| Previous Section | Index | Home Page |
CROSSRAIL BILL [INSTRUCTION] (NO. 3)
Motion made, and Question put forthwith, pursuant to Order [19 December 2005],
That it be a further Instruction to the Select Committee to which the Crossrail Bill is committed that, where a Petition against the Bill which stands referred to the Select Committee raises an issue regarding extension of the railway transport system for which the Bill provides—
it may, if it thinks it appropriate to do so, hear the Petitioner and the Member in charge of the Bill on that issue for the purpose of reporting to the House whether there appears to be a case for such extension being the subject of an application for an order under the Transport and Works Act 1992.
That where the Select Committee to which the Crossrail Bill is committed decides under this instruction to hear the Petitioner and the Member in charge of the Bill on an issue, the Petitioner shall be entitled to be heard by himself, his Counsel or Agents and the Member in charge of the Bill shall be entitled to be heard by his Counsel or Agents.
CROSSRAIL BILL [LATE PETITIONS]
Motion made, and Question put forthwith, pursuant to Order [19 December 2005],
That paragraph (a) of the Order of 19th July 2005 about the Petitions which are to stand referred to the Select Committee (which requires a Petition to have been deposited in the Private Bill Office at any time not later than 16th September 2005) be suspended in the case of the Petitions of the following—
That those Petitions be treated as ones in relation to which the Order of 19th July about the entering of appearances on Petitions has effect.
12 Jan 2006 : Column 486
Security of Supply
[Relevant documents: The Twelfth Report of last Session from the Trade and Industry Committee on Fuel Prices (HC279) and the Government's response thereto, and the First Report of this Session from the Trade and Industry Committee on Security of Gas Supply (HC632–I).]
Mr. Deputy Speaker (Sir Alan Haselhurst): A notice about the relevant documents should have appeared in the Order Paper. Copies of all three documents are available in the Vote Office.
Motion made, and Question proposed, That this House do now adjourn.—[Mr. Roy.]
3.1 pm
The Secretary of State for Trade and Industry (Alan Johnson): The debate supplements the first report to Parliament on United Kingdom security of gas and electricity supplies that was laid in July 2005. In the 2003 Energy White Paper, we set the objectives of secure, sustainable, affordable energy for all in a competitive, transparent energy market.
Overall, Britain is in a strong position. We have a broad range of energy supply and a balanced mix of electricity generation. Around 19 per cent. of our electricity comes from nuclear, 33 per cent. from coal, 40 per cent. from gas and 4 per cent. from renewables. Although the proportion from renewables is small, it has almost doubled in the past four years, and is today sufficient to supply more than 2 million households. On gas infrastructure, the market is planning to deliver some £10 billion of investment in gas import and storage projects between 2005 and 2010.
The UK has enjoyed some of the lowest energy prices in Europe for more than a decade. Even after the recent price increases, our domestic gas remains the cheapest in Europe. According to Ofgem, domestic energy bills are £140 less than they were in 1990.
Our liberalised markets mean that the cost of industrial gas is also competitive. In the past 14 years, the cost of energy to British industry has been around £8 billion less than the cost to German industry. However, there are problems and challenges ahead that we have to acknowledge and resolve.
First, we need to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Despite recent increases, we are still on track to achieving our target under the Kyoto protocol. However, there is much more to do if we are to meet our aim of a 60 per cent. reduction by 2050.
Secondly, our energy reserves are in decline. North sea production has declined more quickly than predicted. Britain has already moved from being a net exporter to a net importer of gas, and soon we will become a net importer of energy overall, in common with most other developed nations.
Mr. Bernard Jenkin (North Essex) (Con):
We keep hearing the mantra that gas production in the North sea has declined more quickly than predicted but I have yet to meet anyone in the industry who agrees with that analysis. Centrica, which owns the Morecambe bay field and is meant to be the culprit, has clearly said that production has reached a plateau and is declining according to expectations. There has been at least a
12 Jan 2006 : Column 487
communications failure between the Government and the industry, or perhaps the Government have not been told the truth, but it is not good enough to keep telling us that gas supplies have declined more quickly than anticipated because that is not true.
Alan Johnson: Strangely enough, that is a question that I have asked myself, because I have been trotting out that line since last summer, and I decided that, in view of this important debate, I ought to look a bit more closely into the matter. I am not sure about Centrica, because it is not involved in the North sea, but I found that every credible analysis published said that North sea gas would decline, and that we would move from being a net exporter to a net importer between 2005 and 2007. Wood Mackenzie, in its August 2001 multi-client report entitled "Running Short of Gas: The Outlook for UK and Irish Gas Markets"—which, I am told, is very authoritative—said:
Others put it at between 2006 and 2007. On Tuesday, I was with a number of energy suppliers, who themselves admitted that this was the case. I do not know of anyone who did not have a misconception of how quickly North sea gas would be reduced. However, the hon. Gentleman has asked a valid question, and I asked it myself because I wanted to explore it at that level of analysis.
Daniel Kawczynski (Shrewsbury and Atcham) (Con): The Secretary of State mentioned renewable energy. I believe that the renewable energy target set for us by the European Union is 2 per cent. by 2012. Does he think that we will meet that target?
Alan Johnson: Our target is 10 per cent. by 2010. We have an aspiration to move to 15 per cent. by 2015, and to 20 per cent. by 2020. All of that is on the route to a 60 per cent. reduction in carbon emissions by 2050. The Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs is leading on this, and will publish the climate change review programme shortly. That will show what we need to do to get back on track. We are undoubtedly not as far forward as we need to be, although we have made some very good progress. That report will be published in the very near future.
Mr. Mike Weir (Angus) (SNP): May I take the Secretary of State back to the question of the gas supply? Is he aware of the research by Professor Alex Kemp of Aberdeen university that discloses that there are up to 20 finds to the west of Shetland that have not yet been developed? Most of them are fairly marginal, but the changes in the tax regime introduced by the Chancellor have meant that they will become even more marginal. Is that sensible when we are apparently relying on gas from faraway countries in central Asia? Will the Secretary of State consider introducing incentives to assist the development of these marginal fields?
| Next Section | Index | Home Page |