Katie White MP: speeches

Speeches

• 3 Sept 2026 · Jackdaw and Rosebank Oil and Gas Fields · Hansard source

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  I thank the hon. Lady for her question and for her passion on this topic. The environmental impact assessment that has been part of the process will take account of Scope 3 emissions. I can say no more about the Rosebank and Jackdaw decisions today, but what I will say is that this Government take climate change incredibly seriously. I hope that she heard the new Prime Minister talking about it on Tuesday and heard his commitment. He will also go to Turkey for the COP this year.

• 3 Sept 2026 · Jackdaw and Rosebank Oil and Gas Fields · Hansard source

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  I assure my hon. Friend that we are very much in favour of evidence-based policymaking.

• 3 Sept 2026 · Jackdaw and Rosebank Oil and Gas Fields · Hansard source

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  I appreciate the hon. Member’s respect for the process and the need for clarity and robustness. He makes the important point that it is a declining basin and, therefore, we also need to make sure that we have other sources of energy. That is why record investment in clean energy has been secured from the Government and the private sector to make sure that we have as much energy in that area.

• 3 Sept 2026 · Jackdaw and Rosebank Oil and Gas Fields · Hansard source

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  I thank the hon. Gentleman for raising that question so passionately on behalf of his constituents. I agree that jobs are key; that is why, when it comes to the North sea, we have expanded training and support, and the new jobs service. I also agree that we want clarity on this decision. Regretfully, we cannot say a huge amount about the process today, because we want that process to be respected. It has to be a robust process, and it is quasi-judicial; I am very concerned to be respectful of that. I want to ensure, for his constituents and for the rest of the country, that a clear decision is made that respects that robust process.

• 3 Sept 2026 · Jackdaw and Rosebank Oil and Gas Fields · Hansard source

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  As I say, I appreciate that there is a huge amount of interest in the process, but I am sure we can all agree that we want this robust process to take its course. The worst thing that could happen would be something prejudicing or interfering with the process, and we end up having to rerun it. We will be following that due process. As I said, the process ended in August, and the Secretary of State will be taking the decisions in due course.

• 3 Sept 2026 · Jackdaw and Rosebank Oil and Gas Fields · Hansard source

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  I thank my hon. Friend for his comments and interest in this and other energy decisions. I cannot make any further comments on these particular projects because of the robust regulatory process that is under way.

• 3 Sept 2026 · Jackdaw and Rosebank Oil and Gas Fields · Hansard source

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  I thank my hon. Friend for his considered and thoughtful question. He is right. We are already drilling in the North sea, and we are clear that oil and gas have an important role. Under this Prime Minister, we have a pragmatic approach. It is important that we think about the workers, and he is right to think about the supply chain, both for the industries of today and the clean industries of the future.

• 3 Sept 2026 · Jackdaw and Rosebank Oil and Gas Fields · Hansard source

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  I thank my hon. Friend for his excellent analysis of why we have ended up here; he is absolutely right. It is on all of us to respect the process. I think that the feeling of the House is that we want clarity, and the way to achieve that is by having a robust process. It is hugely important that we respect that today. I understand the amount of interest in this, but as I said in my opening remarks, I find it a little audacious that this is something that we have had an about turn on—and it is not the only thing that this shadow Secretary of State has had an about turn on.

• 3 Sept 2026 · Jackdaw and Rosebank Oil and Gas Fields · Hansard source

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  I thank my hon. Friend for all her work on this, not only in her previous role, but before she came to this place and throughout her time here. I am grateful for her awareness of the process. She raises an important point about methane: it is a very potent greenhouse gas, and reducing venting and flaring would represent a cost and efficiency saving. We should be using our energy efficiently. I am meeting with international colleagues in the coming weeks to discuss the issue, but we are also working on this domestically. I appreciate her raising that point, and we will continue to work on it.

