Speeches by Shanks.

“I have not prioritised them. They are all important, and they are all critical. If we fix the regulation, but we do not sort out the financial aspects or the capacity, there still are not going to be the projects coming forward. They all play a part, and we need them all to work in tandem. They are all the responsibili…”

“There is a lot of truth in that. We will look at the methodologies behind how we get those numbers so we can make that case. The flexibility roadmap is all about how consumers can benefit, but it is critical for the system. We cannot operate without flexibility. We need to have a system that can work with that. That de…”

“We have not given a view, because there have not been any proposals brought forward. By 2030, we are trying to phase out the role of unabated gas in our power system.”

“I have slightly more than three things working in tandem at the moment, but I will leave that there.”

“Yes, and not just the Department. Right across Government, the absolute priority from the Prime Minister to everyone is what we are doing to address the cost of living and particularly electricity prices. That is important for individual consumers, but it is also important for business and industry that we tackle that.…”

“Yes.”

“It is really important.”

“I partly want to be slightly careful. I am not an expert in planning and my Department is not shaping this policy in that space through the local power plans. I want to be slightly careful about that. The balance that I tried to get across earlier is that projects should be judged on their merits based on the impact th…”

“Respectfully, I disagree. I think £250 off a bill will have a massive impact on communities. The point of it is to give a recognition that, if you are hosting infrastructure, you should benefit from it directly. That is our commitment on transmission infrastructure. We will say more about the wider community benefits, …”

“Let me just say right now, knowing that it is on the record, that I am accountable for this. Ed Miliband, as the Secretary of State, has taken it incredibly seriously. We, as Ministers, are responsible.”

“First of all, you should not compare different periods of the price cap.”

“I accept that point to a degree, but in fairness this is not a Department that has set ambitions and then not followed them. We have set incredibly ambitious targets for 2030, and we have gone at it relentlessly. We are now going to set ambitious targets—the biggest commitment to community energy that this country has …”

“There is quite a lot in that question that is really important. First of all, on the technology point, we consulted on broadening that away from just being onshore wind to other technologies. That does not mean that we would take the same view for every technology. If you look at nuclear, for example, it is not part of…”

“Our clean power action plan is to decarbonise the power system, so it is not going to be our position that, post 2030, we should see unabated gas. That is very clear from us, but there is a need for us to provide capacity for the data centres that we want to bring to this country, for hugely important economic growth r…”

“Seasons make a difference in the price cap. If you take—”

“A number of investors want to come and build and invest in the UK. Every single one of those is subject to a national security assessment and the proposal from Ming Yang is being actively considered on that basis. I cannot be drawn on the decision on that, which has not been made.”

“In terms of the ingredients, if you like, for what is going to make this plan work, without revealing anything that is in the plan, because these things are all what came out of the consultation and what you will have heard in evidence from everyone, it is a combination. First, the regulatory system needs to make it mu…”

“The balance is that we have to weigh the role that it might play in our supply chain against any national security risks, and national security always comes first. That assessment is critical and then we assess the role that it might play in the supply chain.”

“We will look at the funding schemes that we put in place for local energy, which will include an element of support for local councils. That will not be on an “every council has an allocation” basis but by allocating to projects that we think are valuable to take forward. In truth, there have been some fantastic exampl…”

“I cannot say what is specifically in the local power plan, but it definitely will be a balance of local and community energy. We have been clear on that. We will set out the fact that this is a Government commitment, but it is a shared enterprise between Great British Energy, Government and communities.”