Energy Bill [Lords]

John Bercow Excerpts

Wednesday 20th April 2016 Commons Chamber

[The Minister of State, Department of Energy and Climate Change (Andrea Leadsom)]

I beg to move, That this House agrees with Lords amendment 7A.

[Mr Speaker]

With this we will consider the following:

Lords amendments 7B to 7S.

Lords amendment 7T, and Government motion to disagree.

Lords amendments 7U to 7W, 6A and 6B, 8A to 8C and Lords amendment 2A.

I must draw the House’s attention to the fact that financial privilege is engaged by Lords amendment 2A. If the House agrees it, I will cause an appropriate entry to be made in the Journal.

[Andrea Leadsom]

To deliver on our manifesto commitment, the Government remain determined to bring forward the closure of the renewables obligation to new onshore wind in Great Britain. This commitment is based on plans that were signalled well before the general election last year, and that should not have come as a surprise to hon. Members or to industry.

Back in March 2015, my right hon. Friend the Member for West Suffolk (Matthew Hancock), then Minister for Energy and Climate Change, stated in this House:

“We have made it absolutely clear that we will remove onshore wind subsidies in the future”.—[Official Report, 6 March 2015; Vol. 293, c. 1227-28.]

Prior to that, in December 2014, the Prime Minister, speaking of wind farms, stated in the House of Commons Liaison Committee:

“we don’t need to have more of these subsidised onshore. So let’s get rid of the subsidy”.

We have been absolutely clear all along. The Government’s policy is to bring forward the closure of the renewables obligation to new onshore wind.

To protect investor confidence, the Government have proposed a grace period for those projects meeting certain conditions as at 18 June last year, as outlined in the statement by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change on that date. The grace period provisions are intended to protect those projects that, at 18 June last year, already had relevant planning consents; a grid connection offer and acceptance of that offer, or confirmation that no grid connection was required; and access to land rights.