Making Britain a Clean Energy Superpower

Nusrat Ghani Excerpts

Thursday 9th November 2023 Commons Chamber

[The Minister for Industry and Economic Security (Ms Nusrat Ghani)]

It is a pleasure to close today’s debate on the King’s Speech on behalf of the Government and even more of a joy to be representing Wealden, my constituency, in doing so. There have been fantastic and insightful speeches from Members on both sides of the House—19 in total—and I will do my best to run through all the points raised. These debates are a moment for both anticipation and reflection; we welcomed King Charles to open Parliament for the first time, and looked forward to his reign, while remembering the late Queen and her many decades of public service.

The last time a King opened Parliament was back in 1951. Because I do not sleep much, I glanced through Hansard to see what was discussed then, when the Government’s focus was—as it is now—on protecting prosperity, safeguarding key industries and protecting UK interests at home and abroad. Just like Winston Churchill’s Government seven decades ago, we must turn our minds to similar issues, finding 21st century solutions to age-old questions, many of which were addressed by colleagues today.

Let me turn to my right hon. Friend the Member for Basingstoke (Dame Maria Miller), who has huge experience and secures respect on both sides of the House. It was interesting that she reflected on the political sketch by the right hon. Member for Doncaster North (Edward Miliband), who politicised the energy debate just as he politicised the NHS back when he was running for leader. We were hoping for a grown-up conversation, but unfortunately he turned it into a political sketch—[Interruption.] And he is continuing to do so now, which is a shame.

It was good to hear my right hon. Friend the Member for Basingstoke acknowledge that we are world leaders in offshore wind and other renewables, especially small modular reactors and fusion energy, and to hear about her recent experience in Canada as our trade envoy. She reflected on battery plants and storage, and will be pleased to know that I will publish the battery strategy shortly. She reflected on critical minerals—she knows I published a critical minerals strategy recently—because we cannot have a net zero agenda without them. She also asked about the NPPF; we got a note back to say that it is on its way. Of course, that is not within my remit, but I do not doubt that her words have been acknowledged.

Let me reflect on the comments made by my right hon. Friend the Member for Kingswood (Chris Skidmore) and his tremendous work on the Skidmore review. I agree that we have earned a reputation in the UK as leaders in achieving net zero, and now that reputation needs to be preserved. It is indeed a race, and we started off fast so we need to ensure that we continue ahead of the game. He also reflected on the Inflation Reduction Act, which has changed the game plan—I know that, as the Industry Minister—and the challenges it poses for supply chains. It is unfortunate that this will be his last King’s Speech debate, but I do not doubt that we will hear his voice on this agenda.

The hon. Member for Brent North (Barry Gardiner) talked about cross-party consensus—who can disagree with that?—and about energy bills; a huge amount of work has been done to cover energy costs, and we will continue to provide people with support as we can.

My hon. Friend the Member for Banff and Buchan (David Duguid) talked about long-term decisions. Stability should be at the forefront of our minds, not the short-term decisions with short-term outcomes that seem to be the most popular. He reflected on growing the economy; on energy security; on being measured, which means having a mix of energy in the system; and on the dependence on gas and oil, and ensuring that they are in the mix. He talked about protecting power stations, including the one in his constituency, and about the importance of having oil and gas to ensure that we are not reliant on imported fuel but can rely on ourselves.

The hon. Member for Brighton, Pavilion (Caroline Lucas), gave a speech that was far more ideological than embedded in the reality of people’s lives, and did not reflect at all on our track record on getting to net zero and reducing emissions. I always find it curious that people talk about resilience but are prepared to let other markets boom at the cost of markets being invested in and jobs being grown here in the UK.

My hon. Friend the Member for The Cotswolds (Sir Geoffrey Clifton-Brown), who is a dear friend and an incredibly powerful treasurer of the 1922 committee, spoke about tax-free shopping. I am sure that Treasury Ministers were listening and will respond in due course.

The hon. Member for Washington and Sunderland West (Mrs Hodgson) spoke about Nissan; later I will speak about the investments made by the automotive sector, including Nissan, and some of the challenges not only around energy but fundamentally around supply chains. I have been working with industry and the automotive sector on providing more resilience in supply chains to get the minerals and critical products needed into the UK, so that we can continue to manufacture.

My hon. Friend the Member for Harrow East (Bob Blackman), who is also a member of the 1922 committee, talked about good administration versus having lots of policy. He is absolutely right; we need to ensure that we can administrate well, and if that requires working in collaboration, it must be done. He mentioned the lack of previous investment in nuclear, and said that we need to move at pace to ensure an energy mix in the UK. He must also be commended for his work on tackling homelessness and dealing with leasehold issues.

