Long lasting reforms

Key Liberal Democrat initiatives were announced in the Queen’s Speech on Wednesday including banking reform, a single tier pension, energy reform, strengthening shareholder power and House of Lords reform.

The Coalition government’s next term will focus on helping families, supporting growth and jobs, and delivering long-standing reform to our banking sector. Long lasting reforms are proposed to put the UK on a stable footing and offer help and support to families, small businesses and communities, protect the environment, as well as reaffirming the commitment to helping the poorest nations.

The key themes from the 2012 Queen’s Speech are economic growth, justice and constitutional reform.

Main Lib Dem initiatives include:

• Banking Reform
• Single tier pension
• Shared parental leave and more help for SEN children
• Energy reform
• Social Care
• House of Lords Reform

Other Lib Dem led initiatives:

• Green Investment Bank
• Strengthening shareholder power in deciding directors’ pay
• Grocery Code Adjudicator Bill – Fair trade for British famers
• Water Bill to increase competitiveness and improve efficiency
• Defamation Reform
• Reform of community sentencing

Overseas Aid

“I’m confident we have secured a good outcome for both our party and the country,” said Nick Clegg. “Our challenge now is communicating our success in the Queen’s Speech, as well as in this government more widely, to voters everywhere.”

In 2010, Liberal Democrats joined the Coalition Government to act in the long-term national interest. Our most urgent task was to tackle the record deficit left to us by Labour and we’re continuing this work today.

We have already made some tough choices, and we will continue to make sure we keep spending down so, unlike the rest of Europe, families can benefit from low interest rates and Britain is protected from the global debt storm.

The key themes from the 2012 Queen’s Speech are:

• Economic Growth
• Justice
• Constitutional reform

1. Banking Reform

This Bill reflects a longstanding record of Liberal Democrat action to reform the banking sector. It will deliver greater financial stability by finally separate retail banking, on which households and small business rely, from the more risky investment activity. This acts on the recommendations of the independent Vickers Commission. It will insulate personal finance from global financial shocks and make banks easier to resolve without taxpayer support.

2. Single Tier Pension

A flat-rate pension is simple, progressive and ensures women and low-paid workers in particular get a fair deal. Liberal Democrats have long campaigned for these reforms and they represent the most radical changes to the State Pension system in our lifetime: making it fairer and simpler for the next generation. Steve Webb’s Single Tier Pension Bill achieves this by combining the basic State Pension and State Second Pension in to a single tier state pension, currently worth around £140 a week.

3. Parental Leave (Children and Families Bill)

The Coalition Government have previously announced proposals for a new system of flexible parental leave and an extended right to request flexible working. These changes are necessary to reflect modern family life but they also serve solid economic purposes. By extending an individual's ability to combine work and family life, fewer people will drop out of the labour market, losing their skills and prospects in the process.

4. Special Educational Needs (Children and Families Bill)

This will put Sarah Teather’s work on improving support in schools for disabled children and children with special educational needs. The Bill will bring in a single, simple assessment procedure for 0-25 year olds. It will provide statutory protections up until 25 in further education, instead of cutting it off at 16 and give parents or young people the right to a personal budget. Lastly, it will require local authorities and health services to jointly plan and commission services for children and families.

5. Social Care

This is a draft Bill and will set out what support people could expect from Government and what action the Government would take to help them to plan, prepare and make informed choices about their care. These proposals will deliver on the Liberal Democrat commitment to modernise care, allow local authorities to fit services around needs and outcomes and give people greater choice by making it easier for people to plan for future care needs. This will finally bring together a patchwork of legislation dating back to the 1948 National Assistance Act, creating sustainable system for our ageing population.

6. Energy Bill

This Bill will support private sector investment in low-carbon power generation. This will help to provide greater security of energy supply, ensure lower consumer energy bills in the face of escalating world oil and gas prices and secure the Liberal Democrat commitment to reduce carbon emissions by 80% by 2050. It will secure the estimated £110 billion of investment in power generation by 2020 creating thousands of jobs in all parts of the UK.

