Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Stephen Hammond and Lord Barker of Battle

Thursday 11th November 2010 Commons Chamber

[Stephen Hammond (Wimbledon) (Con)]

16. What plans he has for feed-in tariffs for small-scale renewables; and if he will make a statement.

[The Minister of State, Department of Energy and Climate Change (Gregory Barker)]

As indicated to my hon. Friend the Member for Dover (Charlie Elphicke) earlier, I confirmed in last month’s spending review that the coalition is fully committed to feed-in tariffs for small-scale renewables.

[Gregory Barker]

The hon. Gentleman makes an excellent point. One of the first things that my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State did was to abolish the previous ban on local authorities selling electricity to the grid. That will now help to create a new, exciting market. We are also making more information available to advise local authorities and communities on how they can access financial incentives.

[Stephen Hammond]

I listened carefully to my hon. Friend’s earlier answer, and I was pleased to hear his remarks about solar power. I met a manufacturer of solar power technology on Monday, and he was concerned not about the finance opportunities but about the lack of educational opportunities, in that some people do not seem to appreciate the benefits of feed-in tariffs. What are the Government doing to increase education?

[Gregory Barker]

It is about dissemination of information, for which our new web-based initiative will be an important tool. Obviously, unlike the previous Government, we will not be spending lots of money on pamphlets and advertising. We have to be cautious about that, but we are doing our best to get the message out there, and ensure that communities and local councils have the information they need.