Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Charles Hendry and Anne Begg

Thursday 16th December 2010 Commons Chamber

[Charles Hendry]

My hon. Friend will be aware that the United Kingdom is third from bottom in Europe on the electricity it gets from renewable sources, so the situation here is in no way comparable to that in most other European countries. We are absolutely committed to giving local communities greater say on the issues—that is at the heart of the Localism Bill. We are also determined that the host communities should realise real benefits.

[Miss Anne Begg (Aberdeen South) (Lab)]

Perhaps a solution to the question the hon. Member for South Northamptonshire (Andrea Leadsom) has just raised is to put the wind farm offshore. Will the Minister join me in congratulating a project in Aberdeen that yesterday secured €40 million of EU funding to build a centre just off the coast of Aberdeen that will develop technologies that can be used to improve the offshore wind sector?

[Charles Hendry]

I am delighted to join the hon. Lady in congratulating the company on that development. It is one of the areas of the country where there is the greatest potential, because the skills are already there in the engineering side of the oil and gas sector and the people who work in the area. We hope to see significant gains for the north-east of Scotland from developing those technologies.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Charles Hendry and Anne Begg

Thursday 11th November 2010 Commons Chamber

[Charles Hendry]

My hon. Friend is absolutely right. We are keen to see international standards and work on that basis. However, that means bringing other countries up to the standard that already operates in the North sea, rather than lowering our standards to other international levels.

[Miss Anne Begg (Aberdeen South) (Lab)]

What is the Government’s role in the Oil Spill Prevention and Response Advisory Group, which was set up by the industry in the UK in the light of the disaster in the gulf of Mexico?

[Charles Hendry]

OSPRAG is rightly an industry-led initiative. We are working very closely with it, especially on identifying areas where Government involvement in crucial. We are particularly supportive of its work on developing immediate capping devices to ensure that should a disaster occur, it can be dealt with very quickly indeed.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Charles Hendry and Anne Begg

Thursday 16th September 2010 Commons Chamber

[Charles Hendry]

My hon. Friend has a great knowledge of these issues. We are looking at those sorts of solutions to the problems and challenges that we face. It is critical that we find long-term, robust approaches, but in that respect, it is also important to have a mix of energy solutions within the portfolio. Fuels from our own natural resources can contribute to, and greatly enhance, our energy security.

[Miss Anne Begg (Aberdeen South) (Lab)]

I was pleased to hear that gas is part of the future of Britain’s energy supply, but that runs contrary to a document published by the Department in July this year, “2050 Pathways Analysis”. The document looks at UK energy demands in 2050, but gas does not feature. Will the Minister look into that and have a rethink on what role gas will play in our future energy supply?

[Charles Hendry]

The 2050 document looked at a range of scenarios and energy mixes. However, let me reassure the hon. Lady that the Economic Secretary to the Treasury and I were in Aberdeen on Monday to talk to the industry—I think that that was the first such meeting involving both Treasury and Energy and Climate Change Ministers—to identify the long-term investment issues that are critical for the sector. It is absolutely in the national interest to develop the best possible resource return from our assets in the North sea.