Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what support the Government is providing to assist skilled offshore oil and gas workers who were made redundant after the collapse in oil prices in 2014 with the cost of re-validating basic industry certification which expired during a period of unemployment.

The Government remains committed to the long-term future of the UK’s oil and gas sector, which supports over 280,000 jobs and has been one of our great industrial success stories over the past 50 years. We have provided the sector with unprecedent levels of support during the industry downturn, placing the UK Continental Shelf amongst the most competitive fiscal regimes in the world in order to attract investment and secure jobs.

The Department has not provided any specific support for skilled workers who were made redundant from the offshore oil and gas sector and who are seeking to re-validate expired industry certification.