Harriet Cross MP: written questions 2025
161 published records · newest first.
Written questions
Natural Gas: StorageDepartment for Energy Security and Net ZeroTabled 30 May 2025AnsweredUIN 55907More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what estimate his Department has made of gas storage capability in the UK in (a) cubic feet (or other appropriate unit of volume) and (b) days of average usage; what steps he is taking to inc
Answer: According to Ofgem’s annual publication, GB has eight gas storage sites with a combined maximum capacity of 3.2bcm – around 13 days of average (24/25) winter gas demand – and maximum deliverability of ~123mcm/day.Gas storage is an effective source of syst...
Answered 9 Jun 2025
Original Parliament recordOffshore Industry: Carbon EmissionsDepartment for Energy Security and Net ZeroTabled 20 May 2025AnsweredUIN 53770More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, pursuant to the Answer of 20 May 2025 to Question 52787 on Offshore Industry: Carbon Emissions, how many offshore oil and gas projects are awaiting the resumption of environmental impact asse
Answer: There are a variety of factors beyond the publication of the guidance that will influence a developer’s decisions on whether to proceed with a project, so it is therefore difficult to predict the exact number of projects waiting to commence the environmen...
Answered 2 Jun 2025
Original Parliament recordBatteries: StorageDepartment for Work and PensionsTabled 19 May 2025AnsweredUIN 53400More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether the Health and Safety Executive plans to create a dedicated department within the Energy Division of the Hazardous Industries Directorate to take responsibility for battery energy storage system
Answer: The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) deploys its resources to deliver risk based proportionate regulation of workplaces, including battery energy storage system (BESS) facilities. This approach is set out in HSE’s Regulatory approach – (Regulation of hea...
Answered 28 May 2025
Original Parliament recordFishing Catches: EU CountriesDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsTabled 15 May 2025AnsweredUIN 52792More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether he has made an assessment of the potential impact of freezing EU fishing quotas at current levels beyond 2026 on the (a) the economy, (b) UK seafood exports and (c) seafood pro
Answer: UK fishing quotas for shared stocks with the EU are set in the UK-EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement (TCA). UK shares will gradually increase until 2026, after which further changes are a matter for the TCA Partnership Council. Fishing opportunities avail...
Answered 21 May 2025
Original Parliament recordFisheries: UK Trade with EUDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsTabled 15 May 2025AnsweredUIN 52791More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what consultation his Department has undertaken with (a) the Scottish Fishermen's Federation, (b) the National Federation of Fishermen's Organisations and (c) other fishing industry re
Answer: The Fisheries Minister meets regularly with representatives from across the UK fishing industry. This includes meeting with both the Scottish Fishermen’s Federation and National Federation of Fishermen’s Organisations on 26 February 2025 as part of the Se...
Answered 21 May 2025
Original Parliament recordFisheries: EU CountriesCabinet OfficeTabled 15 May 2025AnsweredUIN 52790More
Question: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, on what dates the (a) Cabinet and (b) Cabinet committees have discussed the UK's negotiating position on fishing rights as part of preparations for the EU-UK summit on 19 May 2025; and whether any objections wer
Answer: As under previous governments, it is a long-established precedent that information relating to the proceedings of Cabinet and its committees are not shared publicly.
Answered 20 May 2025
Original Parliament recordFishing Catches: Territorial WatersDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsTabled 15 May 2025AnsweredUIN 52789More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what proportion of fish caught in UK territorial waters was caught by (a) UK vessels and (b) EU vessels in each of the last three years for which data is available; what his Department
Answer: The UK does not collect data on catches of fish at a level of detail that allows us to determine the proportion of catch made by UK or EU vessels in UK territorial waters. However, under the TCA, 149, 152, and 152 EU vessels were licensed to fish in the U...
Answered 23 May 2025
Original Parliament recordSecurity Action for EuropeForeign, Commonwealth and Development OfficeTabled 15 May 2025AnsweredUIN 52788More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what representations he has received from EU member states on conditions for UK participation in the EU's Security Action for Europe defence fund; and whether access to UK fi
Answer: This is a critical moment for the security of Europe. We welcome European efforts to increase defence spending, through the ReArm initiative and proposed Security Action for Europe (SAFE) mechanism. This must be a whole-of-Europe effort, in alignment with...
