UK Energy Sources and Cost of Energy

Debate between Lord Whitehead and Lord Alton of Liverpool

Thursday 19th March 2026 Lords Chamber

[Lord Whitehead (Lab)]

The noble Earl is absolutely right that one of the key issues in the recent escalation has been the targeting by both sides of oil and gas installations. Clearly, this brings into a further spotlight the need to seek an urgent de-escalation of hostilities and the resolution of this crisis by negotiation rather than continued bombing of everyone’s oil and gas facilities.

[Lord Alton of Liverpool (CB)]

My Lords, in the light of the Times report earlier this week on energy links between the United Kingdom and Xinjiang, has the Minister read the Joint Committee on Human Rights report on supply chain transparency and modern-day slavery? Will he say when he last discussed with Great British Energy its compliance with Section 3(2)(e) of the Great British Energy Act, which was added following an all-party amendment in your Lordships’ House and prohibits the use of products, such as solar panels, made by slave labour?

[Lord Whitehead (Lab)]

I will have to write to the noble Lord on the specifics he mentioned. He should know that the UK Government are pursuing very robust measures to ensure that the supply of products such as solar panels is not the product of modern slavery. Efforts are under way on the diversification of supply and on the certification of panels to ensure they are not subject to modern slavery. The noble Lord will of course appreciate the difficulty of getting exact information on the sourcing of particular products, but the British Government are doing everything they can to ensure that they are not from the sources that the noble Lord is so concerned about.