Asked by: Sarah Hall (Labour (Co-op) - Warrington South)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether he has had discussions with representatives from the energy sector on extending the skills passport to people (a) working in the nuclear sector and (b) entering the nuclear sector from the offshore oil and gas sector.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The skills passport is an industry-led project that seeks to support Oil and Gas workers to transition into roles in the Offshore wind sectors. Currently there are no plans to transition such workers into the nuclear sector through this passport. However, the passport will provide a solid foundation for either expansion into other sectors such as nuclear in the coming years, to make such a transition possible.
The Government is committed to ensuring that the UK has the necessary skills needed to deliver our nuclear ambitions including through supporting the industry led National Nuclear Strategic Plan for Skills. The Plan is delivering fifteen projects supporting various aspects of the nuclear sector skills demand including two projects to attract and retain people from other industries, including Oil and Gas. The Destination Nuclear national communications campaign promotes the opportunities available in the sector and acts a centralised job board for the industry; and the Career Switchers project will provide nuclear upskilling support for those entering the sector with relevant engineering, trades support and business skills.
Asked by: Sarah Hall (Labour (Co-op) - Warrington South)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of reviewing levels of standing charges paid by consumers who mainly use energy generated by their own solar panels and wind turbines.
Answered by Miatta Fahnbulleh - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Standing charges cover the costs energy suppliers take on to provide consumers with electricity, which vary by location, and although these levies are a commercial matter for suppliers, and are regulated by Ofgem, we know that too much of the burden of the bill is placed on them.
The Government has worked constructively with the regulator on the issue of standing charges, and we are committed to lowering the cost of them. Ofgem’s recently published discussion paper sets out the options for how standing charges could be reduced, including by moving some supplier operational costs off standing charges onto the unit rate, increasing the variety of tariffs available for consumer in the market, and in the longer term, reviewing how system costs are allocated. Ofgem's publication can be found here: https://www.ofgem.gov.uk/call-for-input/standing-charges-domestic-retail-options.
We will continue to support Ofgem in this work and ensure that standing charges are reduced.