The hon. Member for Coventry North East (Colleen Fletcher) felt underwhelmed by the policies set out in the King’s Speech. Hopefully she will be overwhelmed by the work now being done by the Government to ensure we deliver for our constituents across the country.

My hon. Friend the Member for North Norfolk (Duncan Baker) talked about Bacton gas terminal, which the Prime Minister visited very recently. My hon. Friend fundamentally believes the site should be the most senior hydrogen hub in the UK. No doubt his campaigning will enable that to be delivered for his constituents.

The hon. Member for Warrington North (Charlotte Nichols) is a fellow member of my Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy Committee. She said that the King’s Speech was not all bad—I always think that is a good place to start. She spoke about mental health and many other issues, but I look forward to continuing to work with her, as we did previously on steel and the supply chain.

[Charlotte Nichols]

I thank the Minister for giving way. She referred earlier to the politicisation of energy. Unfortunately, the Secretary of State inadvertently misled the House in her own opening remarks with the comments she made about Warrington Council’s exposure in the administration of Together Energy. The £37 million bill she quoted is entirely wrong, something I have had confirmed as one of Warrington’s MPs. Will the Minister take the opportunity to correct the record on behalf of the Secretary of State?

[Ms Ghani]

I am sure that putting that forward now means that the record will reflect it. If it was not £37 million, I dread to think what it was.

My hon. Friend the Member for Totnes (Anthony Mangnall) made a fantastic comment that maybe all the members of the Business and Trade Committee should be Privy Counsellors—yes, but only if previous members of the BEIS Committee are offered that, too. He spoke about the fact that we should not forget about the growth in our economy—it has grown by 78% since 1990—and the 46% reduction in emissions. We must be positive and promote what we have been able to achieve. He spoke about marine energy and maritime power linking into a local church. I am intrigued—I want to be invited to come by and take a look.

There were contributions from the hon. Member for Nottingham East (Nadia Whittome) and—forgive my pronunciation—the hon. Member for Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath (Neale Hanvey). I think it is best that the SNP Members reflect on the points that he raised. The hon. Member for Jarrow (Kate Osborne) spoke, as did the hon. Members for Wakefield (Simon Lightwood) and for Gordon (Richard Thomson). I never thought we would end up on an SNP love story, but we are all going to be thinking about that over the weekend.

I am anxious about how much time I have left to speak. I am closing the debate as a Business and Trade Minister, and have many more opportunities coming up to help ensure that we deliver on growing the economy and achieving net zero. We have a couple of programmes of work that were reflected in the King’s Speech in the Trade (Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership) Bill and the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Bill.

Turning to the subject of today’s debate, the Government are already turning the country into a clean energy superpower. “Already” is the important word there, because while the Opposition might try to claim otherwise, this work is well under way. Let me remind the House of the formidable record we are building on. The UK achieved the fastest rate of greenhouse gas emission reductions of all G7 countries, while renewables already generated over 48% of our electricity in the first quarter of this year—the highest ever level. Of course, we know we can and must go further, which is why the UK has one of the world’s most ambitious 2030 targets. However, the Government are also acutely aware that we cannot ask our citizens and businesses to pay undue burdens for achieving our net zero goals, particularly in these challenging economic times. Nor can we ignore the fact that Putin’s war of aggression means that we are living in a more dangerous world with far more complicated supply chains. As the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero has already explained, it is only right that we reduce our reliance on volatile international energy markets and hostile regimes. She will be doing so through legislation such as the Offshore Petroleum Licensing Bill.

The Opposition talk about strategies and plans, so let me remind the House that the Government have them in abundance. In fact, the Government’s green strategies aim to drive £100 billion of private sector investment into our green industrial base by 2030, supporting around 480,000 jobs by the same date. I am surprised the Opposition are not welcoming that.

However, the Government are not just focusing on words; they are taking action. Between 2020 and 2023, my Department alone supported more than £28 billion of net zero-related inward investment, creating 30,000 jobs. Thanks to our work, the country’s economic geography is also shifting—from clean technology development in the midlands, offshore wind in the north-east and Scotland and turbine manufacturers in Hull, to innovative hydrogen-powered buses in Northern Ireland. With the North sea transition deal, the Government are helping workers, businesses and the supply chain in fossil fuel-related industries to adapt to a net zero future, providing £20 billion of funding to encourage the early deployment of carbon capture, usage and storage, and to unlock private investment and jobs. Whether we are talking about our recently announced plans for carbon capture clusters in the north-west and north-east, the first 15 winning projects to receive investment from the Government’s £240 million net zero hydrogen fund, the port towns that stand to benefit from the £160 million-worth of floating offshore wind manufacturing schemes, or our freeports and investment zones, our policies are creating jobs, reinvigorating communities and opening horizons the length and breadth of the country.

