Asked by: Ian Mearns (Labour - Gateshead)
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 an assessment of the effect of pre-construction agreements between offshore wind farm owners and contractors on employment (a) conditions, (b) practices and (c) levels.
Answered by Kelly Tolhurst
Terms and conditions of employment are for negotiation and agreement between employers and employees (or their representatives). Once agreed they form a legally binding contract of employment. While it is always open to either party to seek to renegotiate the terms of the contract, if the employer changes any of the terms without the employee’s agreement, the employee may be entitled to seek legal redress.
Importantly, workers on offshore windfarms are entitled to the same protections as UK workers, including National Minimum Wage for all their work on the installation, construction and maintenance of the windfarms regardless of nationality or where they ordinarily work.
Asked by: Ian Mearns (Labour - Gateshead)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what recent estimate he has made of the number of jobs that will be created for UK-resident (a) seafarers and (b) divers at the (i) transportation, (ii) installation, (iii) construction and (iv) maintenance phases of the Inch Cape Offshore Wind Farm; and what recent assurances he has sought from Red Rock Power regarding the contractors engaged to carry out each phase of work.
Answered by Claire Perry
No estimates have been made by the Government on the number of jobs that will be created by the Inch Cape Offshore Wind Farm.
Red Rock has publicly stated the Inch Cape project could create up to 1,900 jobs in the UK during construction. http://www.inchcapewind.com/news/Inch_Cape_Offshore_Wind_Development_announces_supply_chain_commitments
The project will also create long-term local jobs during the operations and maintenance of the windfarm.
The Department meets regularly with all offshore wind developers to understand their plans for delivering projects in the UK.
Asked by: Ian Mearns (Labour - Gateshead)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how regularly he meets with the Oil and Gas Authority; and when he last discussed with that authority regulatory issues affecting supply chain contractors from the shipping industry.
Answered by Claire Perry
My rt. hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy and I meet regularly with the Oil and Gas Authority (OGA). These meetings include discussions about the oil and gas industry and more broadly, the challenges facing the supply chain. However, the OGA does not have regulatory responsibility for the shipping industry or its supply chains.
Asked by: Ian Mearns (Labour - Gateshead)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how many contracts for offshore worker accommodation on (a) semi-submersible platforms and (b) barges were issued by oil and gas companies in the UK Continental Shelf in each year since 2013.
Answered by Claire Perry
The Department does not hold the requested information.
Asked by: Ian Mearns (Labour - Gateshead)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what standard tests of appropriate commercial behaviour the Oil and Gas Authority applies to the (a) upstream, (b) midstream and (c) downstream supply chain of the offshore oil and gas industry.
Answered by Claire Perry
The Oil and Gas Authority (OGA) regulates the upstream oil and gas industry. As part of its decision making process to approve new projects (Field Development Plans) the OGA requires oil and gas companies to complete a satisfactory Supply Chain Action Plan (SCAP) which details how the project will be delivered in partnership with the supply chain. SCAPs focus on quality, trust, innovation and engagement, and the SCAP review and marking process aims to encourage the operator and supply chain company to work more closely together to increase efficiency and introduce innovation.
In addition, the OGA works closely with the industry via the Maximising Economic Recovery UK Forum on culture change to improve the commercial behaviours across the sector.
Asked by: Ian Mearns (Labour - Gateshead)
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 prevent blacklisting of UK seafarers working in the North Sea oil and gas supply chain.
Answered by Kelly Tolhurst
Blacklisting is completely unacceptable and has no place in modern employment relations. The Employment Relations Act 1999 (Blacklists) Regulations 2010 made it unlawful for an individual or organisation to compile, sell or make use of a blacklist of trade union members or those who have taken part in trade union activities.
Any individual or trade union who believes they have been the victim of blacklisting can enforce their rights under the regulations through an employment tribunal or the county court.
The 2010 blacklisting regulations are reinforced by powers in the Data Protection Act 2018, protecting use of personal data, including information on trade union membership and sensitive personal data. The Information Commissioner’s Office regulates use of personal data and investigates breaches of the Data Protection Act 2018. It has the power to take enforcement action, including searching premises, issuing enforcement notices and imposing fines for serious breaches.
The Information Commissioner will shortly open a call for evidence on the implications of modern employment practices in recruitment and selection, and the obligations of employers. If blacklisting is occurring, it should bring it to light. There’s no need to wait for that enquiry to begin however, anyone with evidence should present it to the Information Commissioner’s Office now.
Asked by: Ian Mearns (Labour - Gateshead)
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 effect of the 21st Century Exploration Roadmap Palaeozoic Project on the exploitation of viable oil and gas deposits under the UK Continental Shelf; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Claire Perry
The information which has emerged from the 21st Century Exploration Roadmap Palaeozoic Project has helped incentivise further interest in UK offshore areas and complemented existing knowledge and understanding by making additional geological data available to the industry .
21st Century Roadmap projects, of which the Palaeozoic Project is one, have contributed data and interpretations that have been used by the industry to inform licence applications in the Oil and Gas Authority’s 29th Frontier Licence round. It is expected that the findings from these projects will again prove impactful in the recently launched 31st Frontier Licence round.
Asked by: Ian Mearns (Labour - Gateshead)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what his Department's latest estimate is of the remaining recoverable oil and gas deposits under the (a) North, (b) Central and (c) Southern North Sea.
Answered by Claire Perry
The Government created the Oil and Gas Authority (OGA) to regulate, influence and promote the UK oil and gas industry in order to maximise the economic recovery of the UK’s oil and gas resources.
The OGA’s “UK Oil and Gas: Reserves and Resources” report estimates that overall remaining recoverable hydrocarbon resources ranged between 10 and 20 billion barrels of oil equivalent (boe) as at the end of 2016. The report may be found at:
https://www.ogauthority.co.uk/data-centre/data-downloads-and-publications/reserves-and-resources/.
Asked by: Ian Mearns (Labour - Gateshead)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what recent assessment he has made of the level of (a) exploration and (b) drilling activity in the North Sea since January 2017.
Answered by Claire Perry
The Government created the Oil and Gas Authority (OGA) to regulate, influence and promote the UK oil and gas industry in order to maximise the economic recovery of the UK’s oil and gas resources.
The OGA publishes data on levels of exploration and other drilling in the UK North Sea. These can be found online at: https://www.ogauthority.co.uk/data-centre/data-downloads-and-publications/well-data/