Oral Answers to Questions

John Pugh Excerpts

Thursday 8th March 2012 Commons Chamber

[Gregory Barker]

It is ridiculous for the hon. Lady to pretend that the number of fuel poor did not rise from 2004 to 2009 from 2 million to 5.5 million. It would be good, on this really important subject, if, rather than trying to score cheap partisan points, we could build a new consensus. We are bringing forward some very important measures on fuel poverty and we are determined to really make a difference.

[John Pugh (Southport) (LD)]

8. What recent assessment he has made of the use of incineration for power and heat generation.

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

There is no place for old-style incinerators in our future energy mix but there are an increasing number of new energy-from-waste technologies being deployed that offer real potential for local low-carbon and environmentally friendly generation of electricity and heat.

[John Pugh]

Does the Minister not accept that we face a huge educational task in persuading people—both the public and politicians—that the modern combined heat and power plants differ from the dioxin-belching monstrosities of the past?

[Gregory Barker]

My hon. Friend is absolutely right. There has been a sea change in safety and environmental standards as well as in the type of technologies that can now be deployed. These smaller, new technologies often have a role to play, particularly in our vision of an ambitious roll-out of decentralised energies and of communities taking more responsibility for and greater ownership of their own energy-generating assets.