Charles Hendry
Main Page: Charles Hendry (Conservative - Wealden)
Matthew Hancock (West Suffolk) (Con)
3. What plans he has to take account of local public opinion in determining the location of onshore wind farms.
The Minister of State, Department of Energy and Climate Change (Charles Hendry)
We want communities to benefit directly from any wind farms that they host. That is why we will allow councils to keep the additional business rates paid by wind farms and support communities in having a stake in appropriately sited renewable energy projects such as wind farms.
Matthew Hancock
I thank the Minister for that reply. Is he aware of the proposal to build a wind farm near to Stoke by Clare in my constituency, which is in the area of the country that was most often painted by John Constable? What powers will local people have to decide whether that would be appropriate?
Charles Hendry
I am very much aware of that proposal because my hon. Friend has been so assiduous in promoting the concerns of his constituents. We are very keen to ensure that such developments have local support. We want to see more local community partnerships in this area and more financial benefit going to those communities. Of course, planning decisions should take account of environmental concerns as well.
Albert Owen (Ynys Môn) (Lab)
The Secretary of State has mentioned the coalition Government’s new streamlined planning policy. Does that include, in relation to wind power and large wind farms, a Welsh dimension? Will the Welsh Assembly Government be consulted on it and will there be Welsh representation on the new planning unit?
Charles Hendry
We have had discussions with members of the Welsh Assembly Government and we are keen to find a way of continuing to make key infrastructure decisions within the Department of Energy and Climate Change, but of course we understand the desire of local communities in Wales to have their voices fully heard.
Harriett Baldwin (West Worcestershire) (Con)
In addition to considering the opinions of the public and residents regarding the location of wind farms, does the Minister plan to give any guidance to local councils on how close to private homes such wind farms may be built?
Charles Hendry
We have looked at that issue. It seems rather peculiar to set a minimum distance for a wind farm but not for a nuclear power station. We need sensible and sound national policy guidance that enables local councils to make the appropriate decisions, but we will continue to look at all the environmental issues relating to the applications.
Joan Ruddock (Lewisham, Deptford) (Lab)
The Conservative manifesto said that 15% of energy should come from renewable sources such as wind. The Secretary of State said that the proportion should be 40%. Who won?
Charles Hendry
The right hon. Lady is very much aware that we have a legally binding requirement from the EU that renewable sources must supply 15% of our total energy needs by 2020. The former Labour Government set a target for achieving that, whereas we are working out how to deliver it—something that they signally failed to do—in order to make sure that we have a robust policy that stands the test of time.
Joan Ruddock
So the Tories won again. In our manifesto, we said that every council should have a local target to help meet the national target, which was indeed 15%. The Liberal Democrats agreed with that. Is that now the Government’s policy, or have the Tories won again? Will Liberal Democrat and Tory councils still be saying, “Not in my back yard”?
Charles Hendry
The right hon. Lady fails to understand how the coalition works. We have—[Interruption.] We have identified ways to work very constructively together. We are absolutely committed to the principle of localism, which means allowing local people, communities and councils to decide on the issues that affect them most. That lies at the heart of our approach, but we are working out how to deliver on our policies—something that she significantly failed to do in government. It is fine to have ambitious targets, but without the real road map for 2020—and way beyond, to 2050—that we are putting in place, there was no hope of delivering on her high ambitions.
Nadhim Zahawi (Stratford-on-Avon) (Con)
4. What steps he is taking to increase the security of the UK’s energy supply.
Tessa Munt (Wells) (LD)
9. What his policy is on the construction of electricity transmission lines in designated landscapes; and if he will make a statement.
The Minister of State, Department of Energy and Climate Change (Charles Hendry)
It is for transmission network companies to put forward proposals for new transmission lines. The regulatory price control and planning processes then determine the appropriate balance between the need, costs and impacts of transmission lines in each location. Each case has to be considered on its merits.
