Speeches by Crichton.

“Thank you. Finally, how will you ensure that all these regional energy strategic planners engage with communities? Do you need to signal on that too or do you have a system to do that?”

“But if you categorise them as a technological solution rather than an ownership model you are disadvantaging them. Chris talked about the man from Whitehall deciding. Do you need a signal from Jürgen and from Shanks that they want community energy projects to have a derogation to skip the queue, for lack of better word…”

“I commend the hon. and learned Gentleman’s passion, but his problems are not unique. Anywhere in the highlands and islands of Scotland, or even in peripheral parts of England, has the same delivery problems as he does.”

“Will the Leader of the House join me in congratulating all the winners of the Saltires, Scotland’s national book awards, particularly Jen Stout for her courageous and compassionate dispatches from the frontline in Ukraine? On a lighter note, I congratulate all the Gaelic singers and musicians who triumphed at the Trads…”

“indicated assent.”

“You can say the Western Isles.”

“I will turn my attention to GB Energy in a moment. First, I make another appeal to the Minister that from next year onwards the UK ought to allocate commercial bluefin tuna licences not on a “first come, first served” basis, or however the system works, but on a geographic and socioeconomic basis. While I have the Mini…”

“That is true. Our problems are not uniquely island problems, nor are they uniquely Scottish problems: they are demographic, economic and social problems for coastal communities around the whole UK. I know that that is not entirely the responsibility of the Minister. Having risked the ire of the Home Office, rather than…”

“It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Dr Huq. I thank the Backbench Business Committee and the right hon. Member for Orkney and Shetland (Mr Carmichael) for this important debate. I particularly thank the right hon. Gentleman for the tribute he paid to our fishermen who face dangers at sea each day—“For th…”

“I congratulate my hon. Friend on obtaining his second Adjournment debate. Does he agree that in the transition away from industrial ports and towards tourism, both the UK and Scottish Governments must invest to avoid the pressure of tourism hotspots? We must use the full force of both Governments, and of capital, to in…”

“It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Dowd. I thank the hon. Member for Farnham and Bordon (Gregory Stafford) for raising this important issue today. However, I wonder if he could come with me for a few seconds, away from Surrey, to Diracleit on the Isle of Harris, where I stood a few weeks ago. It is a…”

“I echo and add my condolences to the family of the late Lord John Prescott: one man, two Jags, three election wins. While COP29 in faraway Baku may make environmental problems seem far away too, climate change is very real: rising tides mean the legendry beach runway on the isle of Barra now has limited use; storm surg…”

“Do you have any level of engagement with the Scottish Government about that modular programme, and the fact that there are so many skilled people there in Scotland who could do it?”

“Do you have any level of engagement with the Scottish Government about that modular programme, and the fact that there are so many skilled people there in Scotland who could do it?”

“I get you in terms of where you are going. Where you are traditionally is in Cumbria, Somerset and Suffolk. Are you looking after the footprint of the jobs heritage in these areas while you are looking at new areas? I might also ask, from a Scottish perspective—Hunterston, Dumfries and Galloway, and East Lothian—whethe…”

“You said your other big challenge is the supply chain and the domestic supply chain. How resilient is that supply chain? What are the weaknesses and what can you do to address that?”

“Thank you, Simon, for coming in. I suppose it is reassuring, given your job, that what keeps you awake at night is skills and a skills shortage. I do not believe for a second that you are retired; you simply finished an apprenticeship, didn’t you, and moved into this job? Part of the problem is that around 40% of peopl…”

“You are anticipating my final question which is, yes, a return corporately and, yes, a return for communities, but what about the return for consumers? How soon can consumers expect to see a benefit in terms of their bills coming down from having a state-owned energy company?”

“So, as you said earlier, you see a return within a parliamentary term for the Government in this investment?”

“That is very reassuring to hear. In the same way that the private sector is queuing up to speak to you, see you and lend you their expertise, community energy companies are there ready to go, but they do not have the pump-priming finance. Do you see a role for GB Energy in that?”