Commons Sense

House of Commons · Ministers' Questions

Energy Security

Tuesday 17 December 2024 · 7 questions

Summarised by AI from the official record, so it can contain mistakes.

Read the full transcript on Parliament.uk

At a glance

Answered 0 Partly answered 4 Not answered 0

Key points

  • Ministerial Questions addressed energy security and the need for critical minerals like tin and lithium.
  • Labour Members questioned the Government's plans for Wales in the context of energy security and net zero goals.
  • Responses indicated support for various clean energy technologies, including nuclear power and onshore wind.

Topics (select to filter)

Questions & Answers

Q1 Perran Moon Lab Camborne and Redruth
Climate Energy
Context

The MP is concerned about the impact of fossil fuel energy insecurity on households. There are concerns over critical minerals supply dominated by economically bad actors.

Question

We have seen terrible consequences for households due to fossil fuel energy insecurity. To achieve net zero goals, there will be a massive increase in demand for critical minerals such as tin and lithium. How will the Government mitigate this clear and present danger?

Answer from Ed Miliband

I very much enjoyed my trip to my hon. Friend's constituency before the general election. He is an incredibly powerful advocate for the way his area can source some of the critical minerals we need, including lithium, and he is right about this. The concentration of supply chains, including critical minerals, has taken a generation to arrive, but we must unwind it, and it is one of the many things we are working on as a Government.

Partly answered

Not addressed: Meeting request not addressed

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Q2 Alex Barros-Curtis Lab Cardiff West
Climate Energy
Context

Wales has a history of fuelling the UK's energy needs. There are plans to put Wales at the heart of energy security and net zero agenda.

Question

Given Wales's tradition and history of fuelling the UK's energy needs, can you tell us what your plans are to put Wales at the heart of our energy security and net zero agenda?

Answer from Ed Miliband

My hon. Friend asks a really important question. The whole clean power plan is about benefiting all four nations of the United Kingdom, including Wales, and we work closely with the Welsh Government on these issues. Before this Labour Government came to office, they were actually trailblazers on how we could have publicly owned generation, and that is one of the things that we and GB Energy are working with them on.

Partly answered

Not addressed: Specific plans not detailed

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Q3 Perran Moon Lab Camborne and Redruth
Climate Energy
Context

There is a need for critical minerals to achieve net zero goals, but supply chains are dominated by economically bad actors.

Question

To achieve our net zero goals, we will have to see a massive increase in demand for critical minerals such as tin and lithium. Much of the supply and processing of these materials will be dominated by economically bad actors. How will the Government mitigate this clear and present danger?

Answer from Ed Miliband

I very much enjoyed my trip to my hon. Friend's constituency before the general election. He is an incredibly powerful advocate for the way his area can source some of the critical minerals we need, including lithium, and he is right about this. The concentration of supply chains, including critical minerals, has taken a generation to arrive, but we must unwind it, and it is one of the many things we are working on as a Government.

Partly answered

Not addressed: Meeting request not addressed

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Q4 Greg Smith Con Mid Buckinghamshire
Climate Energy
Context

There is a need to support small modular reactors for clean energy.

Question

Small modular reactors are less land intensive, very efficient and would get us to clean energy very quickly. As land is in scarce supply, when will the Government get on board with nuclear instead of shackling themselves to inefficient solar?

Answer from Ed Miliband

I can tell the hon. Gentleman that we support the SMR programme, and we are driving it forward through Great British Nuclear. I am afraid he is making a terrible mistake, which is that we need all of these clean technologies at our disposal—we need nuclear, we need renewables, we need carbon capture and storage—and the difference is that this Government are getting on with it.

Partly answered

Not addressed: Specific timeline not given

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Q5 Llinos Medi PC Ynys Môn
Wales Energy
Context

Despite lifting the onshore wind ban, there are concerns about how Wales will benefit from a ramp up of onshore wind.

Question

By 2030, 8,600 MW of onshore wind is needed in England and Wales. Can you outline exactly how Wales will be benefiting from this huge ramp up in onshore wind?

Answer from Ed Miliband

I have to say to the hon. Lady that I do not see it that way. The reality is that the country is totally vulnerable to the rollercoaster of the fossil fuel markets. We do not need to look into a crystal ball; we just need to look at the record: we saw the worst cost of living crisis in generations. So long as we are exposed in this way, people in Wales and across the country are vulnerable.

Not addressed: Wales' benefits not addressed

How: Looking Into A Crystal Ball, Cost Of Living Crisis

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Q6 Andrew Bowie Con West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine
Energy
Context

The clean power document published states final decisions on Sizewell C and the Great British Nuclear-led Small Modular Reactor programme, but no dates are specified.

Question

In the clean power 2030 document, no date is specified for the final investment decision on Sizewell, no date is specified for completion of the down-selection SMR process. Is it any wonder that the nuclear industry suspects this Government are not serious about nuclear?

Answer from Ed Miliband

I find the hon. Gentleman quite extraordinary, and not in a good way. The last Government left not only a generalised absolute mess in the public finances, but lots of the programmes that he is talking about were not even funded.

Not addressed: No dates or specifics given

How: Last Government'S Mess, Programmes Unfunded

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Q7 Andrew Bowie Con West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine
Energy
Context

The Government bought the Wylfa and Oldbury sites from Hitachi last year, giving certainty to workforce and communities. Is it still the intention to reach 24 GW of nuclear power by 2050?

Question

It was us in government who bought the Wylfa and Oldbury sites from Hitachi, giving much-needed certainty to the workforce and local communities on both sites. Is it still the Government's intention to reach 24 GW of nuclear power by 2050? Does the Secretary of State acknowledge that this is impossible without another gigawatt-scale reactor?

Answer from Ed Miliband

The hon. Gentleman's story about Wylfa says it all. He says his Government had this great plan for Wylfa, but they had no money behind it.

Not addressed: No specifics or acknowledgment given

How: Last Government'S Lack Of Funding

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