Great British Energy Bill

Debate between Viscount Goschen and Baroness Young of Old Scone

Committee stage
Monday 13th January 2025 Lords Chamber

[Viscount Goschen (Con)]

My Lords, I remind the Committee of my interests in that I own a farm in Devon.

My noble friend Lord Fuller has done the Committee a service by raising the issues of planning and land resource allocation more generally in the context of the Bill. I listened carefully to the remarks of the noble Baroness, Lady Young of Old Scone, and I think she is right: this is a very much broader issue than this relatively narrow Bill. None the less, this is an important moment to raise such issues. I very much hope that we will get a substantive response from the Minister when he addresses these considerations.

[Baroness Young of Old Scone (Lab)]

I was promised by the Conservative Government a land use framework by Christmas 2022; I did not get it. I was promised it by Christmas 2023; I did not get it. I would like it now from a Labour Government.

[Viscount Goschen (Con)]

My Lords, knowing that the noble Baroness has waited so long puts my noble friend’s 12 and a half minutes into perspective. I dare say the Minister will ride to her rescue very shortly.

This is an important issue. We have had a number of agricultural debates over recent weeks, and one of the key themes has been the need to put food production at the very centre of agricultural policy. The view of the farming community is that that really is not the case at the moment. Farmers need clarity around the policy framework in the context of this Bill and, indeed, more broadly.

I listened carefully to the remarks of a number of contributors that even solar installations are long-cycle, high-capital-intensity investment decisions. There is an issue around whether land taken for solar would ever, in reality, be repurposed for agriculture.

I recognise that this is a broader issue in many respects than the narrow confines of the Bill but it is important for the Government to give us the context.