Speeches by Downie.

“On that point about interconnectors and renewables, the challenges came up in a previous evidence session. If it is sunny in the south-east of England, the odds are it is sunny in the north-west of France. At what point do we say, “We can or can’t share, because we have got our own as well”? Where is that balance, in t…”

“Professor Morisetti, in your introduction after answering the Chair’s first question, you talked about Russia attacking Ukrainian energy infrastructure as a weak point. We saw the UK sign up to the Hamburg declaration in January, which covers a range of energy security issues, and is a sign of international co-operatio…”

“Because they listen to each other. You listen to your peers.”

“It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Mr Dowd. Last Friday I was at a roundtable with local businesses, creative organisations and city centre groups in Dunfermline to discuss the safety of the town centre and how we can make Dunfermline a prosperous city in the future. What struck me was the unanimity of exp…”

“My position is similar to that of my two colleagues. This is one of the biggest issues we get in the mailbag. The issue has been ongoing for years. It is a very difficult one to tackle. I think more time for colleagues to discuss that in detail and to find the correct solutions, which will have a short-term and long-te…”

“Dunfermline is both Scotland’s ancient capital and its newest city, and we are starting to plan for what Dunfermline can become and how it can truly fulfil its potential. I have launched a survey to ensure that local people have a great say in that, and can give me their ideas about what the city should be. Will the Le…”

“At the beginning of the year, I visited Estonia to see how 100% of public services are delivered via its digital ID system. It is done safely and securely, and as the Minister said, citizens now have better access to and control over their data, including over who sees what, when and where. The system also saves Estoni…”

“7. What recent progress his Department has made on implementing a digital ID scheme.”

“Do you know of any other examples where particularly commercial and industrial businesses have managed to keep their electricity costs down in this way?”

“There needs to be some incentive. Finally, given our costs are much higher than most of our trading partners, are other countries doing something better than us in this regard? Are there any lessons we can learn particularly?”

“Having asked you to not generalise massively, generalise massively, please.”

“Do you know of any other examples where particularly commercial and industrial businesses have managed to keep their electricity costs down in this way?”

“I want to move on to talk about interconnectors and their role in supply-side flexibility, but I am not even going to start the question because the bell is about to go—[Interruption.]”

“Thank you. I will keep it short and to the point; I am still out of breath. How can the Government balance flexibility through interconnectors and develop new sources of supply-side flexibility? I will give that to Kat.”

“Just to pick up on your point about cost, would there be any cost impact of building less offshore and importing more at peak need?”

“You do not see a risk that, for that reason, increased use or reliance on interconnectors would dissuade from domestic energy production?”

“There needs to be some incentive. Finally, given our costs are much higher than most of our trading partners, are other countries doing something better than us in this regard? Are there any lessons we can learn particularly?”

“Again, it is the Treasury’s measurement of what constitutes public good versus business investment: “This should be a business cost, therefore you are on your own,” or, “This is a public good, and you should”—”

“Can we be confident that the savings from reducing the structural inefficiencies in how we trade electricity with the EU will actually pass through to British consumers? Kat, I would be happy if you could start off.”

“Is it something that is more useful in an emergency or an unexpected event, rather than something that would be considered part of a programme?”