Commons
Oral Questions
24 March 2026
3 contributions
Grid Capacity: West London
We are delivering the biggest upgrade to the grid since the 1960s, using strategic plans to identify where new capacity is needed and accelerating infrastructure build. In west London, network operators have used innovative measures to help new developments to connect, despite exceptionally high gro…
My hon. Friend is right that strategic infrastructure planning is crucial, which is why we are engaging in the first ever national strategic spatial energy plan, which will lead to a centralised strategic plan for the future of the network. We are also looking at how we manage demand projects such a…
+1 more contribution in this session
Commons
Oral Questions
24 March 2026
2 contributions
UN Framework Convention on International Tax Co-operation: Global Taxes
This is a matter for the Treasury, although we remain closely engaged. The UN framework convention is focused on improving effective and inclusive international tax co-operation, not on creating specific global taxes on oil and gas companies.
As I said, this is a matter for the Treasury, but we look closely at where we can co-operate around the world. This country’s windfall tax has raised £12 billion, funding public services and supporting the hon. Gentleman’s constituents and many others with the cost of living. We will continue to inv…
Commons
Statutory Instrument
11 March 2026
2 contributions
Draft Renewables Obligation (Amendment) Order 2026
I beg to move,
That the Committee has considered the draft Renewables Obligation (Amendment) Order 2026.
It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Mrs Barker. The draft order was laid before the House on 2 February, under the affirmative procedure.
We are all acutely aware, particularly at …
I always welcome unanimous support from the House for the Government’s energy policy, and it sounds like we will have that this afternoon, which I appreciate.
I always thank the shadow Secretary of State, the right hon. Member for East Surrey, for her lessons, although they often do not involve her…
Commons
Westminster Hall
4 March 2026
3 contributions
Energy Security and Net Zero: Scotland
Thank you, Dr Huq. There is genuinely nothing I would rather do on my birthday than answer an important Westminster Hall debate on this topic. It is a pleasure and a privilege to be here—cake to follow.
I thank the hon. Member for Mid Dunbartonshire (Susan Murray)—that beautiful constituency on the…
I was going to come on to the North sea later, but let me do that now, because the hon. Lady raises important points. Yes, our domestic supply is important—particularly the gas that goes straight into the pipes around the country—and it creates jobs for thousands of people in the industry, many of w…
+1 more contribution in this session
Commons
Statutory Instrument
3 March 2026
2 contributions
Draft Electricity Supplier Payments (Amendment) Regulations 2026
I beg to move,
That the Committee has considered the draft Electricity Supplier Payments (Amendment) Regulations 2026.
It is a pleasure to be in this Committee this afternoon, Sir Alec. The statutory instrument, which was laid before the House on 2 February 2026, amends regulations concerning the …
I am grateful for all those technical questions on the statutory instrument before us. Let me turn to the more general questions that were asked. I welcome the support from the shadow Minister, the hon. Member for West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine; it is always a great pleasure when he supports thin…
Commons
Westminster Hall
25 February 2026
2 contributions
Energy Developers Levy
It is a pleasure to join this debate under your chairship, Mr Twigg; I know that you take a great interest in these issues. I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Suffolk Coastal (Jenny Riddell-Carpenter) for securing the debate. The hon. Member for Strangford (Jim Shannon) was right: my hon. Friend …
The right hon. Gentleman makes a good point; a generation of lobbyists should look back at the history books of Shetland Islands council at the time, because it is an extraordinary story of how it seized the opportunity of what it knew then would be decades North sea oil and gas and has still benefi…
Commons
Oral Questions
10 February 2026
10 contributions
Topical Questions
My hon. Friend was at a Westminster Hall debate on this issue a few months ago, and what I said then remains the Government’s position: we work closely with the Welsh Government on this issue. We are content with the Welsh Government’s position that this area is already regulated and sufficient, but…
Again, we have had a meeting to discuss that issue. I will not get into Ofgem’s decisions, but any planning applications or further processes will be dealt with by the Government and by Ofgem in the usual manner.
+8 more contributions in this session
Commons
Oral Questions
10 February 2026
2 contributions
Nuclear Projects: Alternative Routes to Market
On 4 February, the Government published the advanced nuclear framework, which establishes a pathway to market by introducing the UK advanced nuclear pipeline and clarifying the enabling policy landscape to unlock privately financed advanced nuclear projects in the UK, which is all part of our new go…
Let me pay tribute to my hon. Friend who is an absolute champion for Hartlepool. I was delighted to be at an event recently as part of Nuclear Week in Parliament, where I met some of his constituents who pay tribute to him for the work that he does in this place and outside it to bring nuclear inves…
Commons
Oral Questions
10 February 2026
3 contributions
Electricity Distribution Network: Resilience
Great Britain’s electricity distribution network is highly resilient and the Government work closely with industry to maintain that. Energy resilience is a top priority for the Government, which is why my Department will publish an energy resilience plan in 2026.
