Meeting of the Parliament 20 February 2025
It is very Edward Mountain to consider a legislative consent motion that is based on an amendment in the House of Lords on the Great British Energy Bill to be a “white-knuckle ride”. That is the kind of rock-and-roll life that he lives.
However, Edward Mountain made a valid point about the legislative process. The Parliament gets a lot of things wrong, but the one thing that it does pretty well is the legislative process. It takes a long time for consultation, pre-stage 1 reports, stage 2 amendments and then, in the chamber, stage 3. It takes as long as it takes. I have experienced the Westminster system and, to be fair, that is a white-knuckle ride. It is rushed and there is not enough time to consider all the consequences. That is what we are feeling today, to be fair to the minister. I hope that, in the long run, we will see changes to the legislative processes in the House of Lords and the House of Commons.
One of the amendments that was passed in the House of Lords that does not affect the LCM was won by one of our members, who secured an amendment on community energy, which is incredibly important. It will mean that GB Energy is required to collaborate with local communities on boosting local economies, jobs and investment for community energy projects, which is a good thing.
We will support the LCM today because GB Energy could be broadly a good thing. It is led by Jürgen Maier, who is a dynamic force. He was previously chief executive officer at Siemens and he knows the territory. He will make a difference and we should support things that make a difference.
I want to return to the points that I made in the debate two weeks ago about the use of community benefit funds and licensing revenues. We need to consider several questions. First, how much do we require from the companies? My colleague Angus MacDonald wants to increase the £5,000 per megawatt installed capacity to a higher level and he has a case for that. We need to make sure that it is not so much that it discourages development, but that there is capacity to increase it.
There is also a question about who we do it with. Will it be done through community equity and community ownership, or should the funds be given to local authorities or other vehicles for delivery? After Tom Arthur’s statement earlier this week, we should take the opportunity to explore community wellbeing in more detail.
The area that requires a much more substantial change is what we use community benefit funds for. Many communities have benefited significantly from community facilities such as astroturf pitches, village halls and the like, which are good things and they require to be invested in. However, only so many astroturf pitches can be built in communities. There is a crying need for improvement in infrastructure and in roads and housing in certain communities—particularly in the Highlands and Islands, where we will be installing not just wind turbines but pump storage facilities that will put quite a lot of pressure on the local road network and increase demand for housing. We should be looking to use some of those revenues and funds for investment in local communities to make sure that the funds have a lasting legacy that outlasts the projects themselves, so that people can see longer-term benefits for their areas.
We will support the LCM today, but I hope that the minister will take on board the arguments about wider benefits and community benefit.
16:59