Shale Gas Production

Debate between Mark Menzies and Greg Hands

Tuesday 15th March 2022 Commons Chamber

[Mark Menzies (Fylde) (Con)]

Let me outline at the start that this does affect my constituency, and I am disappointed that my hon. Friend the Member for Ashfield (Lee Anderson) did not have the courtesy to give me advance notice that he was going to be asking a question pertaining to my constituency.

These are not viable wells. Will the Minister just confirm that? The wells in 2012 that caused the first national moratorium were concreted over, with the blessing of Cuadrilla. The last thing it wanted to do at that point was frack again in those wells, so it dug 3 miles away. Both those wells have triggered the second national moratorium, so they are not viable wells. Will the Minister confirm that and stop this nonsense now?

[Greg Hands]

My hon. Friend illustrates well the point about the importance of keeping local community support if this were to happen. As stated in our manifesto, this was based on what local communities felt at that time. I do not think any local community felt it more strongly than my hon. Friend’s in Fylde. On the process, we have been clear that if Cuadrilla were to apply to the Oil and Gas Authority to extend that deadline, this would be considered by the OGA in the usual way. I repeat that the Secretary of State and I spoke to the OGA just this morning to confirm that.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Mark Menzies and Greg Hands

Tuesday 22nd February 2022 Commons Chamber

[Mark Menzies (Fylde) (Con)]

7. What steps he is taking to deliver new nuclear power.

[The Minister for Energy, Clean Growth and Climate Change (Greg Hands)]

The Government have announced a £120 million future nuclear enabling fund to support new nuclear and are aiming for a final investment decision on at least one more large-scale nuclear project in this Parliament, subject to value for money and relevant approvals.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Mark Menzies and Greg Hands

Tuesday 16th November 2021 Commons Chamber

[Mark Menzies (Fylde) (Con)]

16. What steps he is taking to deliver new nuclear power generation.

[The Minister of State, Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (Greg Hands)]

This Government are doubling down on our plan to deploy more home-grown, affordable clean energy in this country, and we are putting new nuclear at the heart of that plan. In the past four weeks alone, we have announced £1.7 billion allocated for a new large-scale nuclear power station, a new nuclear Bill to boost private capital and cut build costs, £210 million to back Rolls-Royce’s small modular reactor plan, and £120 million for future nuclear projects—new nuclear made and manufactured here in Britain.

[Greg Hands]

A previous question referred to Teesside as the centre of the green industrial revolution, but Peterborough is also one of the great centres in this country of the green industrial revolution, and there is no better champion of that than my hon. Friend, who is right at the centre of it. He is right that the £120 million nuclear innovation fund will create options for future nuclear capability, including the recent Rolls-Royce small modular reactors, which have £210 million of funding. There are plenty of opportunities there for his constituents to get into, and I thank him for his championing of the green industrial revolution.

[Mark Menzies]

I welcome the Government’s commitment to a new generation of nuclear power plants, representing a big step in our move towards net zero. Fylde, as the home of Springfields, the UK’s only civil nuclear manufacturing plant, will be playing its part in this transition, but following the recent announcements of the £210 million in new Government funding for Roll-Royce SMRs, what steps is the Minister taking to ensure that the fuel for the next generation of nuclear power will be manufactured in the UK, and in Lancashire?

[Greg Hands]

There is plenty of interest in Lancashire, Mr Speaker. My hon. Friend knows that I am well aware of how important Springfields is. In fact, we had meetings in the Department about it, as it is the only civil nuclear fuel manufacturing plant, as he rightly points out. It will play an important role as we further develop our new nuclear capability. I am looking forward to working very closely with my hon. Friend, who is a consistent champion of nuclear in this country.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Mark Menzies and Greg Hands

Thursday 3rd November 2016 Commons Chamber

[Mark Menzies (Fylde) (Con)]

T5. Yesterday I welcomed to Parliament a group of business leaders from Mendoza in Argentina. They want to increase our exports exponentially, which currently stand at 0.1%. Will the Minister assure me that everything will be done when we leave the EU to improve our trade relations with Latin America?

[The Minister for Trade and Investment (Greg Hands)]

I commend my hon. Friend for his engagement with Argentina under its new Government, which he and I have discussed. As the Prime Minister has said, we will seek to be the global leader in free trade. While we remain a member of the EU, the UK will continue to press for and support an ambitious EU trade agenda, including its negotiations with the Mercosur bloc.