Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Amanda Solloway and Lindsay Hoyle

Tuesday 16th April 2024 Commons Chamber

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero (Amanda Solloway)]

We will publish the Government’s response to the recent Pumpwatch consultation as soon as possible, and we continue to work closely with the Competition and Markets Authority, and the sector technology companies, to launch Pumpwatch this year. Of course, my hon. Friend makes an incredibly important point that, when we launch this, we will of course make sure that everybody knows about this valuable resource.

[Mr Speaker]

I call the SNP spokesperson.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Amanda Solloway and Lindsay Hoyle

Tuesday 27th February 2024 Commons Chamber

[Amanda Solloway]

No decision has yet been taken on that, but we have a commitment to ensure that we get the very best deal for all our constituents.

[Mr Speaker]

I call the shadow Minister.

[Kerry McCarthy (Bristol East) (Lab)]

A year ago, the then Energy Secretary said that if suppliers had wrongly installed prepayment meters in any home, they would have to recompense their customers for the way they had behaved. One year later, can the Minister tell the House how many individuals who had a prepayment meter wrongly installed have had compensation, how many are yet to receive it and, of those still waiting, when they will get the compensation?

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[Amanda Solloway]

I am pleased to hear from the hon. Gentleman that the situation has been resolved, and I suggest that exactly the right recourse is to contact the relevant parties. We are now launching the ability of the ombudsman to help small businesses as well, which reassures me that such cases will be seen to more quickly and resolved sooner.

[Mr Speaker]

I call the SNP spokesperson.

[Dave Doogan (Angus) (SNP)]

In the UK, electricity standing charges will balloon by 12%, meaning that people in Scotland who were paying £90 a year in 2021-22 will soon need to find £216 a year—a 138% increase under this Tory Government. That removes the incentive to curb excessive use, and presents a disincentive to economise on energy usage. If costs and charges were redistributed to the unit price, consumers would be empowered to pursue reduced usage, knowing that that would translate into lower bills. What assessment has the Minister made of the savings that would be made, in terms of both carbon emissions and the need for vast pieces of new energy infrastructure, if the standing charges were rolled into unit prices?

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[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero (Amanda Solloway)]

I thank my hon. Friend for that important question. Wholesale energy prices have fallen compared with last year. The Government have been supporting eligible businesses locked into high contracts through the energy bills discount scheme, until they can take advantage of lower fixed-price rates. My hon. Friend will be interested to hear that the Government delivered more than £7.4 billion to non-domestic energy users last winter, covering around half of many businesses’ energy bills.

[Mr Speaker]

I call the shadow Secretary of State.

COP28

Debate between Amanda Solloway and Lindsay Hoyle

Wednesday 29th November 2023 Commons Chamber

[Amanda Solloway]

I reiterate that the Government take this issue incredibly seriously, and there are two ways of demonstrating that: the Minister for Energy Security and Net Zero, my right hon. Friend the Member for Beverley and Holderness (Graham Stuart), who usually deals with such issues, is at COP28 and ready for the conference; and we now have a distinct Department for this issue, the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero. We know that we are leaders in the field. I take this issue seriously, not just for the people of the United Kingdom, but for the planet as a whole. Thinking about my granddaughter, we really do have a commitment to ensuring that we are doing everything that we can.

[Mr Speaker]

I call Dr Thérèse Coffey. [Interruption.] Order. Ms Lucas, I have given you an urgent question. If you have a problem—

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[Amanda Solloway]

As I have said, it is incredibly important that we head towards our commitments. Between 1990 and 2021, we cut UK emissions by 48% while growing the economy. I agree with my right hon. Friend that if we trust this Government to deliver, we will ensure we are heading on the right path. The other thing to mention is that net zero is an engine for growth and the revitalisation of formerly industrialised areas of the UK. Cutting emissions is important not just for the climate, but for our economy.

[Mr Speaker]

I call the shadow Minister.

[Kerry McCarthy (Bristol East) (Lab)]

The UN has warned that the world is on course for a catastrophic 2.8°C of warming, in part because promises made at COP26 and COP27 have not been fulfilled. We are running out of last chances. We know what we need to do and we know how to do it, but where is the sense of urgency? The Prime Minister was shamed into attending COP last year. I would have thought he would be ashamed to be there this year, after his climate climbdown last month derailed momentum at exactly the wrong time. The world needs climate leadership.

