Speeches by Reader.

“We have talked about the windfall tax, for example. We have implemented it, but all the energy companies will do is find a way round it and keep making their millions of pounds of profit. We will still see record debt in the UK. Are we not agile enough as a Government to deal with this market? Are they running rings ar…”

“Just before I come on to my questions, I have been listening intently. There is a lot of talk here about trading, hedging, bidding and how the energy price works. It does sound as though there are practices here that would make the Wolf of Wall Street blush. Is there enough regulation and control of this market, or are…”

“Do you think we are relying too much on ETS and having CBAM realignment? The evidence I have heard is that for Europe it is not a priority, and it would put their bills up so why would they want to agree to it? The UK seems very certain that we must have better UK-EU alignment, get CBAM-aligned and our bills come down …”

“Tom, this is obviously a priority for the UK. Is it a priority for the EU to get a better arrangement with the UK? We have heard evidence that in France cross-border trading is blamed for higher prices.”

“Michael, I will come back to the questions in front of me and I will talk about cross-border trading. We heard from Make UK, the Chemical Industries Association, and the Energy Intensive Users Group that rebalancing and a better relationship with Europe in terms of energy is the number one thing that would reduce their…”

“It is a very quick one. Tom, in reading, you are an expert in market arrangements, regulation and policy. Do you think that Ofgem is an effective regulator in controlling the energy markets and controlling the cost to the consumer?”

“Tom, I might as well give you one as well and then I will go on to my real questions. [Laughter.] Everyone else is up to it today. Tom, you are an expert—”

“I wanted to put to you something that was put to me at the weekend. I am not saying it is right, but it is an interesting take on the Budget. For someone sceptical of the energy transition, of course, there is a big view that policy costs—green taxes you just called it—are the reason why bills are high. The Government …”

“I take all of that. This was a Martin Lewis website clip, “The Government’s going to knock 150 quid off your bill because they are ending ROs and ECO.” It could not be more clear to those people who do not believe in what you have just set out that by cutting policy costs, we get our energy bills down. Have the Governm…”

“That was put to me this weekend. You can understand where that narrative comes from. We are looking at building the support for the energy transition but it is very easy for people to take things from what is happening. How do we counter that narrative?”

“There is now a letter going to every household confirming from the Government that people will be getting £150 pounds off their bills.”

“Thank you.”

“It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Sir Jeremy. The Chancellor said that the Ox-Cam growth corridor has £78 billion of potential for our economy, but only if we get housing and infrastructure right. However, I would argue that it is much more than just housing and infrastructure that is needed to get the…”

“3. What diplomatic steps she is taking with international partners to help tackle modern slavery and unethical labour practices in global supply chains.”

“As the chair of the international trade and investment all-party parliamentary group, I have heard at first hand how new technology is making it easier to track supply-chain risks. What is the Minister doing to support better monitoring and data sharing with our international partners to ensure that we can identify for…”

“I thank my hon. Friend for raising this, because we have a similar issue between in Northamptonshire. We have a 15-year difference in life expectancy between Northampton town centre and rural areas such as Brackley. We are talking about an area of 20 or 30 miles. Does she agree that, although it is positive to see chan…”

“I agree. I recognise that this is quite a challenge, because cross-Department working—in these first 16 months of government we have been exploring how siloed the previous Government left Whitehall—will be critical to getting the legislation right. I thank the hon. Member for Brighton Pavillion for tabling the new clau…”

“Fantastic advice from a very experienced politician. To continue with my cross-party support, I very much thank the hon. Member for Mid Dorset and North Poole (Vikki Slade), with whom I served on the armed forces parliamentary scheme. It was fascinating: no matter what the issue was, she always brought it back to local…”

“I have to say, I had a great time on the Public Bill Committee. The Bill’s 400 pages were expertly navigated by the Minister, and our Whip, my hon. Friend the Member for Ealing Southall (Deirdre Costigan), did an absolutely brilliant job. She unfortunately is not here today, but I should put on record how well she kept…”

“I take the point. The intention behind amendment 40 is well meant: there are situations, as my hon. Friend has said, in which EDPs will not be needed and there are other ways to deal with those situations through existing legislation. Having such a finite definition in the two lines of the amendment, which people have …”