Asked by: Caroline Lucas (Green Party - Brighton, Pavilion)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, if he will make it his policy to withdraw the UK from the Energy Charter Treaty.
Answered by Graham Stuart
Contracting Parties to the ECT will decide whether to adopt the modernised Energy Charter Treaty at the Energy Charter Conference on 22 November, with decisions regarding Treaty ratification thereafter. The Government is closely monitoring all developments in the Energy Charter Treaty and taking these into account in its own interaction with the modernisation process.
Asked by: Caroline Lucas (Green Party - Brighton, Pavilion)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, pursuant to the answer of 28 September to Question 51588 on Coal: Mining, what estimate he has made of how much coal is needed (a) up to and (b) after 2024 for (i) heritage railways and (ii) cement; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Graham Stuart
The Department has not produced estimates of future coal use by industry. There are statistics on supply and demand for coal and manufactured solid fuels published in the Digest of UK Energy Statistics here: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/solid-fuels-and-derived-gases-chapter-2-digest-of-united-kingdom-energy-statistics-dukes.
The Hon. Member may also be interested in the House of Lords debate on the heritage steam sector from May this year: https://hansard.parliament.uk/lords/2022-05-18/debates/A688680D-19C8-4893-8FE3-2AB9D452F511/HeritageSteamSectorCoal.
Asked by: Caroline Lucas (Green Party - Brighton, Pavilion)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, with reference to the new licencing round for 898 blocks in the North Sea, if he will publish a list of the pollutants which could be released into the marine environment from oil and gas exploration, drilling, and transportation; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Graham Stuart
The Government has undertaken an Offshore Energy Strategic Environmental Assessment (OESEA4) of a draft plan for licensing and leasing areas for future offshore energy developments including offshore oil and gas, offshore gas and carbon dioxide storage, offshore renewables, and offshore hydrogen, in relevant waters of the UK Continental Shelf.
Public consultation on the OESEA4 Environmental Report took place between 17 March and 27 May 2022. The Government response to the OESEA4 was published in September 2022: https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/uk-offshore-energy-strategic-environmental-assessment-4-oesea4.
A Written Ministerial Statement adopting the plan was made in September 2022: https://questions-statements.parliament.uk/written-statements/detail/2022-09-22/hcws295.
In advance of any licence award, as part of the 33rd Offshore Oil and gas Licensing Round, a further Habitats Regulations Assessment will be undertaken.
Asked by: Caroline Lucas (Green Party - Brighton, Pavilion)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of the new oil and gas licensing round for 898 blocks and part blocks in the North Sea on the likelihood of achieving Good Environmental Status for the Underwater Noise descriptor; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Graham Stuart
The Government has undertaken an Offshore Energy Strategic Environmental Assessment (OESEA4) of a draft plan for licensing and leasing areas for future offshore energy developments including offshore oil and gas, offshore gas and carbon dioxide storage, offshore renewables, and offshore hydrogen, in relevant waters of the UK Continental Shelf.
Public consultation on the OESEA4 Environmental Report took place between 17 March and 27 May 2022. The Government response to the OESEA4 was published in September 2022: https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/uk-offshore-energy-strategic-environmental-assessment-4-oesea4.
A Written Ministerial Statement adopting the plan was made in September 2022: https://questions-statements.parliament.uk/written-statements/detail/2022-09-22/hcws295.
In advance of any licence award, as part of the 33rd Offshore Oil and gas Licensing Round, a further Habitats Regulations Assessment will be undertaken.
Asked by: Caroline Lucas (Green Party - Brighton, Pavilion)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, with reference to the new licencing round for 898 blocks in the North Sea, what assessment he has made of the potential impact on whales and dolphins of new seismic surveys for oil and gas exploration; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Graham Stuart
The Government has undertaken an Offshore Energy Strategic Environmental Assessment (OESEA4) of a draft plan for licensing and leasing areas for future offshore energy developments including offshore oil and gas, offshore gas and carbon dioxide storage, offshore renewables, and offshore hydrogen, in relevant waters of the UK Continental Shelf.