7. House of Lords

Reforming the House of Lords has been an historic commitment of the Liberal Democrats: our predecessors first proposed it when the Queen’s grandfather was on the throne. While the Government rightly focuses on growth, that doesn’t mean you can’t reform politics at the same time. The case for reform is clear: in a democracy people should have power over politicians rather than give party leaders the power to stuff a chamber full of supporters.

The current situation is untenable:

• The House of Lords is an overstocked chamber, where you’re more likely to be older than 90 than under 40.
• Just fifteen countries worldwide use appointment as the predominant means of selection to the upper house, including Jordan, Belize, Trinidad and Tabago, and Burkino Faso.
• The only other country in the world where the hereditary element still exists is Lesotho.
• Each member is entitled £300 for each day they attend. If everyone attends, the current cost would be almost £1m a week.

8. Grocery Code Adjudicator Bill

This is a Bill to get a fair deal for British farmers and to target ‘Trolleygarchs’ and help small business and independent traders. The independent adjudicator will ensure suppliers are treated fairly and lawfully by supermarkets.

9. Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Bill

This Bill will deliver on a long-standing Liberal Democrat commitment by setting up the Green Investment Bank. It will also reform competition law by creating a single Competition and Markets Authority, take action on director’s pay and reduce burdens on business by repealing unnecessary legislation.

10. Defamation Bill

This Bill will strengthen free speech and delivers on our manifesto commitment to reform libel laws. The bill will prevent Britain becoming a haven for 'libel tourism' and ensure that the threat of libel proceedings is not used to frustrate robust scientific and academic debate, or to impede responsible investigative journalism. It will also create a balance in the law – ensuring that people who are defamed are able to protect their reputation, but that free speech is not trampled on.

11. Justice and Security Bill

The Bill will strengthen oversight of the security and intelligence agencies. Last year, we published a Green Paper with a range of options including extending the existing use of closed proceedings in civil damages cases. Those claims cannot currently be heard there because of the quantity of national security sensitive information involved. We have listened carefully to the consultation responses and will publish a Bill in due course.

12. Draft Communications Data Bill

This Bill aims to maintain the ability of law enforcement agencies to access vital communications data under strict safeguards. There will be full pre-legislative scrutiny on communications data proposals before anything final or concrete is introduced. Though the format is still to be decided, there will be the chance to fully examine the proposals, to ensure that they are both necessary and proportionate, and to call expert witnesses from industry and civil liberties groups. It will also look at the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act (RIPA) to see if the protections we have around the use of communications data are enough and how we might strengthen them.

13. Crime and Courts Bill

In addition to setting up the National Crime Agency, this Bill contains a marker for any legislation needed as a result of the consultation into community sentences. Our intention is to reform community sentences so that they are a genuine alternative to custody. This 'rehabilitation revolution' will extend the use of restorative justice and improve treatment for people with alcohol or drug addictions, or other mental health problems. It will also allow us to improve the flexibility of community sentences so that offenders can maintain an education, a job, or childcare duties while undertaking their punishment. The Bill will also reform the judiciary – making it more flexible, more diverse and appointments more transparent.

14. Draft Water Bill

This Bill will implement the reforms set out in the December 2011 Water White Paper. This will reform the water industry and deregulate markets to enable consumers to negotiate better services from the water companies. It also includes environmental measures such as new controls on abstracting water from rivers.

Commenting, Liberal Democrat Party President, Tim Farron said:

“While Conservatives and Labour councils their budgets without regard for the most vulnerable, Liberal Democrat-controlled councils know how to protect essential services.

“Encouraging and enabling reading is vital to the development of children and adults alike. If we don’t give our children the opportunity to practice and perfect their reading skills at a young age, they will struggle to catch up later in life.

“Libraries are a life-line for local communities, especially for those who are less well off, and give people the opportunity to relax, learn new information and skills or to use the internet if they don’t have it at home.

“Cutting services like Labour and Tory councils are doing will do long-term damage. Liberal Democrats are doing the right thing thanks to our financial competency in the councils we run. That is also the reason why not only have Liberal Democrat councils kept libraries open, but councils in England have also frozen council tax and are most likely to be giving the lowest-paid council workers a pay rise.”

Commenting, Julian Huppert said:

“Today’s figures show that you can’t trust Labour with our railways. Their record is appalling: foisting yearly rail fare increases on to passengers while failing to use that money to invest in services.

