Oral Answers to Questions

Mike Weir Excerpts

Thursday 1st December 2011 Commons Chamber

[Chris Huhne]

I think we must have been living in different worlds. The Government’s achievements on the green agenda since the election include electricity market reform, the green deal in the Energy Act 2011 and the pioneering renewable heat incentive. Furthermore, we have brought forward the subsidy review for renewables, which was widely welcomed by the sector, and secured £1 billion for the carbon capture and storage programme. Indeed, yesterday I visited a CCS pilot partially funded by Government money. I think that the hon. Gentleman is overlooking many achievements on the green agenda that do indeed mean that we are on course to be the greenest Government ever.

[Mr Mike Weir (Angus) (SNP)]

In interviews at the time of the autumn statement, the Chief Secretary to the Treasury announced casually that the money for the CCS project was being reallocated and would not be required until well into the next Parliament. Given that the Secretary of State has already pulled the rug from under Longannet, is this not clear evidence that he has abandoned any hope of developing CCS as a potential export industry?

[Chris Huhne]

Absolutely not. By the way, the hon. Gentleman did not quote the Chief Secretary precisely. The Chief Secretary pointed out that money was absolutely available for a CCS project. Indeed, all the negotiators involved in the Longannet project recognised that although the money was not enough to make Longannet work, it would be enough to make a CCS project work elsewhere. The reality is that there will be some slippage. The profiling of that £1 billion in the comprehensive spending review was heavily weighted towards the last year of the CSR, and if there is slippage it is bound to be in the next CSR. However, we will make profiling decisions on expenditure for CCS when the projects come forward following the competition next year, and I can assure the hon. Gentleman that the money is available to fund them.