Public consultation on the OESEA4 Environmental Report took place between 17 March and 27 May 2022. The Government response to the OESEA4 was published in September 2022: https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/uk-offshore-energy-strategic-environmental-assessment-4-oesea4.
A Written Ministerial Statement adopting the plan was made in September 2022: https://questions-statements.parliament.uk/written-statements/detail/2022-09-22/hcws295.
In advance of any licence award, as part of the 33rd Offshore Oil and gas Licensing Round, a further Habitats Regulations Assessment will be undertaken.
Asked by: Caroline Lucas (Green Party - Brighton, Pavilion)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, when the three-yearly statutory review of the Groceries Code Adjudicator will be completed; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Kevin Hollinrake - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Government is currently undertaking the third statutory review of the effectiveness of the Groceries Code Adjudicator in enforcing the Groceries Supply Code of Practice and is considering the results of the public consultation that ended on 11 October. A report on the findings of the statutory review will be published and laid before Parliament in due course.
Asked by: Caroline Lucas (Green Party - Brighton, Pavilion)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of the proposed reduction of 10,000 full-time equivalent staff at Royal Mail on their commitment to a universal six-day-a-week postal service; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Dean Russell
The Government’s objective continues to be ensuring the provision of a financially sustainable, accessible and affordable universal postal service. The Government has no current plans to change the statutory minimum requirements of the universal postal service which are set out in the Postal Services Act 2011.
Under the Postal Services Act 2011 Ofcom regulates the provision of the UK’s universal postal service, ensuring it meets the needs of users, while also considering Royal Mail’s financial sustainability and efficiency. Ofcom will publish its annual monitoring update on the postal market later this year. This report will cover market developments, consumers’ experiences of postal services, and Royal Mail’s performance in delivering the universal postal service. Ofcom will continue to monitor Royal Mail’s ability to deliver its statutory commitments.
Asked by: Caroline Lucas (Green Party - Brighton, Pavilion)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, with reference to his oral contribution in response to the Urgent Question of 22 September 2022 on Shale Gas Extraction, Official Report, column 806, what the evidential basis is for his statement that some of the opposition to fracking has been funded by Mr Putin’s regime.
Answered by Graham Stuart
In response to the Urgent Question, my Rt. Hon. Friend the Secretary of State said, “I am well aware that there have been objections to fracking, but I would also note that there have been stories, widely reported, that some of the opposition to fracking has been funded by Mr Putin’s regime.”
Various claims have been made regarding attempts by malicious actors to mispresent the operations and impact of shale gas, which have been widely reported.
Asked by: Caroline Lucas (Green Party - Brighton, Pavilion)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what estimate he has made of the number of private renter households who are eligible for retrofit grants under (a) Green Homes Grant Local Authority Delivery scheme, Phase 2 and (b) the ECO4 scheme, as of 22 September 2022.
Answered by Graham Stuart
a) Green Homes Grant Local Authority Delivery scheme, Phase 2:
According to the 2020 English Housing Survey (EHS), there were 4.47 million privately rented households in 2020. 35% (1.57 million) would have been eligible for LAD Phase 2, as they had an EPC rating of D or below and an income below £30,000.
(b) The ECO4 scheme:
ECO has been in place since January 2013 and has delivered around 3.5 million measures in 2.4 million homes. The ECO4 final stage Impact Assessment estimates around 430,000 private rented sector homes would be eligible for ECO4.
Asked by: Caroline Lucas (Green Party - Brighton, Pavilion)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps he is taking to reduce the extraction of fossil fuels; what assessment he has made of the role that a global registry of fossil fuels could play in enabling (a) policy-makers, (b) investors and (c) others to make informed decisions to align UK fossil fuel production levels with those required to keep global temperature increases below 1.5°C; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Graham Stuart
Transparency has an essential role to play in supporting competition and sustainability in global energy markets. The Government welcomed what the Global Registry may be able to add to existing sources of information and will consider how to contribute to this initiative.
The UK is committed to its Net Zero target by 2050, to phase out unabated coal generation by 2024 and has introduced a Climate Compatibility Checkpoint for new oil and gas licensing rounds. Investment in North Sea production allows for continued reduction in production related emissions, contributes to an orderly management of declining output and replaces higher emission imports such as LNG.