Offshore Wind

Debate between Meg Hillier and Ed Miliband

Wednesday 14th January 2026 Commons Chamber

[Ed Miliband]

I fear that securing time in the House is way above my pay grade. [Interruption.] I promise that it is. Let me say more generally to the right hon. Lady that I agree with her, and that we are looking at the Procurement Act 2023 and how it works. Ensuring that we procure as much of this as we can in the UK is incredibly important, and it is taken seriously throughout Government.

[Dame Meg Hillier (Hackney South and Shoreditch) (Lab/Co-op)]

I congratulate my right hon. Friend on securing this investment. We are hearing some real chutzpah from the Opposition, who seem to have forgotten that it was they who imposed the ban on onshore wind. We need to remember who is in favour of tackling the issue of green energy and bringing down bills. The other side of this, however, is getting the electricity to constituencies such as mine. What progress is being made on upgrading the grid, and what timeline has my right hon. Friend for conveying the electricity to people who need it?

[Ed Miliband]

I agree with my hon. Friend. I am old enough to remember Boris Johnson, and he used to trumpet the potential of this. He used to talk about it as the future and how it was going to build future jobs, but the Conservatives have abandoned all that. They are miserable pessimists about our country.

As for my hon. Friend’s question, I think she is absolutely right. She will welcome the fact that NESO has undertaken the biggest overhaul of the grid we have seen in a long time, reordering the queue to ensure that we procure the power we need in the right places and that we give priority to the projects we need.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Meg Hillier and Ed Miliband

Tuesday 6th January 2026 Commons Chamber

[Ed Miliband]

I wish the hon. Lady a happy new year, but I find that question a bit churlish. We have produced a world-leading plan for the North sea, which combines the just transition—the just and prosperous transition—with environmental leadership, while keeping to our manifesto commitment not to issue new licences to explore new fields. It is absolutely right that we have tiebacks to ensure that existing oil and gas fields are kept open for their lifetime. Obviously, the North Sea Transition Authority will consult on the details of how that will work, but it is absolutely the right thing to do for jobs and the environment.

[Dame Meg Hillier (Hackney South and Shoreditch) (Lab/Co-op)]

T2. Banister House in Homerton in my constituency was the first community energy scheme in Hackney with solar panels on the roof, and it is the UK’s largest such scheme on social housing. The forthcoming local power plan will provide an opportunity for others to follow where Hackney has led. Could the Secretary of State give some detail about its roll-out, so we all know how we can prepare to bid for it?