Oral Answers to Questions
Debate between Barry Sheerman and Lord Barker of Battle
Gregory Barker
I am very concerned about the point that the hon. Lady raises about her constituent. Obviously, there are some specifics involved—for example, how much his occupational pension is. Clearly, she is concerned and I would be happy to look at the matter in more detail if she would like to meet me.
Mr Barry Sheerman (Huddersfield) (Lab/Co-op)
The Minister keeps making announcements about how well the green deal is going, but it does not seem to be going very fast. No one today has mentioned smart metering. Many of us thought the way to make our constituents more conscious of how much they are spending on energy and reducing it would be through smart metering. How is smart metering rolling out now?
Gregory Barker
We have one of the most ambitious smart metering programmes in Europe, which we will roll out over this decade. The hon. Gentleman is right—the increasing deployment of smart meters will certainly work well with the green deal. If he talks to some of the entrepreneurs and the new companies coming into the market, which are backing the green deal and getting behind it, he will get a very encouraging picture indeed. There is a huge amount of innovation happening that we should all be proud of.
Oral Answers to Questions
Debate between Barry Sheerman and Lord Barker of Battle(10 years, 9 months ago)
Commons ChamberRead Full debate Read Hansard Text
Gregory Barker
During the past few months we have certainly been taking advantage of the fact that we now have the green deal up and running, and we have been improving the experience of the green deal, both for the consumer and the supply chain. We have now had more than 145,000 assessments by the green deal, and we know that it is getting high levels of customer satisfaction and that more than 80% of people who have had an assessment are moving on to install measures.
Mr Barry Sheerman (Huddersfield) (Lab/Co-op)
Since the privatisation of the public utilities, in Yorkshire the gas is now owned by the Germans, electricity by the Chinese and water by the Singaporeans. Should not the six major energy companies be driving this bid? We know that the Government are really lacking in green energy and the green deal. Why cannot the Minister galvanise the six energy companies, or should I ask Mrs Merkel this morning?
Oral Answers to Questions
Debate between Barry Sheerman and Lord Barker of Battle(11 years, 1 month ago)
Commons ChamberRead Full debate Read Hansard Text
Gregory Barker
My hon. Friend will know that this Government have put much greater emphasis on driving forward the efforts to develop the potential for marine energy around our shoreline. We have created two marine energy parks to do that. Tidal lagoon is a very interesting technology. The project in Swansea is at a pre-planning application stage, so I cannot give a specific answer on that project, but we are interested in working on research and development to drive the technology forward.
Mr Barry Sheerman (Huddersfield) (Lab/Co-op)
I do not know whether the Minister is as early a riser as I am, but on “Farming Today” there was a poor farmer who had been encouraged by a £1 million grant to grow willow and miscanthus. There is no market for it, nor great storage for it, so what kind of policy is that? Will the Minister listen to that programme, even if he has to listen to it on iPlayer, and do something about farmers who are trying to contribute to renewable energy?
Gregory Barker
A poor farmer with a £1 million grant seems a slight oxymoron, but I am sure that the hon. Gentleman is making a real point. I will happily look into the programme he mentions, but I regularly meet the National Farmers Union, the Country Land and Business Association and a range of stakeholders with an interest in bioenergy. We are making great progress under this Government and picking up the slack left by the last.
Energy and Climate Change
Debate between Barry Sheerman and Lord Barker of Battle(11 years, 5 months ago)
Ministerial CorrectionsRead Full debate Read Hansard Text
Mr Barry Sheerman (Huddersfield) (Lab/Co-op)
Does the Minister agree that smart metering gives the consumer—the householder—real information on how much energy they are using? How quickly can we get smart metering into every home in Britain, hopefully along with a carbon monoxide detector that will save people’s lives?
Gregory Barker
First, on carbon monoxide detectors, the hon. Gentleman is the champion in this House of that very important technology and I thank him for his engagement with my Department. We are working closely to ensure that the green deal will push through the roll-out of carbon monoxide detectors.
On smart meters, we now have what we believe to be the most ambitious programme in Europe, beginning in earnest in 2014 and completing by 2019. It is very exciting and very radical.
[Official Report, 6 June 2013, Vol. 563, c. 1645.]
Letter of correction from Gregory Barker:
An error has been identified in the oral answer given on 6 June 2013 to the hon. Member for Huddersfield (Mr Sheerman).
The correct answer should have been:
Oral Answers to Questions
Debate between Barry Sheerman and Lord Barker of Battle
Gregory Barker
If my hon. Friend has real evidence of profiteering, we would love to see it. If he shares it with us, we will take steps to crack down on it.
Mr Barry Sheerman (Huddersfield) (Lab/Co-op)
Does the Minister agree that smart metering gives the consumer—the householder—real information on how much energy they are using? How quickly can we get smart metering into every home in Britain, hopefully along with a carbon monoxide detector that will save people’s lives?[Official Report, 12 June 2013, Vol. 564, c. 1MC.]
Gregory Barker
First, on carbon monoxide detectors, the hon. Gentleman is the champion in this House of that very important technology and I thank him for his engagement with my Department. We are working closely to ensure that the green deal will push through the roll-out of carbon monoxide detectors.