My hon. Friend asks an important question. I completely understand the frustrations of people who are without power and the disruption that it has on people’s lives. My Department has had a number of conversations with Northern Powergrid on the particular issues in my hon. Friend’s constituency and …
+1 more contribution in this session
Commons
Oral Questions
10 February 2026
4 contributions
Large-scale Solar Projects: Community Engagement
As we explained in our solar road map, the Government consider effective community engagement to be crucial as we scale-up solar deployment throughout the country. Developers must consider local community views as part of their applications, and the quality of that community engagement is taken into…
I have had many productive meetings with the hon. Gentleman, and I shall be happy to meet him again to talk about these issues. The Government absolutely believe that communities that host infrastructure should benefit from doing so. We have consulted on mandatory community benefits and we will resp…
+2 more contributions in this session
Commons
Oral Questions
Energy Security and Net Zero
6 January 2026
7 contributions
Topical Questions
Network companies have benefited in the past, but Ofgem has moved to correct that in the RIIO-3 price control period so that it cannot happen again. We are working with Ofgem every single day to ensure that we bear down on the costs of energy and that consumers benefit from cheaper bills as quickly …
That is exactly the work we are looking at as part of the local power plan. As my hon. Friend points out, we are determined to unlock much more community-owned energy, to make it as easy as possible for communities to connect to the grid, and for these projects to deliver not just clean energy, but …
+5 more contributions in this session
Commons
Oral Questions
Energy Security and Net Zero
6 January 2026
3 contributions
Power Cuts: Rural Areas
Energy resilience is one of my top priorities and I understand the particular challenge in rural communities, which see more frequent power disruption. We work with industry and with Ofgem to ensure that sufficient investment is made into the rural power networks and that support is provided when po…
We review lessons learned after every significant power failure, particularly after storms. There was a significant review after Storm Arwen in 2022, but after every storm we look at whether there are any areas in which we can improve. I regularly meet the Energy Networks Association, which does muc…
+1 more contribution in this session
Commons
Oral Questions
Energy Security and Net Zero
6 January 2026
9 contributions
Energy Transition
Happy new year to you, Mr Speaker, and to colleagues across the House. I have temporarily lost hearing in one of my ears so if I am shouting or do not hear every detail of the questions, I apologise in advance.
This Government are determined to strengthen our energy security by moving away from vol…
It is a hugely important question. In an increasingly uncertain world, our energy security becomes more and more important, and that is why we are determined not only that we build a clean power system to tackle the most existential crisis that the planet faces—the climate crisis—but that we have ho…
+7 more contributions in this session
Commons
Westminster Hall
10 December 2025
2 contributions
Small-scale Fracking Ban
It is always a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Sir Roger. I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Scarborough and Whitby (Alison Hume) for securing this debate, for her fantastic speech and for all her campaigning on this issue and many others since she was elected. She is a fantastic champion…
I appreciate that point; I am sorry for not mentioning it earlier, as my hon. Friend made it before. It is an important point, and we need to look at water scarcity right across the policy landscape. Demand for water is increasing in a number of areas—for example, I am looking at it in terms of data…
Commons
Westminster Hall
9 December 2025
4 contributions
Net Zero Transition: Consumer-led Flexibility
Lower your expectations.
It is a pleasure to serve under you today, Mr Vickers. I am frequently told that consumer-led flexibility does not get enough time, but I now have almost an hour to talk about the Government’s plans on it. I intend to use every moment I have.