Answered 20 May 2025
Original Parliament recordOffshore Industry: Carbon EmissionsDepartment for Energy Security and Net ZeroTabled 15 May 2025AnsweredUIN 52787More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, when he plans to publish the outcome of his Department's consultation on draft supplementary guidance for assessing the effects of scope 3 emissions on climate from offshore oil and gas proje
Answer: We remain committed to having the supplementary Environmental Impact Assessment guidance in place as soon as possible and are cognisant of its importance for providing certainty to the offshore oil and gas industry. We needed to take the time to analyse t...
Answered 20 May 2025
Original Parliament recordCarbon Capture, Usage and StorageDepartment for Energy Security and Net ZeroTabled 25 Apr 2025AnsweredUIN 48301More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what steps the he is taking to (a) accelerate Track-1 Expansion, (b) ensure additional emitters can connect to carbon capture, usage and storage transport and storage infrastructure in Scotla
Answer: The Government is committed to CCUS, which will decarbonise power and industry in a way that drives growth, supports thousands of jobs, and could add £5 billion of value annually by 2050. Decisions over the continued deployment of CCUS, building on the Hy...
Answered 6 May 2025
Original Parliament recordLondon Stock ExchangeTreasuryTabled 25 Apr 2025AnsweredUIN 48300More
Question: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps her Department is taking to prevent companies from de-listing from the London Stock Exchange.????????????????
Answer: The government is committed to reinvigorating our capital markets to deliver growth, supporting firms to start, scale, list and stay in the UK. We have already delivered an ambitious set of reforms including overhauling the Prospectus regime and Listing R...
Answered 6 May 2025
Original Parliament recordSmall Businesses: Employers' ContributionsTreasuryTabled 25 Apr 2025AnsweredUIN 48299More
Question: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if she will make an assessment of the potential impact of changes to employers' National Insurance contributions on (a) small and mid-sized quoted companies and (b) the (i) staffing costs and (ii) long-term investme
Answer: The Chancellor and I regularly meet and engage with senior figures from across the financial services sector and have, in recent months, hosted a series of forums, including with small to mid-sized quoted companies, as the government works towards develop...
Answered 6 May 2025
Original Parliament recordSmall Businesses: InvestmentTreasuryTabled 25 Apr 2025AnsweredUIN 48298More
Question: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps she is taking to encourage UK investors to invest in small and mid-sized companies.
Answer: The Chancellor and I regularly meet and engage with senior figures from across the financial services sector and have, in recent months, hosted a series of forums, including with small to mid-sized quoted companies, as the government works towards develop...
Answered 6 May 2025
Original Parliament recordSmall BusinessesTreasuryTabled 25 Apr 2025AnsweredUIN 48297More
Question: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what meetings her Department has had with industry stakeholders on supporting the long-term growth of small and mid-sized quoted companies.
Answer: The Chancellor and I regularly meet and engage with senior figures from across the financial services sector and have, in recent months, hosted a series of forums, including with small to mid-sized quoted companies, as the government works towards develop...
Answered 6 May 2025
Original Parliament recordScotland Office: USAScotland OfficeTabled 25 Apr 2025AnsweredUIN 48296More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, what the total cost to his Department was for sending a delegation to New York's Tartan Week in (a) 2023, (b) 2024 and (c) 2025.????????????????
Answer: Tartan Week in New York is the most significant annual event celebrating Scottish-US links across business and culture. This year, the Scotland Office engaged in a significantly expanded programme of business and investor engagement in New York, focusing ...
Answered 6 May 2025
Original Parliament recordScotland Office: USAScotland OfficeTabled 25 Apr 2025AnsweredUIN 48295More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, how many (a) Ministers, (b) special advisers and (c) officials from his Department attended New York's Tartan Week in (i) 2023, (ii) 2024 and (iii) 2025.
Answer: Tartan Week in New York is the most significant annual event celebrating Scottish-US links across business and culture. This year, the Scotland Office engaged in a significantly expanded programme of business and investor engagement in New York, focusing ...