Does the Minister think it is acceptable for the Prime Minister to sabotage the UK’s history of climate leadership with his cynical backtracking on net zero? Labour will be going to COP with a message that the UK can be a climate leader again and that, in doing so, we will cut energy bills and boost energy independence at home, which this Government have conspicuously failed to do. Labour will put the UK back in a position of leadership and establish a clean power alliance. We will pledge to issue no new oil, gas or coal licences and set an example with our mission for clean power by 2030. What example does it set if the current UK Government ignore the science and global consensus on fossil fuels, especially when the Energy Secretary admits that her policy will not even cut bills?

Labour will also be working for multilateral development bank reform to help developing countries access capital, as well as championing the UK as the future green finance capital of the world, with mandatory 1.5°C-aligned transition plans for FTSE 100 companies and financial institutions. Can the Minister tell me what the Government will be doing to advance that agenda?

There is so much more that the UK can and must do to reduce emissions and deliver energy security, to cut energy bills and to back British industry. With Labour, Britain would lead the world at COP. Labour is ready to lead; is the Minister?

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[Amanda Solloway]

I pay tribute to the work that my right hon. Friend has done on this subject. I will need to get back to her with the exact figures on deforestation, if I may. One of the things that the UK Government are doing at COP28 is making sure that we hit the five key areas of progress: finance, global stocktake, mitigation, adaptation, and loss and damage—and, within that, nature.

[Mr Speaker]

I call the SNP spokesperson.

[Steven Bonnar (Coatbridge, Chryston and Bellshill) (SNP)]

The UK Government’s series of U-turns on net zero targets has put our ability to meet them at risk. The Scottish Government are committed to meeting our more ambitious targets, but Europe and the United States are leading the way as this place lags behind, in turn holding Scotland back. Can the Minister confirm whether the new Foreign Secretary, who famously decided to “cut the green crap”, will be attending COP26? That move cost UK households £2.5 billion in extra energy costs.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Amanda Solloway and Lindsay Hoyle

Tuesday 28th November 2023 Commons Chamber

[Amanda Solloway]

My hon. Friend is a champion for Shropshire and for the farming industry. Farmers in Shropshire constituencies and across the UK have already benefited from the energy bill relief scheme, which ended on 31 March and provided more than £7.4 billion of support.

[Mr Speaker]

I call the Chair of the Energy Security and Net Zero Committee.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Amanda Solloway and Lindsay Hoyle

Tuesday 4th July 2023 Commons Chamber

[Amanda Solloway]

I thank the hon. Lady for that information. With your permission, Mr Speaker, I will take that question away and find out more details.

[Mr Speaker]

I call the shadow Minister.

[Kerry McCarthy (Bristol East) (Lab)]

The director general of UK Steel said this week:

“There are huge question marks over if government really wants to sustain steel, the backbone of British manufacturing, or just leave it to shrink and rely on other nations’ supply.”

He is right to say that. It is four years since the Government promised the green steel fund, but not a penny has been paid. Why are the Government failing our steel communities so comprehensively?

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Amanda Solloway and Lindsay Hoyle

Tuesday 23rd May 2023 Commons Chamber

[Mr Speaker]

That will be very jammy.

[Amanda Solloway]

I thank my right hon. Friend for that invite, and I would be delighted to go if some of the product was on offer. We are constantly looking at the help we can give. We are giving help across all industries. We are giving universal help through the discount, and we are helping energy and trade intensive industries as well. The classification exists to ensure that we do not have a bias.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Amanda Solloway and Lindsay Hoyle

Tuesday 18th April 2023 Commons Chamber

[Mr Speaker]

Order. Mr Esterson, please do not take advantage of the Chamber; other colleagues want to get in as well. It is totally unfair

[Amanda Solloway]

This Government have an unprecedented record in helping both domestic and non-domestic customers, and the energy bills discount scheme will continue to provide a discount to eligible non-domestic customers, with a higher level of support provided under the energy and trade-intensive industry element of the scheme.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Amanda Solloway and Lindsay Hoyle

Tuesday 28th February 2023 Commons Chamber

[Amanda Solloway]

The Government announced in the autumn statement that the energy price guarantee will continue from April ’23. An analysis for 2022, which was published today, shows that 350,000 households in England were kept out of fuel poverty as a result of the support offered to households with energy bills.

[Mr Speaker]

I call the shadow Secretary of State.

[Edward Miliband (Doncaster North) (Lab)]

I welcome the Minister to her new role. Her Department’s responsibility is to tackle fuel poverty, so the planned rise in the price cap is the first big test. If it goes ahead, the number of people in fuel poverty will jump by almost 2 million, which is why many people, including those from leading energy charities, are telling her Department to stop the cap rising. Will she and the Secretary of State now do their jobs and tell the Chancellor to cancel the rise?

