Speeches by Billington.

“In anticipation of the energy market reform that the last Government neglected to carry out, I look forward to hearing confirmation from my colleagues on the Front Bench that we may be able to find a way of insulating people in the long term—for the transition to decarbonising heat, for example. Can my hon. Friend conf…”

“I welcome the statement and congratulate my right hon. Friend on it, but may I ask him for some reassurance? When we are looking at strategies for logistics, will we consider the importance of our ports, adopt a proper national strategy for making the most of them, and ensure that our coastal communities can be part of…”

“I remind my hon. Friend how much this matters to my constituents in East Thanet. We are surrounded on three sides by the sea, yet we manage to clean up our water. However, I was struck by the fact that the Reform manifesto did not contain one word about water pollution or safety. I also want to point out the emptiness …”

“At the weekend, the innovation, energy and entrepreneurship of the creative community in my constituency was on full display. Off Season Margate—part of our shared commitment to developing a year-round economy—was a weekend-long, town-wide exhibition of art created by a wide range of skilled creators, initiated by the …”

“Millmead children’s centre in my constituency helps young people achieve their early learning goals and provides safeguarding services, and it has been doing so with deprived families for many years, yet although Kent county council has been given £4 million to protect family hubs, it is not protecting those services. …”

“The British Council may have to sell half of its art in order to pay back a £200 million debt from covid. Surely it is an example of knowing the price of everything and the value of nothing if we cannot reschedule that debt to enable the British Council to retain its valuable pieces of art, 4,500 pieces of which are un…”

“Coastal communities across the country are often places people escape to in order to find a place where they can really thrive. That is why coastal areas will be so important in developing a proper creative industry strategy. East Thanet has long been an engine room for our country’s creative industries. If its future …”

“Members of the school council of Bromstone primary school in Broadstairs visited Parliament yesterday and wanted me to convey in the strongest terms to the Secretary of State the importance of learning art, not only because they love it but for the skills they learn from it. Is she doing all in her power to ensure that…”

“I pay tribute to my right hon. Friend, and indeed to the Under-Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, my hon. Friend the Member for Lincoln (Mr Falconer), who has played such an important role in working tirelessly for justice. Following on from the question from my hon. Friend the Member…”

“Members of the school council of Bromstone primary school in Broadstairs visited Parliament yesterday and wanted me to convey in the strongest terms to the Secretary of State the importance of learning art, not only because they love it but for the skills they learn from it. Is she doing all in her power to ensure that…”

“How do you make that a reality?”

“I am keen to make sure that the water commission can tackle some of the most egregious failures of the water industry. For example, yesterday Southern Water dumped sewage into the sea alongside Ramsgate. This issue is fundamental to the environment and the economy in a seaside community such as Thanet, and it needs to …”

“We will probably want to know a little bit more about why you have decided that the distribution networks would deliver that 75% of solar capacity when the developers think that is unrealistic. We can write further on that, can’t we?”

“That is a very helpful answer in relation to the land use framework, which I think formally sits in DEFRA but obviously will need to integrate or have some relationship with your energy spatial framework. How much are the energy spatial framework, the land use framework and, indeed, the planning reforms considering the…”

“Thank you. I am being urged to move on. I will just make the observation that in the letter to NESO the role of nature in climate mitigation was not mentioned. That is something I would like to see the Departments collaborate on. I am being nudged by the Chair to move on to questions around solar and renewables.”

“As you will be aware, Solar Energy UK has pressed for a solar target range of up to 60 GW, to drive growth and send positive signals to investors. Why have you set a lower range of 45 GW to 47 GW when this has already been heavily criticised by the industry?”

“To clarify, in some ways the 45 GW to 47 GW is a floor rather than a target.”

“The developers say that your plan is wildly unrealistic in relying on the distribution networks to deliver that 75% of solar capacity. How much have you consulted with industry on this?”

“I am interested in that intentional approach, because it is obviously very different from what you have done before. Some people have said that your deployment targets for renewables effectively ban certain technologies from connecting to large parts of the grid. For example, there is a lot of opportunity, developers w…”

“Following on from that, on some of the issues around how you deal with the cost of energy for consumers, what more could the Government do in the shorter term—and very much in the shorter term—to lower the cost of energy for consumers from their current highs?”