Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what priority the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy places on climate change; how many of its civil servants currently work on climate change in a full- or part-time capacity; and how many civil servants worked on climate change in a full- or part-time capacity in the Department of Energy and Climate Change before it was disbanded (1) at the time the Department was closed, (2) in 2015, (3) in 2014, and (4) in 2013.

The Department’s activity to tackle climate change cuts across the work of various teams and is undertaken by officials who, as well as energy and climate change, also work to deliver the department’s other priorities.

Consequently, it is not possible to provide an exact number of officials who work on energy and climate change issues. However, I would like to reassure the noble Lady that delivery of the Government’s commitments on climate change remains a key priority for the department.