“Instead, they let inefficiency cripple our system, burdening taxpayers and passengers alike.

“Liberal Democrats in the Coalition Government are doing the right thing to clean up this mess by investing more in our railways than at any time since the Victorian era.

“The Coalition Government has committed to electrifying over 800 miles in 5 years but electrification is just one part of our huge program of investment.

“We’re delivering Crossrail, creating a national High Speed network, reopening old lines, lengthening trains and bringing down costs.

Equalities Minister Lynne Featherstone and Party President Tim Farron are urging members to get involved in the government consultation on how best to deliver equal civil marriage. The consultation will lead to new legislation enacted in this Parliament.
The party Conference agreed that the best way to do that is in the context of full equality of marriage and civil partnerships.

“This party has always stood for individual liberty and the right to choose how we lead our lives,”

said Tim.

“That’s why we came into being in the 19th Century to protect the rights of religious minorities, it’s why we led the support for equality for women and why we decided before any other major party that civil marriage should be open to same-sex couples equally.
“The Liberal Democrats in government are now delivering on that. But it’s important that as many people as possible respond to this consultation now.
“We’ve waited to get clarification from the Home Office on some ambiguously-worded questions, which we’ve now received. Lesbian Gay Bisexual and Transexual Plus (LGBT+) Liberal Democrats have prepared a guide to the consultation, what it means, and how to respond to support the Liberal Democrat policy of equality.

More information is at www.abouttime.org.uk.

Local parties can also order leaflets from LGBT+ Lib Dems to distribute around local venues – not just ones specific to the LGBT+ communities, since equal marriage affects everyone. For more detail on our LGBT+ campaigning, please see http://lgbt.libdems.org.uk or follow @lgbtld on Twitter.

“While UEFA should be commended for launching campaigns to tackle racism in the game, I believe it is not doing enough to raise awareness of human trafficking.”

Pointing out that many mega brothels opened in host cities at the 2006 World Cup in Germany, Bearder disputed UEFA's claim that large football events are 'irrelevant' when it comes to trafficking.

Ahead of this year's Eurocup in Poland and the Ukraine, strip clubs are already opening near the football stadiums in Kiev. Ms Bearder continued:

“Where there is a spike in demand for sex workers, there will also be a spike in the number of women trafficked. This summer is a massive year for sport in Europe and millions of people will enjoy the games. We must ensure that such great events are not tarnished by trafficking.”

“It is worrying that the two Eds don’t understand the fundamental principles of our tax system, despite having worked in the Treasury for many years as Gordon Brown’s backroom boys.

“It took them 13 years to introduce a 50p rate and then they only did so shortly before a general election. Now that the local elections are coming up, suddenly they care about it again and put down ill-thought through amendments that remove the top rate altogether.

“Labour’s biggest tax change was to remove the 10p tax rate hitting people on low and middle incomes while Liberal Democrats are giving nearly 25m basic-rate tax payers an Income Tax cut and have lifted more than a million people out of paying Income Tax altogether. At the same time, we’re making the rich pay their fair share by cracking down on loopholes and excessive tax relief.”

“With all the controversy surrounding lobbying and tax at the moment, it’s astonishing that a Tory peer is now the lead advocate in Britain for one of the world’s biggest tax havens.

“While the Coalition is trying to make the rich pay their fair share, this exposes an element of the Conservative Party which wants to keep helping their wealthy friends hide their money from the taxman.

“If Lord Blencathra is using his very privileged position in the House of Lords to lobby for a government that wants to see money that should be for our schools, hospitals and our armed forces sailing off in luxury yachts to be stored on the Cayman Islands, it is yet another mockery of the Parliamentary system, and reinforces a need for an elected upper chamber.”

“While Labour and the Tories fight over how many of their councils raised Council Tax, it’s clear that with the Liberal Democrats your money is safest: no Liberal Democrat-run council in England has raised Council Tax.

“This stands in stark contrast to Tory and Labour-run councils which have been racking up the Council Tax in these difficult times. Ordinary working families are struggling already with paying bills, without their councils increasing the burden.

