Speeches by Cross.

“How do you think this support is being received or understood by communities in Fife? Are they seeing that support is available going forward, and that there will be an opportunity for support? Has that been communicated at the moment?”

“Do you see that as a key role for Fife council?”

“I do not like the phrase carbon intensive because it diminishes the output other than carbon that comes out of these industries, but we know that carbon-intensive industries are under a huge amount of pressure at the moment. Mossmorran is not alone; we have already spoken about Grangemouth. There will be other closures…”

“This is directed to either or both witnesses, so it is up to you who goes first. The UK Government say that they are committed to a fair, just, orderly transition. The way they are going about it might be more up for discussion, but what is your assessment of how this is progressing? Then if we look away from the firm …”

“Do you think that is a point that is missed more often than it should be in policymaking—that a huge amount of our energy does not come from electricity still, so helping with electricity is not the same as helping with energy bills?”

“It is really interesting because time is precious. Time in business is money, but it is also jobs, opportunity and forgone investment, which will go overseas if we do not have any certainty here. That seems to be what we are losing time and again—someone just grasping an opportunity and making a decision, and not worry…”

“As a union body, how do you feel about that? I feel like I am hitting my head against the wall a lot of the time with this; I know that you, coming from a worker’s point of view, must feel that it makes no difference what you say or what evidence you provide. Do you think there is something that we can say or do to mak…”

“It is just not joined up.”

“It was more, is that a correct understanding of what is being said?”

“Ms Stevenson, can we talk a wee bit more about the DWP and its involvement? You have mentioned the PACE side, but is there anything the DWP is doing, whether through the rapid response service or anything else, and are you working with it to help support workers, either at the moment or going forward?”

“Is it BICS? I have EII, if that helps, the energy intensive industries scheme. It supports through cutting electricity costs.”

“Dave went through quite a lot of where I was going to go, with the policy and economic difficulties. Let us just focus on the energy intensive industries support scheme, which the Government have announced. How would, or might, this help to support your businesses? What else would you like to see the Government do that…”

“I absolutely will, so I will end on that point. I thank the hon. Gentleman for his intervention. I find the what-aboutery from Government Members extraordinary. They seem to think that because something has happened in the past, it is okay for something else to happen now. The Government are shutting down the UK oil an…”

“It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Western. I congratulate and thank my hon. Friend the Member for Brigg and Immingham (Martin Vickers) on securing this timely and important debate. I pay tribute to him for his work in standing up for workers, not just at Prax Lindsey but across his constituency and …”

“As I am sure the Minister and the rest of the Front-Bench team know, we are seeing huge redundancies and mass unemployment within the oil and gas sector increasing every week. When did any of the Front-Bench DWP team last meet the oil and gas sector to discuss that?”

“2. What assessment he has made of trends in the level of unemployment.”

“We are talking about £150 off energy bills that are already £200 higher than when the right hon. Gentleman came into government, and £300 was meant to come off those bills. Will bills be higher or lower than when he came into government last year?”

“The forecasts are meant to help the Government to decide what to do, but there was nothing in this forecast of oil and gas revenues, which explains why the energy profits levy was kept. We have seen a £6.2 billion downgrade in the expected revenue from oil and gas to the end of the Budget period—a 40% decrease in just …”

“Will the Secretary of State give way?”

“Yes, absolutely. Many flights that take off from Aberdeen are full of workers who are leaving north-east Scotland for Norway, taking their skills and taxable income with them. Norway welcomes the opportunity for investment in its energy sources. Norway drilled more than 30 new exploration wells in its North sea this ye…”