Speeches by Blake.

“Great, that is useful. I was looking for that number.”

“I would like to focus a little more on biodiversity and habitat protections. Do you think the proposed changes to the NPPF sufficiently consider biodiversity and habitat protection?”

“I am interested in how we can practically ensure that the framework works with the environmental measures that we already have. You touched a little bit on that, Professor Scott, but I wonder if there is anything else that you think we could enhance to ensure that all the various provisions that we have in legislation …”

“Do you think there is a conflict at the moment between the concept of biodiversity net gain and the nature potential of any land, thinking about grey belt? Do you think that is an issue or not?”

“I am interested in how we can practically ensure that the framework works with the environmental measures that we already have. You touched a little bit on that, Professor Scott, but I wonder if there is anything else that you think we could enhance to ensure that all the various provisions that we have in legislation …”

“Do you think there is a conflict at the moment between the concept of biodiversity net gain and the nature potential of any land, thinking about grey belt? Do you think that is an issue or not?”

“I would like to focus a little more on biodiversity and habitat protections. Do you think the proposed changes to the NPPF sufficiently consider biodiversity and habitat protection?”

“I wish to make Members aware that I am a member of the GMB, as many Members on this side of the House seem to be. It is great to take part in the debate. It is important to recognise the great history of women on these Benches and in our movement, such as Eleanor Marx’s role in setting up the GMB, Barbara Castle’s in p…”

“Reports describing the complete dismantlement of Gaza’s healthcare infrastructure are impossible to ignore when the World Health Organisation has reported over 1,000 attacks on healthcare facilities and nearly 1,000 health workers dying so far in this conflict. What will the Government do to protect health workers as t…”

“Surely the shadow Minister agrees that Great British Energy will reduce the costs of energy, because the types of energy projects in which it will be investing will be of lower-cost energy production and we will be less reliant on foreign fuel markets, which have been very volatile for a range of reasons. I accept what…”

“The shadow Minister’s amendment seems to be a bit of a fig leaf over the failure of the previous Government to secure good, high-quality, unionised jobs in the green energy sector. We need only look at offshore wind. I have cited these statistics before, but in 2010 some 70,000 jobs were promised from the UK offshore w…”

“I would not want to limit the possibilities of GB Energy with a number. It is a big number that the hon. Gentleman has put here but, to be honest, there are huge opportunities in all the energy areas—especially in the supply chain within the UK, but also in the transition of jobs. It is really important that we take it…”

“I thank the hon. Lady for her opening remarks on the amendment. Is there anything in the Bill that would preclude the kind of support for community energy projects that we have discussed in Committee so far?”

“This is a really valuable discussion, even if the amendment does not make it into the Bill. In the last Parliament, I served on the Energy Bill Committee. Conservative Members will remember the hours and hours of debate—it felt like days, months, years—about wider energy policy, and unfortunately there was nothing on r…”

“I think the right hon. Member is purposely misunderstanding my comments. It is obvious: is the cost of cheap, green energy lower or higher than the costs that we have seen in the oil, gas and coal markets? It is as simple as that. Is it cheaper? Yes, it is. Doing things like Great British Energy will help produce more …”

“Q I wanted to ask about the definition in the Bill on clean energy. Do either of you have any thoughts on whether that definition is clear enough? Dan McGrail: From my perspective, the definition is probably good enough. It is quite tricky to go too narrow and say renewable energy only, because there are certain areas,…”

“Q I am interested to know whether there are any conditions that you would like to see put on the financial assistance provisions and their scope under clause 4, given your unique placement within the system. Josh Buckland: The financial assistance statements set out in clause 4 are relatively broad; they give Great Bri…”

“Q Is there anything that you feel is missing from the Bill that would provide clarity, or do you think it will be covered in subsequent documentation? Josh Buckland: My personal view on financial assistance is that it is fine to keep it relatively broad. Having been a civil servant in government for a long time, I know…”

“Q I have two questions for Ms Powis. The first goes back to the definition. Before you arrived, Ms Dawes mentioned that she felt that it was covered in clause 3(2)(b). May I ask why you do not think that that sentence is sufficient to cover CCUS? Olivia Powis: We have proposed instead that the statement must provide th…”

“Q On CCUS, we want Great British Energy to have a broader portfolio once it is established—lots of witnesses today have said that. Where would you place CCUS, from a risky to a non-risky investment, for the £1.6 billion? Olivia Powis: CCUS, as an industry, very much welcomes the announcements from Government last week …”