Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Michael Fallon and Andrea Leadsom

Thursday 17th October 2013 Commons Chamber

[Mr Tobias Ellwood (Bournemouth East) (Con)]

10. What assessment he has made of the adequacy of support for offshore and onshore wind energy.

[Andrea Leadsom (South Northamptonshire) (Con)]

12. What recent assessment he has made of the adequacy of government subsidy for onshore wind farms.

[The Minister of State, Department of Energy and Climate Change (Michael Fallon)]

Support for onshore and offshore wind projects is provided under the renewables obligation and, from next year, under contracts for difference. Support rates take account of the costs of each technology, and are intended to be sufficient to support delivery of our renewable energy and carbon reduction targets, while minimising costs to consumers.

--- Later in debate ---

[Andrea Leadsom]

I am grateful to my right hon. Friend for his reply on the subject of subsidies, but given that the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government has said that current planning applications give

“insufficient weight . . . to local environmental considerations like landscape, heritage and local amenity”,—[Official Report, 10 October 2013; Vol. 568, c. 31W]—

does he agree that the subsidies provided to developers need to take account of the very real local concerns about how these things are blighting the countryside?

[Michael Fallon]

We have reduced the support for onshore wind projects from April this year and the draft strike prices that we have set out are reduced over time up until 2018, but the new planning policy framework makes it clear that local authorities should have policies in place to ensure that any adverse impacts, including visual impacts and cumulative impacts, are addressed satisfactorily. My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government has made it clear that he intends now to call in more applications at appeal to ensure that the new planning practice guidance is meeting the Government’s intentions.

Apprenticeships

Debate between Michael Fallon and Andrea Leadsom

Tuesday 12th March 2013 Commons Chamber

[Michael Fallon]

My hon. Friend does the House a service by drawing attention to that rather revealing statistic.

I turn to the second policy we discovered in the Labour leader’s article. He said:

“Let’s respond to employers who say they can’t hire young people with the right skills, and put them in charge of how training money is spent.”

That is a good idea, but the Prime Minister launched the employer ownership pilot in November 2011. There are now some 26 of those pilot schemes. Only this morning another one was launched, for digital marketing. The support of the Opposition—a bit late—is very welcome.

Thirdly, let us turn to the idea of apprentices in Whitehall. I agree. In 2010, we found hardly any apprentices in Ministers’ offices. There are now 1,800 across Whitehall. We announced a fast-stream apprentice scheme that will take 500 apprentices—the same number as the graduate fast stream. Other of the Leader of the Opposition’s colleagues mentioned the number of apprentices in my Department. They were wrong; there are 79 apprentices in the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills and its Executive agencies, hired despite the broader hiring freeze. [Interruption.] Other than apprentices, the Department employs no one at all aged under 19.

Fourthly, we come to the policy on procurement. The Opposition say we should put apprentices into the procurement contracts for High Speed 2. Of course, HS2 has yet to go through the House so its contracts are yet to be signed, but the Department for Transport has already made it clear that it will ensure that any procurement for the construction of HS2 meets our wider Government commitments to deliver apprenticeships and training. In the case of Crossrail, the largest construction project in Europe, the contracts signed by this Government require apprentices. I think we now know where the Opposition got the idea for all these Labour policies—they looked up what we are doing and they are playing catch-up.

[Andrea Leadsom (South Northamptonshire) (Con)]

I am sure my right hon. Friend is aware how delighted the parliamentary apprentices are to have been invited to meet the Prime Minister tomorrow to celebrate apprenticeship week. There are a number of apprentices, including Daisy Peck in my office, who is the former head girl of Northampton school for boys—it takes girls in the sixth form—and she is thrilled to be invited by our Prime Minister to celebrate apprenticeship week at No. 10 tomorrow morning.

[Michael Fallon]

I am delighted to hear that. I understand that the apprentices will also attend Prime Minister’s Question Time tomorrow, so we must all be on our best behaviour.

Amendment of the Law

Debate between Michael Fallon and Andrea Leadsom

Thursday 22nd March 2012 Commons Chamber

[Andrea Leadsom (South Northamptonshire) (Con)]

rose—

[Michael Fallon (Sevenoaks) (Con)]

Will the right hon. Gentleman give way?