Question

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, pursuant to the Answer of 14 September 2015 to Question 8811, what projections his Department have made of the potential increase in green investments in the UK in the next 10 years as a result of the privatisation of the Green Investment Bank.

We are working on the basis that UK Green Investment Bank plc (GIB) plans to invest at a rate of around £800m per year over the period to 2020 in a range of green projects.

We believe that moving GIB into private ownership is the best way to ensure the company has the funding it needs to achieve this annual investment rate. This is because private ownership will give GIB access to much more capital from a much wider range of sources than if it remained in Government hands where it would have to compete for funding against all other Government spending needs.

Moving GIB into the private sector will also mean GIB will no longer be subject to state aid controls, giving it scope to invest in a wider range of green sectors and types of project than if it were to remain state funded.