Speeches by Gibson.

“As somebody who suffers enormously from the cold—as anyone can see from my hands, which are already white—I really appreciate my hon. Friend for bringing this point forward. The warm homes plan is incredibly welcome, but I am worried about the order in which it suggests interventions. The idea that we should be putting…”

“The disasters involving South East Water in my hon. Friend’s constituency are frightening. In my constituency, Thames Water managed to put water in the wrong town, and the residents of the small town that was affected could not go and find it because they had no transport. Thames Water did not tell anyone that the wate…”

“That is going to affect the ability of carbon budget 7 to deliver.”

“Thank you, panel. I am interested in trying to assess whether today’s energy, transport and other everyday systems are still defaulting households to higher-carbon choices, even if they wish to change. What is that going to do for the delivery of carbon budget 7? I am aiming this mostly at Professor Whitmarsh.”

“Moving on, my next question is for Ms Cook and Mr Park. It follows on a little bit from Mr Park’s point about cyclists and people moving in. The seventh carbon budget assumes that there is a large modal shift away from cars. Certainly, I represent a rural constituency. The speculative development that we have seen is m…”

“It is something that local authorities can do but it is much more difficult for a private individual and, therefore, needs to be controlled centrally.”

“The seventh carbon budget really depends on this rapid scale-up of low-carbon heating, which you have talked about before. Ms Cook, aiming this question particularly at the knowledge that you will have on this, how far do installer availability, planning systems and uneven local authority capacity currently limit what …”

“It is probably easier in the city context than in the rural context that I was thinking of, where all those problems are multiplied by distance and fewer people.”

“Is there more legislation in Europe that obliges them? I cannot imagine that the data centre owners will do this off their own back because it is just an added complication unless there is either legislation or economic benefit. Is there either of those things here?”

“A slight change of tack on that. I am aware that elsewhere in Europe, data centres, nuclear power stations, waste disposal and things often work very effectively with district heating systems. I am yet to see—correct me if I am wrong—that happen here in the UK with data centres. They are using huge amounts of water, hu…”

“Is there a massive cost difference between them all?”

“As the Minister knows, in Wiltshire, speculative development is often approved without consideration of access to active travel routes, health provision, school places, and access to public transport, so that our residents can reach work or education. This leads to areas of extreme deprivation, caused, according to the…”

“In my constituency, there are two local village schools—one in Laycock and one in Lydiard Millicent—that provide a fantastic opportunity for working families. Without them, those children would not be able to get to school via public transport, because it is so poor. That would mean that the parents would have to give …”

“I represent a rural constituency in Wiltshire. Our local college has had to reduce the timetable for its 16 to 18-year-olds, given that they can no longer rely on trains that are constantly delayed. That causes issues related to deprivation, which was highlighted in recent Government statistics as being caused by lack …”

“On the subject of flooding, which is slightly off the point, I have just received information from the Environment Agency to say that Chippenham is flooding again this year. The Minister will remember that she and I spent some time mopping out in wellies, and we are at that point of flooding again. Does my hon. Friend …”

“My constituency is in Wiltshire, and the northern part is served by Thames Water. In Lyneham we seem to see outages almost every week. Thames Water is wasting water and pouring it down the streets of Royal Wootton Bassett, but cannot supply tap water to Lyneham or to parts of Bassett. On top of that, the company gives …”

“Following on from that, how do you plan to tackle the barriers that prevent existing energy sector workers from transitioning successfully, as recommended by the Energy Security and Net Zero Committee? I cannot help mentioning at this point that the cuts to level 7 apprenticeships, certainly in the built environment se…”

“I will be very brief. My constituency is in rural Wiltshire, where a huge number of residents have taken part in this petition. Does the hon. Member agree that digital exclusion is a reality in areas like mine?”

“To a certain extent, you have probably answered some of my questions, but you mentioned that you understood that heat pump deployment was in line with the CCC’s pathway, while I understood that it was far below and required a near tenfold increase by 2030. I just wondered what barriers, other than the ones you have men…”

“You are definitely preaching to the converted in this room. Something else that I want to go on to is heat networks. I have to say that this is a personal question, as I have never understood why deployment is still so fragmented and low. I lived in northern Spain where the Ascó nuclear power station, which is huge, he…”