Recommendation 18

HM Government · verbatim extract Accepted

The government agrees with this recommendation. We agree that lessons should be learned from Grangemouth to manage the impacts of industrial transitions on workers and communities. The UK government recognises the economic opportunity that the clean energy transition presents to the UK in, and the government’s Plan for Change sets out our ambition to make Britain a Clean Energy superpower. We are committed to delivering a fair and equitable transition for our highly skilled workforce and by enabling workers to seize new opportunities in clean energy we will ensure that no community is left behind. At the same time, we will continue to support the vital role that oil and gas will play in the coming decades, recognising its importance in maintaining energy security during the transition. As set out in our responses to Recommendations 12 and Conclusion 13, the North Sea Future Plan and Clean Energy jobs plan provide clear actions to support the transition, including measures to ensure jobs are high-quality, well-paid, stable, inclusive and safe, with good training, progression opportunities, and voice at work. These plans detail how this government is working with industry and unions on initiatives like the joint UK and Scottish Government package to support the transition of North Sea workers, the expansion of the Energy Skills Passport, and the development of a fair work charter to ensure clean energy jobs are always good jobs. Oil and gas workers’ skills are a powerful asset for the country that is vital to our energy security and foundational to driving future growth. Thanks to the clarity and ambition of our Clean Energy Superpower Mission, the number of jobs supported by clean energy industries could almost triple in Scotland. As skills policy is delivered by national governments, the UK government has committed to working with devolved governments to support this and has already supported workers through funding a bespoke Training Guarantee in Grangemouth. In our North Sea Future Plan, we set out a plan to secure and renew the North Sea’s place as Britain’s powerhouse – that will both protect jobs in our oil and gas heartlands and build the next generation of good jobs. For further details on how we are actively scaling up our North Sea clean energy industries, supporting supply chains and delivering a fair and prosperous transition for the oil and gas workforce through the North Sea Jobs Service, please refer to our responses to Recommendation 12 and Conclusion 13. We are also commencing work on a Future of Fuels programme for the downstream oil sector, which will guide how we manage the transition, protect energy security, and support jobs and local communities. As announced in the Budget, we will shortly launch a call for evidence to help inform the UK’s long-term strategy for the sector. This will seek industry views, including those in the wider supply chain, on the opportunities and barriers to the transition, the risks facing the sector, and the types of support needed to deliver a managed and competitive transition. The government recognises that gas will still play a significant role in our energy make up for years to come, continuing to provide energy to homes and businesses and underpinning our energy security across the net zero transition. We are however committed to planning ahead and taking a proactive approach as the energy landscape changes. We will therefore be publishing a call for evidence on the longer term transition of the gas system in 2026, as outlined in our June 2025 Midstream gas system update to the market. The call for evidence will gather further evidence on how the government can ensure that there is a fair and orderly transition away from gas when and where it is no longer needed. Alongside this, the Government will bring forward a clear plan for industrial decarbonisation in due course. This plan will set the strategic direction of our approach to working with industry towards a competitive and industrial base in the UK, ensuring growth is captured in parallel to emissions reductions. Conclusion 19 Continued momentum on the future of Grangemouth is vital. Project Willow must not be left to gather dust while jobs are at stake. We welcome the Scottish Government’s £25 million Just Transition Fund and the UK Government’s commitment of £200 million in ringfenced National Wealth Fund funding to leverage private investment in Grangemouth’s future. However, more clarity is needed on how decisions about investable proposals will be made, and how the Government’s taskforce on Project Willow recommendations will feed into the investment taskforce. This is crucial as it is potentially in the Government’s gift to unlock certain projects through regulatory changes. (Conclusion, Paragraph 137) We agree that it is important to maintain momentum at Grangemouth and we are leaving no stone unturned to transform Grangemouth into a low carbon and clean energy hub. To support this goal, at