Mark Pritchard: ..., and I hope that that will continue. It currently employs 2,000 military and civilian staff. It is home to the Defence College of Aeronautical Engineering, and I hope that the Government will find in favour of RAF Cosford and bring an additional 2,000 much-needed jobs to Shropshire and my constituency. I also hope that, in the context of the defence industrial strategy that was announced...
Maureen Macmillan: ...his head. I would have been alarmed if the environmental NGOs had not welcomed the document and given us their thoughts on the priorities—after all, they are the usual suspects. However, I find it disappointing that it is only the environmental NGOs that have e-mailed their welcome and their comments to MSPs. The strategy affects all sectors in Scotland. Where is the endorsement from the...
Adam Ingram: The principle of the DIS is to find out what our needs are. Industry requires that assessment if it is to plan for the future retention and growth of skills, the recruitment of new personnel, and investment in new technology and plant. It can no longer do so with hunger and burst, which has not served it to best effect or advantage. We now have a framework on which we can build. As for the...
Stephen Ladyman: ...yet brought the benefits of increased UK employment at sea that I expected. I intend to do something about that and am working closely with the Chamber of Shipping, unions, shipowners and so on to find ways to increase the number of people employed on British ships. The hon. Gentleman is absolutely right in that if we are working across the industry, in all the different sectors, to...
Gregory Barker: ...to do on their own, but they could co-operate in informal networks to do it on an appropriate scale. In appropriate parts of the country, certainly in Scotland, there could be hydro-site surveys to find the best areas for local companies and community schemes. There could also be wind power surveys to find the best areas for local companies and community schemes. If there is going to be an...
Mr Mark Ruskell: ...1km of the proposed Beauly to Denny power line upgrade. That said, I am not opposed to the upgrade. All of us recognise that climate change is the number 1 threat that we will face in this century. Onshore wind farms, small-scale renewables, energy efficiency and offshore renewables all have parts to play in tackling climate change. Onshore renewable energy sources require onshore grid...
Alan Beith: ...leads on energy policy. The DTI has targets to meet—10 per cent. of energy use from renewables by 2010 and 20 per cent. by 2020. It has chosen to place very heavy emphasis within renewables on onshore wind power to meet those targets, despite the potential of wave and tidal power, solar power, geothermal power and biomass. This week, I have received representations about the withdrawal...
Lord Tombs: ...suggested by its many eager supporters. The fact that something can be done is not a sufficient reason to argue that it should be done. Unfortunately, many enthusiasts for the new technologies find this difficult to accept and hope that someone, somewhere, will pick up the tab for their ambitions. My intention here is not to denigrate the examination of new and renewable technologies but...
Linda Gilroy: ...interest as a vice-president of the Society of Maritime Industries. The United Kingdom, and in particular London, is a world centre for maritime activities, and to maintain that position we need to find ways to value seafarers. That is important in its own right but also because we need to recognise the strong links between offshore work and the experience that people gain as seafarers,...
Vera Baird: .... . . there is harassment of some non-government organisations." It is a statement of the obvious that the history of Saudi Arabia and the rest of the middle east shows how difficult Governments find it to be other than indulgent to countries that are rich in energy. Middle eastern countries are, of course, significant gas suppliers. Levels of dependency on a country for energy supplies...
Rhona Brankin: ...of CORWM's recommendations, including site selection criteria. I wish to be clear about that: no sites have been chosen. Since the 2001 consultation, the Executive has been committed to finding a solution to the waste problem. We have supported the extensive public and stakeholder engagement undertaken by CORWM, the lack of which in the past has contributed to a failure to find solutions....
Shailesh Vara: ...beneficial measures. We must not underestimate the influence that schoolchildren can have on the older generation. If this generation are taught in school about looking after the climate, we will find that in due course half of the battle has been won. But that is not to say that we should leave it for the children of today to do the work for us in the future, because we have an important...
Lord Sainsbury of Turville: ...programme to help these and future gas supply projects proceed: legislation, when parliamentary time permits, to establish a regime for the storage of gas in salt caverns offshore; a review of the onshore consents regimes; and a public information programme. I would like to say a word about why we are in this situation with the gas storage infrastructure. We would not have expected to have...
Richard Caborn: Obviously, she did so, but that is why we put the Act on the statute book and why we will intervene through the Gambling Commission. Yes, we want companies to come back onshore: we have the best regulatory authority in the world, so we can protect both the vulnerable and the punter. We can keep crime out of gambling—that is what the Act is about, and it provides Government with the ability...
Murdo Fraser: ...whether the minister is aware of the frustration that exists among communities in Perthshire and the Ochils that are involved in public inquiries, opposing planning applications for large-scale onshore wind farms. They are having to find tens of thousands of pounds out of their own pockets to employ representation and expert witnesses to level the playing field with wealthy developers,...
John Scott: ...be looking at river basin management plans for the north and west of Scotland, with a view to developing increased water storage capacity. In renewable energy terms, most people acknowledge that onshore wind farming, quite apart from its problems of back-up and intermittency, is on the verge of being over-developed as a sustainable resource. That is particularly the case as we seek to...
Alistair Darling: ...need to do more to encourage the renewable generation of electricity. The renewable obligation is key to support the expansion of renewables. It has resulted in major developments, particularly in onshore wind power generation, landfill gas and the use of biomass in coal stations. Far from getting rid of the renewables obligation, as some have proposed, we intend to increase it from 15 to...
Lord Davies of Oldham: ...to do more to encourage renewable generation of electricity. "The renewables obligation is key to supporting the expansion of renewables. It has brought forward major developments, particularly onshore wind, landfill gas and the use of biomass in coal stations. Far from getting rid of the renewables obligation as some have proposed, we intend to increase it from 15 per cent to 20 per...
Lord Dixon-Smith: ...has becomea much higher-profile matter for all countries, particularly the United States. Beneficially, the relative cost of green energy is rapidly moving in a favourable direction so that, now, onshore wind is competitive, biofuels are likely to be competitive within less than a decade, and so on. Twelve months ago, who would have imagined such a script? I almost feel the ghost of Harold...
Gregory Barker: ...the remit of Ofgem to focus more directly on carbon emissions and not just price? Where are the measures to reform the renewables obligation, to move the share of funding for renewables beyond just onshore wind and landfill methane gas to the whole universe of exciting emerging technologies? Where are the measures to deal responsibly with aviation? Where are the measures to allow...