Domestic Gas and Electricity (Tariff Cap) Bill

Debate between Claire Perry and Lindsay Hoyle

Wednesday 18th July 2018 Commons Chamber

[The Minister for Energy and Clean Growth (Claire Perry)]

I beg to move, That this House disagrees with Lords amendment 1.

[Mr Deputy Speaker (Sir Lindsay Hoyle)]

With this it will be convenient to take Government amendment (a) in lieu of Lords amendment 1.

[Claire Perry]

As Members will know, the Bill has received very broad and strong cross-party support during its passage through this House. I thank all of those who have spoken, who have worked behind the scenes, who have lobbied and who have voted for a very important piece of legislation. I repeat my thanks to the hon. Member for Leeds West (Rachel Reeves), who is not in her place, for her excellent stewardship of the Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy Committee, which contains Members from all parties, and for her continued support on the Bill. The Committee did some excellent work during the Bill’s pre-legislative scrutiny.

I also extend my thanks to the hon. Member for Southampton, Test (Dr Whitehead) and the Labour Front-Bench team for their extremely constructive approach to this Bill and for helping us to develop an amendment that we will come on to debate in a moment.

First, we must consider the amendment that was made in the other place about what will be done to protect consumers when the price cap comes to an end. That is an extremely important question. As the Government have made clear, the price cap is a temporary intervention to protect consumers on standard variable and default tariffs while other reforms continue apace to bring about the conditions for effective competition in the retail market. I understand the concerns, which have been raised by Members from all parts of the House and by Members in the other place, that there is a risk that some features of the market may remain that will need to be addressed. For instance, as the energy market is reformed, it is absolutely vital that the protection of vulnerable customers in this market is kept under review, and action taken if necessary to afford those customers the protections they need.

There are also concerns about the possible return of practices such as tease and squeeze, which is essentially enticing people onto cheap fixed tariff deals only to move them on to higher tariff deals when the fixed period ends. I agree wholeheartedly that we must seek to end those practices. However, introducing a requirement such as the Lords amendment seeks to do, which essentially commits us to an indefinite price cap, is not the appropriate solution. Instead, the Government propose amendment (a) in lieu of the Lords amendment, which will ensure that Ofgem must conduct a review before the end of the price-cap period into the pricing practices of suppliers and, in particular, identify whether there are categories of customers who are currently paying, or who may in future be at risk of paying, excessive charges for standard variable and default tariffs.

In reviewing the practices of suppliers and identifying whether consumers are paying excessive charges, the regulator must consider whether there are consumers who will be excessively negatively affected when they move from fixed rates to standard variable tariffs—the tease and squeeze problem—and also whether vulnerable customers continue to require protection. If it is the regulator’s view that protections are indeed required, the amendment says that necessary steps must be taken to provide those protections, using a broad set of existing powers under the Gas Act 1986 and the Electricity Act 1989.

It is the Government’s view that amendment (a) therefore futureproofs something that we all care so strongly about in this place—the protection of consumers from excessive charges, particularly on SVT and default rate tariffs—and rightly provides in the Bill the necessary impetus and discretion to the regulator to consider the most appropriate response to those excessive tariffs under its existing powers.

Clean Growth Strategy

Debate between Claire Perry and Lindsay Hoyle

Thursday 12th October 2017 Commons Chamber

[Claire Perry]

The answer is no. Although we have all invested in some of these progressive energy investments, prices are clearly falling. Only a couple of weeks ago, I opened the first subsidy-free solar farm in the UK. As we have pushed towards this low-carbon future, my right hon. Friend’s bills have likely gone down. He will be using less energy in his home because of the LED light bulbs he has installed and all the new appliances he has bought, which are much more energy efficient.

[Mr Deputy Speaker (Mr Lindsay Hoyle)]

If we had succinct questions, we might get succinct answers. “No” would have been helpful.

