Speeches by Young.

“If I can start with Sarah, what are the potential socioeconomic benefits to the Severn region from the construction and development of tidal range energy projects?”

“What timescale were those figures over? You talked about the number of person years of jobs that it would create, but what over timespan would that be delivered? Once created, there would be a much lower level involved in maintenance, would there not?”

“You talked about local jobs for local people, but will there be a need to invest in workforce development and supply chain readiness, and specifically turbine manufacture, if a tidal range infrastructure project is to be pursued in the Severn? At the moment, most manufacture is happening in China, I believe.”

“Do you not see this as an opportunity for us?”

“I have one final point on the economic benefits. In the past, when tidal power from the Severn has been looked at, there has been a lot of concern from the ports about the impact that it might have on their commercial activity. Do the potential benefits outweigh any such impact or is that not an issue?”

“You have called for a tidal range energy national policy statement to reinforce government commitment and strengthen regulatory certainty. What discussions have you had with both the UK and Welsh Governments regarding this recommendation?”

“Just to be clear, you have not had direct discussions as a commission with the UK Government on this specific point.”

“Talking about NESO, you have called for it to review its strategic spatial energy plan to include a pathway for tidal range energy. How would this help encourage investment into tidal energy, and how would that interact with the national policy statement you are referring to?”

“Welcome to the panel. I will address my questions to Dr Angeloudis to start with. You would agree that tidal range energy in the Severn could create predictable low-carbon energy independent of weather conditions, but do you agree with the commission’s assessment of the amount of energy that could be generated?”

“It is an honour to serve under your chairship, Ms Butler. I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Tewkesbury (Cameron Thomas) for securing the debate. Investing in education is investing in our future, so we need to get it right. The national funding formula creates huge discrepancies in how children are supported in dif…”

“I absolutely agree. It is a particular problem for small rural schools, which often have small class sizes because the schools are small overall. We need action on funding for special educational needs and disabilities, as too many children are being left without the support they need. For years, schools in South Glouc…”

“I am going to ask a couple of questions about how we cover the costs of providing skills and training. Jodie, we have heard that public investment could crowd in private investment in skills and training. Can we expect larger employers to cover the costs of training through entire career paths, from apprentices to the …”

“As a supplementary, have you seen any difference where we have combined authorities as opposed to where it is been handled by individual local authorities?”

“Welcome, both. Tom, in your experience, how effective has the delivery of skills been when managed at local government level?”

“I am going to ask a couple of questions about how we cover the costs of providing skills and training. Jodie, we have heard that public investment could crowd in private investment in skills and training. Can we expect larger employers to cover the costs of training through entire career paths, from apprentices to the …”

“Jodie, you said earlier that filling workforce gaps would take years. Sue, would you expect those gaps to be resolved quickly if there was more public funding available to address skills training in low-carbon sectors, or are other barriers more of an issue?”

“Welcome, both. Tom, in your experience, how effective has the delivery of skills been when managed at local government level?”

“As a supplementary, have you seen any difference where we have combined authorities as opposed to where it is been handled by individual local authorities?”

“Is the problem in sourcing local, skilled labour in construction simply a matter of pay, or would you say there are more complex reasons?”

“Leah, how easy is it for an individual firm like yours to pass on such costs to consumers, or will consumers simply put off retrofit? I am talking about the cost of delivering skills.”