UK Energy Sources and Cost of Energy

Lord Mohammed of Tinsley Excerpts

Thursday 19th March 2026 Lords Chamber

[Lord Whitehead (Lab)]

The noble Lord will know that we do have quite a presence in the Gulf, not of ships but of other defence capacity which can play some part as far as the Strait of Hormuz is concerned. He will also know that the US has already indicated that it does not wish to have the UK and other NATO countries’ assistance in undertaking the clearance of the Strait of Hormuz. Nevertheless, we regard the opening of that strait as imperative as far as fuel supplies are concerned. As far as UK fuel supplies are concerned, only about 1% currently comes from sources relevant to passage through the Strait of Hormuz—for example, Qatar. We are not as internationally exposed to those supplies as a number of other countries.

[Lord Mohammed of Tinsley (LD)]

My Lords, following up on the question from my noble friend Lord Russell, who mentioned support for domestic users in particular of heating oil, my question is on highly energy-intensive industries, particularly steel. What support, if any, are the Government thinking of providing, particularly if this war continues for weeks and months rather than just ending in days, as we hope, for the steel industries in south Wales, Scunthorpe and South Yorkshire?

[Lord Whitehead (Lab)]

The Government are open to all eventualities as far as this crisis is concerned and are keeping the position under review on a very regular basis. The noble Lord will know that immediate support has been for heating oil, particularly for those customers who are off grid in the UK. The Government recently announced over for supplies of heating oil, with particular reference to Northern Ireland, where a substantial proportion of the population are dependent on oil for heating. Of that £50 million-odd, £17 million has gone to Northern Ireland for that purpose.