Energy Generation

Debate between Mike Weir and Andrew George

Wednesday 17th April 2013 Westminster Hall

[Andrew George]

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Gray. I was reading from a letter that I received from the Secretary of State this week in which he also justifies the option of setting a target in 2016. He refers to the other decisions that the Government need to make. I am sure that the Minister will outline those in a moment, so I shall not take up time describing them. The Secretary of State says that

“a target would not be set in isolation but in the context of considering the pathway of the whole economy towards our 2050 target, and making sure we do that in a way that minimises costs both to the economy as a whole and to bill payers.”

The problem with that is that the bulk of industry interested in energy generation and the bulk of investors interested in the future of the energy generation economy do not take the same view. I, of course, have tremendous respect for my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State; he acknowledges that it is Liberal Democrat policy to set a decarbonisation target now, rather than in 2016. That target has to be the result of a compromise, and as in any coalition Government in the world, between two coalition parties, we sometimes do not get the outcome that we desire. That is why a large number of interested companies have written to the Chancellor, rather than the Secretary of State, to move the agenda forward, which indicates the target at which the debate needs to be directed.

[Mr Mike Weir (Angus) (SNP)]

Does the hon. Gentleman not accept that one reason why companies are doing so is that they are looking now at investments into the 2020s? They want to be sure that past 2016 there will be a target and that their investment will be secure.

[Andrew George]

Absolutely. We are talking about multi-billion-pound investors who, as the hon. Gentleman rightly says, are looking decades ahead.

The UK green economy has continued to grow, even while broader economic activity remains relatively subdued. The CBI has demonstrated that more than one third of UK economic growth last year is likely to have come from green businesses. Renewable and low-carbon energy businesses are the segment of the green economy with the most stake in the 2013 decarbonisation target. Cumulatively, they generate more than £98 billion in sales and employ more than 735,000 people—more jobs than the entire UK automotive and telecoms sectors combined.

Figures from the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills demonstrate an average growth rate of 6% each year for that portion of the economy, which equates to some £7 billion of additional sales for UK plc or 6,000 new jobs each year, based on today’s figures. That growth is now placed at risk by a lack of investor certainty and confidence, which a 2030 decarbonisation target would certainly remedy and remove. Setting the target sooner, rather than later, would provide the certainty and confidence that such investors require.

I have an inkling that I am preaching to the converted, including the Minister, who has to follow the Government’s policies as a whole. The fact is that the decision has to be made across the Government as a whole. People are looking at the challenges as we go forward, and I know that he is seized of the issue. The green economy is a significant source of growth in UK plc and it needs confidence and certainty going forward. The letter of 8 October 2012 to the Chancellor from 52 leading businesses in the sector sets out a strong case. They sought a meeting with Ministers, which they have not yet secured. They say:

“Failure to act at sufficient scale and pace will undermine our prosperity; and cause us to miss out on the huge commercial opportunities associated with the global shift to a low carbon, resource efficient economy.”

Although the Energy Bill makes significant advances, for which the Government should be congratulated, the difficult compromise that they have come to needs to be teased out and debated further than we have been able to so far. I do not know how we will do it, but we should have a debate with the Department of Energy and Climate Change that includes the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills and the Chancellor of the Exchequer and the Treasury. When we debate the Bill in the Commons in the coming weeks, it will be a pity that we will not have the opportunity for a full debate with all the Departments on which it will have an impact. I hope the Minister will address my earlier question on the impact of last night’s vote.

I shall add a couple of words on an exciting source of energy generation in my constituency and plug the west Cornwall wave hub, which I raised with the Minister in questions in the House on 14 March, when he gave me an encouraging response. He went to RenewableUK’s annual wave and tidal conference in February, where he told the industry:

“Now is the time for bold next steps—moving from individual projects to large-scale arrays.”

That is vital. I welcome that the Government are supporting the wave hub. The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills is clearly taking a significant role in the future management of the project, which has been handed on from the South West of England Regional Development Agency. It is difficult to scale up to a commercial level from the prototype machines at the demonstration project in Orkney. The Government need to provide the wave hub project with more certainty and address some of the long-term investment issues, some of which feed and bleed into the decarbonisation agenda. I hope that the Minister will visit the wave hub, talk to those involved and address the funding gap, which still exists, to bring the wave devices on to the site.

Sustainable Communities

Debate between Mike Weir and Andrew George

Wednesday 13th June 2012 Westminster Hall

[Andrew George]

The hon. Gentleman mentioned what he described as planning gain. The problem with planning gain, as opposed to the proposal that I was advancing earlier, is that a one-off planning gain—or planning bribe, as I prefer to describe it—provides a one-off capital sum that will last for only a certain period. The impact of such initiatives needs to be sustainable over time, which is why my proposal seeks to address the problems of upward-only rent reviews and their impact on business rates in towns.

[Mr Mike Weir (in the Chair)]

Before the hon. Member for Montgomeryshire resumes his contribution, perhaps he will bear it in mind during his speech and in any interventions that I want to start the winding-up speeches by 3.40 pm.

Gypsy and Traveller Planning

Debate between Mike Weir and Andrew George

Wednesday 13th July 2011 Westminster Hall

[Andrew George]

On fairness and even-handedness for the settled community and the unsettled community, which includes those who live in squats and caravans who are “settled” but cannot find adequate accommodation, does the hon. Lady agree that all reports have shown that the life expectancy of Travellers and Gypsies is significantly lower than that of the settled community and that infant mortality and maternal mortality are much higher? In addition, Travellers are hugely disadvantaged in education, with 75% of children regularly in education compared with—

[Mr Mike Weir (in the Chair)]

Order. Interventions must be brief.