King’s Speech

Lord Hunt of Kings Heath Excerpts

Thursday 18th July 2024 Lords Chamber

[Lord Reid of Cardowan]

That an humble Address be presented to His Majesty as follows:

“Most Gracious Sovereign—We, Your Majesty’s most dutiful and loyal subjects, the Lords Spiritual and Temporal in Parliament assembled, beg leave to thank Your Majesty for the most gracious Speech which Your Majesty has addressed to both Houses of Parliament”.

[The Minister of State, Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (Lord Hunt of Kings Heath) (Lab)]

My Lords, it is a great honour for me to open our six-day debate on the gracious Speech. I start by thanking my predecessor at the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero, the noble Lord, Lord Callanan, for his contribution to the department and his considerable efforts to keep noble Lords informed and debate vigorously with them. I also very much welcome the noble Lord, Lord Fuller, who is making his maiden speech during our debate. I am sure that it will be the first of many important contributions.

Since I was last a Minister in what was the Department of Energy and Climate Change, 14 years have passed. While the office still looks familiar—and the Secretary of State is certainly familiar—the challenges we face are undoubtedly more profound. The vulnerabilities in our energy system have been laid bare by Putin’s invasion of Ukraine and his weaponisation of international fossil fuel markets. Families are still in a cost of living crisis, exacerbated by energy bills that remain high. There is also a deep and urgent demand for good jobs, good houses and good economic opportunities across the UK, particularly in former industrial heartlands, which feel like they have been left behind in recent years. All the while, the climate crisis is no longer a future threat: it is happening right now, all around us. We are seeing the effect of warming in droughts, wildfires and floods across the world, and feeling it in extreme temperatures, with June this year the 13th consecutive month to set a record global high.

As was set out in the gracious Speech, the Government are on a mission to address these challenges. At the heart of that mission is the plan to make Britain a clean energy superpower. If we want to wean ourselves off our dependence on fossil fuels and become more energy secure, we need clean energy. If we want to tackle the cost of living crisis and make sure that British people feel better off, we need to harness our domestic potential for cheap clean energy. If we want skilled jobs with good wages, bringing a new wave of prosperity to every corner of the country, we need an industrial strategy focused on clean energy. If we want to halt climate change and protect our planet, we need clean energy.

Instead of having to choose between security, sustainability and affordability—what is known as the energy trilemma—we have an extraordinary opportunity to boost all three by investing in clean energy at speed and scale. That is why the Government are focused on achieving clean electricity by 2030, with a system based on renewables and nuclear power, and then building on that momentum to achieve the ultimate goal of net zero by 2050, which means we will then be no longer adding to the total amount of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, and therefore no longer contributing to climate change.

The Great British Energy Bill, put forward in the gracious Speech, will establish a publicly owned company to spearhead our mission to become a clean energy superpower. Headquartered in Scotland, Great British Energy will encourage, own and develop clean energy projects of all sizes across the country. It is highly unlikely that the scale and pace of investment required to decarbonise the electricity system could be achieved by the private sector alone within the current institutional and policy framework. This new public energy company, alongside additional electricity market reforms, can provide the spark we need, supporting and encouraging private investment. Working in conjunction with industry, Great British Energy will help substantially expand our renewable capacity by the end of this decade.

The Bill will establish GBE, which will develop, own and operate assets, investing in partnership with the private sector, and will have a capitalisation of £8.3 billion of new money over the lifetime of this Parliament. Through these investments, GBE will take a stake for the British people in projects and supply chains that accelerate technologies for the future, reaping benefits at home in cheap clean power and securing Britain at the front of the global race for technology, which has such major global export potential.

GBE will also facilitate, encourage and participate in the production, distribution, storage and supply of clean energy, and the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions from energy produced by fossil fuels, as well as measures for furthering the transition to clean energy and improving energy efficiency. The Bill gives the Secretary of State the ability to provide GBE with the financial backing needed to meet its aims and ambitions. The Secretary of State will be required under the Bill to prepare a strategic priority statement for GBE, to ensure it focuses its effort on government priorities. GBE will also, of course, accelerate ground-breaking new developments, with public investment helping to crowd in investment from the private sector and supporting the development of municipal and community energy.

