Oral Answers to Questions
Debate between Michael Shanks and Melanie Onn(1 week, 4 days ago)
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The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero (Michael Shanks)
Of course the Government follow the regulations that we have put in place quickly, and applications must be considered on a case-by-case basis—that is the way anyone would expect them to be dealt with. I will not say on the Floor of the House any more about those applications, as they are live decisions that will be made in due course by the Department.
Melanie Onn (Great Grimsby and Cleethorpes) (Lab)
Michael Shanks
I will repeat what I have said before: we are obviously hugely disappointed by the way that the owners have dealt with the company. I repeat the ask that I have made in the House a number of times, and in writing to the chief executive, that he should put his hands in his pockets and do the right thing by the workforce. We are doing everything we can as part of the insolvency process safely to manage the refinery, and to look at whether there are buyers interested in taking it on.
Prax Lindsey Oil Refinery
Debate between Michael Shanks and Melanie Onn(3 weeks, 5 days ago)
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Michael Shanks
I think I got all the hon. Lady’s key points down. Importantly, I agree with many of them. First, I echo the point that she makes about this being shocking news for the workers, as it always is. Given how quickly it has happened, it has been as much a surprise to us, but for the workers it will be particularly shocking news.
I will reiterate two things that the hon. Lady said, just to be clear. She mentioned the upstream business west of Shetland. That is not filing for insolvency. The petrol forecourts will continue to operate as normal, and the administrators are exploring the prospect of a sale of those retail operations. There is no need for anyone to be concerned about any of that.
There is an argument that it is critical, whatever the outcome, that the company takes some responsibility for the actions it has taken up to this point and for the workers who were employed in its business and kept it running for a long time. I have been clear in my statement today, and we will continue to reiterate it, that we expect the owners to put their hands in their pockets and provide the support that those workers deserve.
Finally, I was in Aberdeen last week talking to people about a comprehensive plan, and I will continue to do that, because it is right that we put in place a comprehensive plan for the future of those working in oil and gas. There is a bright future for that workforce in oil and gas for many decades to come, but increasingly they will transition into new industries. We are determined that we will deliver those jobs. A plan is crucial, and I am working on it at pace.
Melanie Onn (Great Grimsby and Cleethorpes) (Lab)
I thank the Minister for his statement, and he is right that this news has sent a shock reverberating around our local area. Back in April, I visited the Prax site, which sits in the constituency of my neighbour, the hon. Member for Brigg and Immingham (Martin Vickers). I spoke with the staff and trade union reps about the importance of their work, and I was impressed by their commitment to the company. There was absolutely no hint of the scale of difficulties—beyond how challenging it is in the refining sector anyway—or how deep and uncomfortable the company’s financial situation was. It is astonishing that the company could not answer basic questions about its finances when the Government asked for those details.
The decision taken by State Oil puts more than 400 local jobs at risk, with around 65% of those workers living in north-east Lincolnshire. I appreciate the efforts that the Government are making to support our workers, and I hope to work closely with the Government to help find a new buyer to preserve the jobs and support domestic fuel production as a strategically important asset. However, as things stand, I understand that State Oil is required only to make statutory redundancy payments to those workers. Does the Minister think that the billionaire owner of the refinery could do more to better support those workers in the event that they lose their jobs? Surely that is the least they could do, after what appears to be gross mismanagement.
Michael Shanks
I thank my hon. Friend for her questions. By talking of her recent visit to the refinery, she underlines the issues that have come to light in such an incredibly short space of time, although the truth is that in uncovering some of this, we have discovered that it goes back some time. That is why my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State has announced that he has asked for an inquiry into the decisions that have been made. We need to get to the bottom of this and learn any lessons that we can.
My hon. Friend is right that we have to do everything we can to support the workers. We will continue to do that, and we will look at what support we can provide for them. At the moment, these are jobs at risk rather than redundancies that have been announced. We are doing everything we can to see whether someone is interested in buying the refinery as a going concern, in which case the workers would be retained. We will do everything we can to support those workers should that not come to fruition.
My hon. Friend is right to point out that under the current process, those workers will be entitled to statutory redundancy only. It is clear that the business’s leadership have a responsibility to those workers, not only because it is right and prudent for all owners of businesses like this to take responsibility for the workforce, but because, particularly given how this business has ended, they should take responsibility for the workers and the local community. We call on them to do the right thing and support the workers through this incredibly difficult period.
Oral Answers to Questions
Debate between Michael Shanks and Melanie Onn(7 months, 1 week ago)
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Michael Shanks
I cannot comment on the specific details of the case. However, I would like to know more about why the hon. Gentleman’s community might not benefit, because the aim is for all communities affected by hosting infrastructure to benefit in different ways. We are looking at the options—be they money off bills, or the community benefit funds that exist at the moment—as we work through the answers to the consultation launched by the previous Government. However, we are clear that if communities host infrastructure that is nationally important and benefits the whole country, they should benefit from doing so.
Melanie Onn (Great Grimsby and Cleethorpes) (Lab)
Community benefits come in many different forms—in my constituency, Ørsted has contributed £1 million towards Horizon Youth Zone, and RWE is supporting Projekt Renewable, which is a box park learning zone—but the most wide-reaching benefit is to people’s pockets. Schemes such as the Octopus fan club bring down people’s bills when the use of renewables is at its highest. How can other energy retailers deliver similar savings for consumers?
Michael Shanks
My hon. Friend asks an extremely important question. All communities should benefit from the transformation that we want to make to the energy system. Part of the answer is improving how we use smart systems right across the energy system, so that people have much more consumer-led flexibility in their options—we are moving forward with that. In the clean power action plan that we published last week, we committed to doing much more to give people the power to take advantage of some of the opportunities she mentions.
Oral Answers to Questions
Debate between Michael Shanks and Melanie Onn(9 months, 2 weeks ago)
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Michael Shanks
I will give credit to the Conservative Government on one thing: they were very good at making grand announcements. On delivery, however, they were much poorer. Looking at a whole range of things—carbon capture being a very good example—they had lots of warm words but no delivery whatsoever. On nuclear, they had lots of warm words but no delivery whatsoever. In 14 years, how many nuclear power stations were built under the Conservative party? None. We will get on with doing the work.
Melanie Onn (Great Grimsby and Cleethorpes) (Lab)
If we want to see an increase in clean energy generation, we need more announcements such as the one we saw last week on the development of carbon capture, usage and storage. Although that is incredibly welcome and a sign of determined action from the new Government, there is still more to be done. Perhaps the Minister can give an indication of when he anticipates he will be able to announce progress on track 1 extension, and share some information on track 2, because that would secure thousands of jobs in the Humber region.
Michael Shanks
My hon. Friend is absolutely right to say that in the three and a bit months that we have been in government we have moved at pace to deliver the largest renewables auction in history and to make last week’s announcement on carbon capture. We are working through the next stages of the process at pace, and we will have further announcements in the weeks ahead.