• 3 Sept 2026 · Jackdaw and Rosebank Oil and Gas Fields · Hansard source

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  I thank the right hon. Gentleman for his specific questions. I have not seen the BBC’s report; I would be very happy for him to send it to me. As I said to the right hon. Member for Orkney and Shetland (Mr Carmichael), Scope 3 emissions will be part of the environmental impact assessment, which will be given to the Secretary of State and will feed into her decision-making process.

• 3 Sept 2026 · Jackdaw and Rosebank Oil and Gas Fields · Hansard source

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  I thank my hon. Friend for his suggestion. He is absolutely right that the robustness of this process is key. We need to ensure that we respect the process, which will lead to clarity on the decision; that is the most important thing for us.

• 3 Sept 2026 · Jackdaw and Rosebank Oil and Gas Fields · Hansard source

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  The hon. Lady brings her usual passion and commitment to the debate. She talked about the wildfires over the summer; the Prime Minister announced yesterday that we would have a wildfire summit. On today’s topic, we will continue with the robust process. I appreciate the strength of interest both in this place and outside, but given the quasi-judicial nature of the process, we cannot get involved further in it.

• 3 Sept 2026 · Jackdaw and Rosebank Oil and Gas Fields · Hansard source

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  I welcome my hon. Friend’s interest in this matter and the wider debate. I appreciate the strength of feeling—I can hear the strength of feeling on both sides of this House. I cannot say any more about the specific process and the decisions that are under way, but we are doing everything we can to ensure that our energy system works efficiently and moves at pace. I look forward to continuing to engaging with him on that.

• 3 Sept 2026 · Jackdaw and Rosebank Oil and Gas Fields · Hansard source

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  I respect our former leaders, who have engaged many times in the energy conversation. My hon. Friend highlights many different areas that are impacted. The North sea does have an impact in each of those areas, and the Secretary of State will make a decision in due course, taking account of the new evidence that she has received.

• 3 Sept 2026 · Jackdaw and Rosebank Oil and Gas Fields · Hansard source

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  I thank the hon. Gentleman for raising those important points. The Secretary of State has put energy affordability at the heart of our agenda, and we will continue to do that. She has worked on fuel poverty for many years and is hugely passionate about it. When the strait of Hormuz and middle east crisis began, we took action on heating oil, and the Government are investing a record amount in warm homes. We need to do that at pace to make sure it is felt in constituencies and postcodes across our islands.

• 3 Sept 2026 · Jackdaw and Rosebank Oil and Gas Fields · Hansard source

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  I thank my hon. Friend for raising the issue of jobs. Since we came into government, we have expanded the North sea jobs service to support workers. He is right that there is a huge crossover between renewables and oil and gas workers. It has struck me that at every wind farm we visit, we usually hear a Scottish accent. As I say, the Secretary of State will be aware of the point he makes about jobs.

• 3 Sept 2026 · Jackdaw and Rosebank Oil and Gas Fields · Hansard source

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  I thank my hon. Friend, who has a long-standing interest in this area. He is right that we need to take our time with the process, respect its robustness and think about the implications. I know that the Secretary of State will be doing that, and will consider all the evidence that will be supplied to her.

• 3 Sept 2026 · Jackdaw and Rosebank Oil and Gas Fields · Hansard source

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  I note my hon. Friend’s opinion. As I say, there is a strength of feeling on the different sides of the House. We are noting that, but I will make no comment. On her question about the Climate Change Act, I was absolutely baffled at the Conservatives’ position. It was not a position that the shadow Secretary of State took when he was in power, and many in his party would be ashamed. I noted the article in the Financial Times from a former Environment Secretary, who referred to it as “tin-eared”.

• 3 Sept 2026 · Jackdaw and Rosebank Oil and Gas Fields · Hansard source

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  I have been subject to my hon. Friend’s tough questioning on the Select Committee, so it is a joy to have it in the House as well. I cannot say any more today on the specific process because, as we have collectively agreed, its robustness is key, and I am cautious of saying anything that would jeopardise that because we want that clarity of decision. At the same time, as I have just said to the hon. Member for North Herefordshire (Dr Chowns), we know that climate change is a key issue. We saw the wildfires this summer and, only this week, we saw the Prime Minister talking in his first interventions about committing to the COP and having a wildfire summit.

