Orgreave: Public Inquiry into Policing

Debate between Amber Rudd and Ian Lavery

Wednesday 20th July 2016 Commons Chamber

[Amber Rudd]

I thank the hon. Gentleman for his view, but I repeat that it would be wrong for me to just, as he puts it, “get on with it”. I want to look at the evidence; the process must be driven by evidence. The Orgreave Truth and Justice Campaign spent six months pulling together a substantial package and body of evidence. I will not ignore its work; I will take a careful look at all of it.

[Ian Lavery (Wansbeck) (Lab)]

I am really concerned at the language already being used by the right hon. Lady about the Orgreave incident. She just classified the incident at the Dispatch Box as a “miners’ clash”. Would she like to clarify those words to the House?

[Amber Rudd]

I am happy to refer to it as an incident—the word that the hon. Gentleman uses—but it is more important to ensure that we look carefully at all the evidence. Once I have had a look at all the evidence and have reached a conclusion, I will be able to come back and describe it as what it really was.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Amber Rudd and Ian Lavery

Thursday 11th February 2016 Commons Chamber

[Ian Lavery (Wansbeck) (Lab)]

This morning, energy experts reported that we were way behind on the target emission levels set at the Paris COP and in the fourth carbon budget. This comes only weeks after the important agreement in Paris. How on earth can this be the case?

[Amber Rudd]

The hon. Gentleman might be aware that the Paris agreement called for temperature increases to be limited to a maximum of 2°, yet the intended nationally determined contributions—the voluntary contributions from each country—only reached 2.7°, so that comes as no surprise. Everyone who signed up to the agreement—let us celebrate the fact that nearly 200 countries did so—knows that there is more work to do. It is not the end of the journey; it is just the start.

Climate Change and Flooding

Debate between Amber Rudd and Ian Lavery

Tuesday 15th December 2015 Commons Chamber

[The Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change (Amber Rudd)]

I thank the Labour party for bringing this issue to the House, and I thank all the Members who have taken part in what has been an animated and energetic debate.

The exceptional rainfall that we have seen over the past couple of weeks has led to some very distressing situations for families and businesses in parts of the country where serious flooding has occurred. The hon. Member for Workington (Sue Hayman) did indeed speak movingly about the impact on her constituency, but the hon. Member for Barrow and Furness (John Woodcock) reminded us that, despite that devastation, communities were open for business. I thank the hon. Members for Inverclyde (Ronnie Cowan) and for Berwickshire, Roxburgh and Selkirk (Calum Kerr) for describing the experience in Scotland. I also thank the hon. Member for Fermanagh and South Tyrone (Tom Elliott). He reminded us to liaise closely with our Northern Ireland counterparts, which we will of course do.

Like many other Members, I pay tribute to the work of the emergency responders, including the fire service—especially in view of the example given by the hon. Member for Heywood and Middleton (Liz McInnes)—and the volunteers who have worked tirelessly to return people to safety, to restore power supplies, and to clean up quickly so that people can return to their homes as soon as possible.

[Ian Lavery]

It has been said time and again how valuable and heroic the fire and rescue services have been in cases of flood, including those in not just Cumbria but Northumberland this week. Why is there so much resistance to giving them a statutory duty to carry out floodwater rescues?

[Amber Rudd]

Several other Members have made the same suggestion. All I can say at this stage is that I hope various Ministers will continue to consider it, because I share the hon. Gentleman’s admiration for all the effort and work that the fire and rescue services have put into helping people.

Over the next six years, we will invest £2.3 billion in flood defence. That is a real-terms increase on the £1.7 billion that was invested during the last Parliament. The hon. Member for Swansea West (Geraint Davies) made some helpful suggestions about future spending on mitigation, while the hon. Member for Lancaster and Fleetwood (Cat Smith) called for more support. I remind the hon. Lady that £60 million has already been invested in flood defences to protect Fleetwood. More than 200 schemes are currently being constructed in England, and we will deliver on our manifesto commitment to provide better protection for 300,000 more homes.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Amber Rudd and Ian Lavery

Thursday 19th November 2015 Commons Chamber

[Amber Rudd]

I reassure my hon. Friend that that is something we intend to do, but it will be subject to a consultation. We will have the opportunity to look at that issue, but we are talking about 10 years hence, so I hope that there will be plenty of opportunities to ensure that areas can adapt and benefit from other areas of industry that will emerge.

[Ian Lavery (Wansbeck) (Lab)]

If the Government are serious about meeting the targets on emission levels, instead of yesterday announcing the closure of the coal-fired power stations, would it not have been eminently sensible to come forward with a serious attempt at carbon capture and storage, which would enable us to burn the fossil fuels, coal and shale gas with near-zero emissions, providing secure, affordable energy for generations to come?

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Amber Rudd and Ian Lavery

Thursday 19th March 2015 Commons Chamber

[Ian Lavery (Wansbeck) (Lab)]

11. What steps he is taking to help households improve their energy efficiency

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change (Amber Rudd)]

Making households more energy efficient is the surest and safest way to reduce energy bills. Thanks to the energy companies obligation and green deal schemes, more than 1 million homes have been made more energy efficient, helping households stay permanently warmer for less. In Luton North, more than 2,726 households have been helped by ECO alone, which is nearly the twice the national average in respect of households.

[Amber Rudd]

I do not share the hon. Gentleman’s interpretation. Fuel poverty under this Government has gone down. The changes to the ECO specifically took £50 off the bill, but reserved the amount that was to help the vulnerable and those on low incomes. So we have continued to focus on low-income and vulnerable people, to ensure that they are the first households to be made warmer for less.

[Ian Lavery]

With one in 10 green deal companies being struck off, what assurances can the Minister give constituents of mine, and people across the country, who might suffer as a result of lower standards and shoddy workmanship?

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[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change (Amber Rudd)]

Solar energy has been a great success under this Government. As my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State pointed out, 99% of solar energy developments have taken place under this Government, not least because of the great boost given by my right hon. Friend the Member for Bexhill and Battle (Gregory Barker), who put together the solar strategy in 2014, for which we are very grateful. The great news about solar energy is that it is likely to become subsidy-free in the next five years. That will be a classic example of investing in renewable energy and making sure that, as it increases, it becomes subsidy-free.

[Ian Lavery (Wansbeck) (Lab)]

T7. Hundreds of jobs are still waiting on a state aid application from UK Coal. The Minister promised an announcement would be made before the Dissolution of Parliament. Will he confirm when it will take place and whether it will be before the Dissolution?

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Amber Rudd and Ian Lavery

Thursday 5th February 2015 Commons Chamber

[Amber Rudd]

My right hon. Friend is entirely right. The reduction in cost and the success of solar PV mean that, according to the industry itself, it will become subsidy free, we hope, by the end of the decade. That is because of investment under this Government. It will be something to celebrate, and something that the taxpayer, as well as everyone in the Government, will appreciate.

[Ian Lavery (Wansbeck) (Lab)]

There are some excellent energy companies springing up in my constituency, such as Saving Energy Renewables, a PV solar panel firm, but projects are stalling because of the low-grade capacity for exporting energy from the systems. What can the Government do to ensure that companies can connect these systems and make serious contributions to both rooftop solar and deployment as part of the solar road map laid out by this Government?

[Amber Rudd]

Solar is an essential part of the renewable energy mix; the hon. Gentleman is entirely right. We continue to look at this under the community energy strategy, and hope to develop plans to help deliver the sorts of projects he mentioned.