Energy Company Obligation
Debate between Jim Cunningham and Lord Barker of Battle(10 years, 9 months ago)
Westminster HallRead Full debate Read Hansard Text
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Gregory Barker
No. I refer back to my earlier comments: I think that there are grounds for optimism for the hon. Lady’s constituents. She is right: we have had to bear down on the cost of delivering ECO. However, we have put in place other measures, which will allow schemes such as that in Nottingham to go forward. We have already announced—
Oral Answers to Questions
Debate between Jim Cunningham and Lord Barker of Battle(11 years, 10 months ago)
Commons ChamberRead Full debate Read Hansard Text
Gregory Barker
By and large, consumers and taxpayers tend to be the same people. We are determined to get far better value out of our energy poverty eradication programmes than the previous Government did, and we will demonstrate that by getting more measures taken for less and bringing in competition. The green deal will, for the first time, let the fuel poor make real choices, as opposed to the monopoly one-size-fits-all solution of the previous Government.
Mr Jim Cunningham (Coventry South) (Lab)
8. How many households he expects to take up loans offered under the green deal.
The Minister of State, Department of Energy and Climate Change (Gregory Barker)
The green deal is a completely new market-led initiative for installing energy efficiency measures. We expect demand to build over time, so forecasts are difficult, but the green deal impact assessment estimated that about 223,000 households would take advantage of the scheme in year one. On day one, 42,000 people visited the website for information.
Mr Cunningham
Will the Minister estimate what proportion of households taking up the green deal are likely to lose more than they save owing to high interest rates, hidden charges and penalty payments?
Gregory Barker
The golden rule in the green deal should mean that the vast majority of people, on a like-for-like basis, will be better off, even after financing is taken into account. It is about time that Labour stopped running down the green deal; stopped running down all the small and medium-sized enterprises and small businesses investing in this new opportunity; stopped running down all the people training up and getting skills for this new opportunity; and started talking up the British economy, rather than scoring cheap political points.
Oral Answers to Questions
Debate between Jim Cunningham and Lord Barker of Battle
Gregory Barker
My right hon. Friend will know that, as a result of the reform procedures, an executive committee has been formed and a new conflict of interest policy has been created. The communications strategy has also been elaborated on much more strongly. I accept that this is by no means perfect, but we now have much greater faith in the IPCC and we look forward to seeing its fifth report.
Mr Jim Cunningham (Coventry South) (Lab)
3. What assessment he has made of recent trends in energy prices.
Oral Answers to Questions
Debate between Jim Cunningham and Lord Barker of Battle(12 years, 10 months ago)
Commons ChamberRead Full debate Read Hansard Text
The Minister of State, Department of Energy and Climate Change (Gregory Barker)
My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State and I have regular meetings with ministerial counterparts in the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills on a variety of topics, including renewable energy issues.
Mr Cunningham
What discussions has the Minister had with the Business Secretary regarding the 45,000 jobs that could be lost in the construction industry over the next three years and the impact that will have on green energy delivery?
Gregory Barker
I regularly discuss renewable energy with colleagues, but we remain very optimistic about the future for British renewables. We inherited a terrible position from Labour, third from bottom of the EU table, but I am glad to say that as of December 2011 there was 11 GW of installed renewable electricity, 15.5 GW in construction and 10.5 GW in planning; and in the hon. Gentleman’s constituency this month we have seen £12 million invested in Geothermal International, alongside £2.5 billion of announced investments since April 2011. That is a very encouraging picture.
Oral Answers to Questions
Debate between Jim Cunningham and Lord Barker of Battle
Mr Jim Cunningham (Coventry South) (Lab)
7. What representations he has received on the length of time allocated to his consultation on feed-in tariffs for solar PV; and if he will make a statement.
The Minister of State, Department of Energy and Climate Change (Gregory Barker)
The Department has received a number of representations in response to our proposals to reduce feed-in tariffs for solar PV, including the length of time allocated to our consultation. The consultation closes on Friday 23 December. Detailed information on the representations will be provided in the Government’s response to the consultation in January.
Mr Cunningham
Is the Minister aware that many people who have given up their jobs or borrowed money from banks to invest in this area stand to lose out? What does he intend to do about that?