§ Mr. Skeetasked the Secretary of State for Energy, since the fiscal regime has been made more onerous for marginal fields, if he will indicate the steps he has taken to date to encourage North Sea exploration and the development of marginal fields.
§ Mr. John MooreWhile not accepting the premise in my hon. Friend's question, I refer him to the answer given by my right hon. Friend to him on 14 June—[Vol. 968, c. 305]—on policy assignments of offshore petroleum licence rights, which is designed to encourage further exploration, and the answer given by my hon. Friend to him of 21 June on the review of marginal fields, which the Government have recently set up.