Asked by: Owen Thompson (Scottish National Party - Midlothian)
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 current (a) availability and (b) stability of diesel supplies.
Answered by Greg Hands
The UK remains well-supplied for diesel from a diverse range of sources. UK demand for diesel is met by a combination of domestic production and imports. In 2021 UK production could have met over half of our demand for diesel. Imports in the same year came from a diverse range of reliable suppliers beyond Russia including the Netherlands, Belgium and Sweden.
The Department monitors the fuel supply market to remain aware of current supply levels and publishes weekly national average forecourt stock levels. There is no shortage of diesel in the UK.
Asked by: Owen Thompson (Scottish National Party - Midlothian)
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 impact on the taxi industry of current levels of supply of diesel.
Answered by Greg Hands
The Department monitors the fuel supply market to remain aware of current supply levels, and publishes weekly national average forecourt stock levels.
Taxi drivers are able to purchase fuel from forecourts as for other drivers. There is no shortage of diesel availability at UK forecourts.
Asked by: Owen Thompson (Scottish National Party - Midlothian)
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 ensure security of supply for diesel.
Answered by Greg Hands
The Department has established an Oil Taskforce to work with the sector and support oil companies to identify additional sources of supplies of oil and oil products and manage the transition away from Russian oil products by the end of 2022.
The UK remains well-supplied for diesel from a diverse range of sources. UK demand for diesel is met by a combination of domestic production and imports. In 2021 UK production could have met over half of our demand for diesel. Imports in the same year came from a diverse range of reliable suppliers beyond Russia including the Netherlands, Belgium and Sweden.
Asked by: Owen Thompson (Scottish National Party - Midlothian)
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 introduce new protections for policy holders with companies in administration, to ensure that they are reimbursed the full amount of their policy is worth if that policy becomes invalidated through no fault of their own.
Answered by Paul Scully
Consumers who hold a policy with an insolvent company are usually classed as unsecured creditors. Other unsecured creditors might include employees and trade suppliers. Changing the order of ranking for policy holders would have a detrimental effect on these other unsecured creditors as well as having wider implications for the economy, including on the cost of borrowing for firms.
The Government continually reviews the insolvency framework and will make changes where it is necessary to do so. Insurance and other related policies, however, are often protected by other methods, including regulatory regimes which provide statutory protections for consumers.
Asked by: Owen Thompson (Scottish National Party - Midlothian)
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 merits of a four day working week.
Answered by Paul Scully
The Government does not believe there can be a ‘one size fits all’ approach to work arrangements. That is why we put individual agency and choice at the heart of our consultation on “making flexible working the default”, which closed on 1st December 2021. We are currently reviewing the responses and will respond in due course.