Green GB Week and Clean Growth

Debate between Mark Menzies and Claire Perry

Monday 15th October 2018 Commons Chamber

[Claire Perry]

Again, it is a bit sad to hear that from someone with whom I was very proud to work in coalition and who did so much in this area. I would unpick two of the right hon. Gentleman’s points. First, there is no slowdown. Renewables usage is absolutely accelerating, and we are now at 32%—[Interruption.] Again, if we combine more for less as prices fall, why are we falling into the trap of defining success as how much we are spending rather than how much we are getting? We are getting 32% from renewables. That, along with the investment in new gas, is the reason why we are able to phase out coal.

The right hon. Gentleman raised the question of banning. There is no ban on offshore wind. In fact, he was the Minister who led so many of the fights about offshore wind farms. Frankly, those fights threatened to derail many of the conversations about clean growth, because they were so terribly controversial. [Hon. Members: “Onshore wind!”] There is no ban on onshore wind. Onshore wind is still operating. What we were elected on in our manifesto—the Government’s manifesto—was that we did not think large-scale onshore wind development was right for England, and I am afraid I believe in carrying out our manifesto commitments.

[Mark Menzies (Fylde) (Con)]

I urge my right hon. Friend not to take any lectures from the Labour party when it comes to shale gas, because it was under the Labour party that the current licensing round for the shale gas that is being fracked today was issued. May I urge her to continue to put in place the relevant safety measures and environmental protections, as this Government have done, which were not there when the Labour party issued the licence round?

[Claire Perry]

I thank my hon. Friend for sharing that information with us. He is absolutely right. One of the reasons for believing that we can safely extract shale gas is that we have the strongest environmental standards in the world when it comes to oil and gas extraction. We believe that we may, indeed, need to continue to strengthen them.

However, is it not interesting? My hon. Friend has dealt with the brunt of a lot of the protests against the shale site to which we have granted a licence, and I was very disappointed to see the hon. Member for Salford and Eccles (Rebecca Long Bailey) having a bit of a chit-chat with the protesters without bothering to go into the site to see its potential and the number of jobs that could be created by that vital industry.

Shale Gas Exploration: Planning Permission

Debate between Mark Menzies and Claire Perry

Wednesday 12th September 2018 Westminster Hall

[Mark Menzies]

As I have said, I have been working on this for eight years, and the Minister is absolutely right to highlight some of the progress that has been made, such as the traffic light system. I urge her to listen to the concerns of Members about permitted development and planning changes. I urge the Government to work with us in a constructive way to address those concerns, as they have in the past.

[Claire Perry]

I thank my hon. Friend for his measured approach. He is looking at these developments in his constituency and working very closely with his local communities. He is absolutely right, which is why we have launched an extensive, extended consultation to ensure that we hear from as many people as possible.

Domestic Gas and Electricity (Tariff Cap) Bill

Debate between Mark Menzies and Claire Perry

2nd reading: House of Commons
Tuesday 6th March 2018 Commons Chamber

[The Minister for Energy and Clean Growth (Claire Perry)]

I thank my opposite number, the hon. Member for Southampton, Test (Dr Whitehead), for his characteristically calm and sensible remarks. Indeed, it has been fantastic to listen to the calm and intelligent debate we have had today, with so many very well-considered views.

There is really strong consensus across the House both on the need for the Bill and, broadly, on the scope and structure of the proposed legislation. For that, I want to thank several groups of people. I thank my civil servants, who have done a good job in producing the current draft. I also very much thank the BEIS Committee, which is ably chaired by the hon. Member for Leeds West (Rachel Reeves) and has several extremely committed members from both sides of the House. Giving evidence to the Committee was a terrifying experience, but their scrutiny and suggestions, which we have fully incorporated into the Bill, prove the excellence of such a method of pre-legislative scrutiny.

I thank colleagues on the Conservative Benches and, indeed, on the other side of the House, who have helped us to improve the legislation prior to this point with their very considered suggestions. I thank in advance those Members who will serve on the Public Bill Committee and will contribute to our further debates, because we all want the cap to be in place well before the year-end, and it must have a smooth passage through the House of Commons to achieve that aim.

I need to single out two Members. The first is my hon. Friend the Member for Weston-super-Mare (John Penrose), whose campaigning championship in this regard has really electrified the parties on both sides of the House about the need to act. As we heard today, the right hon. Member for Don Valley (Caroline Flint) has brought the best of her wisdom and experience to this debate. It was a pleasure to listen to both Members’ speeches.

I want very quickly to recap the purpose of the Bill and to refute the growing idea that we have in any way dragged our feet. I was struck by what my hon. Friend the Member for Eddisbury (Antoinette Sandbach) said about how the best form of legislation is evidence-based. We have had the CMA review, and we have taken the time to consider the fact that freezes do not work terribly well, and to have the regulator bring forward reasonable and welcome improvements. For example, we saw only this week the ending of the back-billing problem whereby people could be back-billed over many months, ending up owing thousands of pounds. The regulator has got the message strongly.