Renewables are not only greener but the fastest to deploy, cheapest to build and operate, and more secure. A renewables-led system is the cheapest foundation for a decarbonised grid. It also gives us energy security, because renewables are not sold on markets controlled by foreign powers. By accelerating the clean energy transition, GBE will not just put us firmly on track for net zero but will boost our energy security and create those skilled jobs we need. Further, it will ensure that electricity bills are no longer exposed to the kinds of gas price shocks that helped to drive increases in the electricity price cap of over £1,300 for a typical household during winter 2022-23.

GBE will work alongside our new mission control centre, which is exactly what it sounds like—a strategic hub in government that will set out the path, and monitor and drive our progress, to reaching clean power by 2030. It will draw upon the unique expertise of industry leaders, in a format unprecedented in government, bringing together the best possible people to shape how we achieve decarbonised electricity. I share the Secretary of State’s delight in having such a credible expert at the helm in Chris Stark, the former chief executive of the Climate Change Committee.

If anyone needed proof of the pace at which this Government are willing to move, they need look only at the lifting of the onshore wind ban, after just 72 hours. Onshore wind accounts for roughly a quarter of all electricity generated from renewables. We already have a strong pipeline of projects in the planning system, but planning and grid constraints in England and Wales mean we have seen little investment in onshore wind outside Scotland in recent years. We have removed the de facto ban in England by deleting onshore wind- specific planning tests that have been in the National Planning Policy Framework for almost a decade. What this essentially does is place onshore wind on the same footing as other energy developments.

We are very eager for communities to benefit from hosting local renewable energy infrastructure, which is why we will soon publish an update to the community benefits protocol for onshore wind in England.

We are building on the strategic spatial energy plan, which is being developed by the National Energy System Operator. This is about speeding up the rollout of clean power, giving more certainty to the planning and consenting process, and seeking to expand the use of spatial planning to other infrastructure sectors.

Work is under way on a host of other vital reforms, including energy system reform to ensure that our regulator can hold companies to account for wrongdoing, and the warm homes plan, which will offer grants and low-interest loans to support insulation, as well as the installation of solar panels, batteries and low-carbon heating. We will seek to extend the lifetime of existing nuclear power plants while supporting the completion of new sites, such as Sizewell C.

The Chancellor has already committed to a national wealth fund to drive investment in the industries of the future and create thousands of jobs in clean energy. This new national wealth fund task force will be led by the people who know best, including the former Bank of England Governor Mark Carney, the CEO of Barclays Bank, and Aviva CEO, Dame Amanda Blanc.

I turn to the environment. At the heart of our net zero plans is, of course, a determination to protect our natural environment for generations to come. For too long our natural world has been destroyed, and our farmers and rural communities neglected. Action is needed to urgently reverse this damage and bring about lasting and positive results.

It is surely a national shame that there are record levels of sewage in our rivers, lakes and seas. Cleaning this up is a priority that can no longer be ignored. That is why we are bringing forward legislation this Session that will take the first important step towards substantial reform in the waste sector. We want to hold water companies to account, putting them under special measures through strengthened regulation, but there is much more that has to happen if we are to support economic growth and minimise environmental harm.

We are committed to creating a circular economy that uses our resources in a more environmentally, economically and socially sustainable way, creating a road map that will finally move Britain to a zero-waste economy. We recognise that food security is critical to our national security, so will be working hard to support our farmers and rural communities, and will do more to protect communities from the devastating damage that flooding causes.

We should surely be proud of our country’s remarkable natural beauty, but the fact is that we are currently one of the most nature-depleted countries in the world. So we will take action to meet the targets set out in the Environment Act and work in partnership with communities to restore and protect nature.

Another central pillar of the Government’s agenda for change is housing. A safe, secure, affordable home is the foundation of a good life, but we know that for too many people it is increasingly out of reach. In hostels throughout the country, there are children in temporary accommodation. Couples are stuck living with parents, unable to move out and start a family, and millions of lives are put on hold because of the failure to address our housing emergency. This is holding us all back because new homes do not just provide families with security to make plans and get on but help create well-paid jobs, attract investment into local infrastructure and spark the economic growth that Britain desperately needs.

