Asked by: Kirsty Blackman (Scottish National Party - Aberdeen North)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, when he plans to respond to the consultation on Building the North Sea’s Energy Future, which closed on 30 April 2025.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
DESNZ is currently analysing the responses received. We will publish a government response setting out our next steps in due course.
Asked by: Kirsty Blackman (Scottish National Party - Aberdeen North)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what his planned timeline is for establishing the UK Energy Campus in Aberdeen; and over what period departmental roles will be transferred or created there.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Aberdeen was announced as one of DESNZ’s second headquarters in December 2023.
This commitment to the location underlines the importance of Aberdeen in our Net Zero planning.
As of May 2025, there were 100 staff members based in Aberdeen, comprising a wide variety of roles within the department. The ambition is to increase this number and for DESNZ to continue to grow in Aberdeen, with the creation of Great British Energy and the possibility of other Scotland-based Arm's Length Bodies also becoming part of the Energy Campus.
The establishment of a new Energy Campus in Aberdeen is part of the UK Government’s Plan for Change, aimed at fostering collaboration. By relocating skilled roles to the same town or city, government campuses bring together civil servants with diverse skills and expertise through a shared policy or delivery focus. This approach aims to address issues and improve services for working people across the country.
The Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster has indicated that further details on the Energy Campus will be set out in due course following the completion of the current Spending Review process.
Asked by: Kirsty Blackman (Scottish National Party - Aberdeen North)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, how many of his Department's jobs are based in Aberdeen; and how many additional Department roles will be based there once the UK has established its Energy Campus.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Aberdeen was announced as one of DESNZ’s second headquarters in December 2023.
This commitment to the location underlines the importance of Aberdeen in our Net Zero planning.
As of May 2025, there were 100 staff members based in Aberdeen, comprising a wide variety of roles within the department. The ambition is to increase this number and for DESNZ to continue to grow in Aberdeen, with the creation of Great British Energy and the possibility of other Scotland-based Arm's Length Bodies also becoming part of the Energy Campus.
The establishment of a new Energy Campus in Aberdeen is part of the UK Government’s Plan for Change, aimed at fostering collaboration. By relocating skilled roles to the same town or city, government campuses bring together civil servants with diverse skills and expertise through a shared policy or delivery focus. This approach aims to address issues and improve services for working people across the country.
The Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster has indicated that further details on the Energy Campus will be set out in due course following the completion of the current Spending Review process.
Asked by: Kirsty Blackman (Scottish National Party - Aberdeen North)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, which departmental roles are based in Aberdeen; and what kinds of additional roles he expects to be located there following the establishment of the UK Energy Campus.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Aberdeen was announced as one of DESNZ’s second headquarters in December 2023.
This commitment to the location underlines the importance of Aberdeen in our Net Zero planning.
As of May 2025, there were 100 staff members based in Aberdeen, comprising a wide variety of roles within the department. The ambition is to increase this number and for DESNZ to continue to grow in Aberdeen, with the creation of Great British Energy and the possibility of other Scotland-based Arm's Length Bodies also becoming part of the Energy Campus.
The establishment of a new Energy Campus in Aberdeen is part of the UK Government’s Plan for Change, aimed at fostering collaboration. By relocating skilled roles to the same town or city, government campuses bring together civil servants with diverse skills and expertise through a shared policy or delivery focus. This approach aims to address issues and improve services for working people across the country.
The Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster has indicated that further details on the Energy Campus will be set out in due course following the completion of the current Spending Review process.
Asked by: Kirsty Blackman (Scottish National Party - Aberdeen North)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, how many (a) press, (b) media and (c) other communications posts there are in his Department; and what the salary band is for each post.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
In the central Communications team of the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero, there are a total of 86 Full Time Equivalent Government Communications Service posts.
Of this 24 work in media relations.
This is the latest available data from March 2025.
Asked by: Kirsty Blackman (Scottish National Party - Aberdeen North)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what steps he is taking to ensure that Carbon Capture, Utilisation, and Storage is deployed in Scotland.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
We are committed to supporting UK industry to decarbonise, enabling the country to take advantage of new opportunities that can promote growth and wealth creation, and protecting thousands of jobs in regions and industries across the UK. The Scottish Cluster Acorn has received £40 million in development funding in recent years, and officials continue to engage with the cluster to understand their plans. Following the announcement in October 2024 of funding for the initial Track 1 cluster configurations, further decisions for continued CCUS deployment, including for Track 2 clusters, will be taken in due course.
Asked by: Kirsty Blackman (Scottish National Party - Aberdeen North)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, when Scottish industries will be able to decarbonise operations using the Scottish Cluster.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
We are committed to supporting UK industry to decarbonise, enabling the country to take advantage of new opportunities that can promote growth and wealth creation, and protecting thousands of jobs in regions and industries across the UK. The Scottish Cluster Acorn has received £40 million in development funding in recent years, and officials continue to engage with the cluster to understand their plans. Following the announcement in October 2024 of funding for the initial Track 1 cluster configurations, further decisions for continued CCUS deployment, including for Track 2 clusters, will be taken in due course.
Asked by: Kirsty Blackman (Scottish National Party - Aberdeen North)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what steps he is taking to help prevent North Sea oil and gas workers leaving the UK.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Government’s priority is a fair, orderly and prosperous transition in the North Sea in line with our climate and legal obligations, which drives towards our clean energy future of energy security, lower bills, and good, long-term jobs, with no community left behind.
The Office for Clean Energy Jobs is supporting the delivery of an industry-led Energy Skills Passport as part of this transition. It is an important step to help workers transition from carbon-intensive industries to new clean energy sectors as part of the Government's Clean Power 2030 mission.
Great British Energy will be headquartered in Aberdeen, Scotland, recognising the expertise, skilled workforce, and diversity of projects already in place.
Asked by: Kirsty Blackman (Scottish National Party - Aberdeen North)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what steps he is taking to ensure that Aberdeen’s skilled North Sea oil and gas workforce is supported to transition into jobs in (a) carbon capture and storage and (b) hydrogen in the Scottish Cluster.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Office for Clean Energy Jobs is supporting the delivery of an industry-led Energy Skills Passport as part of a fair, orderly and prosperous transition. This is an important step to help workers transition from carbon-intensive industries to new clean energy sectors as part of the Government's clean energy mission 2030.
The government is working with the Scottish government, Renewable UK and Offshore Energies UK, to identify how to expand the passport in the future, offering strategic direction based on policy ambition such as the Clean Power 2030 target, which could include incorporating clean energy sectors like CCUS and hydrogen.
Great British Energy will be headquartered in Aberdeen, Scotland, recognising the expertise, skilled workforce, and diversity of projects already in place.
Asked by: Kirsty Blackman (Scottish National Party - Aberdeen North)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what steps her Department is taking to support effective collaboration between (a) employers and (b) education providers to help ensure an adequate pipeline of skilled (i) electrical maintenance, (ii) pipefitting and (iii) other workers in the oil and gas sector.
Answered by Graham Stuart
Government and industry are working collaboratively to train the existing workforce in England through programmes including Skills Bootcamps, Higher Technical Qualifications and apprenticeships. Government is working with trade associations like the Offshore Petroleum Industry Training Organization and the Engineering Construction Industry Training Board to encourage career pathways across the energy sector, including in offshore oil and gas.
The Government is developing a Green Jobs Plan for publication in the first half of 2024, which will provide the actions needed to ensure we have the skills within the UK workforce to deliver on the Government’s targets.