“Liberal Democrat councils have not only frozen council tax but are also most likely to be giving the lowest-paid council workers a pay rise.

“This comes on top of Liberal Democrat achievements in the Budget, which increased the number of people lifted out of tax to over a million and gave nearly 25m people a £130 tax cut this year.

“The choice in next month’s elections is clear: vote Liberal Democrat for financially responsible councils that create jobs. Vote Labour and the Tories for waste, mismanagement and tax rises.”

“We’re pleased that Labour has finally recognised that big money should be taken out of politics and that this includes trade unions. But questions remain over how committed Labour is to real reform.

“Why does Ed Miliband still disagree with the Kelly proposals that people should have the freedom to opt-in to donating to the Labour party, rather than the complex system of opting out?

“Over the years there has been much talk of cleaning up party funding, but this has failed to materialised under successive governments. It is now essential that all political parties work together to find a lasting solution to party funding.

“Thanks to a commitment laid down in the Coalition Agreement, cross party talks are currently underway and Liberal Democrats will continue to lead the campaign to clean up party funding once and for all.”

Cutting energy bills – saving the planet

Nick Clegg announced this week that agreements have been secured with the big six energy companies that could cut energy bills for millions of people.

The commitments will mean that EDF, E.On, British Gas, Southern, Scottish Power and Npower – who supply 99 per cent of British homes with energy – will now write to customers every year to specifically tell them what the best tariff is for them and how to get it. Many people are currently paying far more than they have to.

Some vulnerable customers – those assisted by the Warm Home Discount scheme – will be contacted twice a year. Customers will also be offered the best tariff if their contract comes to an end and if they contact their supplier at any time to ask.

There are more than 120 different tariffs. Currently, seven out of 10 people aren’t on the best tariff for them. The average customer tends to stay on theirs for years, despite the amount of energy they use varying over time. In 2010, 75 per cent of people did not change their tariff.

The government wants people to save money on their bills whilst also becoming more switched on to the idea of saving energy through green measures to make further savings and protecting the environment.

At a speech at ‘Canary Wharf’s greenest building’, the KPMG headquarters, the Deputy Prime Minister said: “We need to get bills as low as possible. I know that many families are struggling with rising energy bills. We can’t control volatile world energy prices. But we can still help people get their bills down. As of this Autumn, your supplier will have to contact you with the best tariff for your needs. And if you call them, they’ll have to offer you the best deal too.

“As we learn to live within our economic means we can learn to live within our environmental means too. To do that, we have to stop treating the environment like an add on; an afterthought. We must show that, in so many ways, consumer interests, business interests and green interests are the same,” stressed Nick. “We have to give people the practical help to make more sustainable choices. We must do everything we can to ensure that the benefits and opportunities created by going green are clear.”
“We’re also working with energy companies to put special barcodes on energy bills. You’ll be able to scan them with your smartphone to get quotes and switch tariff or supplier in a matter of minutes.
“Plus we’re working with consumer groups to make it easier for people to club together and switch supplier. Consumers will be able to use their collective purchasing power to bring down bills.
“We want to see consumers saving money and engage with the energy they use,” explained Nick. “Precisely the kind of thrift that is good for pockets as well as the planet.”

(photo: Crown copyright)

The story goes something like this:

Up until just a few years ago, the green movement was approaching a kind of heyday.
Europe had agreed a plan to combat global warming.
In the UK, the major political parties had united behind the Climate Change Act…
Enshrining our carbon reduction commitments in law.
Al Gore's “An Inconvenient Truth” was a box office hit.
In affluent societies, as sustained growth satisfied citizens' basic needs…
Climate change was graduating from niche issue to mainstream concern.

Then: the credit crunch happened.

The global economy was plunged into unprecedented turmoil.
And, ever since, economic recovery has overtaken every other social and environmental priority.
The assumption is that cash-strapped citizens cannot be expected to live more sustainably:
They have other, more urgent worries to contend with.
Struggling businesses must be liberated from burdensome environmental regulations.
And the upshot, we are told, is that our environmental ambitions must, temporarily, take a back seat.

