Speeches by Billington.

“It is interesting that there are other benefits apart from the generation of the energy that is factored in. Of course, that is not including a metric for Clean Power 2030; should it be?”

“I would love you all to answer on that.”

“We rely on committed councils to get us to 8 GW by 2030.”

“I am making a back-of-a-fag packet point, but it still stands. We had NESO in the other day. It does not take any responsibility for the 8 GW target, so my concern that is no one is taking responsibility. National Grid did not take any responsibility for it either. The distribution network operators do not take any res…”

“Yours is 1 GW across London just for solar.”

“I do not expect you to know specifically the answer to this, but it is worthwhile just putting it on the record. Do we know how much community benefit in gigawatts is already in development, conceptually? Tanuja, you mentioned the 1 GW of solar planned across your part of north London. Does anybody have an idea about h…”

“I am grateful to the hon. Lady for giving way. I am interested in her acknowledgment that we have made specific progress in dealing with the botched Brexit deal left as part of the legacy of the previous Tory Government, which she may indeed welcome. For example, our sanitary and phytosanitary deal includes being able …”

“I emphasise the importance of the pride in place programme for places such as Ramsgate, where the vacancy rate in the high street has been an appalling 24%. We were left with the legacy of 14 years of Tory Government, and only because of the social and community energy in Ramsgate have we been able to turn that around,…”

“I agree with my hon. Friend. It has been striking in my community to see the local social energy of our businesses, particularly in Ramsgate, coming together to help tackle antisocial behaviour, work with the police and bear down on some of the worst excesses of the consequences of the last 14 years. We also need to be…”

“I thank my hon. Friend for that contribution. Other consequences of the past 14 years for our high streets include retail crime. I am sorry that the right hon. Member for Chingford and Woodford Green (Sir Iain Duncan Smith) is no longer in his place, because he spoke strongly about the consequences of shoplifting. Shop…”

“I am grateful, in particular, to see the right hon. Member for Beverley and Holderness (Graham Stuart) back in his place. I was particularly struck by the significant intellectual differences between him and those of us on the Government side of the House about the importance of the public realm and investment in our c…”

“I congratulate the hon. Member for Didcot and Wantage (Olly Glover) on securing this debate. Dartford grammar sounds much like Dane Court school in my constituency, which offers the opportunity of the international baccalaureate to children from across the academy chain—I know that some of your constituents benefit fro…”

“I gently remind the Minister that, simply because people live in the south-east, it does not mean they are dripping in gold. My constituency in particular experiences distinct levels of deprivation; only 10% of our children manage to pass the Kent test in East Thanet. The opportunity to access the international baccala…”

“What steps is the Minister taking to ensure that the UK arm of the company, which is an in-demand business with a highly skilled workforce and many successful contracts, has a long-term future in the UK, particularly in the context of our clean energy jobs plan announced last week and, as my hon. Friend the Member for …”

“I, too, have a school in my constituency that offers the international baccalaureate. Dane Court school in Broadstairs has an extremely successful programme in breaking down barriers to opportunity for a large number of pupils in an area of significant deprivation. Only 10% of the children in East Thanet succeed in pas…”

“On competition and the former Conservative Government, I remind Members that they were the ones who brought Southeastern, which serves my constituency, into public ownership, because of the failures of the commercial process.”

“The case the hon. Member is making may have some valid points, but is he prepared to take responsibility for the fact that the British Government do not have a say in what Eurostar does because a previous Administration—run by the Conservatives with their then allies, the Liberal Democrats—ended up without the British …”

“I absolutely agree with my hon. Friend. Despite significant investment under a Labour Government in High Speed 1, which benefits my community, it often feels as though many people are still cut off from those opportunities. We need to break down barriers to opportunity, and the restoration of international services at …”

“It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Sir Desmond. I can see France from my constituency on a clear day, and yet my constituents cannot get there easily or affordably for work or pleasure. Last week, I was speaking with one of my friends about her plans to go to Paris for the Christmas markets. A quick overni…”

“2. What steps his Department is taking to support probation officers.”