Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Tom Greatrex and Chris Huhne

Thursday 26th January 2012 Commons Chamber

[Chris Huhne]

The hon. Gentleman misunderstands the situation in the refinery market. With regard to Petroplus, the problem with Coryton has been the over-capacity in the refining market, which has led to shaved margins. We are working to resolve that as quickly as possible.

[Tom Greatrex (Rutherglen and Hamilton West) (Lab/Co-op)]

Although the Secretary of State has reflected on the potential disruption through the Strait of Hormuz and on the point made by my hon. Friend the Member for Ynys Môn (Albert Owen) about refining activity, and although it is good news that the tankers have resumed distribution from the refinery this morning, will he update the House on whether oil is now being delivered to the refinery for refining activity?

[Chris Huhne]

There is indeed a cargo ready to be delivered this morning, and there have been contingency back-ups. I know that BP has been working closely with us on this matter and I very much hope that normal activity will resume.

[Tom Greatrex]

I thank the Secretary of State for that response, which will, I am sure, bring comfort to many people. As well as the 850 jobs, including those of contractors at the refinery, that are at risk, he will know that the background is that this situation is less to do with the refinery’s operation and more to do with the financial structure of the Switzerland-based former owners. Given the significant role played by UK-based refineries in providing energy resilience, is he concerned that the ownership of such a significant number of UK-based refineries is now overseas?

[Chris Huhne]

We have traditionally benefited enormously in this country, both under the previous Government and under this Government, from our open-door policy on foreign investment. Indeed, we own a substantial amount of investment in other countries. The swiftness with which the arrangements have been put in place suggests that there is no case for reviewing that policy at this stage.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Tom Greatrex and Chris Huhne

Thursday 1st December 2011 Commons Chamber

[Chris Huhne]

Absolutely not. By the way, the hon. Gentleman did not quote the Chief Secretary precisely. The Chief Secretary pointed out that money was absolutely available for a CCS project. Indeed, all the negotiators involved in the Longannet project recognised that although the money was not enough to make Longannet work, it would be enough to make a CCS project work elsewhere. The reality is that there will be some slippage. The profiling of that £1 billion in the comprehensive spending review was heavily weighted towards the last year of the CSR, and if there is slippage it is bound to be in the next CSR. However, we will make profiling decisions on expenditure for CCS when the projects come forward following the competition next year, and I can assure the hon. Gentleman that the money is available to fund them.

[Tom Greatrex (Rutherglen and Hamilton West) (Lab/Co-op)]

The Secretary of State has just reiterated his claim last month that the £1 billion for CCS is safe. If so, will projects, including at Peterhead and elsewhere, aiming to be up and running before the end of this Parliament still have access to that £1 billion? If so, how does that square with the comments from his Cabinet colleague, the Chief Secretary to the Treasury?

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Tom Greatrex and Chris Huhne

Thursday 20th October 2011 Commons Chamber

[Chris Huhne]

One of the features of the renewables obligation review that my hon. Friend will have noticed is that we have increased our support for marine technologies to five renewables obligations certificates. In our view, that will bring forward the necessary innovation and testing to ensure that we have a world lead in this sector.

[Tom Greatrex (Rutherglen and Hamilton West) (Lab/Co-op)]

One such opportunity to increase employment in the low-carbon energy sector was scuppered yesterday by the Government’s announcement that they were pulling out of the carbon capture and storage demonstrator at Longannet. Will the Secretary of State now confirm to the House that there will be no backsliding by the Treasury, and that the £1 billion funding will definitely be in place and will be used to get four CCS demonstration projects in place for the future?

[Chris Huhne]

I welcome the hon. Gentleman to the Dispatch Box and to his new role on the Front Bench speaking for the Opposition. I can certainly confirm that there is absolutely no backsliding on the money available for carbon capture and storage. The Treasury will confirm that there is £1 billion available to support CCS, and we are looking to do that in the most effective way possible so that we can ensure that the industry is rolled out, that we can have a lead in that industry, and that we are able to meet our strategic objectives in making CCS available.

[Tom Greatrex]

I am grateful for that response, and I hope that we will see that come to fruition, even perhaps after the Secretary of State is no longer responsible for these issues. Does he also understand the urgency involved if we are to get the employment benefits as well as the emissions benefits from CCS? Will he undertake to have urgent discussions with Infrastructure UK, to ensure that the energy hubs needed to go alongside the CCS projects are put in place, so that we get the jobs and investment benefits as well as the environmental benefits?

