Draft Renewable Heat Incentive Scheme Regulations 2018 Draft Domestic Renewable Heat Incentive Scheme (Amendment) Regulations 2018

Debate between Claire Perry and Jeremy Lefroy

Monday 23rd April 2018 General Committees

[Jeremy Lefroy]

I apologise for detaining my right hon. Friend on this, but does she also agree that the kind of investment that is being made by UK manufacturers and service companies is incredibly important as we seek to boost our exports? I am the Prime Minister’s trade envoy to Ethiopia, which wants to have, effectively, a waste-to-energy RHI and an electrical generation plant for each of its major cities. The UK is in a very good position to assist with this. Based on what we do in the UK, the opportunities are out there, and multiplied many times over, to provide on a commercial basis assistance around the world in renewable energy and heat.

[Claire Perry]

I commend my hon. Friend for his international knowledge. This is exactly the point. As part of the clean growth challenge and the industrial strategy, we have realised that as we are global leaders in decarbonising our economy, while at the same time driving growth—only two countries are considered to be doing enough to meet a 2°C warming of the climate, namely ourselves and China—we can create enormous prosperity in the UK from exporting those services and technologies. If he feels that my Department or the Department for International Trade need to do anything to support his ambassadorial ambitions, I hope he will let me know. It is an important area.

In conclusion, we have had a good thrash through the regulations. Hopefully we all agree that the reforms are needed. They are essential to improve on the experience of the first years of the scheme, to ensure that it is better value for money and that it continues to play its part in the transition towards a lower carbon-emitting economy. As I said, we will offer further proposals and suggestions as to how to move forward once the scheme has ended. I hope the Committee will support both sets of regulations, which I commend to it.

Question put.

Vauxhall (Redundancies)

Debate between Claire Perry and Jeremy Lefroy

Monday 16th October 2017 Commons Chamber

[Claire Perry]

As my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State said at the time, and as has been said again, the company made a commitment to keep the plant open, both at the time of the acquisition and at subsequent points. We believe that the company stands by that.

The hon. Lady asked whether there is dialogue. There is ongoing dialogue, as I mentioned in my opening remarks, with the company—we had another conversation with it today about what exactly this means—with those in the broader area supporting the workers and with the unions. It is incredibly important that we are all joined up on this.

I entirely reject the idea that we do not have a joined-up strategy when it comes to the auto sector. We have turned around a sector that was on its knees in 2008-09. Under this Government, it has been turned into one of the country’s major investment and export stories, and we continue to invest for the future. As I have said, some models will do well and some will not. Companies need to know that this is the best place to invest for the future, so that the Ellesmere port plant can continue to be, as it was in 1964, a flagship manufacturing plant and so that we can retain high-skilled jobs in the UK and in the area.

The hon. Lady asked whether we are sending a clear signal. We continue to send a clear signal to this company and others that we will stand by them as the future evolves, to make sure that we are not left in the slow lane of technological innovation, but that we lead the world. We will reassure companies as much as possible about the certainty that we require from the Brexit negotiations—namely that, as my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State and I have made incredibly clear, we should have the closest possible relationship with the single market.

[Jeremy Lefroy (Stafford) (Con)]

Is my hon. Friend working together with the company and local government to ensure that the skills of those highly-skilled people who may, sadly, lose their jobs in the next few weeks and months will be retained in the area and built on? One thing that we learned from Germany in the late 2000s, during the great recession, is that if those skills are retained in the area, it will be possible to boost not only other companies but Vauxhall if it begins, as we all hope it will, to take on people again in the future to work on other models.

[Claire Perry]

My hon. Friend is absolutely right. It is vital that we maintain those skills. It is worth noting that there is a significant cluster of other businesses in the region, which is home to Bentley Motors, Jaguar Land Rover, Getrag Ford, Toyota’s engine plant and Leyland Trucks. It is really important that we continue to invest in those skills to minimise job losses and to ensure that the country does not lose the talent that people have built up over the years.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Claire Perry and Jeremy Lefroy

Tuesday 27th June 2017 Commons Chamber

[Jeremy Lefroy (Stafford) (Con)]

4. What steps he is taking to ensure that the electric grid is able to support the charging of the number of electric cars estimated to be in use by 2020.

[The Minister of State, Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (Claire Perry)]

I congratulate my hon. Friend on his pathfinding work in this area. I understand he is a proud owner of a Nissan Leaf—an electric vehicle made in the UK. He will therefore know that this is an exceptionally important point for us. I am very proud of the Government’s ambition for almost all cars on our roads to be zero-emissions by 2050, and also of our success in positioning the UK as a leading destination for the manufacture of and research into these vehicles. He will be reassured to know that good progress is being made with grid-readiness, and the upcoming smart systems plan and the automated and electric vehicles Bill will ensure that electric vehicle demands are managed efficiently, and the roll-out of electric vehicles is accelerated.

[Jeremy Lefroy]

I thank the Minister for her response, and I am glad to hear that, because a study of the impact of electric vehicles on the UK’s distribution network has estimated that

“voltage imbalances, coupled with overloaded distribution transformers could…impair power lines.”

How quickly can we have a report on that, given that the usage of such vehicles is likely to rise substantially in the coming years?

[Claire Perry]

I think my hon. Friend is right. With policies to really accelerate the usage of electric vehicles, this is a critical thing. He will know that Ofgem has approved business plans for the local network companies, which already bake in billions of pounds of investment, to ensure that the expected demands on the grid can be met. But, equally, it is not just about raw investment in cables; it is actually about changing consumers’ behaviour to ensure they can charge their vehicles at a time that puts least demand on the grid and perhaps saves them money. I refer back to our plan and to the Bill, which will enable smart charging and help people to charge their vehicles at a time when it puts least demand on the network.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Claire Perry and Jeremy Lefroy

Wednesday 24th November 2010 Commons Chamber

[Claire Perry (Devizes) (Con)]

7. What recent progress he has made on his proposals for reform of the civil service compensation scheme.

[Jeremy Lefroy (Stafford) (Con)]

10. What recent progress he has made on his proposals for reform of the civil service compensation scheme.

[The Minister for the Cabinet Office and Paymaster General (Mr Francis Maude)]

The Superannuation Bill, which will impose caps on compensation payments and permit the reform of the civil service compensation scheme, is proceeding through the other place. I remain confident of being able to introduce a new scheme before the House rises.