Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Emily Thornberry and Chris Huhne

Thursday 16th September 2010 Commons Chamber

[Emily Thornberry (Islington South and Finsbury) (Lab)]

I am sure the Secretary of State agrees that if we are to move to a green economy, we have to do so in a way that is fair, so can he confirm that he is making representations to the Treasury to keep the Warm Front scheme which, as he knows, is a successful scheme that has helped 2 million of the most vulnerable fuel poor?

[Chris Huhne]

As the hon. Lady knows, the Warm Front scheme has played a very important part in ensuring that there has been an improvement in energy efficiency for many of the people who are most vulnerable to fuel poverty. We will ensure that there continues to be a commitment that the scheme will continue but, as she will know from previous questions, our key focus—the key instrument—in dealing with fuel poverty and energy efficiency will be the green deal. A very important part of the green deal will be tackling fuel poverty and, over time, it will gradually take on a more important role and the Warm Front scheme will take on a lesser one.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Emily Thornberry and Chris Huhne

Thursday 1st July 2010 Commons Chamber

[Chris Huhne]

I am happy for my hon. Friend to write with the details. We will certainly do whatever we can to speed up the project. Wave is a key new technology which can provide us not only with our renewable energy needs but give the UK a real comparative advantage.

[Emily Thornberry (Islington South and Finsbury) (Lab)]

Given that it has been admitted in a written answer that the coalition has no target for green jobs, would the Secretary of State like to borrow ours? It was 1.2 million by 2015.

[Chris Huhne]

I welcome the hon. Lady to her new role and I am glad to see that she is getting stuck in. I thought the whole point about new Labour was that it believed in a market economy. The last sort of organisation that set targets for jobs sector by sector was the Soviet Union’s Gosplan, and we all know what happened to that.