Answered 6 May 2025
Original Parliament recordAgriculture: FinanceDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsTabled 24 Apr 2025AnsweredUIN 48046More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what estimate he has made of changes in farm investment since the Autumn Budget 2024; and if he will provide detailed analysis and findings for (a) the agricultural sector overall and
Answer: Data on farm investment income is available in the table 5 series of Farm Accounts in England. These tables only show data for 2022/23 and 2023/24: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/farm-accounts-in-england-data-sets#:~:text=Table%205. The Farming ...
Answered 19 May 2025
Original Parliament recordFoot and Mouth Disease: ScreeningDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural AffairsTabled 24 Apr 2025AnsweredUIN 48045More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to proactively screen for foot and mouth disease outbreaks in the UK.
Answer: The UK has robust contingency plans in place to manage the risk of Foot and Mouth disease (FMD) as set out in the Foot and Mouth Disease Control Strategy for Great Britain supported by the Contingency plan for exotic notifiable diseases of animals in Engl...
Answered 12 May 2025
Original Parliament recordOffshore Industry: North SeaDepartment for Energy Security and Net ZeroTabled 24 Apr 2025AnsweredUIN 48044More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of the (a) Rosebank and (b) Jackdaw oil and gas fields not receiving consent to proceed on (i) the economy, (ii) tax revenue and (iii) empl
Answer: Neither the Secretary of State nor I will be commenting on the specifics of individual projects to avoid potentially prejudicing any future regulatory decisions the Secretary of State is required to make in relation to these projects. We remain committed ...
Answered 2 May 2025
Original Parliament recordOffshore Industry: North SeaDepartment for Energy Security and Net ZeroTabled 24 Apr 2025AnsweredUIN 48043More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether his Department has made an estimate of the proportion of UK North Sea (a) oil and (b) gas which would be produced by the (i) Rosebank and (ii) Jackdaw field.
Answer: Neither the Secretary of State nor I will be commenting on the specifics of individual projects to avoid potentially prejudicing any future regulatory decisions the Secretary of State is required to make in relation to these projects. We remain committed ...
Answered 2 May 2025
Original Parliament recordGreat British Energy: StaffDepartment for Energy Security and Net ZeroTabled 24 Apr 2025AnsweredUIN 48042More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, how many people are employed by GB Energy; and how many full-time equivalent roles are filled at GB Energy.
Answer: To ensure Great British Energy can begin delivering quickly once the Parliamentary process has been completed, the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) has taken steps to assign resource including the appointment of Juergen Maier to the rol...
Answered 2 May 2025
Original Parliament recordSpaceflightDepartment for Science, Innovation and TechnologyTabled 20 Mar 2025AnsweredUIN 903453More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what steps his Department is taking to support the development of the space industry in the UK.
Answer: Space is a strategic priority for this government and is essential to achieving our mission to deliver growth as a priority. The National Space Strategy and our identified priority capability goals continue to drive government policy.We will publish an am...
Answered 26 Mar 2025
Original Parliament recordIndependent Review of the Loan ChargeTreasuryTabled 4 Mar 2025AnsweredUIN 35557More
Question: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether she has made an assessment of the potential merits of expanding the scope of the Loan Charge review to examine the wider contracting sector.
Answer: The Government has commissioned an independent review of the Loan Charge. Ray McCann, a highly respected figure in the tax world, is leading the review. His name was suggested by one of the Loan Charge campaigners. To ensure transparency, the terms of ref...
Answered 12 Mar 2025
Original Parliament recordIndependent Review of the Loan ChargeTreasuryTabled 4 Mar 2025AnsweredUIN 35556More
Question: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps she is taking to ensure transparency in the conduct of the Loan Charge review.
Answer: The Government has commissioned an independent review of the Loan Charge. Ray McCann, a highly respected figure in the tax world, is leading the review. His name was suggested by one of the Loan Charge campaigners. To ensure transparency, the terms of ref...
Answered 12 Mar 2025
Original Parliament recordIndependent Review of the Loan ChargeTreasuryTabled 4 Mar 2025AnsweredUIN 35555More
Question: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether she has considered including the role of promoters and intermediaries within the scope of the Loan Charge review.
Answer: The Government has commissioned an independent review of the Loan Charge. Ray McCann, a highly respected figure in the tax world, is leading the review. His name was suggested by one of the Loan Charge campaigners. To ensure transparency, the terms of ref...
Answered 12 Mar 2025
Original Parliament record
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