Oral Answers to Questions

Stephen Crabb Excerpts

Wednesday 20th November 2013 Commons Chamber

[Bob Blackman (Harrow East) (Con)]

1. What discussions he has had on new investment in energy infrastructure in Wales.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Wales (Stephen Crabb)]

Wales is already attracting significant investment in new energy infrastructure. From Hitachi’s investment in new nuclear to promising marine energy projects such as the Skerries tidal stream array, Wales is proving that it can play a leading role in meeting our country’s energy needs.

[Bob Blackman]

It is good news that Wales is getting energy infrastructure, but what will my hon. Friend do to ensure that businesses and consumers can access it?

[Stephen Crabb]

I thank my hon. Friend for that question. This country needs more than £100 billion of new energy infrastructure investment in the next eight years. We at the Wales Office are determined that Welsh businesses should be at the forefront of those opportunities in Wales, which is why my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State will host an energy summit to explore with Welsh businesses the opportunities that this new investment will afford.

[Hywel Williams (Arfon) (PC)]

Will the Minister assure the House that when an assessment is made of competing means of transmission, full consideration will be given to the full costs, including those to tourism and outdoor pursuit industries?

[Stephen Crabb]

I recognise the important point made by the hon. Gentleman and I followed the debate secured by the hon. Member for Carmarthen East and Dinefwr (Jonathan Edwards) yesterday evening on that very issue. It is clearly important that the distribution transmission companies take a view of all the costs involved, but there is concern that when we make these transmission projects more expensive—through, for example, underground cabling—the cost is ultimately borne by households who pay energy bills.

[Roger Williams (Brecon and Radnorshire) (LD)]

Anaerobic digestion is an important player in energy production in Wales. There appears to have been a problem in the feed-in tariff order scheme for anaerobic digestion of less than 500 kW, which could affect investment in the technology. Will the Minister work with the ministerial team in the Department of Energy and Climate Change to rectify this problem?

[Stephen Crabb]

I thank my hon. Friend for that question. We are very aware of the issue. A discussion is taking place with officials and colleagues at DECC. They are in contact with the trade body for the developers of such projects, and I hope a solution will be found soon.

[Huw Irranca-Davies (Ogmore) (Lab)]

2. What assessment he has made of the effect of recent increases in the cost of energy bills on living standards in Wales.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Wales (Stephen Crabb)]

The recent price increases announced by the big six are unwelcome, especially at this time, which is why we are legislating to force energy companies to put people on the lowest tariff that meets their preference. We are also helping to keep bills lower by increasing competition in the market and opening up the marketplace for new independent suppliers to challenge the dominance of the big six.

[Huw Irranca-Davies]

Last week a friend of mine who works with elderly residents in Ogmore visited four elderly residents in one day. All four would not put on their heating because they were frightened of the effect on them of rising fuel prices. They sat in the cold. Yesterday, it snowed in Ogmore. Is not this the time to call for a freeze on prices so that elderly people are not afraid that they will freeze in their homes?

[Stephen Crabb]

As I said, the increases in bills are unwelcome at this time and we all know from our communities the pressures that puts on vulnerable households, but I would say to the hon. Gentleman that, on the slogan of a price freeze for energy, the Leader of the Opposition knows full well that that is not deliverable. We know from Labour’s track record in government that it was intensely relaxed about gas prices doubling, electricity prices going up by more than 50% and increasing fuel tax 12 times. It was too relaxed and complacent.

[Robert Halfon (Harlow) (Con)]

Does my hon. Friend agree that one of the biggest impacts on the cost of energy is the high cost of petrol and diesel, and that the fuel duty freeze will mean that petrol and fuel duty will be 13p cheaper in tax terms and will help the cost of living enormously in Wales and across the country?

[Stephen Crabb]

My hon. Friend is exactly right. It is of particular benefit in rural Welsh areas, where average incomes are lower. By the end of this Parliament, average fuel prices will not be 13p per litre lower; they will be more than 20p per litre lower than under the previous Government’s plan.

[Jessica Morden (Newport East) (Lab)]

13. A report by the CAB last week showed that over the past three years energy bills have increased eight times more than earnings. Does the Secretary of State not share the concern that Wales has the highest energy bills of anywhere in the UK? If he does, why does he not tackle that far more urgently?

[Stephen Crabb]

Wales has some of the highest energy prices, but regional variations are partly due to higher transmission costs—an important component of an energy bill. That brings us back to the earlier question about wanting more expensive transmission projects in Wales, not cheaper ones. We are very aware of the pressure on households in Wales because of the energy prices increase, and we are not complacent about that.

[Mr Mark Williams (Ceredigion) (LD)]

A particular concern in rural areas such as Ceredigion is the crippling price of domestic oil. What work will my hon. Friend do, including with the Department of Energy and Climate Change, to support oil syndicates and oil clubs and encourage bulk purchasing to reduce price?

[Stephen Crabb]

The collective purchasing power of communities and groups of buyers of oil might have a role in bringing down prices for consumers in rural areas. We are seeing that with switching as well. My colleagues at the Department of Energy and Climate Change are encouraging community groups to come together to strike collective switching agreements with companies to help bring down prices.

[Mr Peter Hain (Neath) (Lab)]

With sky-high energy bills in Wales, which are higher than anywhere else, and a Tory-aligned think-tank saying that people are maxed out on personal debt—there are about 250,000 of them in Wales—does the Minister agree with the planning Minister, the hon. Member for Grantham and Stamford (Nick Boles), that his party is the party of the rich and that its members are seen as aliens and heartless extremists?

[Stephen Crabb]

The right hon. Gentleman is a member of a party about which one of his colleagues said it was “intensely relaxed” about people becoming filthy rich. It was intensely relaxed about many families on low incomes being pushed into greater household debt. We do not take that approach; we are trying to bring down household debt.

