Oral Answers to Questions

John Whitby Excerpts

Tuesday 2nd June 2026 Commons Chamber

[Michael Shanks]

As I have said before from the Dispatch Box, it would not be appropriate for me to comment on live applications for obvious reasons. We look at every single application on its merits; even though we have ambitions for where we want to get to, individual planning applications are considered on the individual merits on which they are presented.

[John Whitby (Derbyshire Dales) (Lab)]

Peak Cluster in the Hope valley is a cement decarbonisation project looking to prevent 3 million tonnes of CO₂ from entering the atmosphere every year. Will the Minister commit to establishing a clear route to market for industrial carbon capture projects beyond track 1 and track 2 clusters, which would offer projects like Peak Cluster greater certainty?

[Michael Shanks]

We see carbon capture as a hugely important part of how we decarbonise, and we have supported clusters already. We are looking at what a future model could look like; equally, we need to see other projects coming forward on commercial terms to ensure that they are viable. I continue to meet with all the clusters, and I chair the CCUS taskforce to ensure that we are doing as much as we can.

Heating Oil Support

John Whitby Excerpts

Monday 16th March 2026 Commons Chamber

[John Whitby (Derbyshire Dales) (Lab)]

I very much welcome the Government listening and acting so quickly on this subject. On 5 March, one of my constituents had an order of 500 litres of heating oil cancelled and was invited to remake the order, but he was then told that it would cost around twice as much as the previous order. Rob, who is on the state pension and is a wheelchair-user, could not afford to remake the order and therefore has had no central heating from 5 March. Does the Minister agree that all providers should be honouring contracts previously made?

[Martin McCluskey]

I thank my hon. Friend for bringing that case to my attention, and I ask him to write to me with more details. From conversations about this case and others that have been mentioned across the House, it is clear why we need regulation in this market and why we need to investigate it. I am glad that the CMA is taking that forward.

Local Power Plan

John Whitby Excerpts

Tuesday 10th February 2026 Commons Chamber

[Ed Miliband]

The hon. Gentleman makes an important point. We have carried out a big overhaul of the grid connections queue, which, as he knows, was sort of like the wild west. There was a chaotic “first come, first served” queuing system. The National Energy System Operator has done a big reordering of the queue, but we still have to put pressure on the transmission operators, to make sure that they deliver. I encourage him to write to my hon. Friend the Minister for Energy about the project, and we will take that up with the National Grid.

[John Whitby (Derbyshire Dales) (Lab)]

I have spoken to groups across my constituency such as Transition Crich and Derbyshire Dales Community Energy, which are working to create new community-owned energy projects in order to cut bills and drive down emissions. The £1 billion announced today will significantly help with their aims. However, these groups will grow faster if they are able to sell their energy directly to households in their communities. Could the Secretary of State therefore update us on what plans he has to implement local supply rights for community energy schemes?

[Ed Miliband]

We are right into the nerdery here—and it is really important nerdery. My hon. Friend makes an essential point about the ability to sell this power back into the grid. I assure him that we are working on this with Ofgem to improve the offer to local community groups, because it is an essential part of ensuring that economic value goes to groups, including those in his constituency.