The Bill is a time-limited, intelligent intervention that will help to accelerate the transition to a more competitive market. It will give more powers to the regulator, which is right. The market has changed significantly since the original days of liberalisation. We have some extremely empowered customers, and we also have a large pool of customers who are less engaged and have ended up on poor-value tariffs. The cap has to be set to maximise investment, competition, innovation, switching and improved efficiency, and it will be accompanied by a whole package of other measures—the so-called carapace that the hon. Member for Southampton, Test mentioned—such as smart meter roll-outs, same-day switching and so on.

The Bill will also be a doughty defence of consumer rights. Indeed, my hon. Friend the Member for Stirling (Stephen Kerr), my right hon. Friend the Member for Harlow (Robert Halfon), my hon. Friends the Members for Chippenham (Michelle Donelan), for Mansfield (Ben Bradley) and for Stoke-on-Trent South (Jack Brereton), and the right hon. Member for Don Valley really stood up for their constituents and what the Bill will mean for them.

The Bill is not an attempt to extend political control over the industry. I champion the fact that since privatisation we have seen more than £80 billion invested in the industry, with power cuts halved and network costs down 17%. As my hon. Friend the Member for Wells (James Heappey) said, we need billions of pounds more of investment to drive forward an exciting low-carbon, distributed energy future. The last thing we would want to do is to scare off that level of investment.

I will say something gently to the Opposition, because they could not resist a poke, about the idea that their policy is for a cosy array of mutual companies. The shadow Chancellor has said, “We want to take these industries back.” We know what that means: borrowing billions of pounds, raising taxes for millions, and none of the further investment that we need. It would be entirely the wrong thing for the industry. The Bill is a clear signal that we believe in well-regulated competitive markets as the best way to deliver service and value for all customers, and that we will act on market failures to give regulators more power to improve market conditions.

[Mark Menzies]

I thank the Minister for the way in which she has engaged with me and other colleagues who had concerns about the Bill. She has made time to meet us, with her officials, and addressed many of the concerns that we have raised with her in private. I want to put my thanks on record.

[Claire Perry]

I thank my hon. Friend. I would also like to put on record my thanks to the hon. Member for North Ayrshire and Arran (Patricia Gibson), whom I omitted to thank as one of the original campaigners north of the border.

Eight main issues were raised that I want to address. The first, which was raised by many hon. Members, including the hon. Members for Leeds North West (Alex Sobel) and for Ynys Môn (Albert Owen), and my hon. Friends the Members for Mansfield and for Eddisbury, was what will happen to vulnerable customers once all this has taken place. Of course, we have the safeguarding tariff that is now protecting 5 million people, saving them on average £120 compared with what they would have paid. That has been brought forward. We expect a whole package of additional improvements—smart metering, next-day switching, the midata project, the CMA policies about engagement with those disengaged customers, and an expectation that Ofgem will continue to scrutinise and actively monitor tariffs to make sure that any gaming creeping into the system is knocked on the head.

Many good comments were made about ensuring that the Bill will not disincentivise competition, including by my hon. Friends the Members for Wells, for Rugby (Mark Pawsey) and for Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland (Mr Clarke). We know the level of investment that we have to maintain, which is why the Bill will introduce a time-limited, intelligent cap. The powers given to Ofgem have to ensure that we do not disincentivise competition, while ensuring that companies have an incentive to improve the efficiency of their operations. Too many companies are still stuck in the operational methods of the past and customers are paying the price for that.

Interesting points were raised by my hon. Friends the Members for Fylde (Mark Menzies) and for Waveney (Peter Aldous), and the hon. Member for Kilmarnock and Loudoun (Alan Brown), about an appeal to the CMA, which is something for which the big six are lobbying. I firmly believe that given the level of transparency and scrutiny that will happen when setting the cap, there will be opportunities to ensure that that is robust. Ofgem’s decision on the cap can be judicially reviewed. Courts can consider these issues more quickly than the CMA, and a whole range of evidence can be taken in such a case, whereas with CMA decisions, the range of those who can comment is very restricted. I do not want anything that slows the introduction of the cap.

BAE Systems Military Air & Information Sites: Job Losses

Debate between Mark Menzies and Claire Perry

Tuesday 10th October 2017 Commons Chamber

[Claire Perry]

I appreciate that point, and of course the hon. Lady is right to speak for those who may be concerned about their job future, but she represents, proudly, I know, a country that has built two of the largest ships the Royal Navy has ever purchased and that has contracts to build eight Type 26 frigates and five offshore patrol vehicles—two decades’ worth of shipbuilding contracts signed by this Government. She refers to a stop-start approach. That is why the strategic defence and security review system has been brought forward. That is why we are absolutely determined to spend taxpayers’ money wisely, and supporting British industry, UK industry, is fundamental to that. I suggest that she has a look at some of those proud ships—the QE2 class—and perhaps she will come back just a little bit more cheerful.

