Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Nickie Aiken and Simon Clarke

Monday 17th October 2022 Commons Chamber

[Mr Clarke]

Fracking will take place only where there is community consent.

[Nickie Aiken (Cities of London and Westminster) (Con)]

T4.   I appreciate that some elements in Government may insist that we need more powers to deal with aggressive beggars, but I gently suggest that we have such legislation, including the Anti-social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014. Does the new Secretary of State therefore agree that we do not need clause 187, a placeholder clause, in the Levelling-up and Regeneration Bill, and will he scrap it immediately?

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Nickie Aiken and Simon Clarke

Tuesday 7th January 2020 Commons Chamber

[Nickie Aiken (Cities of London and Westminster) (Con)]

13. What fiscal steps he is taking to ensure that the Government meet their target of net zero emissions by 2050.

[The Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury (Mr Simon Clarke)]

It is a great pleasure to welcome my hon. Friend to her place. The clean growth strategy sets out our proposals to decarbonise our economy during the 2020s. This will build on existing Government spending, including £2.5 billion for low-carbon innovation between 2015 and 2021, £1 billion for ultra low emission vehicles and £4.5 billion for the renewable heat incentive.

[Nickie Aiken]

I thank my hon. Friend for his reply. I am sure he is aware of the immense appetite within London’s financial and professional services community to invest in green infrastructure and the rapid development of the green and sustainable bonds market. Is he therefore willing to meet me and representatives of the Corporation of London to discuss how Her Majesty’s Treasury can further advise and support further investment in green infrastructure and private finance, and its backing of that?

[Mr Clarke]

My hon. Friend is absolutely right. The UK is already a global centre for green finance, but we need to do more. That is why the Government published a green finance strategy last July and why we have launched the Green Finance Institute, in close collaboration with the City of London—precisely to drive these outcomes. My hon. Friend the Economic Secretary will be happy to meet her at the earliest opportunity to progress this.