Tessa Munt
I thank my hon. Friend for his reply. Is he aware that the people of Wells in particular and Somerset generally—some 26,000 people—are hugely dependent on tourism? That is inextricably linked with the environment, the landscape and people’s health, and even though a large area of my constituency has the potential to become the 17th world heritage site, potential is not enough in itself to protect people from the environmental vandalism, attendant health risks and other matters that come with placing 152-ft pylons across the landscape.
Charles Hendry
My hon. Friend made those points very effectively in her eloquent maiden speech yesterday, on which I congratulate her. I know that she and her constituents will make active representations to National Grid during its consultation process. That is absolutely the right way for her to take her concerns forward, and I urge her to take every opportunity to do so.
Ian Lucas (Wrexham) (Lab)
Have the Tory-Lib Dem Front-Bench team detected that their lofty ideals are being frustrated at every turn by every Government Back Bencher who is frustrating the development of a real green policy by constantly putting forward objections to any proposals for development in their constituency? How will the Minister solve that problem?
Charles Hendry
It is called local democracy, to which we are absolutely committed. If people have concerns about 150-ft pylons going through their communities, they should be able to express them. If people have concerns about new development, they should be allowed to express them. We are trying to ensure a realistic balance between bringing on stream renewable energy sources, which are in the national interest, and allowing communities to express their views.
Julian Smith (Skipton and Ripon) (Con)
10. What his plans are for expenditure on the development of carbon capture and storage technology for gas-fired power stations.
The Minister of State, Department of Energy and Climate Change (Charles Hendry)
I am grateful to my hon. Friend for his question. The Government will continue public sector investment in carbon capture and storage—CCS—technology for four coal-fired power stations. The Committee on Climate Change has recommended that we give serious consideration to funding at least one gas CCS project as part of that programme, and we are carefully evaluating whether a demonstration project on gas would prove beneficial and add value to the programme.
Julian Smith
Will the Minister confirm that the Government are committed to providing the long-term infrastructure investments that will make the Yorkshire and Humber CCS cluster a worldwide success?
Charles Hendry
My hon. Friend puts his finger on one of the most important issues that the previous Government failed to address. If we are to make a real success of carbon capture and storage, we have to develop the infrastructure of oversized pipelines and encourage clusters of those facilities in certain areas. We have to take a long-term strategic view, and a good deal of work is being done in Yorkshire and Humberside, on which I congratulate all those involved.
Katy Clark (North Ayrshire and Arran) (Lab)
Has the Minister had any discussions with the Scottish Government about the development of carbon capture in Scotland, and in particular has he received any representations on the proposed new coal-fired plant at Hunterston?
Charles Hendry
I had an initial discussion with the First Minister last week, and we are determined to work closely through the respect agenda to ensure that the taking forward of devolved issues is fully within the Scottish Government’s remit. We want clean coal to play an active part in our energy policy, but it must be genuinely clean coal.
Mr Philip Hollobone (Kettering) (Con)
11. If he will bring forward proposals to increase the surplus of projected electricity generation over demand after 2015.
Kerry McCarthy (Bristol East) (Lab)
T2. The Minister will, I hope, be aware that there is real uncertainty and nervousness in the energy industry about the decision to scrap the Infrastructure Planning Commission, which is based in Bristol. What reassurances can he give me that whatever replaces that body will not delay the approval of infrastructure projects and will provide certainty to the industry so that it can plan ahead?
The Minister of State, Department of Energy and Climate Change (Charles Hendry)
I hope the hon. Lady will have seen the reaction from the major energy companies this week to the statement made by the Minister of State, Department for Communities and Local Government, my right hon. Friend the Member for Tunbridge Wells (Greg Clark). It showed that there is absolute clarity. There will not be a delay and there will be a strict time scale for making decisions in these matters. However, we are determined to introduce greater democratic accountability and to ensure that the risk therefore of judicial review can be reduced.
Greg Mulholland (Leeds North West) (LD)
T5. The loft insulation programme is most welcome from the point of view of saving money for households and for the environmental benefit. However, can the Secretary of State assure the House that there will be a particular focus on the vulnerable and those most susceptible to fuel poverty?
Alec Shelbrooke (Elmet and Rothwell) (Con)
I urge the Minister, when electricity smart meters are in place, to look strongly at insisting that new build houses have solar panel roofs, especially in social housing, which will help to reduce fuel poverty.
