Great British Energy: Job Creation
Tuesday, 12 November 2024
Contributions
Joani Reid (East Kilbride and Strathaven) (Lab)Labour
12. What assessment he has made of the potential impact of Great British Energy on job creation.
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero (Michael Shanks)Labour
The energy transition presents an incredible opportunity for job creation right across the UK, particularly in our industrial and coastal communities. Through Great British Energy, we will build on Scotland’s reputation as a world leader in energy and secure long-term, well-paid jobs in the industries of the future.
I recently had the privilege of opening an extension to the Kype Muir wind farm in my constituency. The extension alone will generate enough power for 53,000 homes for 30 years. My constituency is also home to part of Whitelee, the largest onshore wind farm in Europe. However, not one of those turbines was manufactured in the UK, let alone locally. What steps is the Minister taking to develop UK manufacturing capacity in that area?
I know well my hon. Friend’s constituency—it is next door to mine—and both wind farms she mentions. She says quite rightly that, for all the expansion in those technologies over recent years, very few of those jobs, particularly in manufacturing, have been in this country. We will do everything we can, through Great British Energy and the clean industry bonus we have announced today, to grow our domestic supply chains, build industry in this country and win jobs for Britain.
Harriet Cross (Gordon and Buchan) (Con)Conservative
Last week, just days after the Budget, Apache announced that it would exit the North sea by 2029. It said: “The onerous financial impact of the energy profits levy…makes production…beyond 2029 uneconomic.” What assessment have the Government made of the impact of those policies on current jobs in north-east Scotland, and how will Great British Energy compensate for the loss of those jobs?
We are working with industry in the north-east of Scotland to ensure that this is a just and prosperous transition. We have announced our next steps of responding to court judgments, and a consultation is open at the moment. We will have more to say about that in the months ahead. The hon. Lady must recognise that if she wants to see investment from Great British Energy, she might actually have to support its creation in the first place. The Conservatives cannot have it both ways; either they want a public energy company to invest in the jobs of the future—
Tom Tugendhat (Tonbridge) (Con)Conservative
We don’t.
Or they do not, as her right hon. Friend has just confirmed from the Back Benches. She cannot have it both ways.
Source: UK Parliament Hansard API. Debate ID: 4763196.