asked by: Kirsty Blackman (Scottish National Party - Aberdeen North)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what steps he is taking to ensure that Carbon Capture, Utilisation, and Storage is deployed in Scotland.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
We are committed to supporting UK industry to decarbonise, enabling the country to take advantage of new opportunities that can promote growth and wealth creation, and protecting thousands of jobs in regions and industries across the UK. The Scottish Cluster Acorn has received £40 million in development funding in recent years, and officials continue to engage with the cluster to understand their plans. Following the announcement in October 2024 of funding for the initial Track 1 cluster configurations, further decisions for continued CCUS deployment, including for Track 2 clusters, will be taken in due course.
Asked by: Kirsty Blackman (Scottish National Party - Aberdeen North)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, when Scottish industries will be able to decarbonise operations using the Scottish Cluster.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
We are committed to supporting UK industry to decarbonise, enabling the country to take advantage of new opportunities that can promote growth and wealth creation, and protecting thousands of jobs in regions and industries across the UK. The Scottish Cluster Acorn has received £40 million in development funding in recent years, and officials continue to engage with the cluster to understand their plans. Following the announcement in October 2024 of funding for the initial Track 1 cluster configurations, further decisions for continued CCUS deployment, including for Track 2 clusters, will be taken in due course.
Asked by: Kirsty Blackman (Scottish National Party - Aberdeen North)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what steps he is taking to help prevent North Sea oil and gas workers leaving the UK.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Government’s priority is a fair, orderly and prosperous transition in the North Sea in line with our climate and legal obligations, which drives towards our clean energy future of energy security, lower bills, and good, long-term jobs, with no community left behind.
The Office for Clean Energy Jobs is supporting the delivery of an industry-led Energy Skills Passport as part of this transition. It is an important step to help workers transition from carbon-intensive industries to new clean energy sectors as part of the Government's Clean Power 2030 mission.
Great British Energy will be headquartered in Aberdeen, Scotland, recognising the expertise, skilled workforce, and diversity of projects already in place.
Asked by: Kirsty Blackman (Scottish National Party - Aberdeen North)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what steps he is taking to ensure that Aberdeen’s skilled North Sea oil and gas workforce is supported to transition into jobs in (a) carbon capture and storage and (b) hydrogen in the Scottish Cluster.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Office for Clean Energy Jobs is supporting the delivery of an industry-led Energy Skills Passport as part of a fair, orderly and prosperous transition. This is an important step to help workers transition from carbon-intensive industries to new clean energy sectors as part of the Government's clean energy mission 2030.
The government is working with the Scottish government, Renewable UK and Offshore Energies UK, to identify how to expand the passport in the future, offering strategic direction based on policy ambition such as the Clean Power 2030 target, which could include incorporating clean energy sectors like CCUS and hydrogen.
Great British Energy will be headquartered in Aberdeen, Scotland, recognising the expertise, skilled workforce, and diversity of projects already in place.
Asked by: Kirsty Blackman (Scottish National Party - Aberdeen North)
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 is taking to support effective collaboration between (a) employers and (b) education providers to help ensure an adequate pipeline of skilled (i) electrical maintenance, (ii) pipefitting and (iii) other workers in the oil and gas sector.
Answered by Graham Stuart
Government and industry are working collaboratively to train the existing workforce in England through programmes including Skills Bootcamps, Higher Technical Qualifications and apprenticeships. Government is working with trade associations like the Offshore Petroleum Industry Training Organization and the Engineering Construction Industry Training Board to encourage career pathways across the energy sector, including in offshore oil and gas.
The Government is developing a Green Jobs Plan for publication in the first half of 2024, which will provide the actions needed to ensure we have the skills within the UK workforce to deliver on the Government’s targets.
Asked by: Kirsty Blackman (Scottish National Party - Aberdeen North)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what steps she is taking to encourage private investment in the (a) offshore oil and gas and (b) renewables sectors, in the context of private investment in the recruitment and development of personnel in those sectors.
Answered by Graham Stuart
Government is developing a Green Jobs Plan, which will provide the actions needed to ensure we have the skills within the UK workforce to deliver on the Government’s targets. Drawing on work by the Government convened Green Jobs Delivery Group, this will be published in the first half of 2024.
To support ongoing investment and protect the 200,000 jobs supported by the offshore oil and gas sector, Government has introduced the Offshore Petroleum Licensing Bill. Work is ongoing to enable workers to move between sectors, to protect jobs and to ensure skills, which are vital for the transition, are not lost.