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Amanda Solloway and Lindsay Hoyle

Monday 5th September 2022 Commons Chamber

[Amanda Solloway]

I commend all the work that has been done on domestic abuse, and all the issues we have to face are not taken lightly. A central count of domestic abuse fatalities is crucial to building the evidence base for effective interventions and preventing future tragedies. This Government have been counting all domestic homicides, domestic abuse-related unexplained or suspicious deaths, and suspected suicides of individuals with a known history of domestic abuse victimisation since March 2020.

[Mr Speaker]

I call the shadow Minister.

[Jess Phillips (Birmingham, Yardley) (Lab)]

On 20 June, I stood at this Dispatch Box and asked the then Minister, the hon. Member for Redditch (Rachel Maclean), where the Government’s response to the domestic homicide sentencing review was. I said then that 105 women had been killed during the period of delay to that response. The then Minister—to be fair to the current Minister—assured me that she would write to me on the issue; she did not. Since I asked in June, there have been 18 more victims of femicide counted by the organisation Counting Dead Women, which will not account for the cases referred to by my hon. Friend the Member for Jarrow (Kate Osborne) because those are not as well known. May I ask what exactly is causing the Government such delay in responding to the QC-led report? They have had it for months and have promised the grief-stricken families of Ellie Gould and Poppy Devey Waterhouse that it will be delivered. Does the Minister wonder how many other women will have died by the time they finally respond?

Newport Wafer Fab Sale

Debate between Amanda Solloway and Lindsay Hoyle

Thursday 15th July 2021 Commons Chamber

[Mr Speaker]

We have gone slightly out of order. The hon. Member was meant to just ask the urgent question, and then come back. If the Minister can roll the two together, I will then go to the shadow Minister.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (Amanda Solloway)]

Of course, Mr Speaker. The Government recognise Newport Wafer Fab’s value as a company, and its contribution to consortia based at the south Wales compound semiconductor cluster. The Government are committed to the semiconductor cluster and the vital role that it plays in the UK’s economy. The Welsh Government have previously provided financial support to the company, as economic development is devolved and the responsibility of the Welsh Government.

Under the Enterprise Act 2002, the Government have powers to intervene in mergers and takeovers that raise national security concerns. We have recently strengthened those powers in the National Security and Investment Act 2021, which is expected to come into force at the end of this year, but it is right that commercial transactions are primarily a matter for the parties involved. The Government have been in close contact with Newport Wafer Fab, but do not consider it appropriate to intervene in this case at the current time.

We will continue to monitor the situation closely, and, as part of that, the Prime Minister has asked the national security adviser to review this case. Separately, work is under way to review the wider semiconductor landscape in the United Kingdom. As I am sure the House will appreciate, I am unable to comment on the detail of commercial transactions, or of any national security assessment of a particular case.

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[Amanda Solloway]

As I have said, the Government have looked closely at the transaction and do not consider it appropriate to intervene at the current time. The Prime Minister made it clear at the Liaison Committee that he would ask the National Security Adviser to do a review. I am afraid that I will have to get back to my hon. Friend on an impact assessment as I do not know that.

[Mr Speaker]

I think that was a hint that the Government should provide them when they are promised.

[Sir Iain Duncan Smith (Chingford and Woodford Green) (Con)]

I congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for The Cotswolds (Sir Geoffrey Clifton-Brown) on his question.

May I say to the Minister that I think the Government are in an unholy mess over this? It is no good their telling us that there is a very clear definition of what is strategic and what is not strategic. In the course of this failure to make a decision, did they look at what China thinks of semiconductors? China is the biggest exporter in the world and is busy buying up semiconductor technology everywhere it can find it. It has identified semiconductor technology as one of the key areas that it needs to dominate globally, and it is busy stealing technology, getting other people’s intellectual property rights and buying up companies. The idea that a semiconductor is not strategic! The technology will be used in almost everything we do—in everything we produce that is electronic.

My simple question is: are we now in a kind of Project Kowtow, where we just have to do business with the Chinese no matter what? That is outrageous. The Minister must take back to her Cabinet colleagues that it is not going to pass. We should have used the Act and blocked the deal.

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[Amanda Solloway]

As I mentioned, the Government are completely committed to human rights and are mindful of everything we need to do on that. We have looked very closely at this transaction. I can give the hon. Gentleman my reassurance that the National Security and Investment Act will allow the Government to scrutinise and intervene on any acquisitions that may pose a national security risk. I reiterate that the Government want a mature, positive relationship with China based on mutual respect and trust. There is considerable scope for constructive engagement, but as we strive for a positive relationship, we must not sacrifice either our values or our security.

