Energy Bill

What hope, assurances or promise can the Secretary of State give to those wishing to engage in re...

The hon. Gentleman knows that I set up a group to look at this issue, which has got together with...

I am most grateful to the Secretary of State for allowing me to intervene at this early stage, bu...

The right hon. Lady knows that I am very sympathetic to that argument. We will come to that argum...

Does my right hon. Friend agree that in order to ensure the investment that the hon. Member for N...

My hon. Friend is absolutely right. Targets are important—they have a role to play—but we need pr...

Will the Secretary of State give way?

I shall make some progress first, and then I shall take some more interventions.

I pay trib...

Will the Secretary of State confirm that the key reason for the energy crisis is the fact that a ...

My hon. Friend is right to mention that directive. Its aim is to clean our air, which is a good t...

rose—

rose—

I want to make a little more progress, but before I do so I will give way to the hon. Member for ...

May I make a point about the reasoned amendment? It is because of the go-ahead for licences for a...

I am grateful for the hon. Gentleman’s intervention. He has merely convinced me more that this wi...

I agree with the Secretary of State about the importance of reducing fuel bills, but if that is i...

I reject the notion that our policy supports a dash for gas, and I absolutely reject the suggesti...

My right hon. Friend’s support for such a target has been well documented, so I suppose the curre...

My hon. Friend makes an interesting point. National Grid will have the job of setting the first s...

The Bill’s measures will provide clarity and certainty for investors wishing to develop infrastru...

My hon. Friend has great expertise in this area, and I entirely agree with what he says. Revenue ...

Does the Secretary of State agree that one way to overcome the problem of the deficit in energy g...

The hon. Gentleman notes that the energy debate is an important part of the debate on independenc...

rose—

I think I should give the nationalists a right of reply.

I was not looking for a right of reply, but I thank the Secretary of State for giving way anyway....

I am grateful to the hon. Gentleman for his question. We have certainly spoken to people in the i...

rose—

I am afraid that I want to make a little more progress—this even applies to my hon. Friends on th...

rose

As I know him so well, I will give way to my hon. Friend, but I will then make some progress.

I am merely astounded by the nationalists’ interest in the renewables obligation for 2017, given ...

My hon. Friend makes a very good point. Perhaps the nationalists have given up before the referen...

I thank my right hon. Friend for allowing me to intervene. Energy efficiency is by far the easies...

I am grateful to my hon. Friend for pointing out that we are consulting on electricity demand red...

Will the Secretary of State give way?

No, I am going to make some progress, I am afraid.

Some have argued that CFDs are somehow c...

I want to take the Secretary of State back to the rates retention scheme and community benefit, w...

My hon. Friend has campaigned on the issue and he initiated a recent Adjournment debate on it. Wh...

Is the Secretary of State aware that according to his impact assessment, a market-wide capacity p...

I urge the hon. Gentleman to read the impact assessment a little more carefully. The bit he draws...

rose—

No, I will not give way.

The two new instruments I have just outlined—CFDs and the capacity...

rose—

Order. Many Members wish to get in. I remind the House that there is a six-minute limit after the...

I beg to move,

That this House, whilst affirming its support for measures included in the B...

Does my right hon. Friend agree that we have to act now in a co-ordinated fashion, and not just t...

I agree. As has been said, the Climate Change Act 2008, led by my right hon. Friend the Leader of...

Is she allowed to say we are not honourable?

She?

Order. If the right hon. Gentleman wants to make a point, he must stand up and do so to the Chair...

Is it in order to refer to hon. Members who oppose the speaker as not honourable?

It was a general reference.

It was not.

I am telling the right hon. Gentleman. When he says “she”, that is not acceptable language either...

The second mechanism is the introduction of a capacity market designed to address possible shortf...

On that point, will the right hon. Lady give way?

I will not give way to the hon. Gentleman.

Instead, we must shift our economy away from its...

Under the Government’s proposals, one thing that is pretty certain is that, on average, electrici...

I could not have had a better intervention; I am just moving on to how we can reform the market t...

I draw attention to my entry in the Register of Members’ Financial Interests. In this context, I ...

Does the hon. Gentleman agree, like me, with the finding by the Committee on Climate Change that,...

I noted the views of the Committee on Climate Change with great interest. I also note that, up to...

I congratulate the Chairman of my Select Committee, the hon. Member for South Suffolk (Mr Yeo) on...

There is a real frustration with the prices people pay and we must ensure that we have the best m...

I agree to a certain extent with my hon. Friend—I will call him that because we both sit on the E...

I am excited at being given way to, so I thank the hon. Gentleman for that. My point was similar ...

That would be a good question if I knew the turnover of those companies. They say that their turn...

At the outset, may I put on record my new role as a visiting professor at the university of Edinb...

I agree with my hon. Friend on the need for consensus. Was he therefore as surprised as I was to ...

My hon. Friend makes an interesting point. I well remember debating a previous Energy Bill while ...

