Luciana Berger
Main Page: Luciana Berger (Liberal Democrat - Liverpool, Wavertree)(13 years, 2 months ago)
Commons ChamberRead Full debate Read Hansard Text
Gregory Barker
The hon. Gentleman makes a good point. Obviously, this policy is primarily led by the Treasury, but I did have a good discussion with Pilkington on exactly this matter only last week. We will continue to look at it.
Luciana Berger (Liverpool, Wavertree) (Lab/Co-op)
I was very interested to hear the Minister’s response on the green deal. As yet, we have seen no targets in the Energy Bill and nothing to link it to the Climate Change Act 2008 so that it can create a tangible emission reduction. Yesterday, we heard the Chancellor talk up the green deal in the Budget, but not so loud was his announcement on page 117 of the plan for growth that the Government have scrapped the requirement for new homes to be truly zero carbon. Does the Minister agree with WWF, which said that this announcement of the destruction of the policy sweeps away
“years of work and ambition”?
What representations did he make to his colleagues in the Department for Communities and Local Government and the Treasury before the decision was made?
Gregory Barker
This is a DCLG lead, but there should be no doubt about our commitment to the transformation of the housing stock. We know that the Opposition are still addicted to targets, but the difference is that the Government are addicted to real progress and to transformational change. They can carry on creating new targets and we will get on with making real changes in real life.