[Matthew Pennycook (Greenwich and Woolwich) (Lab)]

The strategy rightly supports the continuing roll-out of district heating across the country. May I impress on the Minister the real risk that the environmental benefits of the technology will be overshadowed by systemic problems in the industry? There are scores of such schemes in my constituency and many more in the pipeline. In each and every case, constituents are convinced that they are not getting a fair deal on tariff pricing, standing charges, transparency on consumption and billing, and system performance. The situation cries out for effective statutory regulation. As the Minister takes the strategy forward, will she bear that issue in mind, so that we can win the confidence of consumers as the industry expands?

--- Later in debate ---

[Mr Deputy Speaker]

I think the Minister has got the gist.

[Claire Perry]

I would be happy to meet the hon. Gentleman. He will be pleased to hear that in the automated and electric vehicles Bill, we will be bringing forward new powers to make sure that all these things he has talked about in terms of statutory powers are at our disposal, because we want to have the world’s best rapid charging network.

Great Western Railway Routes

Debate between Claire Perry and Lindsay Hoyle

Monday 8th February 2016 Commons Chamber

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Transport (Claire Perry)]

I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Torbay (Kevin Foster) for securing this excellent, coherent, thoughtful and wide-ranging debate. He has heard many reports, as have I, of the damage created by Storm Imogen during the day. I am just thankful that everyone is here in one piece. So far, there has been no report of injuries. I am sure we will all be thinking about what our constituents have had to deal with during the course of the day.

Let me deal with a couple of points before answering some of the outstanding questions put to me. A broad set of issues have been raised by Members and I am tempted to respond to many of them.

The right hon. Member for Exeter (Mr Bradshaw) is one of the few Labour Members, I am pleased to say, representing the south-west, but he is an assiduous campaigner on behalf of his rail users—[Interruption.] He is probably the only Labour Member representing the south-west. I am pleased to hear that he enjoys his journeys, accompanied by his bicycle, but I am disappointed that he tends to produce a tirade of misinformation and never likes to have the facts put to him.

I was interested to hear that he rebelled against his party Whip on HS2. I wondered whether he rebelled against—or at least had stern words with—shadow Ministers on issues such as the pitiful performance of the Labour Government on electrification. I know that the right hon. Gentleman was one of a revolving door of Ministers whom I had to face, but let me ask him once again—he could not answer one of my hon. Friends earlier—that at a time when we had a go-go economy and a light-touch regulatory system that was pouring money into the Treasury’s coffers, how many miles did the Labour Government electrify in 13 years? It was fewer than 10 miles.

Do you know why, Mr Deputy Speaker? In Labour’s view, the railway was not something that really mattered. The view of the Labour Government was that they could jack up the fares with the flex and have inflation-busting fares year after year. They did not invest a penny in electrification in the south-west. Here is the thing, though: they could have replaced the Pacers. Do we all remember the Pacers? Do we remember all the heat and fury from Labour about the dreaded Pacers that were carrying thousands of people around the north? Could they have replaced the Pacers in 2003-04? Yes, they could. Did they? Did they heck. Let me tell you why, Mr Deputy Speaker—it is because they do not give a stuff about transport investment. It is not important in Labour’s view, and their track record is disgraceful. Frankly, I will take no lessons whatever from the Labour party on the railways.

I hope that the right hon. Member for Exeter will also have stern words with his party about its plans to abandon the upgrade of the A358, as set out in his party’s manifesto, and about its lack of a word in support of the dualling of the A303, which is vital to the economy of the south-west. If he did not complain about that, which is a road so close to his constituency, I hope he would complain about his party being monetary fantasists who had no plan at all to generate a strong economy, without which we cannot invest in transport infrastructure and in vital public services. I think the whole House can agree that we will take no lessons whatever from—

[Mr Deputy Speaker (Mr Lindsay Hoyle)]

Order. I am going to help a little bit. I am not quite sure how the A303 fits in with a rail debate on the Great Western line. I know that the Minister wants to deal with the railways. Her reputation as the rail Minister is what I want to see tonight.

[Claire Perry]

Far be it for me to criticise you, Mr Deputy Speaker—[Interruption.]

[Mr Deputy Speaker]

We both know that that is not an option.

[Claire Perry]

But the roads and rail investment is vital to this region.

