Asked by: Graham Leadbitter (Scottish National Party - Moray West, Nairn and Strathspey)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment her department has made of the potential merits of implementing proportional representation for elections.
Answered by Florence Eshalomi - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
No such assessment has been made. The Government has announced the establishment of a National Commission on Electoral Reform and will set out more details about how it will carry out its work in due course.
Asked by: Graham Leadbitter (Scottish National Party - Moray West, Nairn and Strathspey)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what discussions she has had with Scottish Ministers regarding additional emissions-reduction measures that may be required under the ZEV mandate review options, including their estimated costs.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Secretary of State has regular discussions with her counterparts in the Scottish Government on a range of matters relevant to her portfolio. The Zero Emission Vehicle Mandate is devolved policy, so we are working closely with the devolved governments throughout the review process, and the review consultation was undertaken jointly by the UK government and devolved governments. The consultation closed on 23 October and responses, including evidence on the impacts of different options, are now being assessed.
Asked by: Graham Leadbitter (Scottish National Party - Moray West, Nairn and Strathspey)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether renewables projects in England are eligible for funding from the Energy Wealth Fund.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (Cabinet Office) (Jointly with HM Treasury)
Established within the National Wealth Fund (NWF), the Energy Wealth Fund (EWF) will invest in renewable and low carbon energy infrastructure across the UK, helping unlock growth and supporting projects that will drive the country’s transition to a low-carbon economy. To support this, £2bn for the EWF will be provided to the NWF. Further details will be set out in due course.
Asked by: Graham Leadbitter (Scottish National Party - Moray West, Nairn and Strathspey)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether nuclear energy projects are eligible for funding from the Energy Wealth Fund.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (Cabinet Office) (Jointly with HM Treasury)
Established within the National Wealth Fund (NWF), the Energy Wealth Fund (EWF) will invest in renewable and low carbon energy infrastructure across the UK, helping unlock growth and supporting projects that will drive the country’s transition to a low-carbon economy. To support this, £2bn for the EWF will be provided to the NWF. Further details will be set out in due course.
Asked by: Graham Leadbitter (Scottish National Party - Moray West, Nairn and Strathspey)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate has been made of the value of the Energy Wealth Fund over the next i) year ii) 5 years and iii) 10 years.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (Cabinet Office) (Jointly with HM Treasury)
The Energy Wealth Fund (EWF) will be linked to the Government's future revenues from North Sea projects, ensuring investment in the energy transition. To support this, an additional £2 billion downpayment for the EWF will be provided to the National Wealth Fund. The government will keep new revenues from the North Sea under review and determine at future Budgets what level of top-ups can be made to the EWF as a result.
Asked by: Graham Leadbitter (Scottish National Party - Moray West, Nairn and Strathspey)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether the Energy Wealth Fund will be used to fund nuclear energy projects.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (Cabinet Office) (Jointly with HM Treasury)
Established within the National Wealth Fund (NWF), the Energy Wealth Fund (EWF) will invest in renewable and low carbon energy infrastructure across the UK, helping unlock growth and supporting projects that will drive the country’s transition to a low-carbon economy. To support this, £2bn for the EWF will be provided to the NWF. Further details will be set out in due course.
Asked by: Graham Leadbitter (Scottish National Party - Moray West, Nairn and Strathspey)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what consideration he has given to ensuring that all further income from oil and gas resources that goes to the UK Treasury is placed in a Future Generations Fund.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (Cabinet Office) (Jointly with HM Treasury)
The Energy Wealth Fund (EWF) will be linked to the Government's future revenues from North Sea projects, ensuring investment in the energy transition. To support this, an additional £2 billion downpayment for the EWF will be provided to the National Wealth Fund. The government will keep new revenues from the North Sea under review and determine at future Budgets what level of top-ups can be made to the EWF as a result.
Asked by: Graham Leadbitter (Scottish National Party - Moray West, Nairn and Strathspey)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to the press release entitled Jackdaw gas field gets green light, published on 21 October 2026, what proportion of estimated revenues within Scotland’s geographical share of the North Sea are represented within the £1 trillion figure.
Answered by James Murray - Financial Secretary to the Treasury and Paymaster General
The estimate referenced in the press release used total UK North Sea tax receipts since 1980–81, drawn from published HMRC statistics. The approximately £1 trillion figure represents the estimated value of a hypothetical fund had those receipts been invested, assuming a constant compound growth rate and no withdrawals.
Asked by: Graham Leadbitter (Scottish National Party - Moray West, Nairn and Strathspey)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to the press release entitled Jackdaw gas field gets green light, published on 21 October 2026, which geographical share of the North Sea the revenues referenced were calculated from.
Answered by James Murray - Financial Secretary to the Treasury and Paymaster General
The estimate referenced in the press release used total UK North Sea tax receipts since 1980–81, drawn from published HMRC statistics. The approximately £1 trillion figure represents the estimated value of a hypothetical fund had those receipts been invested, assuming a constant compound growth rate and no withdrawals.
Asked by: Graham Leadbitter (Scottish National Party - Moray West, Nairn and Strathspey)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of the ZEV mandate review options on private investment in public charging in Scotland, including rural and island communities.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Zero Emission Vehicle (ZEV) Mandate Review consultation, which sought views from the public and stakeholders to consider the ZEV Mandate, ended on 23 October. We are reviewing the responses and aim to publish a shared response to the consultation by the end of 2026, with a view to any changes taking effect from the 2027 compliance year. No policy decisions have been made yet. The consultation provided crucial clarity to the charging sector by reinstating the 2030 phase-out date for new cars relaying solely on internal combustion engines and committing to 100% of new cars and vans being zero emission from 2035. We welcome the billions of pounds of investment the charging sector has already committed to the zero emission transition right across the UK.