Fleur Anderson
Main Page: Fleur Anderson (Labour - Putney)Department Debates - View all Fleur Anderson's debates with the Northern Ireland Office
(3 weeks, 2 days ago)
Commons ChamberRead Full debate Read Hansard Text Watch Debate Read Debate Ministerial Extracts
Mary Glindon (Newcastle upon Tyne East and Wallsend) (Lab)
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Northern Ireland (Fleur Anderson)
Great British Energy will operate across the whole of the United Kingdom, helping to reduce our reliance on imported gas and bring down energy bills. UK Ministers and GB Energy will work with Northern Ireland’s Department for the Economy to explore opportunities to increase clean energy deployment by 2030, starting with £1.6 million of funding to the Executive for sustainable energy.
Mary Glindon
Abandoning the 2050 net zero target shows that the Tory leader has learned nothing from her party’s historic election defeat. Does the Minister agree that Northern Ireland has a huge amount to gain from this Labour Government, working together with the Northern Ireland Executive on the transition to clean power? Will she update us on any recent discussions she has had with the Executive?
Fleur Anderson
The Conservatives’ energy policy now, as over the past 14 years, fails to bring down bills, still relies on expensive oil and gas, fails to invest in green jobs, and fails future generations on climate change. This Government are investing in the new technologies we need. Two weeks ago I was delighted to join the Under-Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, my hon. Friend the hon. Member for Rutherglen (Michael Shanks), at Ulster University to see its cutting-edge renewable energy and solar panel development and the benefits that the clean energy transition can bring to Northern Ireland. I am also working with the Executive on this.
Sammy Wilson (East Antrim) (DUP)
In pursuit of their unrealistic and costly net zero policies, this Government have committed billions of pounds to carbon capture; guaranteed long-term prices to renewable energy sources, which has added to consumer Bills; and set up GB Energy, a costly quango. One project that is likely to apply to GB Energy is the proposal for a massive wind farm off the coast of Northern Ireland and adjacent to the Giant’s Causeway, a world heritage site and major tourist attraction. Will the Minister commit to ensuring that GB Energy does not support a project that would have a detrimental effect on our tourism industry?
Fleur Anderson
Where the wind farms are positioned will be subject to the normal planning processes, but wind farms and solar power offer huge opportunities to Northern Ireland. Net zero is the future; reliance on expensive oil and gas is the past. Bills will come down and jobs will grow with the new technologies that we can bring forward.
Sarah Bool (South Northamptonshire) (Con)
Jenny Riddell-Carpenter (Suffolk Coastal) (Lab)
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Northern Ireland (Fleur Anderson)
Public sector reform is a priority for this Government, and I regularly meet with Northern Ireland Executive Ministers, unions and public service providers. Most recently, the Government and Executive agreed £129 million of funding for public service transformation for health, special educational needs, justice and waste water.
Jenny Riddell-Carpenter
I welcome what the Minister said about public service reform being a shared challenge. Does she agree that it is in the interests of patients and people in Northern Ireland and England for the Executive and the Government to share knowledge and best practice?
Fleur Anderson
I absolutely agree. Public service transformation is not just about funding; it is about how to spend the money that the Northern Ireland Executive has with the record £18.2 billion settlement. Health is devolved, but we work together to share best practice and expertise, as well as recently agreeing £61 million of funding for multidisciplinary teams in GP surgeries. We will work together to create an NHS fit for the future, and I will be meeting the Health Minister again in Northern Ireland this week.
Mr Gregory Campbell (East Londonderry) (DUP)
Will the Minister ensure that any future discussions with Northern Ireland Ministers about public sector reform include the need for employment practices and procedures in many parts of the public sector to result in workforces that are more broadly representative of the working-age population? The Unionist community has been under-represented in many sectors, including for many years in the public sector.
Fleur Anderson
Workforce challenges are a huge part of public service transformation. Workers across Northern Ireland do fantastic work in health, education and justice, and they need to be supported to do that and to be representative of the community. Workforce issues are devolved, but they are important, and supporting our workforce, and working with unions to do so, is an important part of our working together in an active partnership with the Executive.