Cost of Living
Debate between Alec Shelbrooke and Ed Davey
Alec Shelbrooke (Elmet and Rothwell) (Con)
My right hon. Friend mentions the creation of 1.2 million private sector jobs. Does he agree that that is probably why, it has now been revealed, that the country avoided a double-dip recession?
Mr Davey
My hon. Friend is absolutely right. It is worth reflecting on the Government’s record on jobs. The Opposition do not like to talk about it, but the truth is that, despite the difficult circumstances—despite the Government having no money because we must pay down the deficit, and despite not having the growth that we would like in the world, European or UK economies—we have created jobs. That is a very good record.
Mr Davey
The interesting thing is that that definition has two parts: it tries to measure overall fuel poverty in terms of energy efficiency; and, most importantly—it has not been done before—it looks at the depth of fuel poverty. If we consider not just fuel poverty statistics, but income poverty statistics too, we should be most concerned about those in poverty year in, year out—the grinding fuel and income poverty. Unless we have measures that show what is happening to deep fuel poverty and allow us to attack it, we will not be able to deal with fuel poverty. Our measures are more effective and more sophisticated than anything produced by the Labour party.
We must ensure that business energy costs are, through climate change policies, similar across the EU and the globe. One measure that the UK and the EU have pushed is the European carbon market, which is often known as the EU ETS. It is important that the EU ETS carbon price provides incentives and signals to the markets for investment in low carbon, and that it creates a level playing field for industries across the EU. I regret that the vote in the European Parliament on the back-loading proposals was lost by 19 votes. The proposals were part of the reform of the EU ETS. We need to do a lot better. I hope that the ENVI Committee in the European Parliament can come forward with another package so that we can reform the carbon market. That is in everyone’s interest, not just on climate change, but to ensure that we have competitive industries on a level playing field across the European Union.
I want to end by talking briefly about climate change. Some will say that we should put off action on climate change until we get to better financial times, and some will say that we should not be looking at this issue at the moment given our financial and economic problems. I reject those arguments completely. The science of climate change is unequivocal: we have to act now and we should have acted before. That is why we need to reform the EU ETS. It is about not just the back-loading proposals, but structural reform. I am working with fellow EU Ministers and have set up a like-minded group—the Green Growth group—to try to build a coalition at the European Council, so that we can achieve these vital reforms on climate change.
There has been a big debate during the passage of the Energy Bill—a carry-over Bill in the Queen’s Speech—on the proposal for a decarbonisation target, which has a role to play in tackling climate change. Of the general election manifestos from the Liberal Democrats, the Conservatives, the Labour party and even the Green party, guess how many mentioned a decarbonisation target for the power sector? Not a single one. When we published the draft Energy Bill in May 2012, it did not contain a decarbonisation target, and there was no decarbonisation target promised in the coalition agreement. Now we have one in the Bill. The Government have looked at the issue and put the target in the Bill. We are the first Government ever to do that, and it is a very strong move. We are an early mover. The Opposition want to carp at one or two details, but I am afraid that they fail to acknowledge what we have done and what we have delivered.
Alec Shelbrooke
Does my right hon. Friend agree that, whether or not people are sceptical about climate change, reducing our reliance on fossil fuels and carbon is equally as important to energy security as it is to climate change? This policy is very important in making sure that we have energy security in this country.
Mr Davey
My hon. Friend is absolutely spot on. I believe that the climate change science is unambiguous and that we have to act on that basis, but he is absolutely right: there are other reasons to invest in low carbon and energy efficiency. It is important that this country takes a lead on climate change by working with EU colleagues to reform the EU ETS and the European carbon market, by including the decarbonisation target in the Energy Bill, which we have done, and by taking various other measures. Other countries are looking at our measures on electricity market reform and our green deal because they believe that we are leading the way.
All those measures are critical in the run-up to 2015, which is when the climate change talks will take place in France, probably in Paris. During the climate change talks in Durban in 2011 the world agreed to sign a legally binding global treaty at the climate change talks in 2015. This will be a critical moment in the global battle against climate change. We need to ensure that our international legal obligations apply to everyone in the world, not just to Europe or the Kyoto protocol nations. Having agreed in Durban to do that in 2015, we now have to prepare the way to make it a success. Our work here and with the EU is critical because it will enable us to sign a treaty in 2015.
