Gregg McClymont
Main Page: Gregg McClymont (Labour - Cumbernauld, Kilsyth and Kirkintilloch East)
Chris Huhne
I welcome the hon. Lady to her new role and I am glad to see that she is getting stuck in. I thought the whole point about new Labour was that it believed in a market economy. The last sort of organisation that set targets for jobs sector by sector was the Soviet Union’s Gosplan, and we all know what happened to that.
Gregg McClymont (Cumbernauld, Kilsyth and Kirkintilloch East) (Lab)
6. What recent estimate he has made of the likely cost to the public purse of the implementation of the Government’s commitment to reduce the level of carbon dioxide emissions by 10% in the next 12 months.
Mr Speaker
Order. I am sorry, but these ministerial answers are simply too long. Something has got to be done for next time. Let us get it right.
Gregg McClymont
In opposition, the coalition parties demanded a 10% reduction year on year in CO2 emissions across the public sector. In government, they now pledge these reductions only across the central Government estate. Why the retreat?
Gregory Barker
The hon. Gentleman is slightly misinformed as to what we promised. We said that there was a clear need for Government to take responsibility for getting their own house in order, which the previous Administration signally failed to do in 13 years. We are committed to 10% in the coming year, but we see it as part of a much more ambitious longer-term strategy across the public sector.