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Written Question
Demonstrations: Road Traffic
Wednesday 12th July 2023

Asked by: Craig Mackinlay (Conservative - South Thanet)

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether he has made an estimate of (a) driver hours lost to traffic delays and (b) carbon dioxide emissions caused by Just Stop Oil protests since February 2022.

Answered by Richard Holden - Minister without Portfolio (Cabinet Office)

National Highways the Government’s Arm’s Length body that manages the Strategic Road Network has estimated the driver’s hours lost due to protestors as 126,894 hours.

The data for carbon dioxide emissions is currently not available due to complexity in gathering such data.

Illegal protests on our roads put the lives of drivers and road workers at risk, as well as pointlessly interfering with the lives of ordinary people. We will continue to pursue every option available to deter them.


Written Question
Boilers: Sales
Monday 19th June 2023

Asked by: Craig Mackinlay (Conservative - South Thanet)

Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether his Department plans to ban the sale of new boilers fuelled by (a) non-mains gas, (b) oil and (c) biomass.

Answered by Graham Stuart - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)

The Government consulted on proposals to end the installation of heating systems using high carbon fossil fuels in homes, businesses and public buildings off the gas grid during the 2020s. The Government will publish its response to the consultations in due course.

The proposals referred to phasing out installation of coal, heating oil and non-mains gas heating systems, but not to biomass. The Government has no current plans to end the sale of new biomass boilers.


Written Question
UK Emissions Trading Scheme
Monday 15th May 2023

Asked by: Craig Mackinlay (Conservative - South Thanet)

Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, when he expects the Emissions Trading Scheme Authority to publish the full Government response to the consultation on Developing the UK ETS.

Answered by Graham Stuart - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)

The Government has not yet announced a publication date for the UK ETS Government Response.

The Government made a wide range of proposals in the consultation and will ensure the Government Response reflects on the evidence and implications from the consultation and offers sensible final proposals and next steps.


Written Question
Carbon Emissions: Taxation
Tuesday 9th May 2023

Asked by: Craig Mackinlay (Conservative - South Thanet)

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether he has made a comparative assessment of the competitiveness of the UK's carbon taxation regime.

Answered by Gareth Davies - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)

The UK Emissions Trading Scheme is our main carbon pricing scheme and promotes cost-effective decarbonisation by allowing businesses to cut carbon where it is cheapest to do so.

The Government remains committed to supporting the competitiveness of UK sectors.

This is why we protect ETS participants by allocating free allowances, with installations vulnerable to carbon leakage receiving up to 100% of their emissions allowances for free based on sector benchmarks.


Written Question
Energy: Taxation
Friday 3rd March 2023

Asked by: Craig Mackinlay (Conservative - South Thanet)

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will take steps to convene a roundtable for independent oil companies operating in the North Sea on the potential impact of the Energy Profits Levy on investment in the UK.

Answered by James Cartlidge - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)

The Energy Profits Levy (EPL) was introduced in May 2022 in response to sharp increases in oil and gas prices over the past year. At the Autumn Statement 2022, the Chancellor announced that the rate of the levy would rise by ten percentage points to 35% from 1 January 2023 and will last until 31 March 2028.

The government has been clear it wants to see the oil and gas sector reinvest its profits to support the economy, jobs and the UK’s energy security. That is why the levy includes a new investment allowance, ensuring that for every £1 an oil and gas company spends, they can claim around 91p in tax relief for most types of investment expenditure.

For every £100 an oil and gas company invests to decarbonise upstream oil and gas production, they will be able to deduct £109.25 when calculating their levy profits. This provides an immediate and significant fiscal incentive to reinvest profits in the UK.

The government published a Tax Information and Impact Note (TIIN) on the Energy Profits Levy changes announced at the Autumn Statement. This is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/changes-to-the-energy-oil-and-gas-profits-levy/energy-oil-and-gas-profits-levy. The TIIN sets out that the levy is not expected to have a significant macroeconomic impact on the level of business investment.

In December 2022, the Chancellor attended a roundtable with representatives from the oil and gas sector. The government has regular engagement with a range of stakeholders, including independent oil and gas companies operating in the North Sea, and I have also met with representatives of North Sea Oil and Gas.


Written Question
Energy: Taxation
Friday 24th February 2023

Asked by: Craig Mackinlay (Conservative - South Thanet)

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether his Department has made an assessment of the impact of the Energy Profits Levy on investment in the North Sea, including by independent operators.

Answered by James Cartlidge - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)

The Energy Profits Levy (EPL) was introduced in May 2022 in response to sharp increases in oil and gas prices over the past year. At the Autumn Statement 2022, the Chancellor announced that the rate of the levy would rise by ten percentage points to 35% from 1 January 2023 and will last until 31 March 2028.

