Asked by: Seamus Logan (Scottish National Party - Aberdeenshire North and Moray East)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what progress has been made on the Fuel Finder scheme; whether the launch date of late 2025 is still applicable; and what further work is being done by the Government to help reduce fuel prices.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
This Government is committed to ensuring drivers get a fair deal which is why we are implementing Fuel Finder as quickly as possible. Subject to parliamentary passage, we aim to launch Fuel Finder by the end of 2025.
In the meantime, a voluntary scheme is in place where fuel retailers are encouraged to share fuel prices until Fuel Finder gains a statutory footing. This is an important first step in increasing competitive pressure on retailers while legislation is finalised.
In addition, we have introduced statutory powers for the Competition and Markets Authority to monitor the market and identify the need further intervention
Asked by: Seamus Logan (Scottish National Party - Aberdeenshire North and Moray East)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what progress he has made on the carbon capture and storage project at St Fergus.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The government has announced its support for Acorn and is providing the development funding to advance its delivery. A final investment decision will be taken later this Parliament, subject to project readiness and affordability.
Since the Spending Review, we have worked closely with Acorn to understand what they need to keep them progressing towards FID and are confident we can continue collaborating on that.
We have also established a ministerial led forum, where government, regulators and industry representatives come together on a regular basis to drive forward momentum for the Scottish cluster.
Asked by: Seamus Logan (Scottish National Party - Aberdeenshire North and Moray East)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what the additional £700 million of funding for Great British Energy announced in the Clean Energy Industries Sector Plan, published on 23 June 2025 will be spent on.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Great British Energy (GBE) Supply Chain fund is £1 billion, as announced in the Clean Energy Industries Sector Plan published on 23 June 2025. This will help ensure the clean energy revolution is built in Britain.
Up to £300 million of the fund is committed grant funding for manufacturing offshore wind components.
GBE will invest a further £700 million in clean energy supply chains. Where this will be invested will be determined through market engagement and working alongside HMG Public Finance Institutions to develop the right delivery approach according to market needs.
Asked by: Seamus Logan (Scottish National Party - Aberdeenshire North and Moray East)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, when he plans to publish the Clean Energy Workforce Strategy.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
We will publish the Clean Energy Workforce Strategy later this year. This Strategy will be a first for the UK Government, and will set out how government, industry and trade unions will come together to address skills and workforce challenges to deliver the Clean Energy Superpower Mission, including Clean Power 2030.
Asked by: Seamus Logan (Scottish National Party - Aberdeenshire North and Moray East)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, when he plans to respond to correspondence of (a) 24 February 2025 and (b) 16 April 2025 from the hon. Member for Aberdeenshire North and Moray East with the reference SL01868/dw in relation to energy prices.
Answered by Miatta Fahnbulleh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
A response was issued to the hon. Member on 7 May. I appreciate his patience with this matter.
Asked by: Seamus Logan (Scottish National Party - Aberdeenshire North and Moray East)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, from what level he plans to reduce energy bills by £300 by 2030.
Answered by Miatta Fahnbulleh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The Government believes that our mission to deliver clean power by 2030 is the best way to break our dependence on global fossil fuel markets and protect billpayers permanently.
The creation of Great British Energy will help us to harness clean energy and have less reliance on volatile international energy markets and help in our commitment to make Britain a clean energy superpower by 2030. This, combined with our Warm Homes Plan to upgrade millions of homes to make them warmer and cheaper to run is how we will drive down energy bills and make cold homes a thing of the past.
We recognise that we need to support households struggling with bills whilst we transition to clean power by 2030. This is why we are delivering the Warm Home Discount to around 3 million eligible low-income households this winter. On 25 February, we published a consultation on the expansion of the Warm Home Discount, giving more eligible households £150 off their energy bills. These proposals would bring around 2.7 million households into the scheme – pushing the total number of households that would receive the discount next winter up to around 6 million. The consultation has now closed and the Department is evaluating the responses.
Asked by: Seamus Logan (Scottish National Party - Aberdeenshire North and Moray East)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what figure his Department is using as the average household energy bill for his policy of a £300 cut in energy bills.
Answered by Miatta Fahnbulleh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The Government believes that our mission to deliver clean power by 2030 is the best way to break our dependence on global fossil fuel markets and protect billpayers permanently.
The creation of Great British Energy will help us to harness clean energy and have less reliance on volatile international energy markets and help in our commitment to make Britain a clean energy superpower by 2030. This, combined with our Warm Homes Plan to upgrade millions of homes to make them warmer and cheaper to run is how we will drive down energy bills and make cold homes a thing of the past.
We recognise that we need to support households struggling with bills whilst we transition to clean power by 2030. This is why we are delivering the Warm Home Discount to around 3 million eligible low-income households this winter. On 25 February, we published a consultation on the expansion of the Warm Home Discount, giving more eligible households £150 off their energy bills. These proposals would bring around 2.7 million households into the scheme – pushing the total number of households that would receive the discount next winter up to around 6 million. The consultation has now closed and the Department is evaluating the responses.
Asked by: Seamus Logan (Scottish National Party - Aberdeenshire North and Moray East)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what his Department's original budget was, including Government-backed loans and guarantees, to support the construction of the Hinkley Point C nuclear power plant in (a) real and (b) current terms; how much his Department has provided since the project started; and how much he estimates that it will have provided by the completion of the project.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The financing of Hinkley Point C is the responsibility of EDF (Électricité de France) and China General Nuclear Power Corporation (CGN). The latest update from EDF on costs of Hinkley Point C can be found here (on page 29):
https://www.edf.fr/sites/groupe/files/2025-03/annual-results-edf-2024-presentation-2025-03-07.pdf
Asked by: Seamus Logan (Scottish National Party - Aberdeenshire North and Moray East)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, when he plans to respond to the correspondence from the hon. Member for Aberdeenshire North and Moray East sent on 3 February and 24 March 2025, reference SL01756/dw.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
I apologise for the delay in responding to the hon. Member’s correspondence about the oil and gas industry in Scotland, reference SL01756/dw. I issued a response to the hon. Member on 23 April.
Asked by: Seamus Logan (Scottish National Party - Aberdeenshire North and Moray East)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what his Department's original budget for the construction of Hinkley Point C was; how much his Department has spent since that project started; and what the estimated final cost is in (a) real and (b) current terms.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Hinkley Point C is not a UK Government-funded project. The financing of Hinkley Point C is the responsibility of EDF (Électricité de France) and China General Nuclear Power Corporation (CGN). The latest update from EDF on costs of Hinkley Point C can be found here (on page 29):
https://www.edf.fr/sites/groupe/files/2025-03/annual-results-edf-2024-presentation-2025-03-07.pdf