Green GB Week and Clean Growth

Debate between Claire Perry and Steve Double

Monday 15th October 2018 Commons Chamber

[Claire Perry]

My hon. Friend is a doughty campaigner. She has seen the benefits of nuclear locally and understands its international importance. We need a diverse energy mix, and that means making good decisions. It was very sad to see this reported in the Financial Times:

“In private, Jeremy is against, as is the majority of the shadow cabinet, but no one wants to put Rebecca in an awkward position.”

I feel terribly sorry for the hon. Member for Salford and Eccles. Dealing with that level of ideology cannot be easy. However, this Government can be trusted to deliver ideology-free energy policy that keeps the lights on and bills down.

[Steve Double (St Austell and Newquay) (Con)]

As my right hon. Friend will know, along with the Minister for Disabled People, Health and Work, my hon. Friend the Member for Truro and Falmouth (Sarah Newton), I have been a champion of the potential of geothermal energy in Cornwall. Although progress has been frustrating, we are very excited to be on the verge of seeing test drilling. Does my right hon. Friend agree that geothermal energy has the potential to play a significant role in the delivery of clean renewable energy in this country, and will she back its development in Cornwall?

[Claire Perry]

I think that that is an incredibly important challenge. How amazing it is that the economic opportunity created so many years ago by the removal of all the various minerals there can now give us the potential to decarbonise our heat and to generate more jobs in my hon. Friend’s beautiful constituency.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Claire Perry and Steve Double

Tuesday 17th July 2018 Commons Chamber

[Claire Perry]

We talk regularly with representatives from Northern Ireland, which is—as the hon. Lady will know—a vital part of the UK. The sector deal that we have done with the construction sector—more than half a billion pounds set out between the Government and industry to drive up the productivity of that sector—of course applies to Northern Ireland. We look forward to seeing productivity increase across the UK.

[Steve Double (St Austell and Newquay) (Con)]

The space sector will play an important role in achieving the aims of the industrial strategy. Will my right hon. Friend the Minister join me in welcoming the agreement signed by Virgin Orbit with Spaceport Cornwall at Farnborough air show yesterday, and will she ensure that the Government continue to work with Spaceport Cornwall to make sure that we have horizontal satellite launch in this country as soon as possible?

[Claire Perry]

Unlike the Minister for Universities, Science, Research and Innovation, I was unable to enjoy the announcement at Farnborough yesterday, but I agree with my hon. Friend that it is a fantastic announcement. He and Cornwall County Council should celebrate it, and I look forward to visiting Cornwall on Friday, where this topic and many other industries will be addressed.

Beer Duty

Debate between Claire Perry and Steve Double

Tuesday 7th March 2017 Westminster Hall

[Steve Double]

I wholeheartedly agree. Lower taxes generally encourage investment and growth in a sector, and I will press for that as the debate goes on.

[Claire Perry (Devizes) (Con)]

Does my hon. Friend share my sense of pride that it was a Conservative Government who in 2012 finally put an end to the beer duty escalator—a measure that had led to duty going up 42% between 2008 and 2012? Following that, in 2014 beer sales increased and an estimated 21,000 jobs were created in the industry.

[Steve Double]

My hon. Friend may have been reading my notes, because that is a point I will come on to highlight.

There are many reasons why pubs have closed. Some of them were badly managed, and some lacked investment to keep the facilities up to date. Although I believe that the smoking ban was the right thing to do, and it is popular among many pub goers, we have to acknowledge that it stopped smokers visiting the pub quite so often. There are also changing social habits, with more people drinking at home as a result of cheap alcohol available in supermarkets and other outlets.

Those factors have all contributed, but it is also undeniable that the dreadful and despised beer duty escalator introduced in 2008 had a devastating effect on the industry. Annual duty rises under the escalator led to beer duties rising to among some of the highest anywhere. Even now, following successive years of duty reduction by this Conservative Government, our pints remain heavily taxed at around 52p on a 5% alcohol by volume pint, compared with 4p in other key beer-brewing nations such as Germany and Spain—an enormous and disproportionate difference that needs to be addressed.

There is much more happening now, with a revolution in the old craft of brewing and selling beer to the UK’s 32 million beer drinkers. Numerous microbreweries have opened up and craft beer and real ale are rising in popularity. I have the great privilege of having a great example of a local family-run brewery in my constituency. St Austell Brewery has been a roaring success in recent years, particularly since the launch of its excellent Tribute ale. It now makes many excellent beers, and I spent an enjoyable day during the recent recess assisting master brewer Roger Ryman in making a batch of Proper Job. I count the fact that I managed to make more than I drank that day as a notable success.

While it is right to recognise concerns about alcohol abuse, we must note that the majority of people enjoy healthy levels of drinking. Given the social benefits that come with a visit to the local pub, it makes no more sense to celebrate pub closures than it does to close roads because some motorists speed.