Alan Brown: It is a pleasure to follow the shadow Minister, the hon. Member for Ellesmere Port and Neston (Justin Madders). I agree with all his comments, but I hope that Labour stays resolute on this. If it comes into government, we do not want to see another U-turn, given what we heard at the weekend. The Minister put forward the myths again about how this Bill is about saving lives and livelihoods. I...
Alan Brown: That is a fair point. Obviously, I cannot answer on what the Government have to hide, other than to say that we know about a raft of answers that show how unworkable and prejudiced this Bill is. Subsection 5(b) in the amendment is about consulting the ILO. The Government keep telling us that this Bill brings the legislation in the UK into line with international norms, but it clearly does...
Alan Brown: If the Minister is so willing to consult, why is he rejecting an amendment which confirms that there should be a consultation?
Alan Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, how many (a) outages and (b) other periods of unavailability of electricity generation there have been per reactor, in days, at Heysham power station in each year since 2010.
Alan Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, how many (a) outages and (b) other periods of unavailability of electricity generation there have been per reactor, in days, at Dungeness B power station in each year since 2010.
Alan Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, how many (a) outages and (b) other periods of unavailability of electricity generation there have been per reactor, in days, at Hartlepool power station in each year since 2010.
Alan Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, how many (a) outages and (b) other periods of unavailability of electricity generation there have been per reactor, in days, at Heysham 2 power station in each year since 2010.
Alan Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, how many (a) outages and (b) other periods of unavailability of electricity generation there have been per reactor, in days, at Hinkley Point B power station in each year since 2010.
Alan Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, how many (a) outages and (b) other periods of unavailability of electricity generation there have been per reactor, in days, at Hunterston B power station in each year since 2010.
Alan Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, how many (a) outages and (b) other periods of unavailability of electricity generation there have been per reactor, in days, at Torness power station in each year since 2010.
Alan Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, how many (a) outages and (b) other periods of unavailability of electricity generation there have been per reactor, in days, at Sizewell B power station in each year since 2010.
Alan Brown: The UK Government state that supporting research and development and small businesses is one of their priorities, yet Roddenloft Brewery in my constituency has had two R&D claims with His Majesty’s Revenue and Customs for almost a year now. HMRC keeps wrongly stating that it has not submitted the information on the correct forms —I have seen a copy of the forms that were submitted. Can we...
Alan Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, if he will list the (a) dates and (b) locations when his Department has met with representatives from SSE to discuss the (i) Coire Gas pumped hydro storage scheme and (ii) cap and floor revenue mechanism for electricity generation from pumped hydro storage.
Alan Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, if he will list the (a) dates when and (b) venues where he has met representatives from Drax to discuss the Cruachan Dam extension pumped storage hydro scheme.
Alan Brown: Will the Minister give way?
Alan Brown: I am sure you do not need to remind people to come and listen to me starting the wind-ups, Madam Deputy Speaker. I commend the right hon. Member for Preseli Pembrokeshire (Stephen Crabb), the Chair of the Welsh Affairs Committee, for opening the debate. The fact that 13 Back-Bench Members followed him shows what an important subject he picked. This is clearly the best subscribed of the...
Alan Brown: I was going to make a similar point to that made by the hon. Member for Brighton, Pavilion (Caroline Lucas). The right hon. Gentleman is talking about not relying on future technologies, but SMRs are future technologies—he has admitted that they use technology that does not exist at the moment. How much does he estimate one large-scale new nuclear plant will cost, and how much would a...
Alan Brown: Will the Minister confirm that there is not an approved small modular reactor design in the UK yet, so talking of installing SMRs at Wylfa and elsewhere is just fantasy?
Alan Brown: This year, we have seen a record number of settlement units approved. The Israeli Finance Minister has instructed ministries to prepare for an additional 500,000 settlers on the west bank. We have seen 33 Palestinian children killed. While the Government urge restraint and we get the same weak answers time and again from the Dispatch Box, Israel is acting with impunity. I think the Minister...
Alan Brown: On pumped storage hydro, it is as though the Secretary of State just does not get it. It increases energy resilience and would reduce the £4.2 billion balancing costs that are getting paid out at the moment. The 1.5 GW Coire Glas scheme can be delivered in seven years, and it would power 3 million homes for a 24-hour period. The Government have found £700 million for Sizewell C and they...