+2 more contributions in this session
Commons
Oral Questions
18 November 2025
16 contributions
Topical Questions
My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State and the Minister for Climate are in Brazil at the conference of the parties, fighting for Britain’s interests in the global transition and playing our part in securing leadership on the climate crisis. Since our last oral questions session, we have announc…
I pay tribute to all those who toiled in our coalmines for a very long time—we owe them a great debt. As the Prime Minister said in the House on 12 November, the Government remain committed to agreeing a way forward with the trustees that will benefit scheme members. We will make an announcement on …
+14 more contributions in this session
Commons
Oral Questions
18 November 2025
3 contributions
Renewable Energy Sources: Funding
Great British Energy and Great British Energy Nuclear will invest over £8.3 billion this Parliament in home-grown clean power. We will keep backing renewables through contracts for difference, which secured record amounts of solar and the world’s largest floating offshore wind farm last year. Alloca…
Yes. The hon. Lady touches on a number of points. The transition means building on the industrial strategy that we outlined as a Government, because are not agnostic about industrial policy—we care that things are built in this country again. That is why there is a £1 billion supply chain fund to en…
+1 more contribution in this session
Commons
Oral Questions
18 November 2025
4 contributions
Large-scale Solar Farms
Ministers in my Department have regular discussions with Cabinet colleagues on a range of matters, including solar policy, but the large-scale solar projects that are given to the Secretary of State to make quasi-judicial planning decisions on are not part of such conversations. Solar power remains …
There were 14 years when the Conservative party could have had a land use framework or a centralised strategic spatial energy plan, but it did not. We are now doing those things, and there will be an alignment between the strategic plan for energy and the work that DEFRA is doing on a land use frame…
+2 more contributions in this session
Commons
Oral Questions
18 November 2025
2 contributions
Community Energy Projects
Through Great British Energy’s local power plan, we are rolling out the biggest expansion of community energy for decades. We are supporting projects with funding through the community fund, and Great British Energy will also support communities to roll out small and medium-scale renewable energy pr…
I thank the hon. Lady for that question, and pay tribute to all those involved in Stockport Hydro for the work they are doing. Clearly, it has been too much of a challenge, and we need to make it easier. Alongside much-needed funding, we must make the regulatory landscape much easier, and across Gov…
Commons
Oral Questions
18 November 2025
3 contributions
Clean Power: Energy Sovereignty
Clean power is the route to energy security and energy independence for the United Kingdom. For far too long, families have faced high energy bills thanks to our exposure to international fossil fuel markets over which we have no control. Through our clean power mission, we are ending that situation…
My hon. Friend is right to say that his constituents in Glasgow—and constituents right across the country—have faced sky-high energy bills because of our exposure to fossil fuels. Although very little Russian gas came into our system, we remained exposed to the volatility of the international market…
+1 more contribution in this session
Commons
Oral Questions
18 November 2025
3 contributions
Clean Energy Transition: New Nuclear Power
We are delivering the biggest nuclear building programme in a generation, overturning the legacy of the Conservatives, who failed to complete a single project in their 14 years in office. Just this week, we announced that the flagship small modular reactor project would be based in Wylfa, bringing t…
My hon. Friend is a fantastic champion of her community and of the potential of businesses in her community to contribute to this. We have been clear as a Government that we want UK supply chains to benefit from these projects and to deliver their world-leading expertise across all our civil nuclear…
+1 more contribution in this session
Commons
Oral Questions
18 November 2025
3 contributions
Great British Energy: Public Services and Renewable Energy
Thanks to the success of the initial scheme, Great British Energy is expanding the roll-out of solar panels for public services. Now, 50 more schools, 60 more NHS sites and 15 military sites will have their bills cut thanks to this Government, transferring money from the pockets of energy companies …
I congratulate those at Ladybarn primary school in my hon. Friend’s constituency on receiving solar panels. The benefit for the school is that it can spend more money on the things that are important for improving young people’s learning, rather than on its energy bills. Great British Energy is our …
+1 more contribution in this session
Commons
Debate
17 November 2025
24 contributions
Small Modular Nuclear Reactor Power Station: Wylfa
I welcome the hon. Lady’s commitment to securing a new nuclear project in her constituency. She and I have had a number of discussions about nuclear power and other energy projects.
Nuclear energy provides the stable low-carbon baseload we need to keep the lights on and to support our economy. It i…
The hon. Lady is right that the community in Ynys Môn faced a number of false starts under the previous Government. This is an historic opportunity—a huge moment—as the project moves forward with tangible timelines in place and the £2.5 billion that she mentioned. Rolls-Royce is taking forward three…
+22 more contributions in this session
Commons
Debate
12 November 2025
4 contributions
Energy
I thank all right hon. and hon. Members across the House for their contributions in this short but punchy debate this afternoon. This issue of how we build an energy system for the future has rightly become a huge political topic—a conversation not just in this House but much more in the public doma…
I am glad that the right hon. Gentleman was able to have another opportunity to speak positively about the Conservative party’s record on renewables when no one else in his party seems to want to talk about that at all.
A number of hon. Members said that the reason we are still subject to the volat…
+2 more contributions in this session
Commons
Debate
27 October 2025
38 contributions
North Sea Oil and Gas Industry
The North sea will be at the heart of Britain’s energy future. For decades its workers, business and communities have helped to power our country and our world, and they will do so for decades to come. The oil and gas industry has lost around a third of its entire workforce in the last decade as oil…
On Petrofac, the hon. Gentleman should be careful with his tone. To come here and try to undermine efforts to find a buyer for the UK arm and to talk down a business, which, as I just outlined, is a successful and growing business in the North sea, is deeply irresponsible. There have been long-stand…
+36 more contributions in this session