Topical Questions

Question

If he will make a statement on his departmental responsibilities. Given the recent announcement that GB Energy will be headquartered in Aberdeen with satellite offices elsewhere, can he outline the role of these satellite offices? Will he consider Leith as the location for the Edinburgh site?

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Will the Secretary of State apologize to pensioners worried about heating bills this winter? Why are many people in his party and others sounding alarms about job losses due to his ideological approach?

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Will the Secretary of State do the decent thing and set out the full systems cost of his approach so that the public can see what he will do to their bills?

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What is my right hon. Friend's strategy to tackle grid capacity issues, and will he meet me and local businesses to discuss this?

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Does the Secretary of State accept that we need new generation of nuclear power for net zero targets, and will he accelerate projects like Hinkley Point and Sizewell C?

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When it comes to insulating millions more homes across the country and reducing bills for families, will we take a “wait and see” approach?

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To achieve net zero, we will need widespread micro-generation alongside large-scale projects. However, as a local farmer who wanted to install an anaerobic digester told me, grid connections are both costly and subject to long delays. What does the Secretary of State plan to do to address these issues, particularly in rural areas such as my Thornbury and Yate constituency?

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The great turbines of the Rampion wind farm are off my beautiful coastal constituency. Although the UK has done well on offshore generation, the jobs in this sector have not always been here in the UK. What plans do the Government have to expand offshore wind, and to ensure that UK workers and supply chains benefit from that expansion?

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What guarantees can the Secretary of State give to steelworkers in Scunthorpe that the grid connection required for a new electric arc furnace will be ready on time next year?

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I welcome the Government's commitment to increasing renewable energy generation. An important component of that is the development of associated infrastructure, including battery storage facilities such as those proposed in Cullingworth in my constituency. How do the Government plan to ensure that the safety of residents is not put at risk by such developments, and that there is clear community benefit from any renewable energy plans and the associated infrastructure?

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Will the Secretary of State commit to ensuring that large energy suppliers work with community energy organisations to generate and sell electricity locally at discounted rates, and provide fair community benefits, as proposed by the Liberal Democrats?

Question

The clean power by 2030 mission shows the clear intention of this Government to get on with the just transition. Energy workers in Falkirk, Grangemouth and across the central belt are rightly concerned about jobs. Between 2013 and 2023, under the previous Government, jobs in the UK oil and gas sector halved. Unfortunately, some of the Opposition parties have opposed the stream of funding for clean infrastructure and jobs of the future that will come from an increase in the energy profits levy on the record profits of oil and gas giants. Does the Secretary of State agree that it is time Opposition parties started putting their own plans forward on how they would get on with the just transition and deliver clean energy jobs at a critical time for workers and the climate?

Question

On petrol prices, for the past 11 years the Government froze fuel duty; they cut it in 2002 and then froze it again. The Government instructed the Competition and Markets Authority to carry out a review, and we came up with the pumpwatch scheme. A consultation was undertaken in January, but when I wrote to the Government in September to ask about its results, they said they were looking at it and would consider it in due course. Is the scheme a priority for the Government? If not, in what other ways will they ensure petrol prices are kept low at the pump? Are they going to freeze fuel duty?

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Exeter city council has worked hard to install solar panels on council homes to ensure that social tenants can benefit from lower bills and participate in the green transition. Can the Minister set out what more we can do to ensure that all tenants benefit from new green technologies?

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What discussions has the Secretary of State had with the Scottish Government regarding the major planning application for an offshore wind farm between Scotland and Northern Ireland, which may well have significant implications for the Giant's Causeway world heritage site?

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Warwick and Leamington must be one of the sunniest places in the United Kingdom given the flurry of applications we have had for solar farms. There is a “loss of amenity” caused by one application, but if that community were prepared to welcome onshore wind turbines, rather than a solar farm, would the Secretary of State or the Minister agree to support that? Will they meet me to discuss the issue?

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The Secretary of State and the Under-Secretary of State, the hon. Member for Rutherglen (Michael Shanks), have spoken passionately about the need to upgrade the national grid, but do they recognise the concerns of people across the east of England, including in the Witham constituency, about what that means for their local communities? The Under-Secretary has said that he will meet Members of Parliament, but I ask him very politely whether he and representatives and Ministers from the Department will also meet members of the communities that are affected by this matter.

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Last week's announcement on carbon capture and hydrogen in my constituency demonstrates that we now have a Government of substance, not of hollow slogans. What discussions have the Secretary of State and Ministers had with the trade unions to ensure that we build those facilities with unionised labour?

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The Institution of Civil Engineers has called for a spatial energy plan to utilise new and emerging technologies to facilitate future net zero infrastructure planning. Will the Government look to bring forward a spatial energy plan and meet me to discuss that?

Question

The warm homes plan is excellent and much needed in towns such as mine, but on warm homes grants for insulation, during recess I met a large number of constituents who had been victims of failed insulation and cowboy workmanship under such Government schemes. Some are living in horrific conditions with useless warranties. Is the Minister aware of their plight? Will she ensure that regulation is strong enough, and will she meet me and victims to make sure that this never happens again?

Question

In my constituency, a new solar farm at Barkham is being delivered that will provide clean energy for more than 4,000 homes and provide a funding boost for Wokingham borough council. It will be connected in 2026, but there were concerns that connection to the grid could be delayed by 11 years. What steps will the Minister take to reduce similar delays, and does he think that the Government can meet their net zero targets if the new renewable energy infrastructure cannot be quickly connected to the grid?