[Mark Menzies (Fylde) (Con)]

As the Member of Parliament for Warton, where final assembly of Hawk and Typhoon takes place and where 750 of the jobs that will be lost are largely located, I urge the Minister to work, as the Government did in 2011, to mitigate job losses. Then a 3,000 headline figure was mitigated to 100 compulsory losses. A similar effort must be put in this time.

Secondly, thank you for the work that the Government are doing on supporting defence exports, particularly to Qatar and Saudi Arabia, with the Prime Minister’s visits to Bahrain and Saudi and the Defence Secretary’s visit to Qatar. Please will the Minister not be put off by siren voices that want us to disengage from the largest export customers for these aircraft?

[Claire Perry]

My hon. Friend makes the case very powerfully. Of course, at Warton there are some additional benefits from the F-35 contracts being brought forward, but he is absolutely right to say that we must be really focused on these jobs and the uncertainty, but we must also be resolute in pursuing export opportunities for this fine British company.

Rail Services (Blackpool North)

Debate between Mark Menzies and Claire Perry

Wednesday 28th January 2015 Westminster Hall

[Mark Menzies (Fylde) (Con)]

I congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Blackpool North and Cleveleys (Paul Maynard) on securing the debate. He is a true advocate for rail transport on behalf of his constituents. When it comes to investment, I urge the Minister to look at Kirkham and Wesham station, where there is no disabled access lift. If we are improving services, we must improve them for disabled people, too, to ensure that they can access the trains from that busy station.

[Claire Perry]

I thank my hon. Friend for raising that vital point, and we will certainly look at that as part of the overall franchise specification. You and I have had many conversations about the Pacers, Mr Davies. I have seen them for myself and travelled on them, and I believe that passengers’ concerns are entirely justified.

Bidders on the Northern franchise will be expected to include plans to phase out the outdated Pacer trains. The exact details are being considered and will be contained in the invitation to tender, which is expected to be published shortly. The new franchise is the right time to set out the growth aspiration for routes right across the north, including those in my hon. Friends’ constituencies, and I am looking forward to making those announcements.

My hon. Friend the Member for Blackpool North and Cleveleys referred to the potential for services from Blackpool North to Manchester airport to be remapped, so that they would all fall under one franchise. The thinking behind the proposal was that it would allow the entire electric fleet to be managed by Northern, which might provide a more efficient solution for rail services. The consultation, published last year, included a specific question on that, and we have listened carefully to the responses.

No final decision has been taken, contrary to what my hon. Friend may have heard. We have had a number of representations. To be absolutely clear, I expect there to be no decline in service quality, regardless of any route mapping. It would not be acceptable to remap for operational efficiencies and expect passengers to suffer a downgraded service quality. That will not happen on my watch.

I wanted to reply to a couple of the other points that my hon. Friend raised. One point was about Blackpool’s voice within Rail North, and how loudly Blackpool could shout in that forum. I know that Blackpool stands up and punches above its weight in many other areas, so it would be entirely appropriate for the voice of Blackpool and the entire county to be heard. The intention of Rail North is to get closer to rail users so that decisions are made not by my very effective officials, but at a local level for the benefit of local people. I hope that Blackpool will have a strong voice in that process.

My hon. Friend raised a worrying concern about staff safety. I commend, as I am sure he does, the staff on the trains on dealing with circumstances that sound difficult. I will certainly raise that point directly with the head of the British Transport police, Paul Crowther. I will ask for a response to my hon. Friend’s letter and what can be done to improve staff safety.

My hon. Friend also asked about open access. I share his view on that, and we have many conversations about it in the Department, because I, too, see the benefits that it can bring. Of course, there are always challenges when we are looking at the overall package and letting franchises based on the revenue that might be available. I will not go any further than that, for fear of upsetting my officials.

In conclusion, I hope that my hon. Friend and other hon. Members have been reassured that the Government are passionate about the improvement required to rail services in the north of England, particularly in his constituency. The Government are listening to the needs of passengers. I have said before, and I will say again, that the railway is not simply a series of metal boxes on wheels being shunted around; it is about moving people around, to and from their holidays, jobs and families. It is vital that their needs are put at the heart of our decisions.

We are making investments in the region in tracks and rolling stock. I look forward to hearing from my hon. Friend in the next Parliament, should we both be lucky enough to be returned, about the impact that that is making on the vital economic performance of the area that I know he is proud to represent, and which he represents so assiduously.

Question put and agreed to.