Speeches by Collinge.

“That takes me on to my next question. You have talked about the lessons we have learned from our European counterparts, but the International Development Committee has recommended that there is a two-way learning mechanism between us and low and middle-income countries on community energy. I would be interested in any …”

“We have been told that, under the national planning policy framework, we have a definition of community-led energy, but it is not currently able to be considered as a material consideration in a planning decision. The benefits of reducing grid pressure, network investments and consumer flexibility cannot be considered …”

“Except it seems to always be very specific to that site and the land base. Broader considerations, such as benefits to the community of cheaper energy or whatever it is, do not seem to be given an awful lot of weight in the planning system. If you made it a material consideration, the argument is that it would be easie…”

“I want to talk about planning because it is very exciting. First of all, when it comes to community energy projects, we have been told that they often face barriers at planning at the local level. Who is responsible for planning when it comes to community energy projects? Is it your Department or MHCLG?”

“If we wanted to see changes to the planning system to enable community energy, we need to get MHCLG.”

“Throughout the previous evidence session and conversations we have had, I feel like, when we are talking about community energy specifically, there is a bit of a tension between our different ambitions. I wanted to explore that a bit, particularly in terms of grid priority for community projects. Ofgem told us earlier …”

“I am not sure that we should be prioritising community. I have not made my mind up on that. The argument for getting in with big amounts of megawatts to meet that target makes sense. On the other hand, we have communities that are trying to make their energy cheaper and to also contribute to flexibility in the grid sys…”

“It is a pleasure to speak in support of the Medical Training (Prioritisation) Bill. We all know that our NHS faces workforce shortages in many specialties. In my constituency of Morecambe and Lunesdale, the workforce problem, combined with other factors, means that my constituents are not seeing the improvement in wait…”

“I am sure that pubs and venues, such as the Alhambra in Morecambe, will welcome today’s announcement. The Minister might be aware of my letter to the Chancellor on the wider hospitality sector. On the high street, we know that consumer demand has changed, so businesses must change, too. Will the Minister tell me how th…”

“I absolutely agree. Our mission as a Government is to halve violence against women and girls, and that, of course, must include the women who serve in the armed forces. No one should be unsafe when serving our country. No one should be subjected to violence and abuse. In this more dangerous world, the Bill expands our …”

“In Morecambe and Lunesdale we have some absolutely fantastic cadet corps. The lord lieutenant of Lancashire is looking at how to extend these cadet corps into cyber-security, which is really exciting. Does my hon. Friend agree that those cadets are vital to the future of our armed forces?”

“Does my hon. Friend agree that it is really important that those on the Labour Benches include hon. and gallant Members who can give us a real taste of what life in the armed forces is like? For civvies like me, it is all fine and well to be making decisions, but we need to listen to people who have served or who are s…”

“I absolutely agree with my hon. Friend. No longer can we just have warm words and lip service; we need action, because this contract says something very simple: “If you’re prepared to serve your country, your country must serve you properly in return.” For too long, our country has failed to honour that commitment. The…”

“In my constituency of Morecambe and Lunesdale, 5.5% of residents are veterans. That is higher than the north-west average and much higher than the national average of 3.8%. In fact, one in 10 households in my constituency contains a veteran. That is why our promise at the general election to extend the armed forces cov…”

“That is notable, Chair; there is no interoperability standard for energy software.”

“Very quickly, just to make sure I have understood this correctly, we are talking in this context about interconnectors only being used to import energy; but my understanding is that they can be used to export energy as well. Just to get back to your point about the energy mix, would strengthening our interconnector sys…”

“Kat, do you have any other comments on that issue?”

“That is great. If we accept that is the right thing to do, do we have the policies in place? Is there a business case for that to work? If not, what needs to happen?”

“Just to be clear, so that I understand, you say it might work where there is heavy industry using hydrogen through electrolysis, or where Arctic wagons are powered by hydrogen, but otherwise, economically, it does not quite make sense yet.”

“Following on about control and giving customers a seat at the table, in the last panel I followed up on Polly’s point that people do not want to think about their electric. We certainly do not want them to be in a position where they have to, as a lot of people currently do. What likelihood, or ability, does the consum…”