Oral Answers to Questions

Ian C. Lucas Excerpts

Thursday 16th January 2014 Commons Chamber

[Mr Davey]

I am grateful for my hon. Friend’s question, because I was very much involved in those discussions with the European Commission and European colleagues. The House needs to be clear that the European Commission is talking about something that we proposed—namely, publishing guidance about how existing European directives on things such as emissions, water and mining should apply to the new shale oil and gas industry. It is also worth noting that our regulations, which we have updated and ensured are fit for purpose, are the strongest in the world.

[Ian Lucas (Wrexham) (Lab)]

T3. When I met three businesses in Wrexham last Friday, they told me that the green deal was not working for them or for consumers. Will the Minister confirm that 99% of applications for the green deal do not proceed to completion?

[The Minister of State, Department of Energy and Climate Change (Gregory Barker)]

Certainly not; I do not recognise that figure at all. In fact, new research published today says that over 80% of people who have a green deal assessment are extremely satisfied with it, and only 5% of those who have an assessment—over 117,000 have been undertaken so far—do not go on to install some of the measures that it recommends. We are not only assessing but implementing, and Labour Members need to get over it.