Charles Hendry
We are absolutely determined to move forward rather more quickly on smart metering. The position that we inherited—to roll out smart metering by 2020—was pathetically unambitious, and we are determined to bring it forward by some years. It will bring exactly the benefits that my hon. Friend talks about: encouraging microgeneration, helping with fuel poverty and really helping us to move towards a low-carbon economy.
Caroline Lucas (Brighton, Pavilion) (Green)
T7. According to a recent Conservative party report, “Rebuilding Security”, the party advocates “policies designed for hunting” new UK oil reserves as well as offering “the right incentives to explore for and extract the remaining reserves of oil and gas”Does the Minister agree that a moratorium on all new deep-sea offshore drilling is essential, at least until a full investigation into the spill in the gulf of Mexico has been completed?
Charles Hendry
I do not agree with the hon. Lady on this issue. We have in place in the North sea the toughest environmental regime in the world. In the light of the tragedy in the gulf of Mexico, we have doubled the number of inspections and increased by half the number of inspectors. We have a very tough regime and we have a national interest in ensuring that we get the best possible return from the natural resources in the North sea.
Miss Anne McIntosh (Thirsk and Malton) (Con)
Drax power station takes an enormous amount of natural material from constituencies such as Thirsk and Malton. It is also a renewable power supply and reduces CO2 emissions. How do the Government think we can increase and encourage expenditure in this exciting form of renewable energy?
Charles Hendry
I am seeing the chief executive of Drax almost immediately after Question Time today, so I will have the opportunity to explore that further with her. The co-firing of biomass can make an important contribution, but we have to be certain that it is done sustainably. There are questions about the great deal of shipping involved in the transportation of biomass, but it can certainly make a contribution to reducing our carbon emissions.
Tony Lloyd (Manchester Central) (Lab)
T8. I am sure the Secretary of State would agree that not only is he responsible for energy but that, as far as climate change goes, he has a duty to drive this policy through every aspect of Government. In that light, can he tell the House how many times this has been an agenda item before the Cabinet?
Charlotte Leslie (Bristol North West) (Con)
In my constituency there is a reapplication for a biofuel plant burning palm oil and jatropha. There is great fear that although they are renewable sources of energy, they are not sustainable. Can my hon. Friend please tell me what assessment he will be making of the eligibility of such fuels for renewables obligation certificates, which make such applications possible?
Charles Hendry
We are looking at the structure of ROCs at the moment. We are absolutely clear that biofuels have a role to play, but it must be sustainable. That point will be at the heart of the way in which we look forward on such issues.
Mr Dennis Skinner (Bolsover) (Lab)
The Minister said earlier that he objected to the idea of 150-foot turbines near villages, so is there a planning rule of thumb emerging, of, say, 1, 2 or 5 km away?
Charles Hendry
I did not say that I objected to them; I said that local communities had the right to object to them. That goes to the heart of local democracy. What we are saying is that local voices have to be heard in the process, and we are absolutely committed to making that happen. We have not set a rule for how far wind turbines should be from habitation—we share that position with the previous Government—because the one house that they are near could be the house of the person who wants to put them up. Therefore, having a rule would be to take a completely self-defeating approach.
David Morris (Morecambe and Lunesdale) (Con)
Following on from the question by my hon. Friend the Member for Elmet and Rothwell (Alec Shelbrooke), may I ask the Minister whether any steps are being taken to look into evening out the tariffs for electricity usage by card meter payments and by billing? I believe that there is a differential, so are there any plans to sort that out and make it easier for everyone to pay the same tariff, purely and simply because that would lead to energy conservation?
Charles Hendry
We have been very concerned indeed about the relatively higher tariffs that people on prepayment meters pay for the electricity and gas that they use. Addressing that will be one of the most significant gains of smart metering. If we look at the experience of Northern Ireland, where smart meters have already been largely rolled out, we see that people on prepayment meters pay less than people on standard tariffs. That is the sort of gain that we want to achieve for people right across the United Kingdom.