On smart meters, we now have what we believe to be the most ambitious programme in Europe, beginning in earnest in 2014 and completing by 2019. It is very exciting and very radical.
Energy Bill
Debate between Barry Sheerman and Lord Barker of Battle
Gregory Barker
We now turn to the topics of electricity demand reduction and route to market. I shall speak in favour of the new clauses and amendments in the name of the Secretary of State and I thank hon. Members for tabling the other new clauses and amendments in this group, prompting debate on this vital set of issues.
I will start by setting out the Government’s approach to electricity demand reduction. Making good my pledge in Committee, the Government have brought forward new clauses 11 and 12 and amendments 100 and 135, which, for the very first time in our energy history, would allow energy saving projects to compete for new investment on an equal footing with power stations. It has long been recognised that in many cases it is cheaper, as well as greener, to save electricity rather than generate it. However, the coalition’s radical legislative proposals for large-scale energy efficiency are a double win—a win not only for the green agenda, but for hard-pressed consumers worried about rising bills.
The fact is that successive Governments have failed to grab the opportunity to get units of saved power, or “negawatts” as they are sometimes called, to compete with traditional megawatts. Thanks to this reforming Energy Bill, the era of negawatts has finally arrived. We already have a number of important policies aimed at driving greater efficiency, but these measures mean that we can go further. As I said to the Financial Times way back in September 2010, we need to create new markets for electricity efficiency projects to bring in the scale of new investment needed that is commensurate with the challenges and opportunities.
Following our consultation on options to promote electricity demand reduction, we concluded that a new financial incentive would be the most effective way of delivering a step change in the efficient use of electricity. The most cost-effective way to achieve this, without cannibalising the budget for renewables, is to include demand reduction in our proposed capacity market, and that is achieved through Government amendment 100. Hon. Members and their constituents can now be reassured that while we have a massive, multi-billion pound, low-carbon infrastructure programme ahead of us, we will not be building expensive new energy plants unnecessarily where cheaper alternatives for energy efficiency are available.
Delivering EDR through the capacity market will let us achieve three key objectives: targeting reductions at more expensive peak times; securing value for money because it will set megawatts against potentially cheaper “negawatts”; and bringing permanent demand reduction projects into line with shorter-term demand-side response measures to enable more effective, joined-up delivery of energy efficiency across the board. The approach of delivering EDR through a capacity market is proven—it is already being done in the United States of America—but our approach is more visionary and will certainly be much more ambitious. Government new clause 12 will provide a spending power to enable our approach to be tested via a large pilot, or pilots, to better understand, among other things, the complexity of the issue and the scale of the potential. Government new clause 11 and Government amendment 135 allow the Secretary of State to appoint and make payments to an alternative delivery body to National Grid for the capacity market. If it is decided that National Grid is not best placed to carry out the EDR elements of the scheme, then we will have this legislation ready.
I am most grateful to the hon. Members for Southampton, Test (Dr Whitehead) and for Brighton, Pavilion (Caroline Lucas) for their thoughtful amendments, which were tabled prior to the Government’s amendments. I am also grateful for their consistent and constructive, as well as passionate, advocacy of this agenda. I particularly thank the hon. Member for Southampton Test. He and I have long been proponents of action in this area, but his expertise in and technical understanding of these issues are, I think, universally acknowledged to be unsurpassed in this House. I hope that the House will join me in recognising his contribution. Amendments 34 to 41 seek to include demand reduction in a capacity market. In the light of the amendments that I have tabled, which achieve that objective, I hope that hon. Members will feel comfortable withdrawing their amendments.
New clause 2, with its amendment, would require the Secretary of State to publish a strategy to reduce a stated amount of electricity demand by 2020 and 2030 while requiring no use of the price mechanism to reduce demand. I welcome the principle behind the proposal. However, let me point out that as well as establishing the first ever Energy Efficiency Deployment Office within my Department, the Government have published a number of seminal documents, including the first ever comprehensive Government energy efficiency strategy, which will be updated again later this year. We have also published DECC’s energy and emissions projections and, most recently, the Government response to our EDR consultation. These documents provide a comprehensive view of the Government’s approach, which was encapsulated at the launch by the Prime Minister of the first ever energy efficiency mission earlier this year.
Mr Barry Sheerman (Huddersfield) (Lab/Co-op)
I want to push the Minister on that point. Will any of those documents address the opportunities for smart metering to play a role in the rapid reduction in energy use in domestic and other premises? Many of us believe that smart metering is the answer for a dramatic reduction. Moreover, the Minister will know that I have tabled new clause 16, which would require the installation of carbon monoxide detectors alongside smart meters. That would help reduce the 40 deaths and 4,000 admissions to A and E a year caused by carbon monoxide poisoning.
Oral Answers to Questions
Debate between Barry Sheerman and Lord Barker of Battle(11 years, 8 months ago)
Commons ChamberRead Full debate Read Hansard Text
Gregory Barker
We do not have an exact figure, but we do think the green deal framework, supported by the ECO, is the best way of driving forward the very ambitious take-up of insulation measures that we will need not just in this Parliament, but throughout the decade.
