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 to ensure investor confidence in the UK oil and gas sector following the withdrawal of legal support for the Rosebank and Jackdaw projects.

In August, in light of the Supreme Court Finch Judgment, the government accepted that the previous Environmental Impact Assessment decisions were unlawful. That decision was made following the taking of legal advice, the contents of which are privileged.

In any event, all parties to Rosebank and Jackdaw claims, including the operators themselves, agreed that the previous decisions were unlawful. The Court has now confirmed this, and made provision for fresh decisions to be made in due course.

We have already consulted on revised environmental guidance for development consents to take into account emissions from burning extracted oil and gas to provide stability for industry.