But this new wisdom, however widely held, is utterly wrong.
Yes, right now climate change may be lower down some people' thoughts.
Yes, we need to be sensitive to businesses' needs.
But in so many ways, for so many consumers, for so many firms…
Going green has never made so much sense.

How can we relieve some of the pressure on hard-up households?
By helping families use less energy to cut their bills.

How can we rebalance our economy away from its overreliance on the City of London?
By capitalising on our competitive edge in green industries…
Generating jobs and wealth outside of London and the South East.

How will we find the money needed to renew our infrastructure?
By competing successfully in the global low carbon market…
To attract billions of pounds worth of outside investment to the UK.

And, as we make our way along this choppy recovery…
How can we better shield bill payers from price shocks in oil and gas?
By depending less on fossil fuels…
By producing more clean energy ourselves.

It is simply not true that you have to give up on the green economy if you want to grow.
The countries powering away from the recession…
Germany, China, Korea, Brazil…
Are investing heavily in low carbon industries.

Nor is it true that the best way to unleash growth is through a bonfire of environmental protections.
That's why, for example, I was determined we get the balance right in our planning reforms – as many of you were.
So not development-at-any-cost.
But sustainable development, driven by local needs.

Our dilemma is not choosing between green and growth.
It's marrying the two.

Lean times can be green times

I won't pretend that is easy.
While austerity need not be the death of environmentalism…
It does create challenges.
While greening our lifestyles and decarbonising our economy might be the right thing to do…
For millions of people, it doesn't always feel like the easy thing to do, especially now.

But, while sceptics say that it's all too difficult at a time of deep fiscal consolidation…
That economic uncertainty poses too many challenges…
I say that periods of economic reinvention force us to do things differently.
I say that lean times can be green times too.

Just think about today's Britain:

A nation burned by its excesses.
Paying the price for years spent living on borrowed time and borrowed money.

A nation turning the page on a culture of reckless consumption…
Where we sacrificed tomorrow to get-rich-quick today.

A nation thriftier, more frugal, more careful than before.
Determined to clean up this generation's mess and leave a better legacy for our children.

We are undergoing a profound transformation within our economy.
And for the first time ever our economic and environmental mantras are exactly the same:
Waste not, want not.
Whether it's waste of energy, waste of money, waste of our potential…
We are focused on conserving our precious resources.
Responsibility and sustainability are the watchwords of the day.

And that creates a unique opportunity to put environmental thrift into the mainstream.
As we learn to live within our economic means…
We can learn to live within our environmental means too.

To do that, we have to stop treating the environment like an add on; an afterthought.
We must show that, in so many ways, consumer interests, business interests and green interests are the same.
We have to give people the practical help to make more sustainable choices.
Where the benefits of going green are clear.

Of course, the environment contributes to our economy in a range of ways…
Many we don't always appreciate.
For example, anyone who's been on the Southbank this morning will have seen Friends of the Earth have turned it into a wildflower meadow…
To publicise the importance of bees to UK GDP.
Because bee populations are in decline and Friends of the Earth estimate it would cost farmers £1.8bn a year to pollinate their crops without them.
I plan to say more about the importance of natural capital in the coming months.
I'll be representing the UK at the Rio+20 Summit in the summer…
Where I'll be pushing for greater global protections for our natural assets.

But there are two specific areas I want to focus on today.
Two areas where going green is in the clear interests of individual families and the wider economy…
And where Government is doing everything we can to help consumers and businesses go green.

One: through a radical new approach to energy efficiency to cut emissions and bills.

Two: through building up the low carbon sectors on which our future prosperity depends.

Going green is good for consumers: energy efficiency

First, energy efficiency.

The UK still has some of the most energy inefficient buildings in Europe.
Fifteen million homes – more than half – are not properly insulated.
That's costing us in carbon:
A third of our emissions come from heating our homes.
And it's costing us in pounds:
Adding hundreds, every year, to bills for the most inefficient homes.

So the case for saving energy is compelling.
It fits perfectly with the waste not, want not mentality.
But we can't just preach at people.
We can't just demand everyone turns off their lights.
That has never worked before and it certainly won't work now.
Instead we have to understand and dismantle the obstacles that can put people off.

