Oral Answers to Questions

Michael Shanks Excerpts

Tuesday 14th October 2025 Commons Chamber

[Sarah Green (Chesham and Amersham) (LD)]

2. What plans he has to assess land use changes in applications for new energy infrastructure.

[The Minister for Energy (Michael Shanks)]

We are delivering a strategic spatial energy plan to support a more actively planned approach to energy infrastructure. It will consider wider demands, including food production, water supply and nature recovery. The Departments for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs and for Energy Security and Net Zero will ensure that the strategic spatial energy plan and the land use framework work together.

[Sarah Green]

Residents in my constituency are concerned about a proposed site for a battery energy storage system on agricultural land in the green belt. With tales of similar storage systems catching fire, there is understandable fear in the community. Would the Minister meet me to discuss making local fire services statutory consultees for certain types of battery storage planning applications, and to hear my residents’ concerns, and will he reassure them that they will not be guinea pigs for new or untested technology?

[Michael Shanks]

The hon. Lady is right to say that public confidence in the safety of all infrastructure is incredibly important. Battery technology is no more unsafe than any other technology, but if there is a public perception that it is, then it is right that we take action to deal with that. That is why I am hosting a roundtable to look at what more we can do around safety, and it is why the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs is doing work on some of the regulations in this space. This is regulated closely by the Health and Safety Executive, but I am happy to meet the hon. Lady to discuss what more we can do.

[Anna Dixon (Shipley) (Lab)]

I thank the Minister for that answer. In my constituency, several planning applications are pending, and one has already been granted in the villages of Wilsden and Cullingworth for battery storage and onshore wind in the wider area. Can the Minister explain how constituents with clean energy infrastructure in their area can benefit from both cheaper bills and community funding?

[Michael Shanks]

My hon. Friend is right to highlight that building renewable infrastructure is how we will bring down bills for everyone in the long term. It is incredibly important that we can store cheaper electricity, including through battery storage, so that we can deploy it in the system far more regularly than we are currently deploying gas, which is what is driving up people’s bills. We also want the communities that host the infrastructure to benefit directly from it. They will benefit from cheaper bills, as well as from direct community benefits. We have been consulting over the past few months on whether those should be made mandatory, and whether we should raise the expectations on developers.

[Mr Tom Morrison (Cheadle) (LD)]

3. What steps his Department is taking to tackle fuel poverty in Greater Manchester.

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[Graeme Downie (Dunfermline and Dollar) (Lab)]

9. What steps he is taking to improve grid infrastructure.

[The Minister for Energy (Michael Shanks)]

We are building a resilient grid for the future after decades of under-investment. We are halving the development time for new transmission infrastructure, including through reforms to planning regulation and supply chains, and delivering the grid capacity needed to deliver clean power by 2030 and the economic growth that this country needs.

[Graeme Downie]

In January, when Storm Éowyn hit the UK, hundreds of thousands of people across Scotland were without power for several days. That included thousands of my constituents, in rural villages such as Oakley and Blairhall, and a number were reliant on power for critical medical equipment. Engineers performed heroic work to restore power as quickly as possible, but that was delayed by outdated grid infrastructure. As the new winter storm season has already begun this year, what steps are the Minister and the Department taking to ensure the future reliance of the grid to withstand worsening storms? How can that be done to protect vulnerable people in my constituency and across the UK?

[Michael Shanks]

My hon. Friend asks an incredibly important question. First, I would like to thank all the engineers and customer service staff who worked through the recent Storm Amy to ensure that people were reconnected as quickly as possible, including in some incredibly difficult circumstances—they did a fantastic job. We are trying to ensure that the UK’s grid remains as resilient as possible. That requires investment, and those who oppose the building of new infrastructure to improve our grid’s resilience will need to explain to their constituents why they want them to be much more at risk of disconnections in those storms.

Secondly, these storms are becoming more common, because climate change is impacting all our lives. The answer is to move more quickly towards clean power and to recognise that climate change is a problem, not to bury our heads in the sand and fail to deliver the necessary investment.

[James Wild (North West Norfolk) (Con)]

Proposals for 90 miles of pylons from Grimsby to Walpole in my constituency would have a major detrimental impact on rural areas due to the scale of the infrastructure, the loss of high-quality farmland and the proximity of the infrastructure to homes. Does the Minister understand—I do not think he does—why local people say no to pylons? Will he get National Grid to look properly at undergrounding or offshoring, to reduce the impact on these communities and ensure that if the proposals do go ahead, communities are properly compensated?

[Michael Shanks]

I could not have organised that better if I had tried: immediately after I said, “If you are against grid infrastructure, you are against economic growth”, up pops the hon. Gentleman to make exactly that point. His party is against building the future of this country, and we are not going to follow that path at all. Decades of under-investment have led to the issues we face today. They hold back economic growth across the country. This infrastructure has to be built somewhere. We are determined that communities benefit from that by introducing what the previous Government failed to do: community benefits for the communities who are hosting the infrastructure.

[Mr Speaker]

I call the shadow Minister.

