Asked by: John Spellar (Labour - Warley)
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 20 September 2022 to Question 45708 on Commodity Markets: Fossil Fuels, what assessment his Department has made of the impact of financial speculation on the underlying price of crude oil and natural gas in global markets.
Answered by Graham Stuart
The responsibility for the integrity of trading in oil and gas derivatives falls under the remit of the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) which regulates the financial services industry in the UK, including commodity trading venues.
Asked by: John Spellar (Labour - Warley)
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 a reduction in hydro-based electricity exports from Norway on the availability and price of electricity imported via interconnectors.
Answered by Graham Stuart
The Government works closely with Ofgem, National Grid Electricity System Operator and other key industry organisations to monitor gas and electricity supply and prepare for winter.
Interconnectors are one source of a diverse range of energy supplies. The Government is monitoring the situation with Norwegian reservoirs and understands Norway is securing strategic reserves of water in its reservoirs to guarantee long-term security of energy supply.
The UK and Norway have a bilateral treaty on electricity interconnection and this puts obligations on both nations to ensure the North Sea Link interconnector is operated in a market-based, transparent and non-discriminatory manner.
Asked by: John Spellar (Labour - Warley)
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 (a) effectiveness of the Australian Domestic Gas Security Mechanism and (b) potential merits of introducing such a mechanism in the UK.
Answered by Graham Stuart
The Australian Domestic Gas Security Mechanism contains measures for a potential gas supply shortfall that are specific to Australia’s position as a Liquified Natural Gas exporter. The United Kingdom does not produce Liquified Natural Gas, therefore such measures would not be appropriate here.
Asked by: John Spellar (Labour - Warley)
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 financial speculation on the volatility of the gas and oil commodity markets.
Answered by Graham Stuart
As internationally traded commodities, oil and gas prices are primarily driven by the underlying price in the global market of crude oil and natural gas. These are also influenced by exchange rates and a range of other supply and demand factors, including stock levels, logistics and distribution costs and seasonal demand variations. The reopening of the global economy following the pandemic and Russia’s illegal invasion of Ukraine have also contributed to increased pressure on oil and gas markets.
Asked by: John Spellar (Labour - Warley)
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 appropriate level of spare electrical generating capacity to ensure continuity of supply over the winter.
Answered by Greg Hands - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Government has already procured the capacity needed to allow the Electricity System Operator (ESO) to meet peak demand in a range of scenarios this winter. This included procuring the maximum capacity possible (almost 5GW) in the recent year-ahead Capacity Market auction.
The Government has taken further steps to reinforce our energy security by extending certain coal plants’ operations to provide additional generation if needed.
The Government works closely with the ESO to continually monitor electricity supply and demand. The ESO will publish its annual Winter Outlook in the autumn, which will provide a detailed assessment of the capacity available this winter.
Asked by: John Spellar (Labour - Warley)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how much electricity has been imported in each of the last five years; and what proportion of final demand those imports represented.
Answered by Greg Hands - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
Data on the supply and consumption of electricity is available in Energy Trends table 5.2, with more detailed information on imports, exports and transfers available in table 5.6: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/electricity-section-5-energy-trends.
Asked by: John Spellar (Labour - Warley)
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 people currently employed in manufacturing supply chains for (a) internal combustion engines and (b) zero-emission vehicle technologies in the UK; and what steps he is taking to help transition those people in internal combustion supply chains to zero-emission manufacturing roles.
Answered by Lee Rowley - Minister of State (Minister for Housing)
In 2021, the automotive manufacturing sector accounted for 155,000 direct jobs and estimated to support an additional 346,000 indirect jobs elsewhere in the economy. ONS Employee Jobs data does not separately report employment by propulsion-type of car manufactured.
The Government continues to support the automotive workforce reskilling for electrification as part of the up to £1bn commitment to build EV supply chains.
The Government will continue to support the collaboration between universities and the automotive industry to deliver cutting edge R&D research. The Automotive Transformation Fund (ATF) supports R&D and capital investments across strategically important parts of the electric vehicle supply chain.
Asked by: John Spellar (Labour - Warley)
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 encourage investment into the manufacturing of hydrogen internal combustion engines in the UK.
Answered by Lee Rowley - Minister of State (Minister for Housing)
It is likely that there will be a range of zero emission technologies adopted in the future. The UK is well-placed to be a leader in hydrogen and electric powered transportation.
The Advanced Propulsion Centre (APC) is directed at late-stage R&D to develop important technologies in the transition to zero-emission transport. Hydrogen, including as a fuel for ICE applications, is an important contributor to reducing CO2 and other harmful emissions and is within the scope the APC. Information about open funding competitions can be found at: https://apply-for-innovation-funding.service.gov.uk/competition/search.
Asked by: John Spellar (Labour - Warley)
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 impact of market speculation on rising food and oil and gas prices.
Answered by Greg Hands - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
Increases in international food commodity prices have been driven by a range of factors recently. The Government views the price changes to food have been caused primarily by market fundamentals rather than speculation on futures markets.
Fuel and gas prices are primarily driven by the underlying price in the global wholesale market of crude oil and natural gas. These are also influenced by exchange rates and a range of other supply and demand factors, including stock levels, logistics and distribution costs and seasonal demand variations.
Asked by: John Spellar (Labour - Warley)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether anonymous foreign owners will be required to register their identities on the UK property register as well as the Register of Overseas Entities.
Answered by Paul Scully
Created under the powers of the Economic Crime (Transparency and Enforcement) Act, the Register of Overseas Entities will require overseas companies owning or buying property in the UK to give information about those with more than 25% ownership or control of their company to Companies House.
The Register will require the name, date of birth and nationality of the beneficial owner to be submitted, as well as their usual residential address, a service address, details on the basis of on which grounds they are a beneficial owner, and if the person is part of the UK Sanctions List.
The Register will be publicly accessible online, allowing anyone scrutinising data held by the UK’s land registries to quickly seek relevant further information from the Register of Overseas Entities.