Climate Change

Martin Rhodes Excerpts

Wednesday 24th June 2026 Commons Chamber

[Martin Rhodes (Glasgow North) (Lab)]

I very much welcome the opportunity for this House to debate the seventh carbon budget, but as important as this debate is, it cannot be the only place in which this discussion is held. I welcome the Government’s recognition of this in their clean energy mission, which states that that mission

“will only succeed if we take people with us.”

That means not just having this debate, welcome as it is, but making sure that we reach out to communities. If we do not, the space will too quickly be filled with misinformation and false narratives that undermine public trust in the need for carbon reduction and a better environment. We must continue to make that case so that support is broad, durable, and rooted in the everyday experiences of communities across the country.

To do this, we must combine arguments with policies that improve the lived realities of communities across the UK. This means ensuring that the costs of decarbonising our economy do not fall disproportionately on less advantaged communities. We must work with, and in, communities and industry to ensure that the benefits for UK jobs and incomes are delivered. This mission is based on scientific evidence, and it needs a technical and practical set of solutions, but we will not succeed if we limit the debate to the scientific and the technical—we need to recognise that it is rooted in the values of social justice. The interconnected causes of environmental, social and economic justice are the challenge of our time.

It is clear that bringing people with us may be becoming more difficult. Much of the progress made has been on the things that were easier to do; what is left to do is perhaps more difficult. Not only is the task ahead more difficult in itself; the consensus on progress has sadly fractured. But this is not a time to retreat. It may be a time to reflect on how we build, and I look forward to the Government’s publication of the delivery plan for this carbon budget, but it cannot be a time to retreat. The challenge is no less urgent; in fact, it is more pressing. Scrutiny is important, but it is not enough, and making the case for clean energy cannot be done through words alone—it must be done through actions that deliver for working people and for all our communities. Talking about a just transition does not in itself deliver a just transition. If we act, continuing to turn our words into deeds, the clean energy revolution will not simply be a policy programme; it will become a lasting national achievement.

Oral Answers to Questions

Martin Rhodes Excerpts

Tuesday 24th March 2026 Commons Chamber

[Martin McCluskey]

The support on offer is not means-tested; it is at the discretion of local authorities to decide the criteria for those applications. That is the first point. The second point is that the CMA is investigating this in detail. As my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State said earlier, if there are any examples, please bring them to my attention and to the CMA’s attention, so that they can be considered as part of that review.

[Martin Rhodes (Glasgow North) (Lab)]

Terminally ill people often have additional energy needs and energy costs. What steps is the Department taking to support those people who are terminally ill with increased energy costs?

[Martin McCluskey]

I welcome my hon. Friend’s advocacy for those people. No one with a terminal illness should have to face concerns about their energy bills. I will soon be meeting the Minister for Health Innovation and Safety, my hon. Friend the Member for Glasgow South West (Dr Ahmed), to discuss how Government can better share data in order to target support at vulnerable people and those with health conditions.

Oral Answers to Questions

Martin Rhodes Excerpts

Tuesday 29th April 2025 Commons Chamber

[Martin Rhodes (Glasgow North) (Lab)]

6. What assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of the clean energy transition on workers.

[The Minister for Industry (Sarah Jones)]

We firmly believe that the clean energy transition is the economic opportunity of the 21st century. In recent weeks, we have secured thousands of new jobs in carbon capture, offshore wind and British supply chains. As we transform the way we power our country, we are determined to ensure that communities across our country benefit from good jobs and good wages. That is what our clean energy mission is all about.

[Martin Rhodes]

I thank the Minister for her response, but could she go further in setting out the Government’s assessment of how in the clean energy transition new jobs can be created here in the UK in the manufacturing of components for offshore wind and other green energy projects?

[Sarah Jones]

I was delighted that last week the Government were able to announce an initial £300 million through Great British Energy to invest in supply chains for domestic offshore wind. The fund will boost domestic jobs, mobilise additional private investment and secure manufacturing facilities for critical clean energy supply chains. We are publishing our industrial strategy in the spring, which will set out our approach to the highest growth-driving sectors, including clean energy industries.

Great British Energy Bill

Martin Rhodes Excerpts

Consideration of Lords amendments
Tuesday 25th March 2025 Commons Chamber

[Michael Shanks]

My hon. Friend makes a good point. I will come to that briefly in a moment.

All of this work builds on the implementation of the new procurement regime, which focuses on ensuring fair and open competition and treating suppliers equally, as well as the work that we are doing on the relaunched solar taskforce—it started under the previous Government and has continued under this Government—to develop resilient, sustainable and innovative solar supply chains that are free from forced labour.

We recognise that the landscape has shifted since the Modern Slavery Act came into effect, which is why yesterday the Home Office published updated statutory guidance on transparency in supply chains that provides comprehensive and practical advice for businesses on how to tackle forced labour in their supply chains. Great British Energy will, of course, follow any new measures on modern slavery to which it is subjected, just as any responsible public or private body should. I hope that the new steps I have outlined will reassure the House that Departments across Government will continue to work intensively on this issue.

Before I move on, I will reflect briefly on amendment (b) to Lords amendment 2, tabled by my hon. Friend the Member for Leeds Central and Headingley (Alex Sobel), which would require the Independent Anti-Slavery Commissioner to define “credible evidence” in Lords amendment 2. While I thank him for the amendment, we have to resist it as the Independent Anti-Slavery Commissioner’s role was established to encourage good practice rather than to look specifically into supply chains of individual companies. The amendment would place a significant lawmaking function on the commissioner, which the role was not designed for, and is currently not within the commissioner’s powers. The amendment would also have wider implications for how evidence of modern slavery is assessed and could create unnecessary legal uncertainty and precedent.

I turn to the remaining amendments. The Government were pleased to table Lords amendment 1 and Lords amendments 3 to 12 following positive discussions with peers in the other place. Lords amendment 1 puts community energy on the face of the Bill. The Government had a manifesto commitment to deliver a step change in community energy across the UK. We set up GBE to deliver our local power plan: it is at the heart of our plans for GBE. However, we recognise that during the Bill’s passage, it was highlighted that the role of community energy should be made explicit in the Bill. As my colleagues in the other place said, the Government have accepted that, and it is right that that is now in the Bill.

[Martin Rhodes (Glasgow North) (Lab)]

I very much welcome the amendment. Does the Minister agree that community energy is important not just for jobs and investment but for engaging communities with the transition to a new energy system? Does he recognise the need for the Government to support those initiatives with funding going forward?

[Michael Shanks]

I agree with my hon. Friend on both points. Community energy is incredibly important to give communities a stake in their energy future and to deliver the social and economic benefits that go with it. Just last week we announced a significant amount of funding through GBE for community energy projects across England, and funding for Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland to spend on similar projects, including community energy projects in their own areas.