Clean Growth Fund

Lord Bradshaw Excerpts
Wednesday 28th October 2020

(4 years ago)

Lords Chamber
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Lord Callanan Portrait Lord Callanan (Con)
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I can reassure the noble Lord that it is open to UK companies. I am pleased to say that Wales is still part of the United Kingdom, so all Welsh companies will be able to benefit. I do not have the precise number of Welsh companies that expressed an interest, but if that information is publicly available I will write to him with it.

Lord Bradshaw Portrait Lord Bradshaw (LD) [V]
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Can the Minister tell us whether the Clean Growth Fund will take into account only companies that are commercially viable, or is it expected to take into account net gains to society, such as reduced emissions or biodiversity gain?

Lord Callanan Portrait Lord Callanan (Con)
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I can reassure the noble Lord that the fund is indeed targeted at companies that are commercially viable. It is run by a commercial fund manager and there are private sector investments alongside government investment. The Government play no role in allocating investments, but the fund is looking for commercial investments that will provide a return.