Question to the Scotland Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, what steps his Department has taken with the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy to progress the Oil and Gas Sector Deal.

My Department works closely with the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy on a range of issues in support of the oil and gas sector in Scotland.

The oil and gas industry is important to our economy, energy security and jobs. That is reflected in the Conservative Manifesto commitment of 2019 to work with the sector on a transformational sector deal.

Discussions around an offshore oil and gas industry Sector Deal are ongoing and will build on Government’s existing extensive engagement with the sector.

While there is no formal timescale for concluding a sector deal we recognise the challenges facing the sector from the collapse of the oil price and the operational challenges posed by COVID-19. The sector deal has the potential to play an important role in the recovery of the sector.

This is a whole of Government approach and my Department will be appropriately involved in the process.