Costs of Living

Debate between Lord Lancaster of Kimbolton and Lord Callanan

Wednesday 25th May 2022 Lords Chamber

[Lord Lancaster of Kimbolton (Con)]

My Lords, supply is a key factor when it comes to price, so, given the conflict in Ukraine, can my noble friend outline what the Government are doing to ensure that we have security of energy supply?

[Lord Callanan (Con)]

My noble friend makes an important point. The best thing we can do to ensure security of supply is to generate more of our supply here in the UK. For that, we need to keep producing as much oil and gas as we can from the North Sea during the transition period, and to ramp up the amount of homegrown renewables and nuclear, which we are also doing.

Russian Oil and Gas Imports

Debate between Lord Lancaster of Kimbolton and Lord Callanan

Monday 7th March 2022 Lords Chamber

[Lord Callanan (Con)]

That was indeed the point I made in response to the Question. We have banned Russian vessels but, at the moment, cargo can still be imported, in relatively small quantities, from other vessels. We are in urgent consultation with our allies on whether we can go further.

[Lord Lancaster of Kimbolton (Con)]

My Lords, I have listened carefully to this debate. While I accept that it is no silver bullet, is the real question in the short term not if the Government will start fracking but when?

[Lord Callanan (Con)]

I understand the attraction of this option but I am afraid that, having looked closely at this, there are some severe environmental problems—we cannot hide this fact—with original fracking operations. Lancashire is not Texas; it is much more heavily populated. Fracking is a relatively unproven technology in the UK. The reality is that it would be many years, if not decades, before we got meaningful quantities of gas out of the ground, even if we could resolve all the environmental problems—and none of that would affect the current price. We would not be producing anywhere near enough gas to affect the high prices in an international market so I am afraid, much as I would love it to be the case, it really is not the silver bullet that people think it is.

Global Navigation Satellite System

Debate between Lord Lancaster of Kimbolton and Lord Callanan

Wednesday 10th March 2021 Lords Chamber

[Lord Callanan (Con)]

That is the third time that this question has been asked. Government investment in OneWeb was for cutting-edge telecommunications capability based on market analysis. We have always been clear that PNT services were not the rationale for this particular investment.

[Lord Lancaster of Kimbolton (Con)]

My Lords, this is an ambitious project, but I cannot help but feel that, on a cost basis alone, it is one that is best pursued with our allies, perhaps the Five Eyes community. There is no doubt that we have an enormous amount to offer, not just the skills that we hold here in the United Kingdom, but does my noble friend agree that the strategic location of some of our overseas territories in the southern hemisphere will make us very attractive partners?

[Lord Callanan (Con)]

Indeed. I know that my noble friend has great experience in these matters. Collaboration with partners and industry will be vital for success in this field. A new UK capability could offer opportunities to deliver more on global Britain through strengthening our international relationships. We would most likely seek to use our overseas territories for ground-based stations.

Covid-19: Impact of No-deal Brexit on Vaccine Supplies

Debate between Lord Lancaster of Kimbolton and Lord Callanan

Wednesday 16th December 2020 Lords Chamber

[Lord Lancaster of Kimbolton (Con)]

My Lords, as we have just heard, and if press reports are to be believed, Royal Air Force planes are on standby to transport the Covid vaccine in the event of no deal—a perfectly reasonable thing to do under the military aid to the civil authorities rules. However, the rules are very clear that military assets can be used only if all commercial alternatives have been exhausted, so I seek reassurance from my noble friend that those commercial alternatives will be used first.

[Lord Callanan (Con)]

I welcome my noble friend to these Benches. He has acknowledged expertise in this area and, of course, he is quite right: commercial options will be used first, second and third, and the military only as a very last resort.