Gordon Brown News

Robert Goodwill, MP for Scarborough and Whitby, has been named as the UK’s new shipping minister. As Shipping Minister, he will have responsibility for completing the Maritime Growth Study. Earlier he was appointed as Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Transport on Tuesday, but his specific duties within the department have been announced this week. He replaces John Hayes MP, who has held the position since July 2014 and has been moved to the Home Office. Goodwill will have responsibility for completing the ongoing review of the nation’s shipping industry and its international competitiveness, being conducted by the UK’s Maritime & Coastguard Agency, says a statement of the ministry. Goodwill has some previous experience in a transport capacity.

Former UK Prime Minister and local MP Gordon Brown says that he welcomes the Ministry of Defence (MOD) agreement to pay costs of the radium contamination clean up of Dalgety Bay and estimates it will cost 10 million pounds. The pollution resulted from dumping 800 WWll wartime planes with radiated dials and other hazardous equipment, and subsequent coastal erosion that has brought the pollution to the surface. A town meeting of Dalgety Bay community has been called for July 21st by the Community Council. This will see the community vote on the Ministry of Defence’s plan to clean up radiation from the beach. He said: “The people of Dalgety Bay have been very patient and now will welcome consolation on the details of their proposals.

Surging demand for energy, an aging workforce and a lack of new entrants to the industry is combining to threaten delivery of the energy strategies of countries worldwide. Addressing delegates at the ‘People: The Real Energy in Oil & Gas’ conference in London, John Westwood, MD of energy business analysts Douglas-Westwood, cited the UK as likely to have particular problems with delivery of its power station replacement and renewable energy plans. “We are seeing an unprecedented demand for energy, driven by China in particular, at the same time as production of oil & gas is reducing in non-OPEC areas such as the UK North Sea. The result is oil prices at record levels and a surge in exploration & production activity, particularly in the Middle East.

Stv is reporting that the number of applications for companies applying to drill for oil in the north sea is at a 30 year high. Government ministers say fields are clearly not in their twilight years and so far it seems that oil companies have not been put off by recent tax rises. The north sea rigs and platforms are supplied by vessels which leave from Aberdeen's harbour, so this boom certainly seems to be good news for the industry and the local economy. The government licence companies to explore and drill certain blocks in the sea and applications for those licences are at a 30 year high - 147 applications from 121 companies. Technology developed in Aberdeen has developed innovative new ways of extracting oil and the energy minister has praised local firms and staff.