One problem is the hassle factor.
Of course, there's only so much Government can do here.
And making home improvements can be temporarily disruptive.
But there are ways to minimise that disruption…
And we are working with business to test innovative solutions.

For example, we've been working with B&Q and Sutton Council to see if offering a loft clearance service makes a difference.
B&Q clear your loft for you;
You go through your belongings while they install the insulation;
They put back the things you want to keep;
And everything else gets taken to Cancer Research shops to be sold for charity.

The first trial found that people were three times more likely to go for this than straight insulation.

[Awareness]

Another problem is awareness
Very few of us really know how much energy we use.
So we have replaced extraordinarily confusing Energy Performance Certificates with a much clearer document…
Showing, in simple terms, the cost of fuelling your home…
And the potential savings of using less energy.

From the summer, we'll be trialling a new project with First Utility and America's OPOWER…
Where consumers are told how much energy other, similar households use.

Working with US utilities, OPOWER has helped encourage American households to reduce consumption by around 2%.
That may not sound a lot, but it soon adds up.
In the States, they've helped reach around 11 million homes…
So far saving people around $85m.
We want to see what the same approach could achieve here.

And, of course, the biggest barrier for many people is the prospect of expense.
So that’s where we are providing most help.

The Government's Green Deal, which we'll begin rolling out in the Autumn…
Will offer businesses and homeowners energy saving home improvements…
But at no upfront cost.
Customers will have energy saving measures installed in their homes by trusted suppliers…
From high street brands to local traders.

• They will only begin paying for those improvements once they're complete.
• Payment will be made through their bills, over a period of time.
• And they shouldn't be out of pocket because their homes will be more energy efficient…
• Allowing them to save on their energy bills each month.
• We'll ensure customers are never charged more for the home improvements than we expect them to make back in cheaper bills.
• Plus the charge is attached to the property, rather than the person.

So if you move, you stop paying.

That is maximum affordability, with savings that should more than cover costs.
Where families still find it difficult to take up the Green Deal…
They will get help with their home improvements.

I can confirm today that we will be requiring the energy companies to provide at least £540m to fund energy saving improvements in the worst off homes:
So for low-income and vulnerable homes, older people, people with disabilities.
These are the households most at risk of fuel poverty.
And there will be specific support for the most deprived areas.

We expect the investment to help 180,000 fuel poor households a year…
Delivering the lasting improvements that will make their homes cheaper to heat – for good.

And, to help everyone with their bills…
To get more people switched on to the energy they use…
I can announce today that we have secured a landmark deal with the six big energy companies…
Who cover 99% of customers…
To give customers a guaranteed offer of the best tariff for them.

Right now, 7 out of 10 customers are on the wrong tariff for their needs – so paying too much.
Yet people rarely switch.
Despite the fact some families could save over £100 a year.
And there are currently over 120 different tariffs…
Making it very difficult to know where to start.

So, as of this Autumn, your supplier will have to contact you, every year, with the best tariff for you.
And, if you call them, they’ll have to offer you the best deal too.

We’re also working with energy companies to put special barcodes on energy bills.
You’ll be able to scan them with your smartphone to get quotes and switch tariff or supplier in a matter of minutes.

Plus we’re working with consumer groups to make it easier for people to club together and switch supplier…
Helping consumers use their collective

purchasing power to bring down bills.

These are the kinds of changes that help people save money.
That get us thinking about the energy we use.
That promote the kind of thrift that is good for pockets as well as the planet.
Going green is good for the economy: boosting low carbon industry

And just as we help UK consumers reap the benefits of going green…
We need to help more businesses seize the opportunities it presents too.

This country is already a powerhouse in green industries.
The sixth largest low carbon market in the world.
Home to an unrivalled research base;
With enviable natural resources for wind and wave energy.

In just the last year £5.7bn worth of planned investment in UK renewables has been announced…
In wind, biomass and energy from waste…
Potentially supporting tens of thousands of new jobs.

And we’re seeing traditional British firms excelling in new markets.
I recently visited David Brown Gear Systems…
A Huddersfield-based business that has successfully bid for Regional Growth Fund money.
During the First World War they built propulsion units for warships.
Now, by combining a tradition of British engineering with cutting edge innovation…
They’ve secured a multimillion pound contract to help build wind turbines for Samsung.