As some of the biggest contributors to our carbon emissions, homes also hold the key to a greener, cleaner future that brings down people’s bills while doing our best for the planet. That is why we have made it a mission to get Britain building again with 1.5 million new homes across the country, including the biggest wave of affordable, social and council homes for a generation. These new homes will be energy efficient, with proper insulation to bring down bills. To achieve this, the Government are reintroducing local housing targets, reforming the National Planning Policy Framework, kick-starting the next generation of new towns and creating a new task force to accelerate stalled housing projects, including hiring 300 more planning officers. In doing this, we will focus on nature-friendly planning, starting with the development of poor-quality grey-belt land—disused wasteland—and prioritising building on brownfield sites. We also need to address the real reasons that many people oppose homes being built in their neighbourhood, so we will make sure that more homes also means more doctors, more schools and better transport.

Government is often about making difficult decisions, and it can sometimes feel like a Catch-22 situation where every positive choice seems to involve some sort of push-back. The energy crisis is not a Catch-22. Nor is the need to protect our natural environment, nor the demand for good-quality housing. In all those areas we have an extraordinary opportunity at this time. By investing in clean energy, protecting our environment and building hundreds of thousands of good-quality homes, we can make ordinary working people better off and build a more secure and prosperous future for all. I beg to move.

--- Later in debate ---

[Earl Attlee (Con)]

My Lords, I intend to be brief. I congratulate my noble friend Lord Fuller on his maiden speech.

I am grateful to the noble Lord, Lord Hunt of Kings Heath, for introducing the debate. We have sparred for many years, and I know how much he enjoys my supplementary question technique. His speech was slightly disappointing: he expressed no sentiments that I disagreed with.

[Lord Hunt of Kings Heath (Lab)]

My Lords, I will try to do better in the future.

[Earl Attlee (Con)]

I am full of optimism for this Parliament and strongly support the proposed planning reforms, including for offshore wind, and I agree with everything that was said by the noble Lord, Lord Rooker. I just worry that the Government’s proposals will not go far enough, though I think they will unlock development. I assure the Government that I will do nothing to impede these reforms. I have already checked my diary; I have business meetings on every conceivable day that we will be voting against these proposals. We have allowed the population of the United Kingdom to grow significantly. If we increase the population, it is inevitable that we must bring more land into development, not just for housing but for employment. The noble Lord, Lord Rooker, explained why this is not a problem.

I see far too many businesses operating in units that are too small, badly organised and inefficiently laid out, and with no space for new and more modern machinery. This results in them having to send goods to another factory, using transport and emissions, in order to carry out a further process. We need to improve the supply of industrial premises. I hope that some of the Government’s planning reforms will make that easier. A few years ago, I wanted to buy a small industrial unit near home, near Portsmouth. I gave up. I could not buy a small industrial unit—there were none.

The noble Lord, Lord Hunt, talked about GB Energy. I know that private funding will be leveraged in, but I wonder whether the amount of money he is talking about is going to be enough to make a difference.

My noble friends Lady Moyo and Lord Lilley talked about the increase in electricity demand. There is demand from data centres but also for charging heavy goods vehicles, which uses a huge amount of electricity. Problems are arising with the movement of new heavy electrical equipment. Some of these high-voltage DC transformers that enable electricity to be transmitted long distances weigh 200 to 300 tonnes. There are serious and complex technical and regulatory problems, and several government departments are involved. I am doing what I can to help, and will be engaging with Ministers and officials. I am the subject matter expert and I am not convinced that a layman working from a brief will be able to perform the same function that I do, but no one else in Parliament has the knowledge. Once I am ejected from your Lordships’ House, who will look after this industrial problem?

Finally, I support onshore wind turbines. Of course there are adverse effects, but carbon reduction surely is a priority. I am afraid that I am not convinced by the arguments laid out by my noble friend Lady McIntosh.