Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Anne-Marie Trevelyan and Philip Hollobone

Thursday 20th January 2022 Commons Chamber

[Anne-Marie Trevelyan]

The hon. Gentleman would be surprised if I were to disclose the details of my negotiations mandate at this point, but I think I have already been clear—I will say it again—that it is important that the trade deal is mutually beneficial, and the reduction of barriers to trade such as tariffs will be an important point of the UK’s negotiating mandate.

[Mr Philip Hollobone (Kettering) (Con)]

A free trade agreement with India would be a wonderful thing, but these agreements take a lot of negotiation and a lot of negotiators. When we were in the EU, we lost all our trade negotiators and we have had to build up the Department from scratch. How many free trade negotiators does my right hon. Friend have in her Department? Are there enough or do we need more?

[Anne-Marie Trevelyan]

We have a fantastic team of now extremely experienced negotiators. The team who are now focused on the India FTA not only bring with them a wealth of experience from Whitehall, but are experts drawn from a number of fields. We will be cracking on with these discussions, which will be virtual for the first two weeks, because of the restrictions in India, after which we hope to be able negotiate face to face. The teams—for instance those who worked on the Australia free trade deal—work 24/7, or whatever is required through virtual discussions. We will continue to do that, and we have a fantastic team leading the way.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Anne-Marie Trevelyan and Philip Hollobone

Thursday 2nd December 2021 Commons Chamber

[Anne-Marie Trevelyan]

As I said, we will be hosting a joint innovation summit in March with our Israeli friends in those areas of research and development, as mentioned by the hon. Gentleman. How we can work together between our universities is very much on our list of priorities, and I am also working closely with the Secretary of State for Education to ensure that we link in the international relationships that we want to grow with Israel.

[Mr Philip Hollobone (Kettering) (Con)]

2. How many free trade agreements her Department is negotiating.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Anne-Marie Trevelyan and Philip Hollobone

Tuesday 6th July 2021 Commons Chamber

[Anne-Marie Trevelyan]

I agree that there is significant potential for these new marine technologies. Recent market engagement carried out by the Crown Estate showed a high level of market appetite to develop more projects in the area, which is very encouraging. We will set out the details of the new technology as part of CfD round 4 in the autumn, so I hope that my right hon. Friend can wait that long. In the meantime, I look forward to being able to visit Pembrokeshire to meet him with businesses and those in the community who are keen to progress these projects.

[Mr Philip Hollobone (Kettering) (Con)]

If he will take steps to increase (a) renewable energy production and (b) energy efficiency in the UK.

[The Minister for Business, Energy and Clean Growth (Anne-Marie Trevelyan)]

In December, the Government aim to deliver our biggest auction yet for new renewables, through the contracts for difference scheme. We aim to launch the green heat network fund in April next year. The Government are also committed to investing £9 billion in improving the energy efficiency of our buildings while creating thousands of green skilled jobs.

[Mr Hollobone]

With some 30 major wind turbines and several solar farms, the Kettering constituency is doing its bit for renewable energy. Last year, how much renewable electricity was produced in Kettering? How many homes would it power?

[Anne-Marie Trevelyan]

As at the end of December 2019, the east midlands region produced more than 5,500 GW of electricity from renewable resources, including nearly 1,600 GW from offshore wind. To break that down, 1,534 of the 88,000 renewable electricity installations were in the Kettering constituency, including photovoltaic, onshore wind, anaerobic digestion, landfill gas and plant biomass. This is generating 173 GW, or enough power to power 45,000 homes.