Future of the Gas Grid
Joe Morris Excerpts(3 days, 10 hours ago)
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Joe Morris (Hexham) (Lab)
It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Dame Siobhain. I congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Cannock Chase (Josh Newbury) on securing this important debate.
I, too, commend the Government’s commitment to clean power and our clean energy mission. I will speak about not industry but the impact of the gas grid on rural communities, because many of my constituents do not have the luxury of being connected to the gas grid. Many of them rely on other means of heating their homes, which are subject to price fluctuations and greater disruption, and then shut them out of opportunities. Before I turn to the impact on rural communities, however, I put on record my support for reaching net zero, decarbonising our economy and decarbonising our energy system; I look back at the relatively halcyon days when it was not politically controversial to say that, and hope at some point that we can get back to that.
It is vital that rural communities are at the heart of these discussions, and I hope that the Minister will bear them in mind when he goes back to his Department. For many communities across Northumberland, being shut out of the gas grid contributes to a wider feeling of being shut out from broader opportunities. They are unable to access the essential energy infrastructure that often facilitates the growth of small businesses and local economies and helps to attract tourism.
I read an article last week that said that people in the Coquet valley, of which I represent a small part—it is mainly represented by my hon. Friend the Member for North Northumberland (David Smith)—felt cut off and on the edge of society because they were not connected. That feeling is present not just in the Coquet valley, but across the rural extremities of Northumberland. When I hold my surgeries in those places, I get that feedback constantly. The fact that there is not just inadequate gas, but inadequate electricity and phone signal, emphasises that lack of connection. These communities are not just off the grid; they are shut out from opportunities that urban parts of our country often take for granted.
One of the major failures of the last Government was that they did not properly boost and invest in rural economies and the opportunities of people in places such as Otterburn. That has deprived rural residents of lower heating costs, efficient services and opportunities that individuals in urban regions access daily.
What can the Government do to ensure that rural communities such as those dotted around my constituency get the services they need and the energy they depend on—at the price that they deserve—to prevent that feeling of being on the edge of society? Rural communities must not be deprived of basic necessities purely because of their geographical location. We need to ensure that that feeling of being at the extremity ends with this Labour Government.
With the National Energy System Operator, we already have a highly resilient electricity system. I regularly see the community action, investment and spirit that is brought about by storm events, when communities club together to provide for one another. I know that is something continually looked at by communities and organisations working in Northumberland.
I wanted to come to this debate, not because I have any great industrial expertise—I will leave that to some of my illustrious colleagues who spoke before me—but because, in the past, MPs representing my constituency have not been the voice that rural communities need. It is important that MPs from Northumberland make sure that Ministers do not go back to their Departments without first considering the needs of communities that are not connected to the gas grid.
Biomass Generation
Joe Morris Excerpts(4 months, 1 week ago)
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Michael Shanks
The right hon. Gentleman will not draw me into the ongoing competition on small modular reactors, but he has made the case for his preferred company.
Last week, the Prime Minister announced that we have a new commitment to reviewing the 2011 planning statement so that we can have much more new nuclear across the UK. That is particularly important because previously there were only eight designated sites. Small modular reactors, of course, open up possibilities right across the country, and we want to see much more of that. We are moving as fast as possible to make sure these reactors are under way, and I hope that we can move at such a speed that the Scottish Government will change their objection to having small modular reactors in Scotland.
Joe Morris (Hexham) (Lab)
The news of a windfall tax on Drax was welcomed by people across my constituency. Will the Minister assure me that this will be the end of grotesque profits going to Drax at the expense of the taxpayer?
Michael Shanks
I can give my hon. Friend that assurance. We have significantly reduced the ability of Drax to make profits, but we have also ensured that if there are excess profits, they are clawed back on behalf of the British people. The additional rates of 30% and 60% in the mechanism that we have designed will ensure that any unexpected profits are clawed back. That was not the case under the eight previous Energy Ministers in the previous Government who signed off deals on Drax year after year. This is a new way of operating that protects our energy security, as well as protecting the hard-working people of this country.
Oral Answers to Questions
Joe Morris Excerpts(7 months, 1 week ago)
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Baggy Shanker (Derby South) (Lab/Co-op)
Joe Morris (Hexham) (Lab)
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero (Michael Shanks)
In just four short months, we have made rapid progress on achieving our mission for clean power by 2030. We have set up Great British Energy and announced its headquarters in Aberdeen, secured a record-breaking 131 renewables projects, and consented to record amounts of solar. We are getting on with delivering lower bills, energy security, good jobs and climate action.
Michael Shanks
My hon. Friend is right to say that nuclear will play a vital role, and that it not only delivers on our energy security but creates good, well-paid jobs. Unlike the last Government, who in 14 years did not deliver a single nuclear project—there were many consultations and processes, but not a single nuclear power station was built—this Government are getting on with delivering a nuclear future.
Joe Morris
Last week’s report from the National Energy System Operator showed that not only is clean power by 2030 achievable, but it can lead to lower bills and more secure systems. Does the Minister agree that the only way to protect bill payers permanently is to go as far and as fast as possible towards our clean power mission by 2030?
Oral Answers to Questions
Joe Morris Excerpts(8 months, 1 week ago)
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Miatta Fahnbulleh
We as a Government are committed to getting down standing charges. Ofgem has consulted and will report back in due course.
Joe Morris (Hexham) (Lab)
Laura Kyrke-Smith (Aylesbury) (Lab)
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero (Miatta Fahnbulleh)
We are running to deliver our warm homes plan, which will upgrade homes across the country to make them warmer and cheaper to run. We will set out the full plan in the spring, but at the heart of it will be an offer of grants and low-interest loans to support families to invest in insulation, low-carbon heating and home improvements. Critically, alongside that, we are committing to boosting minimum energy efficiency standards for private rented homes and social housing, to tackle fuel poverty.
Joe Morris
I thank the Minister for her answer and for her commitment to the warm homes plan. I congratulate her on the announcement over the conference recess to end the scandal of cold, draughty homes in the rental sector, which particularly affects people in my constituency in towns such as Haltwhistle, Throckley, Newburn, Hexham and elsewhere. Does she agree that often the very poorest in our communities are forced to live in those cold and draughty properties, and it is important that we cut bills and give those families energy security?
Miatta Fahnbulleh
I agree. One in four households in the private rented sector is in fuel poverty. We need to bear down on bills. Our commitment to improve and boost minimum energy efficiency standards will lift 1 million renters out of fuel poverty. We are determined to do this alongside our bigger package to deliver clean power by 2030, which will drive down bills for everyone.