Matt Hancock
Main Page: Matt Hancock (Conservative - West Suffolk)(9 years, 9 months ago)
Commons ChamberRead Full debate Read Hansard Text
Mr Andrew Robathan (South Leicestershire) (Con)
2. What estimate he has made of the proportion of electricity demand that will be met by renewable energy in 2015 compared with 2010.
The Minister of State, Department of Energy and Climate Change (Matthew Hancock)
We have doubled the amount of renewable energy from 6.8% of electricity in 2010 to more than 14% of electricity generation.
Mr Robathan
So it is true: this is the greenest Government ever. Will my right hon. Friend tell us what proportion of that electricity is generated by onshore wind? Can he confirm that onshore wind is the most mature, least expensive, and most efficient form of renewable energy, and is actually pretty popular?
Matthew Hancock
A high proportion of electricity is from onshore wind, but there is also solar—one million people now live in households with solar panels on their roofs—and offshore wind, which plays an important role. We will continue to have a strong energy mix, with a strong performance from renewables, to ensure that we deliver on our pledge, which we are committed to and are fulfilling, to be the greenest Government ever.
Mr Barry Sheerman (Huddersfield) (Lab/Co-op)
The Minister knows that some Liberal Democrat voices in the Government are keen on this being a green Government, but the fact is that there are climate change deniers in his own party in other Departments. Every time wind power is brought in, it is knocked down by the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government. The Minister knows there is a subversive element in the Government who hate anything to do with renewable energy.
Matthew Hancock
The hon. Gentleman is normally quite sensible, and I normally agree with him, but subversive elements are certainly not part of the current Government, as we can tell from our record. The proportion of electricity generated from renewables has doubled under this Government. We are committed to ensuring that renewables play a big part of the mix in the most cost-effective way that they can.
Mr James Gray (North Wiltshire) (Con)
Will the Minister join me in congratulating Wiltshire council, which has already achieved its 2020 renewables target through a whole variety of means? Does he agree that that achievement ought to be a substantive consideration when the Planning Inspectorate decides on further applications for solar on greenfield sites?
Matthew Hancock
I know my hon. Friend has a concern about solar panels being put in inappropriate places. There are appropriate places for solar to go, especially on roofs and in brownfield sites. That is, of course, a matter for a strong planning system, in which those local decisions are rightly made, but that does not take away from the fact that we have so much more renewable energy than we did just five short years ago.
Mr Dennis Skinner (Bolsover) (Lab)
On the subject of the energy mix, which the Minister referred to, is he aware that we would not be discussing this question of wind power had not the Tories shut more than 100 pits after 1984? There are three of them left. We had a big march in Kellingley on Saturday, and more than 500 people from Thoresby and Hatfield turned up demanding the state aid that he has promised for several weeks at that Dispatch Box. Will he now state emphatically that he will apply for state aid to keep those three pits open, so that they can exhaust their reserves and enable those 3,000 miners to keep their jobs? That’s energy mix—get on with it.
Matthew Hancock
I admire the hon. Gentleman’s ability to get a question on coal into one on the Order Paper about renewables. I come from coal mining stock, and I have delivered support to the three remaining deep pits so far to make sure they stay open on a commercial basis, and to ensure, as far as possible within the constraints of affordability and value for money, the continuation of this mining. There is nobody who has done more than me in the past six months to make this happen. I will continue to work with all parties, including the National Union of Mineworkers, to get there.
Jim Shannon (Strangford) (DUP)
To change the question slightly, one area in which there could be improvement is in encouraging industry to move from electricity to more renewable sources for heat and energy. Is the target of 20% being met, and what discussions has the Minister had with his equivalent in the Northern Ireland Assembly, Arlene Foster, to ensure that these targets are met across the whole United Kingdom?
Matthew Hancock
If I may say so, that was a rather better question than the previous one. This is an important issue. We are working with our colleagues in Northern Ireland at an official level and throughout the Government to deliver on the commitments made, and it is important that we continue to do so.
Mr Graham Allen (Nottingham North) (Lab)
4. What assessment he has made of the effect of recent changes to the incentive scheme for installing solar power panels on businesses that install those panels.
Michael Connarty (Linlithgow and East Falkirk) (Lab)
9. What assessment he has made of the effect of lower oil prices on oil and gas extraction from the North Sea.
The Minister of State, Department of Energy and Climate Change (Matthew Hancock)
Oil companies around the world are reacting to the rapid fall in oil prices and prioritising activity. We are working to ensure that we deliver maximum economic extraction from the North sea. I will be travelling to Aberdeen later today to discuss that with the industry.
