Clause 133 — Financial provisions

Part of Energy Bill – in the House of Commons at 6:32 pm on 4 June 2013.

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Photo of Michael Weir Michael Weir Shadow SNP Spokesperson (Business), Shadow SNP Spokesperson (Energy and Climate Change) 6:32, 4 June 2013

That is an excellent way forward. The Minister of State, Department of Energy and Climate Change, Michael Fallon, has convened a round table on oil-fired heating. The first meeting was held in May and I welcomed that. It was a useful meeting and might perhaps be a way of dealing with that industry, but we need small-scale help as electricity market reform is not the only way of dealing with energy markets. Small-scale things can be done that make a real difference and the Government must grasp some of those issues, rather than simply considering massive measures such as this Bill.

There is a decarbonisation target. We fully support it; I spoke in the debate on it and gave the reasons why. If Governments north and south of the border want a true, green, sustainable manufacturing base, a decarbonisation target will give companies the assurance that will allow them to invest for the future. It will enable them to be sure that they have a market as they push towards it.

It could also provide a huge amount of sustainable, highly skilled jobs. As I pointed out earlier, growth in the Scottish economy has come largely from the energy industry and such development could be a huge boost for the future, so it is unfortunate that we do not have that target.

There are defects in the Bill, but there are some good things. We will not oppose the Bill on Third Reading, but I hope that when it gets to the other place the Government will reconsider some of the issues.