Asked by: Scott Arthur (Labour - Edinburgh South West)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, with reference to the mine water geothermal heat project recently piloted in Gateshead, what steps his Department is taking to support the development and rollout of low-cost, ecological, alternative carbon heating systems using geothermal energy from flooded coal mines or sewer systems.
Answered by Martin McCluskey - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
To achieve net zero at lowest cost, we are accelerating low-carbon technologies, including geothermal. Water from coal mines and sewer systems offers strong potential for heat networks. Projects can apply to the Green Heat Network Fund for support. DESNZ promotes sewer heat recovery as a reliable urban heat source, given its stable temperatures and alignment with demand. To ensure sustainable deployment, DESNZ issued Exclusion Zone Guidance to protect sewer thermal integrity and avoid conflicts between abstraction points, giving developers and water companies confidence in performance and investment. The Mining Remediation Authority has also published opportunity maps.
Asked by: Scott Arthur (Labour - Edinburgh South West)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what steps his Department is taking with the Scottish Government to ensure that businesses can increase the supply of apprenticeships in response to increases in levels of regional demand for green jobs.
Answered by Chris McDonald - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Young people in all UK regions and nations will benefit from the good jobs that the clean energy economy can bring. In Scotland, we estimate up to 40,000 additional clean energy jobs by 2030.
Skills policy is devolved, but the UK Government is working closely with the Scottish Government as we train up the next generation.
The Post-16 Education and Skills White Paper outlines our vision for a world-class skills system, giving students better opportunities, skills, and pathways to success, while meeting employer needs.
The Growth and Skills Offer, with apprenticeships at its heart, will deliver greater flexibility for employers.
Asked by: Scott Arthur (Labour - Edinburgh South West)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, how much funding his Department plans to provide to (a) transport and (b) storage companies to help support their carbon capture, usage and storage business models in the next 12 months.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
In the 2025 spending review, the Government allocated £9.4 billion over the Spending Review period.
The bulk of public funding for Track 1 is only provided once projects are operational. Transport & Storage Companies (T&SCos) operate a Regulated Asset Base model regulated by Ofgem. This allows them to recover costs during operation by charging connected capture projects - expected from 2028 onwards.
The government has announced its support for the Acorn and Viking clusters and is providing development funding to advance their delivery, including approximately £200m for Acorn. The exact amounts for each cluster and funding schedule will be subject to negotiations, value for money and deliverability assessments.
Asked by: Scott Arthur (Labour - Edinburgh South West)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, when his Department plans to (a) publish a revised timeline for the track-2 cluster sequencing process and (b) provide funding for non-pipeline carbon capture projects.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Government announced its support for the Acorn and Viking clusters in the Spending Review and is providing the development funding to advance their delivery. We've been working with clusters to understand what they need to keep them progressing to a final investment decision (FID) this Parliament, subject to project readiness and affordability.
Non-pipeline methods of CO2 transportation (for example, road, rail and ship) will play an integral role in achieving decarbonisation across multiple regions and sectors of the economy, to meet our carbon budget targets and net zero carbon emissions by 2050.
Funding for NPT projects will be subject to future project selection processes and associated deliverability and value for money considerations.
Asked by: Scott Arthur (Labour - Edinburgh South West)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what steps his Department plans to take to help prevent waste leakage offshore following the inclusion of Energy from Waste in the UK Emissions Trading Scheme; and whether his Department plans to take steps to help support local authorities with the financial implications of this decision.
Answered by Chris McDonald - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The UK Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) Authority consulted on expanding the UK ETS to the waste sector in 2024, including asking for views on managing the risk of increased diversion of waste to export abroad. The interim Authority Response published in July 2025 stated that policy positions are being developed to ensure that waste export is not used to avoid ETS costs and details will be set out in due course.
The Government recognises the challenges that the expansion of the scheme will place on local authorities and will confirm proposals to help them manage the impacts of the scheme in due course.