Michael Connarty
It does seem that others are doing things around the world, but this Government are doing very little. The Energy Minister did not reply to this; he is posted missing on it. He was also posted missing at the summit in Aberdeen. At that summit, the point was made that the two things that are required are investment tax write-offs, so that people continue to invest in future fields, which will stop if they do not continue to invest; and a reduction in the taxation on the fields, which the Government increased massively to 30%. If we bring the tax back down to 20% and put in tax investment, we might sustain this field—this week, Shell announced that it is closing the Brent field, the first field to bring oil into this country from the North sea.
Matthew Hancock
Work of a collaborative tone to support maximum extraction from the North sea might be more appropriate considering some of the inaccuracies in the question. Not only did we take measures in last year’s autumn statement to support oil companies to ensure the maximum extraction, but we are looking at what further we can do in the Budget. The Secretary of State was in Aberdeen last month, and I will be in Aberdeen later today. We are taking this action to support the maximum possible extraction in terms of economic ability from the North sea.
Dame Anne Begg (Aberdeen South) (Lab)
I am glad the Minister will finally make his way to Aberdeen, and while he is there I hope he will have discussions with all aspects of the industry and the trade unions. I have two asks of him when he is in Aberdeen. One is to talk about what will happen to replace the jobs that have been lost—in one week, 600 jobs, and over the piece it is now into the thousands in one geographic area, if we can imagine that. I wonder what the reaction would be elsewhere. The second ask is to make sure that investment continues, even though we know the industry has to squeeze costs out of the supply chain, so that when the price of oil does pick up the industry has not been decimated.
Matthew Hancock
These are good questions and they were being discussed even before the oil price fell. It is very important that we come to the best possible answer, but I think the hon. Lady and I would agree that it is far better that we sustain a strong industry through these challenges in Aberdeen—which we can do because we have a whole-of-the-UK balance sheet off which we can take decisions to support Aberdeen.
Kerry McCarthy (Bristol East) (Lab)
12. What steps he is taking to encourage community energy generation.
Mr Tim Yeo (South Suffolk) (Con)
Does my right hon. Friend agree that maintaining high levels of generating capacity to meet peak demand, which may be for very short periods, imposes a cost on all consumers? Will he therefore undertake to look carefully at the capacity market mechanism next year to see whether a greater contribution can be made by demand-side response—the system under which consumers are incentivised to reduce their consumption at short notice during periods of peak demand?
The Minister of State, Department of Energy and Climate Change (Matthew Hancock)
Demand-side response currently accounts for around 1.8 GW of balancing services, and we expect it to rise to around 2.5 GW. I have met the demand-side response industry a couple of times, and we will ensure that we take into account its concerns as we review the operation of the capacity market, which was incredibly successful this December.
Mr Jim Cunningham (Coventry South) (Lab)
T3. The Children’s Society estimates that in Coventry South 3,200 children are living in families trapped in energy debt. It has been calling on the Government to increase support for those families by changing the Department of Energy and Climate Change strategy and policy statement to include families with children as a vulnerable group. That will ensure that Ofgem and energy companies do their part to give families the support they need when they fall behind with their energy bills. Will the Minister give that some consideration?
Mr David Nuttall (Bury North) (Con)
Shale gas has the potential to reduce energy bills and increase the security of supply. Will my right hon. Friend set out what steps his Department is taking to allay public concerns about fracking?
Matthew Hancock
I am delighted that this question has come up although I am a bit surprised that it took until 10.29 to do so. It is also a bit of a surprise that the shadow Secretary of State is not attending DECC questions; I understand that she is campaigning in a Labour marginal seat. It is absolutely imperative and a duty on the Government to allow exploration for shale gas, which has the potential to be a significant resource, but to do so carefully and cautiously, and that is exactly what we are doing.
Jim McGovern (Dundee West) (Lab)
T8. Like every other Member here, I am deeply disappointed to hear about further job losses in the North sea oil and gas industry. The National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers has said that, for every offshore job lost, three jobs onshore are lost. Does the Secretary of State agree that the best way to address this is to work together as a United Kingdom?
Matthew Hancock
I entirely concur with the hon. Gentleman’s words, and I look forward to working with the Opposition Front Benchers and Labour Back Benchers and, indeed, with the Labour leadership in Scotland, to try to do everything we can to ensure that we have a strong and healthy offshore industry, because the jobs are not only offshore but throughout the whole United Kingdom.
Alex Cunningham (Stockton North) (Lab)
T9. It is becoming increasingly clear that the UK Government have failed to agree the European structural and investment fund’s operational programme with the European Commission. What is happening? What is the Secretary of State doing to ensure that the skills funding needed to achieve energy efficiency objectives is guaranteed until an agreement is reached?
Matthew Hancock
It is important that we get the details right and the programme will be forthcoming, but it is vital that we have the skills that come alongside energy development. We put a huge effort into getting that right, and I am sure that the hon. Gentleman will welcome the details when they are published.