Mr Barry Sheerman (Huddersfield) (Lab/Co-op)
I am sure the Secretary of State knows about the Innovate UK conference held in Islington in London this week. Will he take a greater interest in clean, energy-efficient, sustainable production? There is a great market for Britain in this field; we lead the world, but we need leadership to make sure we conquer China, India and other markets.
Oral Answers to Questions
Debate between Barry Sheerman and Lord Barker of Battle(11 years, 10 months ago)
Commons ChamberRead Full debate Read Hansard Text
Gregory Barker
Clearly the Government have a role. My hon. Friend may have seen the green deal adverts that have run in the press. They will continue to run this weekend and the weekend after. We will also be launching a digital campaign. This is a tightly focused, value-for-money campaign, not a huge advertising splurge. The real drive will come from the individual offers. What marks the green deal out as different from previous Government energy efficiency programmes is that there will be huge choice, huge competition and lots of market participants.
Mr Barry Sheerman (Huddersfield) (Lab/Co-op)
Does the Minister share my disappointment about the fact that many of us thought that the green deal would be an opportunity for small and medium-sized businesses up and down the country not only to fit smoke alarms and CO monitors at the same time, but to prepare for smart metering? I now understand that CO alarms will not be fitted under the green deal, unlike I was led to believe, and that smart metering has been put on hold.
Gregory Barker
First, smart metering has not been put on hold; we have a very ambitious roll-out. The green deal has got off to a good start and had 42,000 visitors to its website on Monday alone. I understand that CO alarms are part of the green deal assessment, but I will willingly discuss that with the hon. Gentleman, who I know has a long history on the issue.
Oral Answers to Questions
Debate between Barry Sheerman and Lord Barker of Battle
Gregory Barker
My hon. Friend raises a good point. We know what investors want. They want TLC—transparency, longevity and certainty. Unlike previous short-term or stop-go policies, such as the carbon emissions reduction target and the community energy saving programme, the green deal is designed to run well into the 2020s, giving investors exactly the sort of longevity and certainty they need.
Mr Barry Sheerman (Huddersfield) (Lab/Co-op)
14. What discussions he has had with the chair of the Environment Agency on induced hydraulic fracturing.
Gregory Barker
My hon. Friend has hit the nail on the head. Previous programmes were monopolistic, did not offer real choice and were not open to real competition. The green deal will change all that. We are going to have genuine competition, real choice and real ability for local players to come into this exciting market.
Mr Barry Sheerman (Huddersfield) (Lab/Co-op)
The Secretary of State knows that if we are to get energy security and diversity, we have to invest now in big infrastructure projects, but he knows also that nimbyism, often so rampant in the questions put in this Chamber, is a great barrier to planning permission. What is he going to do about planning for decent infrastructure to achieve those objectives?
Oral Answers to Questions
Debate between Barry Sheerman and Lord Barker of Battle
Gregory Barker
My hon. Friend is absolutely right. There has been a sea change in safety and environmental standards as well as in the type of technologies that can now be deployed. These smaller, new technologies often have a role to play, particularly in our vision of an ambitious roll-out of decentralised energies and of communities taking more responsibility for and greater ownership of their own energy-generating assets.
Mr Barry Sheerman (Huddersfield) (Lab/Co-op)
Is the Minister aware that there are some very good energy-from-waste operations at the moment that, with a little co-operation with local authorities and a little help from the Government, could be converted into combined heat and power to heat local communities, hospitals and town centres? That is what happens in Sheffield and it could happen in many other places.
Gregory Barker
The hon. Gentleman makes a very good point. I have visited the site in Sheffield and it is a beacon of what can be done and of the benefit that we can get from such assets. We want to see a big expansion in CHP, not forgetting the hierarchy that means that before considering energy from waste, we should prevent, reuse, recycle and recover. We think CHP has a big future and will bring forward further proposals to encourage it.
Oral Answers to Questions
Debate between Barry Sheerman and Lord Barker of Battle
Gregory Barker
There is nothing retrospective about the proposals that we are consulting on. The hon. Lady must accept that demand for the scheme is overwhelming compared with the budget that is available, and way beyond that which was anticipated by her own Government. We have to make very difficult decisions in balancing one factor against the other, but at the centre of our decision-making process will be a concern to ensure that this is a viable scheme that keeps the industry alive for the long term and does not support a short-term bubble.
Oral Answers to Questions
Debate between Barry Sheerman and Lord Barker of Battle
Gregory Barker
It is about dissemination of information, for which our new web-based initiative will be an important tool. Obviously, unlike the previous Government, we will not be spending lots of money on pamphlets and advertising. We have to be cautious about that, but we are doing our best to get the message out there, and ensure that communities and local councils have the information they need.
Mr Barry Sheerman (Huddersfield) (Lab/Co-op)
Does the Minister agree that the third sector plays an important part in small-scale renewables and much else that we have been discussing in Question Time today? On this, the six-month anniversary of this Government, does he realise that the third sector is being destroyed because of the uncertainty of funding, and that it will not last much longer in the environmental area?