Construction Industry: Retention Payments

Debate between Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth and Lord Callanan

Thursday 14th January 2021 Lords Chamber

[Lord Callanan (Con)]

We are not waiting for other people to come to their decisions. We are actively working with the Construction Leadership Council to try to find a solution to this problem.

[Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth (Con) [V]]

My Lords, this is clearly a serious problem. In the meantime, the building industry has committed to achieving zero cash retention by 2025. Can the Minister inform us how that process is being pursued? What success are we having?

[Lord Callanan (Con)]

A lot of discussions are taking place between the Government, the Construction Leadership Council and different parts of the industry; we are actively exploring possible solutions and are committed to improving payment practices and working with the construction industry to take this forward. Of course, any solution has to work for the industry and its clients, and it has to be sustainable, addressing all of the issues: the need for surety and fair, prompt payment. As I said earlier, several policy options are being considered, including a possible retention deposit scheme and, of course, phasing out retentions completely. During the current pandemic, the Government, in conjunction with the Construction Leadership Council, have provided guidance to the industry on responsible and fair contractual behaviour, which, of course, includes retentions.

Climate Change

Debate between Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth and Lord Callanan

Monday 14th December 2020 Lords Chamber

[Lord Callanan (Con)]

I am pleased that the noble Baroness recognises the importance of public engagement, and I totally agree with her. Obviously we have been in the middle of a global pandemic so it has been very difficult for the engagement team to do its job properly in terms of engaging with the public, but she can rely on the fact that we have some ambitious plans to engage with the public before COP next year.

[Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth (Con) [V]]

My Lords, heat pumps, offshore wind and installing installation at scale are all recommendations from the Committee on Climate Change, which does excellent work. These will help to create jobs and apprenticeships as well as helping us to get to net zero. The Government have certainly adopted this agenda but now they need to consider a serious step change in order to pursue it. Will my noble friend pursue these policies with even more vigour?

[Lord Callanan (Con)]

My noble friend makes a very good point; we will indeed. We already have the largest offshore wind capacity in the world, I think—certainly in Europe. We are world leaders in that technology and the costs have fallen massively. We will be conducting another contracts for difference auction shortly, and I think we will see even more ambitious progress. The targets have been set out and the money provided, and we are well on the way to meeting them.

Fossil Fuels: Business

Debate between Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth and Lord Callanan

Thursday 19th November 2020 Lords Chamber

[Lord Callanan (Con)]

I referred to the North Sea strategy deal in my previous answer. The noble Lord will have to be patient until it comes out, but we are publishing a number of these strategy documents over the next 11 months before the COP in Glasgow next year.

[Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth (Con) [V]]

My Lords, I very much welcome the Government’s 10-point green industrial revolution. What are we doing to lever private finance and what are the timescales for carbon capture and storage projects, specifically regarding Port Talbot, Teesside and Grangemouth?

[Lord Callanan (Con)]

My noble friend makes an extremely good point: we want to be a world leader in carbon capture usage and storage technologies. He will have noted the announcement of an extra £200 million to add to the £800 million already committed in the plan, for a total of £1 billion in this world-leading technology.

Energy: Hydrogen

Debate between Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth and Lord Callanan

Thursday 17th September 2020 Lords Chamber

[Lord Callanan (Con)]

The noble Lord mentioned the £100 million of investment through the low-carbon hydrogen production fund. We are proceeding with that while also investing up to £121 million between 2015 and 2021 in hydrogen innovation. Yes, we are waiting for the strategy but also getting on with some of the key building blocks in advance of it.

[Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth (Con) [V]]

My Lords, will the Minister give an indication of when the specific terms of reference of the Hydrogen Advisory Council will be published? Will he confirm the welcome news that low-carbon hydrogen use at scale is a central plank of our hosting of COP 26 in Glasgow next year?

[Lord Callanan (Con)]

The Hydrogen Advisory Council has already been established and is meeting. My noble friend is entirely correct that hydrogen will play a key role in our decarbonisation efforts. We will want to set that out fully before the COP in 2021.

Emissions: Housing

Debate between Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth and Lord Callanan

Monday 22nd June 2020 Lords Chamber

[Lord Callanan [V]]

I am happy to have further discussions with the noble Baroness to see exactly what that loophole is, but we remain committed to working with local authorities to take this agenda forward.

[Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth (Con) [V]]

My Lords, given the likely increase in unemployment, the need to reboot nationally and internationally post the pandemic, and our chance to give a global lead at COP 26 in Glasgow, will my noble friend use his best endeavours to ensure that our Government follow up on this positive idea put forward by the noble Lord, Lord Teverson?

[Lord Callanan [V]]

My noble friend is entirely right. As the holders of the incoming presidency of COP 26, the Government will continue to press for much greater ambition around the world to reduce emissions, build resilience, co-operate and support each and every country.