Energy-Intensive Industries

Debate between Lord Evans of Rainow and Margaret Ferrier

Thursday 10th March 2016 Westminster Hall

[Margaret Ferrier]

I thank the hon. Lady for that intervention, and I will come to ceramics later, if she will bear with me.

The Scottish Government’s steering group specifically helps them to deliver their emissions reductions under the EU emissions trading system and to meet legal obligations such as the UK climate change levy and the energy savings opportunity scheme.

It is clear that the Scottish Government are committed to protecting the steel industry as a key strategic asset in the Scottish economy, and on behalf of my constituents, I would like to put on record my sincere appreciation of that. The UK Government have gone some way, but there is still more to be done.

On the issue of ceramics, in addition to a very long-established steel mill, there is a brickworks in my constituency—Scotland’s only remaining clay brick company, in fact. Raeburn Brick is an established family- run business in Blantyre. Somewhere in the region of 15% of the bricks used in Scotland are produced by Raeburn, which means that about 85% are imported from outside Scotland. Those figures might not mean much to others, but to me they show that there is a real opportunity for more domestic business.

[Graham Evans]

I was interested to hear the hon. Lady mention the figure of 15% being made by that family business. Does she have the figure for how much is imported from outside the United Kingdom?

[Margaret Ferrier]

The figure I have is that 85% of bricks are imported from outside Scotland, but I am not sure how many are within the UK or the EU. I can certainly get back to the hon. Gentleman about that.

If we are serious about long-term and sustainable economic growth, companies such as Raeburn need support. There is clearly room for the Scottish market to expand and reasons why it is being held back. The manufacturing sector is highly important, and I certainly do not wish to see Raeburn at risk, as the Tata steelworks at Clydebridge is. The ceramics industry is looking for a level playing field, just like the steel industry, and is calling for assistance and action on carbon emissions, energy costs and trade, as well as on the housing supply chain.

How do we support energy-intensive industries? I acknowledge and welcome the action that has been taken already. State aid clearance for the UK Government’s energy-intensive industries support package will go some way towards easing costs for those industries.

We need only look at Sweden, for example, to see that electricity prices in the UK are needlessly high. According to Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union, Swedish industry pays only €0.067 per kilowatt-hour for electricity. In the UK, the figure is exactly double that. Sweden has decided that fracking is not economically viable and is also phasing out nuclear. Renewable energy in the form of hydropower is now the single large source of electricity in the country, and wind power production is growing at a phenomenal pace—it has more than quadrupled over the past six years. We must aspire to cleaner, lower-carbon, sustainable forms of energy if we want to support industry in the long term.

The Scottish renewables sector has massive potential. The waters surrounding Scotland have the potential to provide it with a sustainable, renewable energy source—they are estimated to account for up to 25% of Europe’s tidal power and 10% of its wave power, as well as about 25% of European offshore wind resource potential. That renewable potential is being impaired, however, by the regressive energy policies of the UK Government, who are cutting support for onshore wind and vital support for solar energy projects, and slashing hydro tariffs.

We have an opportunity to develop new, low-carbon products and services, both to accelerate economic recovery in the short term and to drive long-term, sustainable economic growth. In short, low carbon is an environmental and economic imperative.