Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Michael Fallon and Andrew George

Thursday 16th January 2014 Commons Chamber

[Andrew George (St Ives) (LD)]

T6. I was interested to see that the Prime Minister confirmed this week that people living near shale gas sites would enjoy an additional financial benefit. Ministers have confirmed the principle that that should be available to those who live near large-scale onshore wind and large-scale onshore solar array projects. Can the Minister confirm that people who live near such projects will definitely, and on every occasion, enjoy that benefit?

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

Yes. What has been proposed for shale gas is exactly the same as what will apply for large-scale wind farms and large-scale solar farms. Local authorities will be able to enjoy the benefits of 100% business rate retention, and it is only right that local people should therefore get some of the benefit.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Michael Fallon and Andrew George

Thursday 17th October 2013 Commons Chamber

[Michael Fallon]

Yes. I want to reassure my right hon. Friend. Planning applications in respect of onshore wind should be approved only if the impacts are acceptable to the local community. The new planning guidance from the Department for Communities and Local Government helps to deliver the balance that we expect, ensuring that proper weight is given to the visual impact, the cumulative impact and any heritage implications for particular sites.

[Andrew George (St Ives) (LD)]

13. What progress his Department is making towards the UK’s carbon reduction targets.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Michael Fallon and Andrew George

Thursday 18th July 2013 Commons Chamber

[Michael Fallon]

Yes, and my hon. Friend need not take my word for that. It is in the statute. It is a duty of the regulator, Ofcom, to ensure that the service is protected, and that can only be changed by a vote in Parliament.

[Andrew George (St Ives) (LD)]

I am grateful for my right hon. Friend’s reassurances, but my constituents in the remoter reaches of west Cornwall, and indeed on the Isles of Scilly, want to be reassured about the delivery of not only first and second-class letters and postcards, but packages. They fear that the cost of those services will become prohibitive. What can be done to protect my constituents from exorbitant charges?

[Michael Fallon]

The best protection that I can offer my hon. Friend is to ensure that Royal Mail’s finances are put on a sustainable, long-term footing, and that it has access to the capital that it needs in order to innovate, compete and respond to changing technologies. Its parcels business is already growing rapidly, but it is in a competitive marketplace, and we need to free it so that it can operate like any other commercial company.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Michael Fallon and Andrew George

Thursday 20th December 2012 Commons Chamber

[Michael Fallon]

Yes. This Government intend to be the first ever to reduce the overall burden of regulation during their time in office. If my hon. Friend looks at the fifth statement of new regulation, he will see that—significantly—more regulations will be removed over the next six months from January than will be added. As I said, the overall cost reduction to business is nearly £1 billion.

[Andrew George (St Ives) (LD)]

I welcome that approach, but are the Government also estimating the cost of a lack of regulation such as, for example, the practice of upward-only rent reviews for high street shops, irrespective of falling turnovers? Such rent reviews are heaping further costs on businesses and making them less viable.

[Michael Fallon]

There is downward as well as upward movement in that sector, but I will certainly refer the hon. Gentleman’s comments to the Minister for Housing.