Energy Bill [Lords]

rose—

I will give way to the hon. Lady.

Order. Before the hon. Member for Wirral West (Margaret Greenwood) intervenes, I should have said...

Underground coal gasification is an issue of major concern in my constituency, because Cluff Natu...

Order. This is a very long intervention. If the hon. Lady could come to her question and finish, ...

As the Government are proposing to end burning coal in coal-fired stations above ground, will the...

I urge the hon. Lady to participate in the consultation we will be having shortly about the timin...

Not being one who is too concerned about CO₂, may I ask whether the Secretary of State...

I hope that the hon. Gentleman will take some comfort from the Paris agreement. Although the UK h...

If the Secretary of State still intends to scrap the onshore wind subsidy, will she tell us wheth...

The right hon. Gentleman asks me a false question. The fact is that we have to deliver on our man...

Further to the point that has just been made by the hon. Member for East Antrim (Sammy Wilson), I...

The hon. Lady should speak to the hon. Member for East Antrim, who takes a slightly different vie...

But what is the answer?

I will come back to the hon. Lady and say that she, too, should take comfort from the Paris agree...

Does the Minister accept that only 2.5% of world energy is created by nuclear power? If that were...

I urge the hon. Gentleman to think carefully about the importance of striking a balance. However ...

Before the debate today, I checked and discovered that 1% of our power is currently being generat...

I thank my right hon. Friend for that helpful comment. He is indeed right: it is absolutely essen...

I am going to make some progress on those two things and then I will take a further intervention....

Production increased in the North sea last year, which is welcome news at a time when most news f...

The hon. Gentleman is, of course, absolutely right to say that great progress has been made in re...

Does the Secretary of State accept that the reason we have the massive deflation in oil prices, o...

I make two points to the hon. Gentleman. First, the reasons for the fall in the oil price are mul...

I thank the Minister for giving way again. Will she spell out the consequences for Northern Irela...

The hon. Gentleman raises an important point. It is my position that, if Northern Ireland chooses...

In that context, will she clarify when the next contracts for difference round for these new adva...

My hon. Friend raises an important point. We have confirmed that there will be three new auctions...

The Bill will transfer consenting decisions about onshore wind to local authorities. On a technic...

The hon. Gentleman raises two points there. We have said that we are devolving to local communiti...

North sea oil and gas production has helped us to fund our public services, such as the national ...

The hon. Lady talks about the oil price. Does she agree with her hon. Friend the Member for Swans...

One of the most important things we can do to help boost jobs and skills in the North sea is to h...

Does the shadow Minister agree that to a certain extent she is speaking with forked tongue? On th...

Perhaps I can help the hon. Gentleman with that, as it is one of the things that he obviously str...

Does my hon. Friend therefore agree that, with regard to the need to convert to renewables in the...

My hon. Friend has made several comments, some of which I agree with and some of which I do not, ...

I commend the hon. Lady for her bipartisan approach to the Bill. She has talked about the Oil and...

I am grateful to the hon. Gentleman for that question, which the Secretary of State will have hea...

Does the hon. Lady also agree that it is not just a matter of extracting the remaining oil from a...

Yes, I agree. In particular, the ripple effect of what we do now in relation to North sea oil and...

Is not the awful truth at the moment that, with oil at $29 a barrel, there will be practically no...

We were keen to explore the future potential for the North sea for two reasons, one of which is t...

While the shadow Secretary of State may indeed be correct that there is an opportunity for a new ...

The Wood review pointed to the need for the Oil and Gas Authority to be able to take a strategic ...

I am grateful to the hon. Lady for her generosity in giving way. Does she agree that there are a ...

I do agree with the hon. Gentleman. There is also an opportunity for us to make sure that the Bri...

Does my hon. Friend agree that the debate about CCS should not be happening today because it shou...

I agree with my hon. Friend. I am not one who is keen to cast back into history to appoint blame,...

I am glad that the Labour party has effected a U-turn, because I argued for years under a Labour ...

As the hon. Gentleman often reminded me when I served on his Select Committee, he is always right...

My right hon. Friend the Member for Wokingham (John Redwood) has pointed out that now onshore win...

First, the hon. Gentleman is wrong about the figures. Wind generates about 10% of our power. Seco...

rose—

Now that I have wound him up sufficiently, I will happily give way to the hon. Gentleman.

The hon. Lady was being quite consensual, so would she associate herself with the remarks of the ...

The key thing is that we take communities with us. We have to go to local communities and make th...

It is a great pleasure to follow the hon. Member for Wigan (Lisa Nandy).

I rise to welcome ...