The government has been clear it wants to see the oil and gas sector reinvest its profits to support the economy, jobs and the UK’s energy security. That is why the levy includes a new investment allowance, ensuring that for every £1 an oil and gas company spends, they can claim around 91p in tax relief for most types of investment expenditure.

For every £100 an oil and gas company invests to decarbonise upstream oil and gas production, they will be able to deduct £109.25 when calculating their levy profits. This provides an immediate and significant fiscal incentive to reinvest profits in the UK.

The government published a Tax Information and Impact Note (TIIN) on the Energy Profits Levy changes announced at the Autumn Statement. This is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/changes-to-the-energy-oil-and-gas-profits-levy/energy-oil-and-gas-profits-levy. The TIIN sets out that the levy is not expected to have a significant macroeconomic impact on the level of business investment.

In December 2022, the Chancellor attended a roundtable with representatives from the oil and gas sector. The government has regular engagement with a range of stakeholders, including independent oil and gas companies operating in the North Sea, and I have also met with representatives of North Sea Oil and Gas.


Written Question
Energy: Taxation
Friday 24th February 2023

Asked by: Craig Mackinlay (Conservative - South Thanet)

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether his Department has made a recent assessment of the potential impact of the Energy Profits Levy on independent North Sea oil and gas companies.

Answered by James Cartlidge - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)

The Energy Profits Levy (EPL) was introduced in May 2022 in response to sharp increases in oil and gas prices over the past year. At the Autumn Statement 2022, the Chancellor announced that the rate of the levy would rise by ten percentage points to 35% from 1 January 2023 and will last until 31 March 2028.

The government has been clear it wants to see the oil and gas sector reinvest its profits to support the economy, jobs and the UK’s energy security. That is why the levy includes a new investment allowance, ensuring that for every £1 an oil and gas company spends, they can claim around 91p in tax relief for most types of investment expenditure.

For every £100 an oil and gas company invests to decarbonise upstream oil and gas production, they will be able to deduct £109.25 when calculating their levy profits. This provides an immediate and significant fiscal incentive to reinvest profits in the UK.

The government published a Tax Information and Impact Note (TIIN) on the Energy Profits Levy changes announced at the Autumn Statement. This is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/changes-to-the-energy-oil-and-gas-profits-levy/energy-oil-and-gas-profits-levy. The TIIN sets out that the levy is not expected to have a significant macroeconomic impact on the level of business investment.

In December 2022, the Chancellor attended a roundtable with representatives from the oil and gas sector. The government has regular engagement with a range of stakeholders, including independent oil and gas companies operating in the North Sea, and I have also met with representatives of North Sea Oil and Gas.


Written Question
Wind Power: Costs
Thursday 22nd December 2022

Asked by: Craig Mackinlay (Conservative - South Thanet)

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 Department’s published estimates of levelized cost of electricity generation, which formulae are used to model (a) the decline of an individual windfarm's output and (b) the change in an individual windfarm's annual operating costs over its operational lifetime.

Answered by Graham Stuart - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)

Currently the Government does not model degradation of wind turbine output nor changes in operating costs with time, but instead uses lifetime average values to calculate mean levelised cost of electricity.[1]

[1]https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/energy-generation-cost-projections


Written Question
Fracking
Tuesday 26th July 2022

Asked by: Craig Mackinlay (Conservative - South Thanet)

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 review of the scientific evidence on shale gas extraction submitted to his Department by the British Geological Survey on 5 July 2022, when he plans to announce his Department's future shale gas policy.

Answered by Greg Hands - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)

I refer my hon. Friend to the answer I gave the hon. Member for Hornsey and Wood Green on 6 July 2022 to Question 28901.


Written Question
Fracking
Monday 30th May 2022

Asked by: Craig Mackinlay (Conservative - South Thanet)

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 British Geological Survey's short report on shale gas fracturing and the modelling of seismic activity in shale rocks in the UK, as commissioned in his letter dated 5 April 2022, if he will publish the criteria for revising the seismicity limits that apply to shale gas extraction.

Answered by Greg Hands - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)

In 2019, the Government confirmed that the pause on the exploration of shale gas reserves in England would remain in place unless and until further evidence was provided that shale gas extraction could be carried out safely. Any exploration or development of shale gas would need to meet rigorous safety and environmental protections both above ground and sub-surface.

The Government has commissioned the British Geological Survey to advise on the latest scientific evidence around shale gas extraction. Unless the latest scientific evidence demonstrates that shale gas extraction is safe, sustainable and of minimal disturbance to those living and working nearby, the pause in England will remain in place.