It is a pleasure to follow the wise words of the former Minister, the hon. Member for Wealden (Ch...

Order.

4.44 pm

I welcome this Energy Bill and will speak about the provisions dealing with carbon capture and st...

Does the hon. Gentleman share my disappointment that the Government have made a savage 80% cut in...

As far as I am aware, the £1 billion that was promised for CCS is still on the table. I am not su...

Let me be quite clear: the £1 billion competition is entirely as my hon. Friend described it—it i...

I thank the Minister for that clarification; that was my understanding too.

I raise this is...

Will the hon. Gentleman give way?

I will, although I am now in my own time.

I am grateful to my Teesside neighbour for giving way. He talks about carbon capture. Does he sha...

The hon. Gentleman makes a good point. There are issues about how some of the calculations have b...

Let me begin by referring to my entry in the Register of Members’ Financial Interests, which rela...

rose—

Order. So as to accommodate all Members who wish to speak, the time limit for contributions is no...

I support the Bill and applaud the momentum that has been built up towards achieving a secure and...

Does my hon. Friend agree that energy mix plays a vital role in energy security, and Drax and Egg...

My hon. Friend is absolutely right. Drax, Eggborough, and Ferrybridge on our border, play an impo...

I agree with the Secretary of State that the Bill certainly has not been rushed, but although I s...

It is hard to overstate the importance of the Bill, but sometimes we need to pause and get back t...

Reasonable.

A reasonable amendment, is it?

There are investors out there who want to invest in the UK. ...

Does my hon. Friend agree that the contracts for difference must be absolutely defined and clear ...

Absolutely. My hon. Friend makes the point very precisely. In fact, most of the arguments about t...

At the time of the autumn statement the Government’s gas strategy was also published. That perhap...

It would be difficult enough to cover this matter in six minutes, Mr Deputy Speaker, but in five ...

In achieving the Bill’s aim to deliver secure, affordable and low-carbon energy, there is no bold...

There are two reasons why it is a huge pleasure for me to speak about this Bill today. First, it ...

I first commend Members of all parties for their thoughtful contributions to the debate and assoc...

Members will be relieved to learn that I plan to speak only briefly. I welcome the Bill, which is...

First, I must register my disappointment that there is no decarbonisation target for 2030 in the ...

The hon. Lady makes a number of interesting points on energy-intensive industries, most of which ...

It is important to be aware of the effect of our provisions on all industry and business.

I...

To my mind this is the most important Bill to come before the House in this Parliament, and if we...

The need for reform of the energy market could hardly be more pressing, with rocketing prices fro...

The overarching policy statement sets out the context of the problem we are trying to solve, and ...

Does my hon. Friend find it remarkable that Germany chose to switch off its nuclear fleet and rep...

It is more than remarkable. Germany has also banned carbon capture and storage. That says to me t...

rose—

Order. The time limit is being reduced to four minutes. If hon. Members can make their points in ...

I vividly remember speaking in the Second Reading debate on the Energy Bill of May 2011. I rememb...

Twenty years ago this country led the world in creating a competitive electricity market. This Bi...

My hon. Friend is making some interesting points. Will he expand on the implications of that £360...

A lot of it is connected with EU regulation, but many of the costs of EU regulation are outside a...

Will my hon. Friend give way?

I will, for the last time.

My hon. Friend may know that Germany is about to build 23 unabated coal-fired stations. Perhaps t...

My constituents work for E.ON, which is a German company, but I am not sure that they would want ...

Will the hon. Gentleman give way?

I do not think I should give way any more.

Why should we not just allow people to build pow...

rose—

Order. May I point out that interventions could result in some Members not getting a chance to sp...

The Bill is supposed to deliver secure, affordable and lower carbon energy. It is divided into si...

I understand the hon. Gentleman’s passion for coal, but does he not agree that the decision to op...

I see nuclear as part of a cross-portfolio of different types of clean energy, and leading that p...

Thank you for calling me, Mr Deputy Speaker, to speak in support of the Bill. The debate has remi...

The Bill misses an opportunity to support community energy co-operatives. Brixton solar energy 1 ...

The Bill is important for the country and particularly for my constituency, as its economic futur...

Order.

6.30 pm

The interpretation that the Secretary of State put on the two main mechanisms underpinning the Bi...

Order.

6.34 pm

I tabled a reasoned amendment to decline giving the Bill a Second Reading. I do not do that light...

To resume his seat no later than 6.40, I call Mr David Anderson.

6.38 pm

Thank you, Mr Deputy Speaker.

We face the party that inherited the policies of the past 30 ...

Order. We must move on to the wind-ups.

6.40 pm

We have had an interesting and, at times, enlightening debate on what will be highly significant ...

Labour Members really are keen now to emulate us as the party of one nation, because we heard the...

Will the Minister give way?

Not until I have quoted Ruskin—that would be premature—but I will do so immediately afterwards.