Viscount Thurso (LD)

My Lords, I join my noble friend on the Front Bench in broadly welcoming the Statement. The Beatrice wind farm, which has been extremely successful, has its operating headquarters and all its service boats in the port of Wick. It has been a tremendous economic boon for the east coast of Caithness. I expect that further developments, such as the west of Orkney wind farm—which is in the Atlantic, not the North Sea, but is broadly the same proposition—and the other wind farm in the North Sea will have a similarly beneficial economic impact. I firmly believe that the economic future of the UK is a very bright one, using high technology and renewable energy. Declaring my interest as chair of the Caithness District Salmon Fishery Board, I echo my noble friend’s concern regarding the balance with the environment. There is a conflict in some instances between development and the marine environment. I am aware that we are not going to stop anything, nor would be want to, but we want to ensure that the proper processes are gone through, so that we know what we are doing and therefore can take proper mitigating action. I am aware that the Minister cannot give me an answer, because it is entirely down to MD-LOT and the consenting unit in Scotland, but I thought that I would try to get it on the record anyway.