First, the issue about being paid money when the power is not actually used is not unique to rene...

I am in a century that backs our constituents and wants an effective energy sector that produces ...

I hear what the hon. Gentleman says about renewables, but is he not really making a case for a ba...

The hon. Gentleman makes a fair point, or at least it would be fair if it was accurate, which unf...

When we get our coldest days in winter, they are usually days of no cloud and practically no wind...

My right hon. Friend makes a perfectly sound point. That is the case today, for example. I will b...

I live opposite a wind farm in my hon. Friend’s constituency. I do not blame him for not preventi...

My hon. Friend and neighbour is absolutely right. I applaud the work that Drax power station has ...

The hon. Gentleman lectures us on intermittency, but one of the most serious aspects of the inter...

The hon. Gentleman makes a fair point. That is why we need the new stations to be built a bit soo...

Does my hon. Friend accept that if we are to get the dirtiest of fuels off the grid and clean our...

That is a fair point from my hon. Friend, but we certainly need bridging technologies, because we...

Will my hon. Friend give way?

I feel as generous as Santa Claus today, Madam Deputy Speaker.

I thank my hon. Friend for giving way. Although we are aware that coal is the dirtiest form of ge...

I totally agree. That is another great advertisement for sustainable biomass. We have paid for th...

Will the hon. Gentleman give way?

I will give way one more time if I am allowed, Madam Deputy Speaker.

Does the hon. Gentleman accept that another reason for keeping coal generation is that it is the ...

I agree with the hon. Gentleman. It is tragic that we have sped up the demise of coal in this cou...

rose—

I really need to move on, but I will give way to the hon. Gentleman because he is a grand fellow....

You’re absolutely right I’m a grand fellow!

If we are to put public subsidies into trying t...

The hon. Gentleman is absolutely right, and if he was here at the back end of last year when we d...

That was an interesting contribution from the hon. Member for Selby and Ainsty (Nigel Adams). It ...

Does the hon. Gentleman agree on these two things: first, that while we are burning oil and gas, ...

I agree very much with the hon. Gentleman. It strikes me that there are certain parallels with th...

Does the hon. Gentleman accept that the focus must be on economic regeneration, rather than furth...

I disagree. The absence of a strong regulator is where there have been significant problems in th...

The hon. Gentleman mentions, correctly, the need for a laser-like focus on maximising economic re...

Yes. I am coming on to that point now. I have spoken about carbon capture and storage many times ...

This issue clearly has to be approached through partnership between the UK Government and the Sco...

Frankly, I am not sure how income tax could be used to boost the oil and gas industry, but if the...

The UK Government are not currently collecting any special North sea tax revenues because the oil...

The oil industry is going through a difficult period, but there is a fair degree of resilience an...

We thought that the hon. Gentleman was moving on to the closure of his speech. [Laughter.]

I am sorry to disappoint the right hon. Gentleman. I will be brief, to a degree. I do not need to...

Given that fuel poverty in Scotland has increased by two and a half times since 2002—from 13% of ...

I do not think that that is the solution to fuel poverty. I think that the solution to fuel pover...

Will the hon. Gentleman give way?

The hon. Gentleman’s colleague seemed to want me to nip on a wee bit, but I am happy to take an i...

I am very grateful. I apologise to my right hon. Friend the Member for Hitchin and Harpenden (Mr ...

So we are backing up the cheap renewables with fossil fuels that are not so cheap, and the soluti...

In principle, that apparently is the position of the hon. Gentleman’s party, because to leave the...

I do not believe there was any suggestion to leave. I would not suggest we cannot use or do it, b...

Order. I am going to have to impose a 10-minute limit on Back-Bench speeches from now on, and we ...

It is a great pleasure to follow the two previous speakers, my hon. Friend the Member for Selby a...

Not universally.

Indeed, not universally on the Opposition Benches. It puzzles me that the political class is comm...

Fifty, not forty, I think.

It is apparently “Fifty Shades of Grey”. [Interruption.] Have I any higher bids? I have not read ...

Is it not the point that these green targets can bear down very heavily on our country without re...

My right hon. Friend is absolutely right. This is yet another example of the perverse effects of ...

Given that the right hon. Gentleman is apparently genuinely concerned about costs, why does he no...

When the Energy and Climate Change Committee produced its report, I voted against that project pr...

Madam Deputy Speaker, I am sure you would agree that my right hon. Friend’s speech is spanking th...

I agree. It was very late in the day when we introduced that system, so at least we incurred the ...

My right hon. Friend is making an entertaining speech. Offshore wind has a price of around £140 p...

