Speeches by Chope.

“There is no incentive at the moment, is there, for a windfarm generator to install batteries to store the energy when that is not being used on the grid? Collectively, we are paying for that energy, even when it is not being used, so there is no incentive. Similarly, there is no incentive for the generators to export t…”

“That is about £50 on average. We heard that on the first panel. You say that it is a relatively small cost, but that cost will increase perhaps six or sevenfold by the next three or four years. What we are trying to do, collectively as a Committee, is to ensure that the Government’s commitment to reduce household energ…”

“How does that fit in with the Climate Change Committee’s report on adaptation? It made several recommendations, including some relating to what you have just been talking about but they made a lot of other recommendations as well. What is the interaction between those?”

“You have an obligation to ensure that there are no shortages of energy, with blackouts and so on. Recently, apparently, somebody within your organisation has alleged that senior managers have ordered control room operators to hide information showing that the grid is not being run securely, and that there is instabilit…”

“Minister, earlier in your evidence you were talking about setting up this new climate security taskforce. What is its remit and scope for action?”

“That is not quite an answer. That is not quite a denial of the allegation made by this whistleblower, which was referred to in the House of Commons yesterday by my colleague.”

“The allegation that corporate affairs at NESO have interfered with operational decisions needed to stabilise the grid, in order to protect NESO’s reputation—is that completely untrue?”

“There is no incentive at the moment, is there, for a windfarm generator to install batteries to store the energy when that is not being used on the grid? Collectively, we are paying for that energy, even when it is not being used, so there is no incentive. Similarly, there is no incentive for the generators to export t…”

“The Climate Change Committee has condemned the Government for failing and falling short of adapting to climate change and accepting the reality as it is, which is that by the end of this century, global temperatures will have increased to between 3.5° and 4.5° above pre-industrial levels. What are the Government doing …”

“Only generically; I understood her to be talking about the generic problem rather than the specific one.”

“It did not answer the question at all; it steered the question away from a straight answer. Does your Department—or you or the officials with you today—actually know whether payments had been made to Sanctuary Counsel in that timescale?”

“There is no reason why any Member of Parliament cannot put down a pursuant question.”

“I shall relate what you said. You say it was signposting people in a helpful answer, but the answer you gave was, “Details of Government contracts are routinely published on the Contracts Finder and Find-a-Tender Service websites.” I looked on those websites; they are impenetrable. They cover the whole of Government—hu…”

“Is that not part of the problem? You get a lot more questions because you do not answer the question in the first place. If you think that we can all look it up on Contracts Finder, surely your departmental officials or your special advisers could have done that. I have another question arising from this, because the s…”

“Can you also answer this question and save me having to look it up? Have payments been made or not?”

“Minister, in the light of your answer, may I ask you about one specific recent question that you answered? You answered it on Friday. In fact, it was the only question that your Department answered on Friday. It is contained in the bulletin for 3 July and was asked by my hon. Friend the Member for Brentwood and Ongar, …”

“When do you expect decisions to be made on the Jackdaw field, for example?”

“Okay, he said that the way we are currently treating the North Sea and those operating in it is a cause for concern. Is it not a cause for concern for you?”

“Obviously we have a national Government, and I am asking about what the national Government policy should be. Although we have come up here to discuss the plight of businesses in Aberdeen and the people working for them, this is a UK national issue. I know from the chart you were showing this morning, even with my cons…”

“It is about getting the message across that the age of oil and gas is not over. We still need oil and gas. We need to support oil and gas resources being exploited, and not just talk about clean energy.”