Whether we are trying to keep down costs for people or creating jobs, the package of measures introduced by the Government—not just my Department or the Department for Communities and Local Government, overseen by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State—are focused on helping people in our country. On the longer-term challenges, we have rejected short-term fixes and the siren calls of vested interests. If we are interested in building a new and sustainable economy, we must make it a low-carbon economy and consider the long-term challenges.
I am grateful to the Opposition for how they have debated energy policy over recent months, particularly on the Energy Bill. I have seen a desire to build a consensus, which is really important, because investment to tackle our energy challenges and climate change are, by their very nature, long term, and the investment framework that one builds needs to span not just one Parliament or one Government, but several Parliaments and Governments into the foreseeable future. Building a consensus is critical for successful policies that are as cheap and effective as possible. I look forward to hearing what the right hon. Member for Don Valley (Caroline Flint) has to say. I am sure that she wants to add to that consensus.
Oral Answers to Questions
Debate between Alec Shelbrooke and Ed Davey
Mr Davey
The hon. Gentleman knows the position of Her Majesty’s Government. He knows that we would like a referendum to be held sooner rather than later. We are very committed to ensuring that there is investment in the UK’s energy infrastructure, whether it takes place in Scotland, England, Wales or Northern Ireland. However, some people are saying that uncertainty about an independent state is putting off some investors, and that is one reason for thinking that the independence referendum should be held sooner rather than later.
Alec Shelbrooke (Elmet and Rothwell) (Con)
10. What steps he is taking to reduce domestic energy bills.
The Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change (Mr Edward Davey)
The Government are committed to reducing domestic energy bills, and have put energy efficiency at the heart of their energy policy. The green deal will drive the take-up of energy efficiency measures in homes, helping to reduce energy bills. In addition, the roll-out of smart meters will further reduce energy use. Vulnerable customers will also benefit from the warm home discount, which is worth £1.1 billion over four years.
Alec Shelbrooke
My right hon. Friend will be aware from his constituency, as I am aware from mine, of the pressure that people are coming under with their fuel bills. Will he outline for my constituents, as well as everybody else’s, what the electricity reform Bill will do to help keep costs down?
University Funding (Yorkshire)
Debate between Alec Shelbrooke and Ed DaveyWestminster Hall is an alternative Chamber for MPs to hold debates, named after the adjoining Westminster Hall.
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Mr Davey
The hon. Gentleman is also an honorary doctor. I should put it on the record that I am an honorary fellow of Birkbeck college, London, which is showing the way in how we can be more innovative in the higher education sector. I was interested to note that he referred us to Sir Keith Joseph’s reading list. I am not sure if he wanted us to read the books on that list—probably not; I think he was creating his own reading list. I was delighted that he included a mention of the recent speech made by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills. He was generous enough to say that it was a good and balanced speech, although he made the point that it did not mention innovation, which was the main focus of his speech today.
I reassure the hon. Gentleman that the Government are keen to do what they can to promote innovation. We share his desire to ensure that higher education institutions in Yorkshire and, indeed, across the country are able to maintain their reputation for world-class research, which has been one of Great Britain’s key comparative advantages in recent decades. Although there will be some tough decisions to make, we are determined that when we make them, we will not put that huge reputation and the benefits that the wider economy gets from the work of our great universities at risk.
Alec Shelbrooke
On the point about innovation, something to which the hon. Member for Huddersfield (Mr Sheerman) did not refer—or he may have done in part—is that when universities in the Yorkshire region come together, they have an outstanding opportunity to be the leading nanotechnology specialists in the world. Indeed, York university has one of only four machines in the world that can photograph molecules down to that level and see them lined up, and Huddersfield university has one of the most precise measuring instruments in the world.
Overall, innovation is part of the bread and butter of universities. Will the Minister give some thought to how he can free up universities to enable them to capitalise on the intellectual property that they develop? At the moment, they struggle to do so because their charity status means they are unable to make a profit. If they did, they would be hit by VAT, which would be bad for them. If we can change some of the rules that they play by, a huge income stream would be available to universities, which would bring into universities the investment that we all want to see.
Mr Davey
I am sure that my right hon. Friend the Minister for Universities and Science will want to reflect on those remarks, because we will be searching for new revenue streams. It is incumbent on this Government to do so as we make some difficult decisions about public funding. The hon. Gentleman’s comment is therefore very helpful. The university of Huddersfield is exceedingly expert in that area and has a unique nano-lab facility. As he was saying, that shows the great research facilities that are in the Yorkshire higher education institutions and how they benefit when they work together either across Yorkshire or, indeed, in the N8 group more broadly across the north.