Making Britain a Clean Energy Superpower

Catherine Fookes Excerpts

Friday 26th July 2024 Commons Chamber

[Michael Shanks]

My hon. Friend makes an incredibly important point. This transition has to be hand in hand with the industrial strategy that the Government are driving forward. That is why the Minister of State, Department for Energy Security and Net Zero, my hon. Friend the Member for Croydon West (Sarah Jones) is also a Business and Trade Minister; that will bring together work right across Government on the industrial strategy. We also have to look at the skills for the future, and developing the next generation of apprentices and skilled workers, who will be in jobs that will be with us long into the future.

[Catherine Fookes (Monmouthshire) (Lab)]

My hon. Friend has mentioned Scotland, but I would like to mention Wales again, as did my hon. Friend the Member for Mid and South Pembrokeshire (Henry Tufnell). Monmouthshire has plenty of wind and wave opportunities. We have the tidal River Severn, and we also have small tributaries in the Wye valley, such as the Angidy above Tintern. My constituents are really looking forward to benefiting from the community energy projects mentioned in the Bill. When can our community energy projects start bidding into the process?