Speeches by Crichton.

“Thank you, Simon, for coming in. I suppose it is reassuring, given your job, that what keeps you awake at night is skills and a skills shortage. I do not believe for a second that you are retired; you simply finished an apprenticeship, didn’t you, and moved into this job? Part of the problem is that around 40% of peopl…”

“Do you have any level of engagement with the Scottish Government about that modular programme, and the fact that there are so many skilled people there in Scotland who could do it?”

“I get you in terms of where you are going. Where you are traditionally is in Cumbria, Somerset and Suffolk. Are you looking after the footprint of the jobs heritage in these areas while you are looking at new areas? I might also ask, from a Scottish perspective—Hunterston, Dumfries and Galloway, and East Lothian—whethe…”

“You said your other big challenge is the supply chain and the domestic supply chain. How resilient is that supply chain? What are the weaknesses and what can you do to address that?”

“Thank you, Simon, for coming in. I suppose it is reassuring, given your job, that what keeps you awake at night is skills and a skills shortage. I do not believe for a second that you are retired; you simply finished an apprenticeship, didn’t you, and moved into this job? Part of the problem is that around 40% of peopl…”

“You are anticipating my final question which is, yes, a return corporately and, yes, a return for communities, but what about the return for consumers? How soon can consumers expect to see a benefit in terms of their bills coming down from having a state-owned energy company?”

“So, as you said earlier, you see a return within a parliamentary term for the Government in this investment?”

“That is very reassuring to hear. In the same way that the private sector is queuing up to speak to you, see you and lend you their expertise, community energy companies are there ready to go, but they do not have the pump-priming finance. Do you see a role for GB Energy in that?”

“Juergen, I am very excited to hear you talk about community energy in a box, and the fact that community energy will be one of the four pillars of GB Energy. What level of investment and return do you see in that? My reading is that GB Energy does not quite realise the ambition that some communities have. For example, …”

“Welcome, Emma. Welcome, Juergen. Ultimately, we are asking, who is the boss? Is it the Secretary of State or is it GB Energy? How comfortable would you be challenging the Secretary of State or the Government on an issue you did not agree on?”

“Do you have any level of engagement with the Scottish Government about that modular programme, and the fact that there are so many skilled people there in Scotland who could do it?”

“I get you in terms of where you are going. Where you are traditionally is in Cumbria, Somerset and Suffolk. Are you looking after the footprint of the jobs heritage in these areas while you are looking at new areas? I might also ask, from a Scottish perspective—Hunterston, Dumfries and Galloway, and East Lothian—whethe…”

“You said your other big challenge is the supply chain and the domestic supply chain. How resilient is that supply chain? What are the weaknesses and what can you do to address that?”

“You are anticipating my final question which is, yes, a return corporately and, yes, a return for communities, but what about the return for consumers? How soon can consumers expect to see a benefit in terms of their bills coming down from having a state-owned energy company?”

“So, as you said earlier, you see a return within a parliamentary term for the Government in this investment?”

“That is very reassuring to hear. In the same way that the private sector is queuing up to speak to you, see you and lend you their expertise, community energy companies are there ready to go, but they do not have the pump-priming finance. Do you see a role for GB Energy in that?”

“Juergen, I am very excited to hear you talk about community energy in a box, and the fact that community energy will be one of the four pillars of GB Energy. What level of investment and return do you see in that? My reading is that GB Energy does not quite realise the ambition that some communities have. For example, …”

“Welcome, Emma. Welcome, Juergen. Ultimately, we are asking, who is the boss? Is it the Secretary of State or is it GB Energy? How comfortable would you be challenging the Secretary of State or the Government on an issue you did not agree on?”

“I welcome the Minister’s comments on the Horizon scandal, which affected sub-postmasters in every constituency, including mine. However, I must express concern about Stornoway post office being on the list of the 115 possible closures. The loss of the main post office would be a dreadful blow for the town, so I urge th…”

“Although the hon. Gentleman wants to get rid of the hereditaries, his party seems to want to create a hereditary system by allowing the right hon. Member for Aberdeen South (Stephen Flynn) to stand for the Scottish Parliament.”