Business of the House

Wendy Morton Excerpts

Thursday 6th February 2025 Commons Chamber

[Lucy Powell]

I thank my hon. Friend for raising that issue and for her many years of important campaigning and leadership, which I know has been a great comfort to the many women—and not just women—who have been affected by this scandal. As she has said, the Hughes report was a significant watershed and a line in the sand. I will certainly inquire about the whereabouts of the Government response to that report, and will ensure that the House is updated at the earliest opportunity.

[Wendy Morton (Aldridge-Brownhills) (Con)]

As we make the important shift to new renewable energy, which we know is needed, there are a number of concerns on both sides of the House about the siting and appropriateness of battery energy storage systems. My own constituents have been left shocked by the planning inspector’s decision to green-light an application, against the democratic will of the council, for a battery energy storage system on the green belt at Chapel Lane. May we have a debate in Government time to enable us all to air our views and concerns?

[Lucy Powell]

Let me first thank the right hon. Lady for raising with me recently some matters relating to correspondence and the lengthy wait for replies. Having raised the issue myself, I have now been assured that she should have received those replies in the last couple of days. I know that she has been raising the question of the battery storage application in her constituency for some time. As I am sure she will recognise, I cannot comment on a specific application, because the inspectorate has listened to the appeal and the findings are available on its portal. The Government make no apology, however, for wanting to get the infrastructure that we need into our communities as well as the housing, which is why we are reclassifying some suitable green belt as grey belt, although we do have very strict criteria. I will continue to ensure that there is ample time for the House to debate these matters which are so important to it.