Oral Answers to Questions
Mark Pritchard Excerpts(1 week, 5 days ago)
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Ed Miliband
I love Cumbernauld, Mr Speaker. My hon. Friend raises the important opportunities in heat pump technology. The growth in heat pumps that we are seeing is not just about a better deal for consumers, but about the manufacturing that we can see. My hon. Friend has given a great example of that.
Mark Pritchard (The Wrekin) (Con)
If the Secretary of State loves Shropshire, and I am sure he does, I hope he will not bulldoze over all our green belt—but that is another story for another day.
The Secretary of State talks about green jobs. I am sure he does not want our fire services to be deployed more and more, but with solar energy feeding into battery energy storage systems, there is real concern at Shropshire fire service and across the country that there will be fires that are very difficult for our fire services to control. Does the Secretary of State agree that our fire services should be a statutory consultee on future planning applications for battery storage?
Ed Miliband
This is an important issue that we need to take seriously. At the moment, it comes under the health and safety regime, but we are consulting on the best arrangements to ensure that we have the highest standards of safety. There are high safety standards in place, but as we see the growth of batteries, we will endeavour to ensure that those standards are maintained.
Oral Answers to Questions
Mark Pritchard Excerpts(1 year, 7 months ago)
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Andrew Bowie
Far from denying consumers opportunity, we are already beginning to work with organisations, such as the Community Energy Contact Group. On the content of the consultation we launched and whether it should include solutions to barriers, I will need to take a view when it responds.
Mark Pritchard (The Wrekin) (Con)
My right hon. Friend the Minister for Energy Security and Net Zero earlier mentioned the solar taskforce. Will my hon. Friend the Under-Secretary liaise with his colleagues and the National Farmers Union on combining community energy schemes with farmers and the rural sector? The solar taskforce mentions acres of supermarket rooftops being available for solar, but makes no reference to farm buildings. It makes sense that community schemes, working with local farmers in rural areas, can deliver community energy and allow farmers to diversify.
Andrew Bowie
I hear very much what my right hon. Friend says and understand his concerns. It is therefore with equal alacrity that I accept a meeting on my right hon. Friend the Minister’s behalf to discuss those issues moving forward.