[Mr Speaker]

I now suspend the House for a few minutes to enable the necessary arrangements to be made for the next business.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Amanda Solloway and Lindsay Hoyle

Tuesday 6th July 2021 Commons Chamber

[Amanda Solloway]

I am glad that my hon. Friend recognises the work that the Government have done to support investment in the town, and I know that the Department for Transport and LNER appreciate his desire to ensure that his community continues to be well served by rail services across the north. His comments and those of his colleagues are exactly the level of detail that the consultation is looking to elicit, and it is important that the industry understands the strength of the business case, so I would urge him to continue to engage with the consultation process.

[Mr Speaker]

We now go to Alexander Stafford. Not here. Let’s go to Mark Eastwood, who is here.

[Mark Eastwood]

I am pleased that my hon. Friend the Member for Penistone and Stocksbridge (Miriam Cates) and I have put forward a £48 million joint levelling-up fund bid to support improvements to the Penistone line, which runs through our constituencies. Will the Minister agree to work with the Department for Transport and the Treasury in supporting this bid, which, if successful, would help to boost local businesses and bring much-needed jobs to my constituency, especially in Kirkburton and Denby Dale?

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[Dr Lewis]

Will my hon. Friend the Minister kindly explain the practical arrangements that will be made to ensure that the BEIS Committee can scrutinise the top secret documents involved in the work of the Investment Security Unit? Specifically, will the Committee’s members and staff be cleared to see and handle such documents, and will they be given access to secure premises in which to read and discuss such highly classified papers? And I think the answer is “fat chance”.

[Mr Speaker]

It’s already answered then.

[Amanda Solloway]

No, we will make sure that the BEIS Committee has the information it needs to fulfil its remit and scrutinise the work of the Investment Security Unit. As my right hon. Friend will be aware, the Osmotherly rules set out how secret and top secret material should be handled with respect to Committees other than the Intelligence and Security Committee. I can assure the House that we will have regard to those principles as we develop the memorandum of understanding with the BEIS Committee.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Amanda Solloway and Lindsay Hoyle

Tuesday 25th May 2021 Commons Chamber

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (Amanda Solloway)]

We have committed to investing £14.9 billion in R&D in 2021-22, meaning that Government R&D spending is now at its highest level for decades. We have our ambitious road map. We have our innovation strategy that we will be launching. We have our R&D place strategy, and we are working to ensure that the benefits are felt nationwide.

[Mr Speaker]

I suspend the House to enable the necessary arrangements to be made for the next business.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Amanda Solloway and Lindsay Hoyle

Tuesday 10th November 2020 Commons Chamber

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (Amanda Solloway)]

The UK’s world-leading universities have a rich heritage in space science and exploration, and they are key to our ambition of becoming a science superpower. Of course I will join my hon. Friend in sending congratulations to the scientists in his constituency on their groundbreaking research. We are investing £1.5 million this year in Open University space activities, including those of PROSPECT instruments, which will improve our understanding of water on the moon—and who knows, they might put the first concrete cows on the moon.

[Mr Speaker]

Excellent.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Amanda Solloway and Lindsay Hoyle

Tuesday 21st July 2020 Commons Chamber

[Michael Fabricant]

Well, a recent survey has shown that two thirds of people would prefer to work from home either full time or part time, rather than work all the time at the places they worked from pre-covid. With this change in attitudes, which means we will end up with less pollution and probably a better standard of living, what can the Government do, and what can she do, to encourage this type of working for those who want it?

[Mr Speaker]

When he said “she”, I am sure he meant the Minister.

[Amanda Solloway]

I am sure that my hon. Friend did not. We are aware of the wider benefits of flexible working. Nearly half of employees have worked from home during covid-19. Most employees already have the right to request flexible working, which employers can reject only for really sound business reasons. In our manifesto, we committed to take it further, and we will be looking at it in the light of covid.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Amanda Solloway and Lindsay Hoyle

Tuesday 3rd March 2020 Commons Chamber

[Mr Speaker]

I call the Minister—and welcome.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (Amanda Solloway)]

Thank you, Mr Speaker.

The Government are committed to making the UK a world leader in clean growth, building on existing strengths in sectors such as nuclear and offshore wind. We are taking action to deliver that, including by investing £3 billion in low-carbon innovation to 2021 and £170 million from the industrial strategy challenge fund to support our industrial decarbonisation mission to create at least one low-carbon industrial cluster by 2030.