Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Baroness McIntosh of Pickering and Lord Barker of Battle

Thursday 27th February 2014 Commons Chamber

[Gregory Barker]

No, it is not. This is an ongoing situation. Ofgem has looked at the issue, but it is not something that one can look at once and then discard. That may be Labour’s approach, but we are maintaining long-term vigilance to make sure that the consumer is looked after on an ongoing basis, month in, month out. It is very important that they will now have the additional benefit of a referral to the competition test.

[Miss Anne McIntosh (Thirsk and Malton) (Con)]

Will my right hon. Friend look at some of the work of Ofgem, and how it allows price rises in the energy sector that are way above inflation whereas Ofwat takes a much tougher line as regards water customers?

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Baroness McIntosh of Pickering and Lord Barker of Battle

Thursday 17th October 2013 Commons Chamber

[Miss Anne McIntosh (Thirsk and Malton) (Con)]

A report by Anna Walker did a huge amount to improve energy and water efficiency. What are the Government doing to educate people, and to advise them not to heat water beyond what they use and to become more energy and water-efficient?

[Gregory Barker]

Any green deal assessment will feature a number of recommendations. We have found that people are very pleased with their assessments. More than 80,000 people have had a green deal survey, and 81% said that as a result of a survey they had taken action, would be taking action or were currently taking action, while 72% said that they were recommending the green deal to their friends. It is still early days, but the green deal, with its range of measures from handy tips to big structural changes in homes, is the way forward.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Baroness McIntosh of Pickering and Lord Barker of Battle

Thursday 6th June 2013 Commons Chamber

[Gregory Barker]

It is anticipated that more than £500 million of the ECO funding will go directly to the most vulnerable and those who need it most, but the balance of the energy company obligation is intended to support roll-outs street by street. It was the specific nature of previous Government schemes under Labour that made them so bureaucratic and ineffective. Our view is that we ultimately need to focus on properties, not just the individuals who live in them.

[Miss Anne McIntosh (Thirsk and Malton) (Con)]

The co-firing of biomass at power stations such as Drax brings enormous opportunities to growers and farmers in Thirsk and Malton, but will the Minister or Secretary of State assure the House that unfair subsidies to imported wood chip are not undermining our home-grown produce?

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Baroness McIntosh of Pickering and Lord Barker of Battle

Thursday 13th December 2012 Commons Chamber

[Gregory Barker]

My right hon. Friend points out that we inherited an appalling level of renewables deployment. We are now changing that very quickly, but he is quite wrong to think that we are seeking to place the entire UK capacity with renewables alone. Nuclear will play a strong role and there will be a big role for gas in the future. As my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State said, what we need is a diverse, clean energy mix and that includes a range of technologies. Perhaps my right hon. Friend will be slightly less afraid of the future than he seems to be at the moment.

[Miss Anne McIntosh (Thirsk and Malton) (Con)]

If nuclear is indeed to be part of the decarbonisation mix, have the Government factored in the long lead-in for planning applications for nuclear power stations?

[Gregory Barker]

We are very confident that we have the right framework in place to deliver the new nuclear build programme on time as anticipated as part of our energy road map.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Baroness McIntosh of Pickering and Lord Barker of Battle

Thursday 8th March 2012 Commons Chamber

[Gregory Barker]

More information is coming in on that all the time. I had a meeting with Ofgem and suppliers recently. I am keen to harvest that information and I am happy to share it with the hon. Lady and the rest of the House as soon as more becomes available.

[Miss Anne McIntosh (Thirsk and Malton) (Con)]

Where are we with nuclear waste? If nuclear power is essential to deliver low-carbon economies, where is the Department in its programme and level of investment for disposing of spent nuclear fuel?

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Baroness McIntosh of Pickering and Lord Barker of Battle

Thursday 26th January 2012 Commons Chamber

[Gregory Barker]

The hon. Lady is right; we are slightly behind. The unseasonably warm weather that we have had this winter, compared with the cold weather last year, has meant that the number of applications has been lower. However, I am in touch with the leaders of our big metropolitan authorities, and I have spoken to the big six energy companies, Citizens Advice and others this week in order to drive forward the roll-out of Warm Front to ensure that we do not have the underspend that she has highlighted.

[Miss Anne McIntosh (Thirsk and Malton) (Con)]

The green deal has just been described as the “game-changer”, but the concern being expressed by those living in Thirsk, Malton and Filey is that it will push up their household energy bills. Will the Minister follow up the suggestion put to the Prime Minister yesterday by looking favourably on schemes such as biomass, rather than unreliable wind farms, in the green energy mix?

[Gregory Barker]

My hon. Friend is a little bit confused. Biomass and other forms of renewable heating or electricity generation have nothing to do with the green deal, which is an energy efficiency roll-out that will reduce the amount of electricity and heating required in homes, but I will certainly be happy to look at her ideas.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Baroness McIntosh of Pickering and Lord Barker of Battle

Thursday 24th March 2011 Commons Chamber

[Gregory Barker]

This is something we are looking at. We have engaged with all the major energy suppliers to create far simpler tariffs. The hon. Lady is absolutely right and if she has something to add—it sounds as though she has—I would be very happy to meet her to harvest her ideas and make sure they are included in the new, improved tariff arrangements that we are bringing forward later this year.

[Miss Anne McIntosh (Thirsk and Malton) (Con)]

One of the easiest ways of introducing immediate energy reduction is educating people to heat hot water only when they need it. What plans do the Government have to bring forward the Walker proposals in this regard?

[Gregory Barker]

There are no such current plans that I am aware of, but my hon. Friend is absolutely right. We would certainly be happy to consider whether there is a way of incorporating those proposals into our existing plans, because we need to do a great deal more.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Baroness McIntosh of Pickering and Lord Barker of Battle

Thursday 16th December 2010 Commons Chamber

[Gregory Barker]

We will announce a robust way forward in the new year that will require a clear route map on how companies are required to report their carbon emissions, as they are required to do by the Climate Change Act 2008.

[Miss Anne McIntosh (Thirsk and Malton) (Con)]

Will my hon. Friend ensure that, through the carbon reporting mechanism, the good work that water companies and others are doing by creating carbon sinks in peat bogs and water storage upstream is more widely known so that we can support it? One example of that is the Pickering pilot project in North Yorkshire, which also brings flood alleviation benefits.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Baroness McIntosh of Pickering and Lord Barker of Battle

Thursday 16th September 2010 Commons Chamber

[Gregory Barker]

I am very pleased to tell the hon. Gentleman that, despite the utterly appalling and irresponsible state of the public finances that we inherited from the Labour Government, we are still able to spend £150 million on innovative technologies in key sectors in the current year. What is more, by finding savings elsewhere, we have been able to find £150 million extra to invest in new apprenticeships in key skills, many of which will be in the low-carbon economy.

[Miss Anne McIntosh (Thirsk and Malton) (Con)]

13. What estimate he has made of the proportion of electricity which is generated from energy-to-waste plants; and if he will make a statement.