Oral Answers to Questions
Debate between Simon Hughes and John Hayes(12 years, 1 month ago)
Commons ChamberRead Full debate Read Hansard Text
Simon Hughes (Bermondsey and Old Southwark) (LD)
4. What his policy is on subsidising new nuclear power stations; and if he will make a statement.
The Minister of State, Department of Energy and Climate Change (Mr John Hayes)
What a pleasure it is to answer energy questions for the first time, and to do so with the wind in my sails!
New nuclear power will have a vital role to play in our energy mix, alongside other low-carbon forms of generation. It must be delivered to provide value for money for consumers, and funded through the investment that will spring from our exciting market reforms.
Simon Hughes
May I seek absolute clarity? Given that the Liberal Democrats oppose a new generation of nuclear power stations, and given that the coalition deal was done only on the basis that there would be no public subsidy for any nuclear power, may I have an express assurance that the construction and operation of every nuclear power station in the future will receive no Government subsidy at all? Can that be made absolutely clear, so that Hitachi understands it and everyone else understands it too?
Mr Hayes
Let me be crystal clear, because the right hon. Gentleman is right to inquire about this. There will be no levy, no direct payment and no market support for electricity supplied or capacity provided by a private sector new nuclear operator unless similar support is provided more widely for other types of generation. I could not be clearer than that.
Oral Answers to Questions
Debate between Simon Hughes and John Hayes(12 years, 3 months ago)
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Mr Hayes
The hon. Gentleman is right that this is not a matter for levity, but he is also wise enough to acknowledge, I hope, that it is a structural problem. The number of young people not in education, employment or training began to rise, as he knows, long before the current economic challenges. It requires a structural solution and at the heart of that is building the skills people need to get and to keep jobs, which is precisely what this Government are doing.
Simon Hughes (Bermondsey and Old Southwark) (LD)
The Minister has been good at understanding that we need good careers guidance for young people, but if we are to have fewer people out of work and doing nothing at all post-16, high-quality work experience for all young people must be delivered in every school and college. Will colleagues in the Department for Education work with colleagues in the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills to ensure that such a programme is in place very soon?
Mr Hayes
I am the personification of the relationship between the two Departments to which the right hon. Gentleman refers. It is essential that our strategy for growth and our approach to business work in tandem with what we do in schools. Although he cannot welcome it, as he has already asked his question, I am sure that he will want at least to contemplate the excellent advice to schools on this very subject that I issued just before the summer recess.
Oral Answers to Questions
Debate between Simon Hughes and John Hayes(12 years, 7 months ago)
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Simon Hughes (Bermondsey and Old Southwark) (LD)
T7. The Government’s introduction of the national careers service is welcome. The Business Secretary has made it clear that there must be face-to-face careers advice for targeted groups of adults. Will the Department try to win the argument across Government, including in the Department for Education, that face-to-face careers guidance is vital for everybody, and that mentoring for all young people in an important complementary project?
The Minister for Further Education, Skills and Lifelong Learning (Mr John Hayes)
It was Odysseus who entrusted Mentor with the guidance of his son, as now the nation’s sons and daughters are entrusted to me. To that end, we have set up the first all-age careers service in England’s history. It is right that schools should have a statutory duty to secure independent and impartial advice and guidance. The right hon. Gentleman is correct that face-to-face guidance is an important element of that. I commit to having further discussion to see what more we can do to ensure that such guidance happens.