Monthly Report for May 2008
Below is a summary of my work in Parliament and in Southampton for the month of May 2008. Click here to read previous reports.
If you'd like to know more about any of the work I've been doing, or if you think there is another issue you think I should be acting on, you can always contact my office.
In Parliament
Cheaper energy tariffs for microgeneration
The Energy Bill received its 3rd reading in the Commons this month. While on the standing committee scrutinising the Bill I moved a new clause relating to ‘feed in tariffs’ (FiTs), which I raised again during the debate in the House. FiTs require energy companies to provide a specific (and preferential) rate of return for energy generated from renewable sources, and are therefore one important tool in overcoming the sometimes prohibitively high set-up costs for renewable energy generation projects. My speech spoke particularly of the importance of feed in tariffs for microgeneration devices (like solar panels and mini-wind turbines installed in the home), and how such a tariff might work in practice.
The Energy Savings Trust estimates that by 2050 30% of the UK’s energy could come from small, localised energy generation schemes, like CHP plants or microgeneration. In addition to more households becoming ‘self-sustaining’ through microgeneration, there is also a great potential for them to sell excess energy generated back to the national grid. However there remain practical issues to be resolved in terms of how we set up the necessary financial incentives to make sure households get the right return for their investment, not the least of which is we still have a very centralised energy distribution network in the national grid, which does not lend itself well to transferring energy from a wide number of disparate sources. The government agreed that setting up a feed-in tariff for microgeneration devices would be the subject of a review over the summer, with the possibility of new legislation coming forward in the next Parliament to set a definitive tariff in place.
I also raised in the debate the importance of the Planning Bill and the Draft Marine Bill, the latter of which I am now on the committee for. Both Bills have the potential to drastically simplify the bureaucratic hurdles renewable energy projects like the London Array have to face before they can get up and running, especially if there is a local Council dedicated to talk green whilst doing everything in their power to stop renewable energy projects from being built anywhere near them.
The long term increasing price of crude oil, and the knock-on inflationary effects this increase is having on other parts of our economy like the price of food, means that increasing the UK’s renewable energy generation can now not possibly just be seen as a response to what some might see as the distant threat of climate change (though 2050 is now not that ‘distant’ either!). Increasing investment in renewables is, I believe, the main answer for how we will in the long term keep inflation in check and our economy growing over the next few decades. So while the debate over the Energy Bill, the Planning Bill and even the Climate Change Bill can appear somewhat dry, the long-term consequences of these Bills if we get them right will have a very tangible, positive impact to all of our daily lives.
Read more of my speeches and questions in Parliament on the Energy Bill
Government backs a change in metal recycling
Last month I reported that I had just secured a debate in Parliament on the metal recycling industry. I am delighted to report that coming out of that debate, the government has agreed to support the revised EU Waste Framework Directive, which will make it substantially easier for Britain to export recycled metal-offcuts to other countries.
60% of metal recovered in Britain is currently exported, and we are a relative market-leader in this area, however current European waste regulations that classify recycled metal as ‘waste’ rather than a ‘resource’ make the process more difficult and more costly than it should be. There is no compelling reason for classifying metal off-cuts as waste, as they can be re-used very easily in new products. Recycling aluminium, for example, takes only 5% of the energy used to make primary (new) aluminium. So, this change, when adopted, will significantly boost an already strong British industry whilst at the same time promoting energy and resource conservation.
More information about the debate
Other events & meetings
This month I attended the launch of the ‘Lap dancing campaign’ to toughen up licensing regulations relating to lap-dancing clubs (currently licensing applications are handled in the same way as if the owners were applying to open a pub). I also attended the finals of the National Youth Parliament debating competition; travelled to Cardiff with the Justice Committee as part of our report on ‘devolution a decade on’;’ spoke at the Annual conference of PRASEG; continued meeting with Ministers and MPs regarding the draft local government manifesto; and backed Anne Snelgrove MP’s Private Members Bill which included clauses on Energy Performance in public sector buildings.
In Southampton
Listening Panel
On Thursday 29th May I will be running my next ‘Listening Panel’ for residents in the Freemantle and Shirley area. This Panel will focus on changes in the types of housing available in Southampton over the last few years and what the government and the Council can do to make sure we get the right types of homes built and that local people can have more of a say over issues like HMO conversion.
The meeting is open to all members of the public. If you would like to come along, please come to St Edmunds Church Hall, 13 Rockstone Place for a 7.30pm start. We will be done by 8.30pm.
CCTV for Willow Court
I am pleased to report that after chasing from both my office and from Coxford Councillor Don Thomas, the City Council has now installed CCTV cameras in the Willow Court pensioner block. More information
Environment Events
This month I spoke at two environment-related events- I spoke to Southampton University students at the start of their ‘Environment Week’ and attended the Environmental Rock awareness event at the Hobbit pub in Bevois Valley. Interestingly, Labour was apparently the only political party who approached the Environmental Rock organisers about running a stall at the event.
You can read my latest article on the recent ‘Earth Hour’ switch-off and the long term benefits of energy efficiency measures by clicking here.