Contributions
624 recent contributions in Hansard
HANSARDBritish Steel: EU Emissions Trading ComplianceI am grateful for the endorsement of my right hon. Friend, not least because in the previous Government he played the role he has ascribed to me with some deftness and success on…01 May 2019HANSARDBritish Steel: EU Emissions Trading ComplianceThe position we find ourselves in is through no choice of the UK Government. It was the Commission that took the decision to suspend the availability of allowances. We are having…01 May 2019HANSARDBritish Steel: EU Emissions Trading ComplianceWe of course make an assessment of the consequences. I think my hon. Friend will see, when he looks at the advice, that it seemed to be the right and responsible decision to…01 May 2019HANSARDBritish Steel: EU Emissions Trading ComplianceThe hon. Lady should know that we have one of the strongest records in the whole world in implementation and delivery of emissions reductions. It is important to acknowledge that…01 May 2019HANSARDBritish Steel: EU Emissions Trading ComplianceI agree with that. My hon. Friend gives me an opportunity to respond to what the SNP spokesman, the hon. Member for Kilmarnock and Loudoun (Alan Brown) referred to and I neglected…01 May 2019HANSARDBritish Steel: EU Emissions Trading ComplianceThe hon. Gentleman talks about taking us to the cliff edge. It is a legal responsibility on the part of each emitter to comply with its requirements to surrender allowances.…01 May 2019HANSARDBritish Steel: EU Emissions Trading ComplianceI would not put it that way myself. The suspension was put in place because we were liable to leave on 29 March. Given that the year to which the allowances refer is the calendar…01 May 2019HANSARDBritish Steel: EU Emissions Trading ComplianceThe hon. Gentleman reflects an accurate point: if the allowances had not been sold, they would be available to discharge the liability. This is by no means a unique practice;…01 May 2019HANSARDBritish Steel: EU Emissions Trading ComplianceThe question of procurement is a very important one. We have changed the rules so that local economic, social and environmental impact can be taken into account in those…01 May 2019HANSARDBritish Steel: EU Emissions Trading ComplianceI am grateful for my hon. Friend’s welcome. I know that his constituents would have faced a worrying time had this liability crystallised on the company. In fact, British Steel…01 May 2019HANSARDBritish Steel: EU Emissions Trading ComplianceThe hon. Lady will know that, through the industrial strategy and our work with particular sectors, we have a strong record of investing in the future potential of industries.…01 May 2019HANSARDBritish Steel: EU Emissions Trading ComplianceI mentioned—it was announced in the spring financial statement—a new industrial energy efficiency fund worth a third of a billion pounds to partner with energy-intensive…01 May 2019HANSARDBritish Steel: EU Emissions Trading ComplianceThe hon. Gentleman is right that we need to be vigorous in our trade defence mechanisms. Steel is a sector that all Members know is subject, and has been over the years, to…01 May 2019HANSARDBritish Steel: EU Emissions Trading ComplianceI am grateful to my right hon. Friend. He is absolutely right, and I do not want to say from the Dispatch Box that I have engaged again in this type of transaction. The…01 May 2019HANSARDBritish Steel: EU Emissions Trading ComplianceAs the hon. Gentleman knows, we cannot specify under the procurement regulations that the work should go to a particular firm, but we can make it possible to take in local effects…01 May 2019HANSARD Environment and Climate ChangeThis excellent debate has been vigorous and well subscribed, as befits a subject of such profound importance. What has been established so clearly is that a deep sense of…01 May 2019HANSARDBritish Steel: EU Emissions Trading ComplianceI am grateful for the opportunity to make this statement to the House today. I wish to inform the House of a commercial agreement that the Government entered into with British…01 May 2019HANSARDUK-EU Trading Relationship: Industrial StrategyOne specific north-east-focused step is to invite the hon. Lady to vote for the deal that has been put before the House.30 Apr 2019HANSARDUK-EU Trading Relationship: Industrial StrategyAs the hon. Gentleman will know, there are huge opportunities for advanced manufacturers, especially in his region, and the sector benefits from a minimum of frictions in trade,…30 Apr 2019HANSARDUK-EU Trading Relationship: Industrial StrategyI am a bit more optimistic than the hon. Gentleman in that respect, not least because of the announcement just yesterday from the Advanced Propulsion Centre, which he knows very…30 Apr 2019