Oral Answers to Questions

Huw Irranca-Davies Excerpts

Thursday 16th December 2010 Commons Chamber

[Gregory Barker]

The greening campaign in my hon. Friend’s constituency is an excellent initiative. As he knows, community engagement in the energy sector will be vital to our vision of the development of energy in the UK in the coming decades. We are helping communities to access the planning system more effectively through the Localism Bill and giving them more information and advice with the new community energy online website. The finance mechanisms that we are putting in place with feed-in tariffs and the renewable heat incentive will be a great help.

[Huw Irranca-Davies (Ogmore) (Lab)]

In response to my question in the last DECC questions, the Minister suggested that all was light and joy in the photovoltaic sector and with the feed-in tariffs. Within days, however, he had called the sector in for an urgent meeting. Speculation is rife that he will rush forward a review, and the headlines shout, “Clouds gather over solar park gold rush”. If there is a genuine problem, why does not the Minister stop denying it, stop passing the buck and get on and fix it? After all, that is what he is paid for.

[Gregory Barker]

The hon. Gentleman is absolutely right—we inherited a real mess from the last Government with ineffective legislation. Just as with the national debt, it falls to this coalition to clear it up. I took action—I did not dither—and I have called in the industry. We will put a stop to the gold rush that might have developed as a result of Labour’s lousy legislation. We will not allow large speculators in field solar to soak up available funds that are intended for community and household projects.

--- Later in debate ---

[Gregory Barker]

Absolutely. We had to take a tough decision on the CRC to end revenue recycling, as a direct result of the state of the public finances we inherited. We are talking closely with business and will be having further discussions in the new year to ensure that it remains an efficient measure of driving forward energy efficiency in businesses. We believe that there are billions to be saved in the private sector in that way.

[Huw Irranca-Davies (Ogmore) (Lab)]

This week, the Secretary of State was quoted as saying that he does not mind being seen as the Tesco of energy policy, with more for less—being greener for less. Tesco, however, is one of the organisations that will be stung by the changes to the CRC that have, in effect, made it a crude stealth tax for the Chancellor rather than an intelligent driver of energy efficiency. How did Ministers surrender their green credentials to the Treasury so easily and what does this stealth tax—described politely as a “bit of a bombshell” by a local government spokesman—mean for the public sector as well as for the private sector?

[Gregory Barker]

The hon. Gentleman is in denial about the appalling state of public finances that we inherited from the previous Government. Yes, the coalition is taking action to reduce the deficit—absolutely. That is why we are not the basket case that we would have been had the Labour party remained in Government. The CRC will help to drive energy efficiency. We know that about £1.6 billion is still paid by large companies in the UK as a result of energy inefficiency and we hope that this measure, which will become more effective, will help to drive greater efficiency in UK plc.