My hon. Friend is normally very rational, but on this occasion he is being irrational. He is sugg...

It is a privilege to follow the unique speech of the right hon. Member for Hitchin and Harpenden ...

Five.

I beg his pardon. He was one of the five Members who voted against the Climate Change Act 2008, w...

Given what I said earlier about the effect of our having commitments that are higher than those o...

No, because the EU target is set on the basis of effort-sharing between different countries, and ...

As someone who did not vote for the right hon. Gentleman’s climate change legislation, may I ask ...

It is totally simplistic to say that the Climate Change Act has led to that. It is a result of a ...

Although I agree with much of what my neighbour said about climate change, the perception, which ...

The carbon price floor was introduced by this Government—or, rather, this Government when they we...

rose—

I am not going to give way, because I would lose my time if I did so.

I say to the House, a...

It is a great pleasure to follow the right hon. Member for Doncaster North (Edward Miliband), my ...

My hon. Friend mentioned Paris. I wish to understand, perhaps from the perspective of GLOBE—the G...

My hon. Friend often carries around with him the list of the emissions reductions of European cou...

Austria.

Indeed Austria is my hon. Friend’s favourite bête noire. He points out that the contribution of m...

I agree with much of what my hon. Friend is saying, but does he also agree that where the UK lead...

My hon. Friend is right, but it is important not to exaggerate that, because it will quite rightl...

It is a pleasure to follow the hon. Member for Beverley and Holderness (Graham Stuart) who made a...

The Bill cuts subsidies for onshore wind, but companies such as Solar King in my constituency wil...

I totally agree with that. The impact on the solar energy businesses in this country has been dra...

Order. We have plenty of time for this debate but a very large number of Members wish to speak, s...

It is a privilege to take part in this debate and follow so many incisive contributions.

I ...

I certainly agree with my hon. Friend on the need to give communities the final say on any wind t...

I entirely agree with my hon. Friend; it is very important that this is community-led. There are ...

I am very pleased to hear what I think is the hon. Gentleman’s support for tidal energy. Therefor...

I thank the hon. Gentleman for his intervention. Perhaps the Minister will be able to answer that...

It is a pleasure to follow the hon. Member for York Outer (Julian Sturdy). I know his area well, ...

It is a pleasure to follow the hon. Member for Ynys Môn (Albert Owen). I am not the expert that h...

I am not saying that there is not a moral responsibility on businesses, but they will usually act...

I agree, mostly, with my hon. Friend. That is why I welcome the tone of the hon. Member for Wigan...

Does the hon. Gentleman agree that the same logic should apply—local authorities and local commun...

I would not go quite that far, because I do not know the context in which the hon. Gentleman phra...

I do not want to cut off the hon. Gentleman as he comes to a conclusion, but if it was so patentl...

Industry was certainly not taken by surprise—absolutely not. It knew exactly what was coming its ...

It is a pleasure to take part in this debate and to follow some very thoughtful contributions. I ...

The hon. Gentleman said that the saving would be very small, but the number of turbines affected ...

It might be small, but I hope the hon. Gentleman would agree that projects in which people have i...

I understand the hon. Gentleman’s point entirely, but I have just read a press release, dated 29 ...

We will have to disagree. I would assume it was lobbying against the closure of new investment in...

It is a privilege to follow so many well-informed contributions in a debate that I am sure everyb...

It is a pleasure to follow the hon. Member for Richmond (Yorks) (Rishi Sunak), although I cannot ...

With your permission, Madam Deputy Speaker, I will speak briefly about the provisions in the Bill...

I just want to highlight the inconsistency between the principle that local people should have a ...

I have great sympathy with the argument that local people should have a say, whatever the circums...

Will my hon. Friend join me in expressing astonishment that the Liberal Democrats have chosen not...

I agree with my hon. Friend entirely. From being a party that long advocated the abolition of the...

It is a pleasure to follow such interesting and thoughtful speeches from my hon. Friends the Memb...

It is a privilege to speak about this Bill and to be asked to serve on the Bill Committee, as wel...

That is not a fair assessment of what I said. In response to the hon. Gentleman’s suggestion that...

The Scottish Government will have the power to raise tax. They can do that and say to the Chancel...

I wanted to make the point that Wigan rests within Greater Manchester.

I did not say that it did not; I was talking about Lancashire, which obviously has an extremely i...

I am sorry to detain the hon. Gentleman on this matter, but is he really arguing—I cannot honestl...

That is the point I am making. If there is a lot of hysteria about a sector, it can be very diffi...

Does my hon. Friend share my view that, with the plummeting price of oil and while the oil price ...

