Ed Davey (Liberal Democrat)

The UK should be proud of its world-class oil and gas industry. It makes a substantial contribution to the economy, supporting around 450,000 jobs and supplying the UK with around half of the oil and gas we use, reducing our reliance on imports. It is vital therefore both for Britain’s energy security and long-term economic outlook that we take positive steps to maximise the economic recovery of our indigenous hydrocarbon reserves. As our carbon plan has shown, Britain will still need significant oil and gas supplies over the next decades, while we decarbonise our economy and transition to a low-carbon economy.

The establishment of the additional powers the OGA will need to perform its MER UK obligations will require primary legislation which cannot be delivered in the remainder of the current Parliament. The Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) will, therefore, in the first instance, and in order to demonstrate pace and its strong commitment to implementing Sir Ian’s recommendations, establish the authority in shadow form as an Executive agency. Our intention is for this to be operational in autumn 2014.

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