[Greg Smith (Mid Buckinghamshire) (Con)]

On grid infrastructure, the Chinese wind turbine manufacturer Ming Yang has said that it is looking to set up a wind turbine factory in Scotland. Our security services have warned us about the risks of Chinese state-sponsored hackers trying to infiltrate and destroy energy systems in the west, and hidden kill switches have been found in Chinese solar installation technology in the United States. Can the Minister provide the House with a very clear assurance that neither Ming Yang nor the Chinese state will be able to remotely control our energy infrastructure—yes or no?

[Michael Shanks]

First, I will take no lessons from the party that brought Chinese investors right into building our nuclear power station. This Government are delivering a nuclear power station with British Government funding, not Chinese funding, so I will take no lessons from the Conservatives on that. Many companies want to come and invest in the UK, and we absolutely welcome investment into this country, but every single decision and investment obviously has to pass stringent national security tests. I will not engage right now in what those tests will be, but we will say very clearly that no decision we make will ever compromise our national security.

[Carla Denyer (Bristol Central) (Green)]

10. What steps he is taking to ensure the forthcoming carbon budget delivery plan includes measures to financially support people on low and middle incomes.

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[Mr Richard Quigley (Isle of Wight West) (Lab)]

15. What steps he is taking to support green energy companies to build onshore wind turbines.

[The Minister for Energy (Michael Shanks)]

The Government have published an onshore wind strategy to remove barriers to help companies build more onshore wind, with actions across several areas including planning, aviation, workforce and routes to market.

[Mr Quigley]

The UK is committed to growing our wind energy manufacturing capacity, but this requires investment in innovation to develop the next generation of products that could be made in the UK, using expertise that exists in places like my constituency of Isle of Wight West. Can the Minister assure me that the Government are doing everything possible to provide the funding to not only create jobs but provide sovereign ownership of blade technology and development in the UK, so that we become a true energy superpower?

[Michael Shanks]

My hon. Friend is right to recognise the importance of the industry in his constituency. Vestas is a key part of the UK’s wind supply chain. The Isle of Wight is already a successful centre for wind blade manufacturing and research and development. I can assure him that we are doing everything we can to work with partners and right across Government on the proposal, and that includes the agreement in principle between Vestas and the Government to support the factory’s repurposing to make onshore wind blades, saving 300 jobs.

[Harriet Cross (Gordon and Buchan) (Con)]

Energy companies of any kind, whether oil and gas or renewables, need certainty to plan to invest, whether it is onshore or offshore. The Government’s consultation on the North sea’s energy future closed on 30 April, almost six months ago, and the industry is still awaiting an outcome. The only guidance on timing on the Government’s website is to

“Visit this page again soon to download the outcome to this public feedback.”

The ongoing delay is causing huge uncertainty for sectors of all types of energy investment. Can the Minister confirm when the outcome of the consultation will be published with a date or a week, not a vague timescale?

[Michael Shanks]

On the substance of the hon. Member’s question, we launched the future of energy in the North sea consultation with a detailed set of questions, which we are analysing at the moment. We will publish the response to that as soon as possible, but I am sure she will understand that we want to make sure we have it absolutely right. I have engaged with industry to tell it about the timeframes for that throughout the process.

Let me just say one thing. The hon. Member talks about uncertainty. What could be more uncertain than the Leader of the Opposition coming to Aberdeen and talking down the investment in offshore wind, hydrogen and carbon capture—the very thing that will retain the supply chain in the north-east of Scotland? Uncertainty is what the Conservative party brings to this.

[Dr Danny Chambers (Winchester) (LD)]

16. What steps he is taking to reduce energy bills.

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[Martin Vickers (Brigg and Immingham) (Con)]

The hundreds of workers at Lindsey oil refinery will have noted that in response to an earlier question, the Minister did not attempt to respond on the future of the refinery. At least two investors are looking to take over the whole site. If they prove satisfactory, can the Minister assure me that the Government will back the project?

[The Minister for Energy (Michael Shanks)]

I am happy to have further conversations with the hon. Gentleman. I know that the refinery is in his constituency and that he cares deeply about it. A process is under way—led by the official receiver, because it is an insolvency process. It is considering a number of bids to make sure they are viable, and will conclude in the coming weeks so that there is certainty for the workforce. We have said throughout that we want to support as much investment in that site as possible.

[Lillian Jones (Kilmarnock and Loudoun) (Lab)]

T6. Ofgem’s latest 2% price cap rise means higher bills for millions of households this winter, with the average annual cost now over £1,700. For families who are already struggling, even a small increase can push them into hardship. While the expansion of the warm home discount to more than 6 million homes is welcome, standing charges have also risen and energy debt now exceeds £4.4 billion. Can the Minister outline what further targeted protections are planned for vulnerable households this winter? More broadly, what are the Government’s plans to bring down bills, especially for those on low incomes?

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[Michael Shanks]

My hon. Friend is absolutely right: allocation round 6 delivered a record number of renewables projects, and the jobs and investments that go with them will deliver jobs in constituencies throughout the country, including hers. We have reformed the scheme to ensure that allocation round 7 is a success, at a good price for consumers, and also that it delivers not only value for money but the clarity and investment for renewables projects that are essential to our energy security and to future investment.

[David Mundell (Dumfriesshire, Clydesdale and Tweeddale) (Con)]

Will the Minister confirm that there is now a timetable to ensure that everyone who has a radio teleswitch meter will have it replaced without losing their electricity, heating or hot water?