That is a very interesting question and I am not sure I am qualified to comment. I saw in some of...

Be that as it may—US shale production might be about to fall—but the US has not yet started to ex...

I hope that that is the case. The point I was about to make is that there is no doubt that US sha...

It is a pleasure to speak after so many engaging and insightful contributions this evening. As we...

The hon. Gentleman mentions Germany. He is right that there are more renewables there than in the...

I absolutely accept there have to be exemptions for energy-intensive industries. The steel indust...

I can scarcely believe that I would hear such a clear example of sado-masochism: an hon. Member r...

I thank the right hon. Gentleman for his excellent advice. I will leave the last bit of his inter...

I remind the House that I offer business advice to an industrial and investment management compan...

It is a pleasure to follow the right hon. Member for Wokingham (John Redwood). In their manifesto...

Is the hon. Gentleman saying that renewables are cheaper? If renewables are cheaper, they do not ...

The £92.50 strike price at double the current rate for Hinkley C, guaranteed for 35 years, is a c...

Will the hon. Gentleman give way?

No, I will make some progress.

Without such a route to market, the Government risk increasi...

Why, then, was there such a high import component in the wind equipment that we needed, mainly fr...

We need to invest in research and development to establish that. R and D is another shortfall on ...

It is a great pleasure to follow the hon. Member for Coatbridge, Chryston and Bellshill (Philip B...

I am grateful for the opportunity to contribute to this important debate. I want to focus my brie...

It is a pleasure to follow the hon. Member for Brighton, Pavilion (Caroline Lucas). It will not s...

I say to the hon. Gentleman that that is precisely why we need a long-term and a short-term strat...

I just go back to this point: how many objectives can we give a new agency such as this? The Nort...

My hon. Friend makes some important points. Does he agree that the challenges he has outlined in ...

My hon. Friend is right. That development was probably already discounted in the market. Neverthe...

Will the hon. Gentleman give way?

I have taken two interventions and time is not on our side.

The two Opposition parties want...

Order. I am going to have to drop the time limit to seven minutes, but hopefully I will not have ...

It is a great privilege to follow my hon. Friend the Member for Warrington South (David Mowat). H...

The hon. Gentleman is talking about a logical approach to energy. Why is it logical to lock ourse...

Particularly as we have Hinkley Point, which will benefit the economy of Somerset, only a couple ...

The bishop will be delighted that the Members for Bath and Wells should speak so soon one after t...

How does my hon. Friend square his argument? He is in favour of maximising returns from the North...

I square it simply by having a profound concern for how the industry might affect the areas in wh...

It is an honour to follow my hon. Friend the Member for Wells (James Heappey).

There is a r...

I am grateful to my hon. Friend and neighbour for giving way. If one chose to approach Skegness f...

Indeed. Bearing in mind the scars on the landscape, I would advise you to take a different route ...

It is Mrs Hoyle you need to convince, not me.

I trust you refer only to the route, rather than the destination, which I know is a fixture.

I should point out at the outset that I am the chairman of the all-party group on offshore oil an...

I wanted to be here earlier for this very good debate, but unfortunately my travel arrangements g...

The Bill, in its original form, was right to concentrate exclusively on maximising the economic r...

I am delighted to speak in this important debate, not least because I follow many excellent speec...

What the hon. Gentleman says about communities is important. I come from an area where many commu...

If the hon. Gentleman’s constituents want to support wind farms, I am delighted that he will hope...

May I draw my hon. Friend’s attention to my constituency, which is one of the most beautiful in t...

Mr Davies, you know you cannot make speeches. We want short interventions.

It sounds like the second half of my holiday plans have been made, so I thank my hon. Friend.

Providing affordable, reliable and sustainable energy is a key commitment of this Government, bec...

We have had a wide-ranging debate on the Bill. Indeed, it has been so wide-ranging that in some i...

Will the hon. Gentleman give way?

I am afraid that I have no time to take interventions.

My right hon. Friend the Member for ...

It is a great pleasure to sum up a debate to which there have been many contributions, to which I...

With the continuing job losses and increasing gloom in Aberdeen, I welcome the shift in rhetoric ...

I can assure the hon. Lady that that is exactly what this Energy Bill is all about, and I will co...

I cannot allow the Minister to keep getting away with telling us that she is committed to reducin...

Well, I don’t know where to start! I completely disagree with the hon. Lady.

We are acting ...

The hon. Member for Brighton, Pavilion asked where to start. We need to start by getting rid of t...

My hon. Friend is absolutely right. We are the first developed country to talk about getting rid ...