Asked by: Scott Arthur (Labour - Edinburgh South West)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what assessment his Department has made of the capacity of the national grid to support projected growth in electric vehicle charging demand over the next decade.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Government is working closely with Ofgem to ensure that its price control framework supports the necessary investment in the electricity network to deliver our clean energy and growth missions. This includes ensuring that the distribution network has sufficient capacity to meet projected demand from electric vehicles into the future.
The current price control, RIIO-ED2 (2023–2028), enables forward-looking investment aligned with and incorporates uncertainty mechanisms to allow networks to respond flexibly to rising demand. The next price control, RIIO-ED3 (2028–2033), will be informed by Regional Energy Strategic Plans to support more strategic, anticipatory and coordinated investment.
Asked by: Scott Arthur (Labour - Edinburgh South West)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what meetings he has held with the offshore energy sector to discuss incentivising investment in the UK.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Details of Ministers' and Permanent Secretaries' meetings with external individuals and organisations are published quarterly in arrears on GOV.UK.
Asked by: Scott Arthur (Labour - Edinburgh South West)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether he has made an assessment of the potential impact of UK's offshore energy regulatory framework on levels of investment.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The clean energy transition creates an opportunity for our expert offshore industry and workers to play a central role in the next generation of energy supply. Our commitments to deliver clean power by 2030 and to accelerate to net zero will guarantee our country’s energy security and create jobs, with gas continuing to play an important role in ensuring security of supply during the clean power transition.
Together, the Clean Power 2030 Action Plan, Clean Energy Industries Sector Plan, and the upcoming response to 'Building the North Sea's Energy Future' consultation provide a clear mission to drive investment certainty. These plans ensure the UK becomes a global leader in clean energy innovation, supply chains, manufacturing and deployment.
We have directly responded to the investment and regulatory barriers prohibiting growth for the sector. Measures include £5.8bn National Wealth Fund for high-cost infrastructure and ports investment; Clean Industry Bonus expansion; £1bn GBE Supply Chain Fund, planning and consenting reform; and targeted R&D funding.
Asked by: Scott Arthur (Labour - Edinburgh South West)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what assessment he has made of the barriers to investment in offshore energy in the UK.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The clean energy transition creates an opportunity for our expert offshore industry and workers to play a central role in the next generation of energy supply. Our commitments to deliver clean power by 2030 and to accelerate to net zero will guarantee our country’s energy security and create jobs, with gas continuing to play an important role in ensuring security of supply during the clean power transition.
Together, the Clean Power 2030 Action Plan, Clean Energy Industries Sector Plan, and the upcoming response to 'Building the North Sea's Energy Future' consultation provide a clear mission to drive investment certainty. These plans ensure the UK becomes a global leader in clean energy innovation, supply chains, manufacturing and deployment.
We have directly responded to the investment and regulatory barriers prohibiting growth for the sector. Measures include £5.8bn National Wealth Fund for high-cost infrastructure and ports investment; Clean Industry Bonus expansion; £1bn GBE Supply Chain Fund, planning and consenting reform; and targeted R&D funding.
Asked by: Scott Arthur (Labour - Edinburgh South West)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what incentives he is considering to stimulate investment in the UK's offshore energy sector.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The clean energy transition creates an opportunity for our expert offshore industry and workers to play a central role in the next generation of energy supply. Our commitments to deliver clean power by 2030 and to accelerate to net zero will guarantee our country’s energy security and create jobs, with gas continuing to play an important role in ensuring security of supply during the clean power transition.
Together, the Clean Power 2030 Action Plan, Clean Energy Industries Sector Plan, and the upcoming response to 'Building the North Sea's Energy Future' consultation provide a clear mission to drive investment certainty. These plans ensure the UK becomes a global leader in clean energy innovation, supply chains, manufacturing and deployment.
We have directly responded to the investment and regulatory barriers prohibiting growth for the sector. Measures include £5.8bn National Wealth Fund for high-cost infrastructure and ports investment; Clean Industry Bonus expansion; £1bn GBE Supply Chain Fund, planning and consenting reform; and targeted R&D funding.