[Mr Deputy Speaker]

It looks like I need to be even more helpful. If the Minister looks at the title of the debate, she should realise what it is about, and Members have tried to stick to that subject. I know the Minister has a lot to cover, and I want her to concentrate on what Members have said and on the railways. I know that that is what she wants to do, too.

[Claire Perry]

I will follow your excellent advice, Mr Deputy Speaker.

My hon. Friend the Member for Newton Abbot (Anne Marie Morris) made possibly one of the most impassioned speeches we have heard in the House, drawing attention to the value of this investment and what it does for the region. As for the hon. Member for Ogmore (Huw Irranca-Davies), who made a powerful speech about the extension of the line to Swansea, I am very sad that he will—potentially—leave us in May. I hope that it has nothing to do with anyone whom he nominated for the Labour party leadership; it would be awful to think that he was disappearing on that basis. He will be much missed by many Members on both sides of the House. I have asked my hon. Friend the Member for Vale of Glamorgan (Alun Cairns), the Under-Secretary of State for Wales, if he will meet the hon. Gentleman, as a matter of urgency, to discuss the important infrastructure issues that he raised.

My hon. Friend the Member for Plymouth, Sutton and Devonport (Oliver Colvile) was, I believe, the only Member who mentioned the vital role of freight on the railways, and he was very clear about his priorities for the constituency. I am delighted that the Laira depot, which I have visited, is being retained, because of the important jobs that it brings, although I was disappointed that he did not mention hedgehogs once. I had hoped to hear a plea for a hedgehog crossing.

My hon. Friend the Member for North Devon (Peter Heaton-Jones)—whom I have enjoyed meeting many times, along with Mr Mike Day—raised the possible opportunities on the Tarka line, which are fantastic. My door is open, and I am happy to give further consideration to his proposals.

The right hon. Member for Slough (Fiona Mactaggart), who is no longer in the Chamber—I think that she had to leave early—is another passionate campaigner for rail. Her constituency will, of course benefit from the Government’s record investment in the railway, and particularly in Crossrail. I take her point about the Heathrow spur. However, she accused my Department of having tunnel vision. Far from it: we are multi-tasking on a daily basis. We are delivering the electrification of the midland main line, the Great Western main line electrification—about which I shall say more shortly—the multi-billion-pound Thameslink programme, and Crossrail. We are delivering £38 billion of investment on the country’s railways. That is the biggest investment programme since Victorian times. However, one of the lessons that we have painfully learnt is that if we are committing money, it must be spent wisely. The hon. Lady was right to raise the Heathrow issue, and it will be delivered, but it is a question of appropriate sequencing.

My hon. and gallant Friend the Member for Plymouth, Moor View (Johnny Mercer)—who is not a trainspotter, I gather—made a powerful point about the regional need for transport investment to drive entrepreneurial growth. He made the important point, which was received rather churlishly by Labour Members, that private sector economic growth drives the best improvement in life chances, particularly in a disadvantaged constituency. I was disappointed by Labour Members’ reaction to that.

The Economy

Debate between Claire Perry and Lindsay Hoyle

Wednesday 22nd June 2011 Commons Chamber

[Claire Perry (Devizes) (Con)]

I am grateful to the hon. Gentleman for giving way because I have just joined the debate—

[Mr Deputy Speaker (Mr Lindsay Hoyle)]

Order. I know that the hon. Lady is an enthusiastic Member, but she should not just walk into the Chamber, give it about five seconds and then intervene. It is not fair. It is up to the hon. Gentleman whether he gives way, but it is discourteous to everyone else who wishes to speak.

[Claire Perry]

I apologise, Mr Deputy Speaker, but I have been tied up with constituency business. I just wanted to say that I welcomed the reference to Bill Gross, who, as the hon. Gentleman will be aware, also described the UK’s economy as sitting on a bed of nitroglycerine ahead of the election.

