Speeches by McDonald.

“The hon. Gentleman is right to point out that the British industrial competitiveness scheme will provide a significant discount to up to 7,000 manufacturing businesses of up to 25% of their energy costs. It will certainly help manufacturing businesses in his constituency and across the whole UK. I encourage businesses …”

“I am grateful to my hon. Friend for so clearly representing the importance of the ceramics firms in his constituency. I heard the message loud and clear from the ceramics industry this week about the impact of energy costs and, as I mentioned earlier, in the review of the supercharger scheme, I have asked my officials …”

“I thank the hon. Gentleman for his positive and constructive engagement on this issue. I do understand the concerns of the steelworkers in Scunthorpe. I know precisely the projects he is referring to; they were not procured under public procurement rules, and the developers and tier 1 contractors involved have followed…”

“I thank my hon. Friend for championing the businesses in his constituency. One such business, GS Yuasa Battery Manufacturing in Gwent, is receiving support from the supercharger, exempting it from several renewables levies and electricity network usage costs. This is all part of the Government’s clean energy superpower…”

“The right hon. Gentleman knows that I share his concerns about the ceramics industry. He is quite right that many ceramics companies failed to qualify for the supercharger. There will be a review of the supercharger this year, and I have asked officials to look very carefully at the potential to include ceramics compan…”

“I thank everyone for their contributions to the debate, which was considerably more fulsome and energised than is usual for a 4.30 pm Committee. I am incredibly grateful, because Members in all parts of the Committee made a number of points, giving me the opportunity to clarify some details of the workings of the schem…”

“I beg to move, That the Committee has considered the draft Greenhouse Gas Emissions Trading Scheme (Amendment) Order 2026. I am grateful to you, Sir Desmond, and to the Committee for their consideration. The draft order was laid before the House on 16 December 2025. The UK emissions trading scheme, the UK ETS, was esta…”

“I think what the shadow Secretary of State has outlined is exactly the success of this policy—it has driven coal out of the system in favour of cheaper power. That is exactly the point of the ETS and the industrial investment. Of course, as we said, we are pursuing our clean power mission for energy security and to low…”

“What can be true is that there are both costs and savings for industry, particularly the savings for industry associated with being a member of the UK carbon border adjustment mechanism, which will come into force in 12 months. If we link the UK and the EU ETS, that will enable UK industry to trade freely within the EU…”

“No, no—I have dealt with that. The hon. and learned Member for North Antrim asked me about the issue in Northern Ireland, which is a separate electricity zone. Electricity generators in Northern Ireland have not historically received a free allocation, and in future, the free allocation rules on electricity generation …”

“The shadow Secretary of State and I are clearly both concerned about the same thing. I know that that concern is shared across the House, but deindustrialisation and decarbonisation need not be in competition. Sadly, under the previous Government, there was a 30% reduction in UK cement production, a nearly 50% reductio…”

“I feel I have detained the Committee for too long, so if the right hon. Member will excuse me, it would be a good idea to draw the debate—and we have had a good debate—to a close. The statutory instrument will give certainty to the industry around benchmarks and free allocations. The free allocations reduction is speci…”

“These changes have the support of the four Governments of the UK. That consensus on advancing carbon pricing policy adds to the strength of the UK ETS. I therefore commend the draft order to the Committee. Question put.”

“I thank my hon. Friend for the leadership that he has shown on this issue in the House, and for his letter last month. I can inform him that I am meeting the trustees of the mineworkers’ pension scheme on 4 February and of the British Coal staff superannuation scheme on 18 February. The focus of both those meetings is …”

“I thank my hon. Friend for welcoming that news. I know it was a really big day for him, and his dogged determination to champion his constituents is seen both in his constituency and here in this House. We are supporting Grangemouth, and the MiAlgae project, which was announced by the Chancellor in the Budget, is exact…”

“Happy new year and happy Epiphany, Mr Speaker. Alongside my right hon. Friends the Secretaries of State for Energy Security and Net Zero and for Business and Trade, I am committed to slashing energy costs for British businesses. From April, eligible energy-intensive industries will see an uplift in compensation for ele…”

“Having slightly strayed into the area of the Department for Education earlier, I think it best that I stay out of the area of the Department for Transport. I will, however, ensure that the question is passed on to the relevant Ministers for a response.”

“The hon. Gentleman raises the issue of energy volatility. I hope that it was clear in my previous answer that the Government are not satisfied with the position as it is. Of course, that energy volatility has historically been caused by our reliance on oil and gas and on petrostates and dictators. Clearly, the Conserva…”

“I think this shows how committed the Government are to supporting a reduction in costs across all our services, including education and health, through the installation of solar panels. We saw a massive increase in solar installations in the UK last year—equivalent to enough energy generation to power 2 million homes. …”

“In the autumn Budget, the Chancellor announced the transfer of the £2.3 billion reserve to members of the British Coal staff superannuation scheme. Almost 40,000 former mineworkers and colliery staff received their first bonus increase before Christmas, with an average uplift of £100 a week, or a one-off £5,500 lump su…”