It would be remiss of me not to talk about my own brief, which covers industries and, fundamentally, the automotive, aerospace and maritime sectors. Here again, my Department is playing an instrumental role. We recently announced a joint investment package with Tata Steel, worth £1.25 billion, to replace end-of-life blast furnaces with electric arc furnace steel production. That will preserve steelmaking for generations to come and enable green steel production to take place in the UK. While we are helping manufacturers, including steel producers, to access lower-cost hydrogen through the net zero hydrogen fund, we are also enabling our world-renowned automotive sector to seize the opportunities of the net zero transition. For instance, we have the automotive transformation fund from the Advanced Propulsion Centre, and the Faraday battery challenge. That has unlocked investment into the UK. Stellantis is producing electric vans at its Ellesmere Port plant, the first factory to be dedicated to the manufacture of electric vehicles, BMW Group is investing £600 million to bring two new all-electric Mini models to Oxford by 2026, and Tata has announced a £4 billion investment in Europe’s largest here in the UK. All that shows what our strategies are already providing.

[Chris Skidmore]

I thank the Minister for making an important point about job creation. As I said in my speech, the net zero review pointed to the 480,000 additional jobs resulting from green industries. When it comes to green steel both in Port Talbot and in Ellesmere Port, and the future of electric arc furnaces, does the Minister agree that, as politicians on both sides of the House, we need to fight the corrosive disinformation that green steel is somehow costing jobs—there would otherwise have been 6,000 job losses in Port Talbot rather than 3,000 potential job transfers—and point out that it is green industries that are keeping jobs alive? If we stick with the status quo, we will simply lose every job.

[Ms Ghani]

That is a valuable point. The most frustrating aspect of being a Minister is the lack of sufficient time and space to talk about some of the challenges and how we respond to them. If we had not provided support to enable Port Talbot to have those electric arc furnaces, thousands of jobs would have been lost. Unfortunately, however, there are always some people who argue that change inevitably brings challenge, and we get stick on that point. However, our investment means that those jobs are now secure, as are, I believe, more than 10,000 jobs in the supply chain. That will give people the reassurance that they need about their continued ability to produce steel or products in the supply chain.

[Jonathan Reynolds]

Owing to the importance of this issue, I must add something to the record. As the Minister and the Secretary of State know, electric arc furnaces are not the only way to decarbonise the steel industry. There are examples around the world of the use of ammonia and hydrogen in what is known as the direct reduced iron process, and other technologies are under way. Are we to be the first developed country to lose the capacity to make virgin steel? That appears to be Government policy, but I am not sure that the Minister could deliver the necessary votes for that on her own side of the House. I think she should clarify whether it is indeed Government policy, because she would not say so during yesterday’s exchanges on the urgent question.

[Ms Ghani]

We were talking about Port Talbot and the change to electric arc furnaces there. There is, of course, the DRI hydrogen option, but it will not come online within the time that is required to provide the change from blast to electric arc furnaces. That was a commercial decision taken, with the unions, at Port Talbot. When a technology involving hydrogen is advanced and can be commercialised, that will no doubt become an option, but we are where we are. People might think we can jump from one to another without a transition, but we are providing support for the transition to support jobs in these communities.

I believe I have until 5 o’clock, but that might distress our colleagues. I will conclude, although I am prepared to continue.

[The Minister for Defence Procurement (James Cartlidge)]

They are all listening.

[Ms Ghani]

They are all listening.

Just over 70 years ago, in 1951, Churchill’s Government stood on the cusp of an extraordinary era of innovation that heralded the computer and the space race, and today we are on the edge of a new, equally significant age of green technology and innovation. It is thanks to this Government’s hard work and focus that we are ready to seize the opportunities with both hands as we grow the economy, ensure our energy security and provide a prosperous future for the country and its people. Our policies will turn this country into a green powerhouse, which will not only transform our communities but provide leadership to the world.

Ordered, That the debate be now adjourned.— (Mr Mohindra.)

Debate to be resumed on Monday 13 November.