Torcuil Crichton
Main Page: Torcuil Crichton (Labour - Na h-Eileanan an Iar)Department Debates - View all Torcuil Crichton's debates with the HM Treasury
(1 day, 7 hours ago)
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Rachel Reeves
In the past two weeks, we have announced up to 25% off energy bills for 10,000 manufacturers, starting this month. Today, we have announced tiebacks to exploit more of our energy resource in the North sea, which has been welcomed by OEUK, and we have announced an increase in the electricity generator levy to bring in money to help with the costs of energy. We are one of the few countries in the world where energy bills went down in April, because of the decisions that I made in my Budget. Since I became Chancellor, wages have risen by more than prices in every single month and interest rates have been cut six times. That is the difference we are making. It would be nice if the SNP used the record funding we have given it to cut NHS waiting lists, rather than seeing them rise and rise.
Torcuil Crichton (Na h-Eileanan an Iar) (Lab)
I thank the Chancellor for her statement and her nimble response to the energy shock, including support for heating oil consumers, who make up half the households in Na h-Eileanan an Iar. The future of energy security is not an either/or. We must pursue renewables with a community share in the wealth of wind, and we must use the tiebacks that she detailed to exploit existing licences in the North sea fully. Will the Chancellor encourage other Ministers to match her commitment by hastening the review of Jackdaw and Rosebank? That would not just ensure energy security, but send a message to workers that we are with them in the North sea and the wild Atlantic for years to come.
Rachel Reeves
My hon. Friend is absolutely right that we need a balanced energy policy. While some parties oppose renewables, some parties oppose nuclear and some parties—oh, they have gone—oppose any oil and gas, this Government have a balanced energy policy. We are investing in new nuclear—small modular reactors and Sizewell C; we are investing in renewables—solar and onshore and offshore wind; and we are ensuring a bright future for North sea oil and gas. That is why today we set out our policy and more detail on tiebacks. It is also why, in the not-too-distant future, the Energy Secretary, in a quasi-judicial way, will make a decision on Jackdaw and Rosebank after the courts quashed the previous Government’s decision.