Asked by: Dave Doogan (Scottish National Party - Angus)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, if she will have discussions with the Secretary of State for the Home Department on the potential merits of reinstating the Offshore Wind Workers Concession.
Answered by Graham Stuart
My Rt hon Friend the Secretary of State discusses a range of issues with my Rt hon Friend the Secretary of State for the Home Department, including offshore wind where relevant. The Offshore Wind Industry Council estimate that the total UK offshore wind workforce at the end of 2022 was 32,257, representing an increase of four per cent from the previous year.[1]
[1] Offshore Wind Skills Intelligence Report June 2023
Asked by: Dave Doogan (Scottish National Party - Angus)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, when HMRC plans to respond to correspondence of 13 June 2023 from the hon. Member for Angus, reference DD9848.
Answered by Victoria Atkins - Secretary of State for Health and Social Care
HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) received your correspondence on 13 June 2023 and received the further information requested on 20 June 2023. They apologise for the delay in replying.
HMRC contacted your constituent on 17 August 2023 and telephoned your office on 25 October 2023 to provide an update on their investigations.
They aim to reply as quickly as possible and by 10 November 2023.
Asked by: Dave Doogan (Scottish National Party - Angus)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, how many staff in her Department in grades (a) 6, (b) 7 and c) SCS are contractually located in (i) Scotland, (ii) London and (iii) the South East.
Answered by Graham Stuart
The table below shows the number of staff in the department for Energy Security and Net Zero (core dept only) by locations and grades.
Location | G7 | G6 | SCS |
London | 1161 | 402 | 176 |
Scotland | 36 | 9 | 2 |
South East (Inc London) | 1161 | 402 | 176 |
Asked by: Dave Doogan (Scottish National Party - Angus)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment his Department has made of the extent of the use of reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC) on buildings in the Defence Estate.
Answered by James Cartlidge - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
For now, the focus is on bringing together the information we hold about the Government estate into one place. This work is being coordinated by the Office for Government Property.
Surveys are currently being conducted on all buildings which may have been constructed using Reinforced Autoclaved Aerated Concrete (RAAC).
We take safety extremely seriously and, based on our current information, RAAC has not traditionally been used by the MOD in the construction of domestic structure, and it is therefore highly unlikely that any Service Family Accommodation is affected. The majority of Single Living Accommodation was not constructed during the review period.
Asked by: Dave Doogan (Scottish National Party - Angus)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment his Department has made of the condition of defence estate buildings at (a) HM Naval Base Clyde and (b) Royal Naval Armaments Depot Coulport constructed (i) in part and (ii) wholly by reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete.
Answered by James Cartlidge - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
For now, the focus is on bringing together the information we hold about the Government estate into one place. This work is being coordinated by the Office for Government Property.
Surveys are currently being conducted to identify buildings which may have been constructed with RAAC on Ministry of Defence (MOD) land.
The Defence Infrastructure Organisation Infrastructure Management System has been used to determine what Ministry of Defence (MOD) buildings might potentially contain Reinforced Autoclaved Aerated Concrete (RAAC) material, based on the period in which they were constructed and their construction type. HMNB Clyde including Coulport has been included within the assessments to ascertain if they have been constructed with RAAC.
Asked by: Dave Doogan (Scottish National Party - Angus)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will make an assessment of the number of buildings on the Defence Estate that have been constructed (a) partly and (b) wholly of Reinforced Autoclaved Aerated Concrete.
Answered by James Cartlidge - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
For now, the focus is on bringing together the information we hold about the Government estate into one place. This work is being coordinated by the Office for Government Property.
Surveys are currently being conducted on all buildings which may have been constructed using Reinforced Autoclaved Aerated Concrete (RAAC).
We take safety extremely seriously and, based on our current information, RAAC has not traditionally been used by the MOD in the construction of domestic structure, and it is therefore highly unlikely that any Service Family Accommodation is affected. The majority of Single Living Accommodation was not constructed during the review period.
Asked by: Dave Doogan (Scottish National Party - Angus)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps he plans to take to respond to the potential presence of reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete on the defence estate.
Answered by James Cartlidge - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
For now, the focus is on bringing together the information we hold about the Government estate into one place. This work is being coordinated by the Office for Government Property.
Surveys are currently being conducted on all buildings which may have been constructed using Reinforced Autoclaved Aerated Concrete (RAAC).
We take safety extremely seriously and, based on our current information, RAAC has not traditionally been used by the MOD in the construction of domestic structure, and it is therefore highly unlikely that any Service Family Accommodation is affected. The majority of Single Living Accommodation was not constructed during the review period.
Asked by: Dave Doogan (Scottish National Party - Angus)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether she plans to have discussions with the Home Secretary on the potential merits of reinstating the offshore wind worker concession.
Answered by Graham Stuart
My Rt. Hon. Friend the Secretary of State discusses a range of issues with the Home Secretary, including offshore wind.
Asked by: Dave Doogan (Scottish National Party - Angus)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether her Department is developing revised operation criteria to ensure that the System Operator moves away from selecting gas by default in the power system's balancing mechanism and develops greater use of battery storage.
Answered by Graham Stuart
Operation of the Balancing Mechanism is the responsibility of the Electricity System Operator, which has a responsibility to minimise the cost of balancing for electricity consumers.
The Government, through the Review of Electricity Market Arrangements (REMA) programme, is considering reforms needed to electricity market arrangements to drive the necessary investment and efficient operation of a secure, cost-effective, low-carbon electricity system. This includes reform options to maximise the potential for a range of flexible technologies to deploy and operate flexibly, including battery storage.
Asked by: Dave Doogan (Scottish National Party - Angus)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what steps her Department is taking to accelerate the use of (a) battery storage and (b) other energy storage installations to store renewable energy on the grid when it cannot accept it due to capacity constraints.
Answered by Graham Stuart
The Government is facilitating the deployment of electricity storage, including battery storage, through actions set out in the 2021 Smart Systems and Flexibility Plan.
On longer duration electricity storage, the Government has committed to developing an appropriate policy framework by 2024 to enable investment and deploy sufficient storage to balance the system. The Department is planning to consult on the framework this year.
On hydrogen storage, the Government has set out its preferred hydrogen storage business model to unlock private sector investment and remove barriers. The Government has secured amendments to the Energy Bill to introduce the primary powers to deliver this business model by 2025.