Eurozone Financial Assistance

Debate between Claire Perry and Lindsay Hoyle

Tuesday 24th May 2011 Commons Chamber

[Claire Perry (Devizes) (Con)]

I speak with some trepidation from the depths of the Maastricht maestros on the Government Benches. If I may echo the point made by my hon. Friend the Member for Stourbridge (Margot James), it is a tribute to many people, surrounding me today and not in the House, that we are no longer part of the euro and that we have been able to establish a healthy Euroscepticism both in opposition and since we came into government.

Let me go back in history to see how we reached this sorry state of affairs. Many Members will remember the debates around the time of the Nice treaty in 2001. Indeed, there are Ministers on our Benches today who urged the Government of the time in the strongest possible terms not to sign up to the treaty as they believed it would give away any future veto on bail-out mechanisms. We were assured at that time by the then Minister for Europe that article 103 made it clear that there would be no bailing out of member states, whether that meant Britain or any other member state. I question whether the Minister for Europe at that point knew what was being done.

In May 2010, the acting Chancellor of the Exchequer signed Britain’s commitment to the temporary European financial stability mechanism. Our total commitment is 12.5% of the putative total of €60 billion—€7.5 billion, a substantial sum. Later, I shall address what that means for hard-pressed British taxpayers. First, let me move the timeline further forward one step to December 2010. As has been said several times, the Conservative Chancellor of the Exchequer agreed that Britain would play no further role in a permanent European bail-out facility and also fought for and had implemented a number of stringent requirements for draw-downs from the existing facility.

What will this facility cost the taxpayer? As my hon. Friend the Member for Orpington (Joseph Johnson) said earlier, it is a contingent liability. A number of things must happen before there is any cash bail-out. The entire thing has to go belly up and the countries all have to default. Given that our ranking on this debt is pari passu with the facilities put in place by the IMF, we will have a superior credit position and will be paid first in the unlikely event that there is a partial or full default. It is not a gift or a grant but a contingent liability of €7.5 billion, of which approximately €1.2 billion has been put into the facility to date. The suggestions we often hear from Members on the Government Benches that hard-pressed taxpayers will see further cuts to public services or will not see the schools, hospitals or road repairs that they have been promised are simply fiction. It is not the case.

This amount is a proportion of the EU budget and the budget is agreed for this year, so the liability is capped at this level. There is no further liability under the facility. What is the “so what” of this point? It is my belief that the action of this Government’s Chancellor has stopped Britain further sleepwalking into handouts, bail-outs, gifts or grants to the European Union. This fund is a eurozone experiment about which we have many concerns and I share the concerns that have been eloquently raised by Government Members about the long-term future direction of countries that are hamstrung by the tightness of their currency conditions and the overall problems with their economies.

A Conservative Chancellor argued for tough conditions and pari passu rating with IMF debt for this facility, the only facility in which we have involvement. If hon. Members consider the conditions under which a country can access the facility, they will see that extremely tight conditions must be met and plans must be made. Although the situation is not ideal, the Government have done far more than the previous Government to put a stop to such developments—in fact, they have done the opposite of what that Government did for 13 years. The point that has been made about fighting to ensure that there is equal draw-down from the facility is right and I believe that the amendment also calls for that.

I urge Members on both sides of the House to stop this Eurosceptic scaremongering, to focus on the facts of the debate and to ensure that we collectively never again sign our country up to the sort of bail-out mechanisms and removal of vetoes with which the previous Government left us.

[Mr Deputy Speaker (Mr Lindsay Hoyle)]

I call Andrea Leadsom. You have two minutes before the Front-Bench wind-ups.

Public Forest Estate (England)

Debate between Claire Perry and Lindsay Hoyle

Wednesday 2nd February 2011 Commons Chamber

[Claire Perry (Devizes) (Con)]

My hon. Friend knows Savernake forest in my constituency probably better than I do, and we share a great concern about biodiversity and public access. Does he agree that in specifically making those issues the underpinning of the consultation process, along with other key variables, we are doing a far better job to protect public woodlands than the last Government, who sold off 25,000 acres with no consultation?

[Mr Deputy Speaker (Mr Lindsay Hoyle)]

Order. I did not make a ruling from the Chair for it to be breached. This is a very important issue to Members on both sides and many want to speak.