[Guto Bebb (Aberconwy) (Con)]

Does the Minister agree that the Labour party claims to be concerned about the cost of living in Wales, yet on the one cost it can control, the council tax, it has failed miserably to support Welsh constituents?

[Stephen Crabb]

My hon. Friend is absolutely right. If Opposition Members were genuinely concerned about tackling the cost of living in Wales they would be hammering on the door of their Labour colleagues in the Welsh Government in Cardiff and demanding that they freeze council tax bills, as we have for households in England.

[Nia Griffith (Llanelli) (Lab)]

Wales has seen the sharpest increase in the number of people falling behind with their energy fuel bills—up 24% from 68,000 two years ago to an alarming 85,000 households now in arrears. With SSE’s massive 8% price hike kicking in last Friday, will the Minister explain why he thinks it is not possible to deliver an energy freeze and to break up the six big energy companies to deliver a fairer system for the people of Wales?

[Stephen Crabb]

The uncompetitive big six were of course created by the previous Labour Government. We are opening up the marketplace to seven new independent suppliers, challenging the dominance of the big six and increasing competition in the marketplace, which will deliver lower bills for households in Wales.

[Mr Henry Bellingham (North West Norfolk) (Con)]

3. What plans he has to encourage growth in the small and medium-sized enterprise sector in Wales.

--- Later in debate ---

[Chris Ruane (Vale of Clwyd) (Lab)]

11. What steps the Government are taking to increase the number of people in Wales who earn a living wage.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Wales (Stephen Crabb)]

We support strong minimum wage legislation and rigorous enforcement as a way of protecting people on the lowest incomes. Decisions on wage rates above the minimum wage are for employers and employees to agree together.

[Mr Hanson]

According to a Barclays bank survey in my constituency, in the past year those earning £100,000 or more saw their spending power rise by 4.4%, while those on less than £15,000 saw their spending power fall by 5.6%. Does the Minister think that that has anything to do with Government policy? Will he work towards a minimum wage to help the 700,000 people in Wales who currently earn less than the living wage?

[Stephen Crabb]

I gently point out to the right hon. Gentleman that the vast majority of the decline in real wage values in his constituency and throughout Wales occurred in the last three years of the Labour Government. We are working incredibly hard to bring new jobs and investment to constituencies such as the right hon. Gentleman’s. If he is saying that those jobs are not welcome unless they pay more than £7.60 an hour, he needs to make that clear, but it would be a significant barrier to inward investment.

[Chris Ruane]

Welsh wages have fallen in 40 of the 41 months since the Government came to power in 2010. By the next election, Welsh workers will be £6,000 worse off than they were in 2010. What is the Minister doing to help Welsh workers improve their living standards?

[Stephen Crabb]

The best way to achieve better living standards for people in the hon. Gentleman’s constituency and throughout Wales is to tackle our problems head on, to take the responsible decisions and to do everything we can to encourage businesses to create jobs. That is why unemployment is falling in his constituency when it increased so rapidly under last five years of the Labour Government.

[Jonathan Evans (Cardiff North) (Con)]

Surely the best way to raise living standards in Wales is to bear down on economic inactivity in Wales. Will my hon. Friend share with the House what has happened to economic inactivity since the 2010 election?

[Stephen Crabb]

My hon. Friend is quite right: economic inactivity and worklessness have been a curse on Wales for too long. Under the last Labour Government, economic inactivity rates averaged around 21%; under this Government they are down to around 21%. [Interruption.] We are not complacent: we want to go further with improving the situation.

[Ann Clwyd (Cynon Valley) (Lab)]

14. In some parts of Cynon Valley, over half the children are living in poverty. Why?

[Stephen Crabb]

I am grateful to the right hon. Lady for that question. I visited her constituency and I am well aware of the deep-seated, long-entrenched problems there. I have been to the jobcentre in Aberdare and seen how hard the excellent team are working to tackle long-term unemployment, but there are no quick fixes. What we are doing, with the Work programme and our other efforts through the Department for Work and Pensions, is trying to bear down on worklessness and get more people into jobs.

--- Later in debate ---

[Stephen Mosley (City of Chester) (Con)]

10. What assessment he has made of the potential economic effect of the proposed new prison in north Wales.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Wales (Stephen Crabb)]

Our £250 million investment in a new prison in north Wales will be a significant driver for growth in the local economy and provide around 1,000 jobs. The prison is expected to contribute £23 million a year to the regional economy.

[Stephen Mosley]

Will the Minister join me in welcoming the fact that the prison will allow prisoners from north Wales and Cheshire to live closer to their families and maintain vital links with them, thus helping rehabilitation?

[Stephen Crabb]

My hon. Friend is exactly right. Aside from the important economic benefits to Wales of the new prison, importantly it will help families stay in closer touch with prisoners, which has been proven time and again to be a vital factor in whether people reduce their offending behaviour when they are out of prison.

[Mr Speaker]

I call Mr Crispin Blunt.

[Mr Crispin Blunt (Reigate) (Con)]

Good ideas have many parents, and I am sitting alongside two of them in the case of the prison in Wrexham. I urge my hon. Friend the Minister to make sure that, as a new large prison, it contains units that can deal with all the different types of offenders who will need to be addressed to produce the best rehabilitative effect, and that there are proper work facilities for prisoners under that regime.

[Stephen Crabb]

I thank my hon. Friend. Last week, I saw a great example of a large and diverse prison—Parc prison in Bridgend—which shows just how effectively different categories of prisoners can be brought together and offending behaviour can be tackled. We have exactly the same aspiration for the new prison in north Wales.