Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Labour Peer
Electricity Capacity (Amendment and Transitional Provision) Regulations 2026 – Lord Whitehead.
Energy Prices Act 2022 (Amendment) (NI) Regulations 2026 – Lord Whitehead.
Contracts for Difference (Allocation) (Amendment) Regulations 2026 – Lord Whitehead.
Ecodesign for Energy-Related Products and Energy Information (Household Tumble Dryers) Regulations 2026 and associated regret motion in the name of Baroness Hoey – Lord Whitehead – Baroness Hoey.
UK oil and gas has one of the lowest upstream methane emission intensities globally. Industry and the Government have committed to the World Bank’s zero routine flaring by 2030 initiative and have gone beyond it with venting. The UK industry achieved the Oil and Gas Climate Initiative’s 2025 target for 0.2% methane intensity five years early, reaching 0.18% intensity by 2020. The NSTA...
The Government are not tolerating the wastage of gas in the way the noble Earl suggested. The target that we have set, which the industry is adhering to, is for zero upstream flaring and zero upstream venting by 2030. As I have set out, the intensities that go with that are reducing ahead of the target and will certainly be met by 2030.
I believe that that is a fairly complicated question in terms of national emissions versus overall global emissions. Obviously, as far as the UK generally is concerned, the calculations for emission purposes are based on national emissions. But, as the noble Baroness will know, there is a parallel consideration on what the case is for imported emissions and how that factors into the national...
The ability to independently monitor those emissions has been very much enhanced by satellite technology and various aerial observances, which can accurately depict where those emissions are coming from offshore and who is emitting them, so there is an effective independent verification position in place at present, which will aid greatly towards the achievement of that target by 2030.
It is longstanding practice across Government for departments to enter into memoranda of understanding and similar arrangements with a range of partners where this helps to provide clarity and structure to those relationships. This practice did not change in July 2024, and examples of arrangements agreed by DESNZ since that date include, a Memorandum of Co-operation in the field of offshore...
The Energy Independence Bill was included in the Kings’ Speech on 13 May. The Bill will contain measures which will deliver our manifesto commitment not to issue new licences to explore new fields, including new licences that could be used for fracking for shale gas in England. There is an effective moratorium on fracking for shale gas (“associated hydraulic fracturing” as defined...
The Industrial Strategy’s Clean Energy Industries Sector Plan (CEI) backs hydrogen as a frontier technology, with potential to drive economic growth, create high-quality jobs, and build industries of the future. In the UK, hydrogen could support 6,500 – 11,500 jobs by 2035 with opportunities across the graduate and technically trained workforce. We expect these figures to scale with...
The Government intends to publish a renewed Hydrogen Strategy, alongside a package of other hydrogen policy documents, as soon as possible this year. The renewed Hydrogen Strategy will set out Government’s vision and objectives for hydrogen, and how the Government intends to work together with industry to continue to transform ambition into action.
In October 2025, we published the Clean Energy Jobs Plan. We have already made significant progress since publishing our Plan. In April, we announced 5 Clean Energy Technical Excellence Colleges delivering training for clean energy jobs in Liverpool, the Tees Valley, Somerset, London and Colchester. To support skilled oil and gas workers to move into clean energy jobs, the Plan also...
Data on the amount of oil held by the UK is published monthly in Energy Trends Table 3.11. As of February 2026, UK oil stocks were 10.6 million tonnes (equivalent to 81 million barrels) which exceeds the requirements as a member of the International Energy Agency (IEA). The government does not hold strategic reserves of gas. The government does not publish international comparisons on stock...
We understand that many projects are at critical stages, and that certainty is very important to help businesses plan and manage resourcing and expectations of third parties. We are working hard across government to start the Invite to Offer stage of HAR2 as soon as possible and will be in touch with projects when this commences. We are aiming to announce successful HAR2 projects in 2026.
In 2025, imports contributed 14% of gross UK electricity supply (excludes exports). Volumes of electricity imported by the UK, by country, and shares of electricity for those countries, produced by burning fossil fuels, are presented in the following table: Imports to UK, 2025 (TWh) Provisional share of electricity generated from fossil fuels, 2025 France 22.6 4% Norway 9.4...