[Chris Huhne]

I have to say that I find it somewhat ironic to be lectured by the Opposition about the importance of speed in this area, given that it was the Labour Government who cancelled the Peterhead project in 2007. The reality is that we are attempting to proceed with this as quickly as we can. We have learned an awful lot from the negotiations and from the engineering studies at Longannet, and we hope that we can proceed and deliver on time and within budget.

Electricity Market Reform

Debate between Tom Greatrex and Chris Huhne

Tuesday 12th July 2011 Commons Chamber

[Chris Huhne]

I thank the hon. Gentleman. That is exactly right. The biggest feature of the market is the fact that 99% of British energy consumers are served by just six companies, and we desperately need to increase that number. The arrangements that we are announcing today are designed to bring new entrants into the market by providing certainty on price, because one obstacle that they have is in understanding how the market works. Many of the new entrants will therefore be encouraged to invest.

[Tom Greatrex (Rutherglen and Hamilton West) (Lab/Co-op)]

The Secretary of State referred to the need for a “strong, independent regulator” to protect consumers. Given the store he places by that, is it not time that Ofgem looked again at the practice of door-to-door selling, through which many vulnerable consumers are being ripped off by the big six?

[Chris Huhne]

The hon. Gentleman is absolutely right. We continue to monitor that issue and are discussing it with Ofgem. We will bring forward any appropriate measures when we have considered the matter.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Tom Greatrex and Chris Huhne

Thursday 7th July 2011 Commons Chamber

[Chris Huhne]

I thank my hon. Friend for that question. I am very keen to see Vestas come back to the UK market as a manufacturer. I remember visiting its plant on the Isle of Wight some years ago, and it had a manufacturing facility in Woolston close to my constituency. The fact that it is looking at re-establishing itself in the UK is enormously encouraging, and we are in conversations with the company. Clearly, Sheerness as a site is not an assisted area and therefore would not benefit from the subsidies that have been found for assisted areas, but it has other advantages, of which I am sure Vestas is well aware from its discussions with my hon. Friend, and I very much hope that it takes that decision to go forward.

[Tom Greatrex (Rutherglen and Hamilton West) (Lab/Co-op)]

The Secretary of State, in one of his lengthy answers to his interviewer on the “Today” programme, waxed lyrical about the potential of wave and tidal energy. Will he therefore explain why the earmarked amount from the development fund has been reduced from £50 million to £20 million, which green energy specialists have described as a drop in the ocean and completely inadequate?

[Chris Huhne]

The hon. Gentleman should be aware that that is new money, which will be spent—unlike some allocations that were made under the previous Government. We are very committed to bringing forward such early-stage technologies, which are going to be part of our future, and I have been very keen to see for myself the progress that has been made, particularly on wave projects.

Fourth Carbon Budget

Debate between Tom Greatrex and Chris Huhne

Tuesday 17th May 2011 Commons Chamber

[Chris Huhne]

For every report that reaches the sort of conclusion that the hon. Gentleman is suggesting, I can point him to other reports that suggest exactly the opposite. The OECD, which is probably the most respected and authoritative of international economic organisations, has done some very good work on green growth. We have had a very important study from Potsdam in co-ordination with a number of leading economists from Oxford and elsewhere that suggests that there are positive growth effects through investment and learning by doing. Recently, I received a very important note from Professor Nick Stern—Lord Stern—arguing that the attempts to see his report as imposing costs on the economy were simply mistaken. He feels very strongly that the move to low-carbon goods and services involves enormous opportunities and that the increase in investment involved can help to power us out of an exceptionally deep recession. That is perhaps a long answer to show that when two economists are in a room, there are sometimes three opinions. None the less, the balance of argument is very much against the hon. Gentleman’s point.

[Tom Greatrex (Rutherglen and Hamilton West) (Lab/Co-op)]

The Secretary of State has made a number of points this afternoon, but one point that came out of the findings and recommendations of the Committee on Climate Change was that international aviation and shipping should be included in future carbon budgets. Does he agree with that recommendation?

[Chris Huhne]

It is certainly one thing that we intend to consider. It is important, but there are obviously technical issues to be resolved and discussions are ongoing within Government. When we reach a conclusion, we will make an announcement.