• 3 Sept 2026 · Jackdaw and Rosebank Oil and Gas Fields · Hansard source

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  First, I welcome and congratulate the hon. Gentleman on his new position as the shadow Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero. The Scottish Court of Session quashed the original consents for these projects in January 2025. We published supplementary guidance in June 2025 to implement the Finch judgment, under which end-use combustion emissions must be taken into account in environmental impact assessments for oil and gas production projects. At that time, the Government reopened the window for applications. The Jackdaw and Rosebank fields are each subject to a live regulatory process. The public notice periods, which, as the hon. Gentleman knows, closed on 10 and 17 August respectively, were part of that regulatory process. The Secretary of State will consider the representations received and will make separate decisions on each project in due course. I appreciate the strength of interest in this decision, but it would not be appropriate for me to comment further on either project. I have to say that it is a little rich hearing the Conservatives suddenly talk about protecting jobs and caring about Aberdeen. Let us look at the facts: by the end of 2016, under the Conservatives, more than 120,000 UK oil and gas jobs had gone, “more than a third of them in Scotland and the vast majority in the north-east”. Those are not my words; they are the words of the Conservative MSP Liam Kerr. And what happened to Aberdeen on their watch? The independent think-tank Centre for Cities calls it “Aberdeen’s lost decade”. It found that between 2010 and 2022, the city lost around 9,000 jobs under the Conservatives. Real household incomes per head fell 6.7%, and nearly 15,000 people left the city. In fact, Aberdeen was one of just two of Britain’s 62 largest cities and towns to have fewer jobs than in 2010. I say gently to the hon. Gentleman that that is an abysmal record from his party in government. He may have a selective memory about the Conservatives’ record in the north-east of Scotland, but I do not think his constituents do.

• 3 Sept 2026 · Jackdaw and Rosebank Oil and Gas Fields · Hansard source

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  I thank the hon. Lady for her interest in this area. Getting into any defence of specific areas may lead me to potentially say things that I should not say as it is a decision for the Secretary of State. She will take into account the environmental impact assessment, and we are working through the large amount of evidence that has come into the Department.

• 3 Sept 2026 · Jackdaw and Rosebank Oil and Gas Fields · Hansard source

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  I thank my hon. Friend, who is passionate about her constituency and about this area. She is right that we are at the behest of the fossil fuel rollercoaster, and we have all seen the impacts of that over the last few years. We have had two international energy crises in the last four years, and we are, at the moment, a price-taker on the international fossil fuel markets, which has an impact on our constituents. That is why our Secretary of State is focusing on energy affordability as her priority.

• 3 Sept 2026 · Jackdaw and Rosebank Oil and Gas Fields · Hansard source

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  I thank the right hon. Gentleman for his thoughts. Oil and gas will be part of our energy mix, and the environmental impact assessment that is taking place will take account of Scope 3 emissions. He is right to mention, as others have, that the North sea offers opportunities in both clean energy and fossil fuel energy, and we need to think about it in a holistic sense.

• 3 Sept 2026 · Jackdaw and Rosebank Oil and Gas Fields · Hansard source

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  As we have all heard, there is a significant amount of interest in , thoughts and opinions in this place and outside. The Prime Minister has said that we will take a pragmatic approach, and oil and gas will remain part of our future going forward but, in terms of this specific process and those specific decisions, I cannot comment any further today.

• 3 Sept 2026 · Jackdaw and Rosebank Oil and Gas Fields · Hansard source

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  As for the timeline, as I say, the decision will come in due course, but the robustness of the process is absolutely key. I have already stated to the House that it was only in August that these consultations closed. There is a lot of interest in this place and outside, and our Secretary of State wants to consider things properly to ensure that we can expedite the decision as soon as we can, but that has to be done properly or we will all end up back here again. Let us ensure that we respect the process, and we will do that. I have heard the right hon. Member’s thoughts, but there is interest both in here and outside.