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UK Government's Energy Policy

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship today, Mr Caton. I will keep my comments brief and make just a short speech. It has been an excellent debate so far, and I have enjoyed it thoroughly. As a Member of Parliament for north-west Wales, it is important to point out that the economy of our part of the country could benefit immensely from the development of the energy sector. Such development would have a large regional impact. I want to put on record my appreciation of the development in Anglesey. The hon. Member for Ynys Môn is not here today, but the Anglesey energy island development is hugely important in the context of the economy of north-west Wales. That development is centred on the fact that we are hoping—I use that word deliberately—to see a Wylfa B in Anglesey. From talking to people in all parts of north-west Wales, there is a general opinion that such a development would be welcome. The development of a second Wylfa—a nuclear power station—in north-west Wales will lead to economic benefits across the region. Clearly, my constituents in Aberconwy who use the A55 will be able to travel to Anglesey and benefit from the economic opportunities that will be created as a result of a second power station at Wylfa. I would like to make a slight diversion from the A55 because, when I put this speech together this morning, I was thinking of the fact that my constituents would have to travel by car to gain employment in Anglesey as we are hoping to see developments in that part of the world. However, there is another option. We could try to persuade the Department for Transport to invest in proper signalling for the north Wales coast railway line. I stress that the cost of improving the signalling on the north Wales coast railway line will be significantly less than electrification to south Wales. I welcome electrification to south Wales. That project is an indication of the work that has been undertaken by the Wales Office to bring pressure to bear on the Department for Transport. However, in due course, I would like there to be an announcement about signalling on the north Wales coast railway line. I could then stand here and say that my constituents could travel from Aberconwy to take up economic and employment opportunities created in Anglesey. The Anglesey energy island is a hugely beneficial project and an example of the public sector, the private sector, the Welsh Assembly, local authorities and the Westminster Government working together to develop real employment and economic opportunities for an area that desperately needs them. If the nuclear power station comes along and is the centrepiece of the development, it would create the opportunity for skills to be developed in engineering, mechanical engineering, planning and construction that will be relevant to tidal and wind power. Anglesey is leading with a holistic approach and we should look carefully at that. In Anglesey and the energy island project, we potentially have an example of best practice that could be rolled out to the rest of the United Kingdom. It would be a proud position to be in to be able to say that an example of best practice in economic development comes from Wales. I specifically want to make the point that the officers who have driven this on behalf of the Welsh Assembly Government and particularly the officers working for the Isle of Anglesey county council deserve immense praise. I am sure that hon. Members realise that to be extremely effective as a team of officers when working for the Isle of Anglesey county council is some achievement. We should place on the record our appreciation of the work that has been done from an Anglesey point of view. In addition, I would like to associate myself with the comments made by my hon. Friend the Member for Pudsey this morning. Another fantastic aspect of the energy island development in north-west Wales is the integrated approach to economic development. When the Welsh Affairs Committee went to Düsseldorf, I was really proud to meet RWE and E.ON UK. We had a presentation about the potential development of the nuclear power station in Anglesey and as part of that we were shown slides about their partner organisations in north Wales. It was very encouraging to see the names of Coleg Menai and Coleg Llandrillo from the National Skills Academy for Nuclear coming up on those slides and to hear German executives talking about the proactive way in which the further education community in north Wales was working with them to ensure that young people would have the right skills to work in that industry. When we are talking about why the energy sector in north-west Wales, and the skills training to ensure that people with the relevant skills can take up the opportunities available in north Wales, are so important, all we need to do is look at the demographic picture in counties such as Conwy, Gwynedd and Anglesey, where there is a huge decline in the number of young people between the ages of 18 and 35. That decline has to be dealt with. I am fed up with hearing people talk about the decline of the Welsh language in rural communities and its heartlands, yet when we talk about real economic opportunities that will give those young people the option of remaining in the areas where they were born and having good employment prospects there, we often hear people carping about the nuclear industry being unsafe. My view is that we should talk to the people who are most affected by the development of a second nuclear power station—the people of north-west Wales. Generally speaking the view is very positive. I do not want to go on about the Anglesey energy island in isolation, because, obviously, I represent the constituency of Aberconwy and we are very aware of the fact that, off the coast, we have a huge development in the Gwynt y Môr wind farm. It is a £2.2 billion development—a significant sum of money, again being financed by a German company. Gwynt y Môr is a 567 MW wind farm. It is located 13 km off the coast of my constituency in water depths of 12 to 28 metres. It is a huge engineering project and will be a substantial contributor to the energy needs of this country. However, it is important to point out that, as hon. Members in this room know well, the Gwynt y Môr development was controversial. When asked to support the development, the local authority declined to do so, in a democratic decision. That decision was overturned by the then Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, who is now Leader of the Opposition, because the development was deemed to be of national significance. We can agree or disagree with that, but I associate myself with the Secretary of State for Wales, who has stated categorically that since the previous Administration has made the decision, it is imperative that the economic opportunities from the development of Gwynt y Môr are harnessed, and we ensure that local firms and local individuals looking for employment can benefit.