And yet, despite our clear strengths in these sectors…
We are still not tapping all of our potential.

When I speak to representatives from low carbon sectors…
I am always struck by their optimism for their companies and this country.
But I also hear time and time again that they have concerns about expanding;
They’re finding it difficult to secure investment;
They have to go elsewhere to source their supply chains because British firms can’t support their needs.

It cannot be right that our competitors aggressively back their strengths…
While we tread hesitantly around ours.
Perhaps part of that timidity is a hangover from the 1970s.
Where the attempt to back winners collapsed into huge state subsidies for losers.
But, whatever the reason, we’ve swung too far the other way.

So I am determined that this Coalition strains every sinew…
To give these sectors the certainty and backing they need;
To help more of our businesses move into these markets;
And to help energy intensive industries make the transition…
Securing their place in our low carbon markets of the future.

That’s not the same as picking winners…
The market has already done that – these sectors and firms are already a success.
It’s government joining the dots to make the most of all our talents and skills.

Whether by improving infrastructure…
Where we’re setting up the Green Investment Bank…
With UKGI beginning lending next month.

Whether by making sure we have the right skills.
For example through protecting science spending…
And massively increasing investment in apprenticeships.

We’re supporting green R&D.
For example in low carbon cars…
Encouraging companies like Nissan to build these vehicles here in the UK
We’re working extremely hard to open up export markets…
Using UKTI to identify high value, environmentally friendly infrastructure projects that can be supplied by UK companies.

We’re creating better, smarter regulation… Crucially by overhauling our electricity market…
And more detail on that will be coming in the Queen’s Speech.
We’re using the tax system – with our Carbon Price Floor and the Climate Change Levy.

And, because not all companies can change to low carbon overnight…
We’re helping traditional industries become more sustainable.
One of the first areas UKGI will look at, for example, will be industrial energy inefficiency…
Making £100m available from this month.

We need to be realistic about the time transition will take.
Which is why we’re looking at how we ensure these companies aren’t disproportionately affected by some of our measures.
Because, let’s be clear:
It is in no one’s interests for these industries to pack up and go abroad.
They are vital for UK jobs.
Their products – steel, chemicals – are critical to green industry.
And would we rather have them here, where we can help them cut their emissions?
Or in countries with lower environmental standards and ambitions?

So proper support. Real certainty.
With Government sending a clear signal across the world:
We want the UK to be the number one destination for clean, green investment.
We want low carbon industries serviced by British supply chains.
In waste not, want not Britain, we are going to play to all our strengths.

So, to finish as I began:
There is no choice between protecting the environment and growing the economy.
Go green and you help hard-pressed families with their bills.
Go green and you build up the businesses that will be generating jobs and wealth for years to come.

I cannot remember a time when consumers, industry and environmentalists had so much in common.
Those of us who believe in a more sustainable future must seize the opportunity that creates.

Don’t believe the naysayers when they tell you environmentalism is off the agenda.
And don’t be in any doubt of our commitment to being the greenest government ever.

This is a Coalition that has committed to halving greenhouse gas emissions by 2025:
The boldest target set, in law, by any government, anywhere in the world;
And we’ll be pressing our neighbours to set much more ambitious EU targets at talks in Denmark next week.

A Coalition leading the biggest shakeup of the electricity market in thirty years.

A Coalition creating the UK’s first ever market in energy efficiency through the Green Deal.

A Coalition investing in a series of world firsts despite the huge pressures on the public purse:

The first ever national bank devoted to green investment.

The first ever Carbon Capture and Storage project at commercial scale.

In just four months, the greenest ever Olympic and Paralympic Games.

Make no mistake: the economic situation creates challenges…
But it has not weakened our resolve.
It has only strengthened our ambition.

Thank you.

‘Going Green has never made so much sense’

The Deputy Prime Minister made the announcement in a speech where he also hit out at people who believe you must dismiss the green agenda in order to deliver growth.

In his speech Nick Clegg said:

“There is a myth doing the rounds in political debate today; that here in the UK environmentalism has hit a wall; that green is for the good times; and that we cannot up our efforts to protect our environment while simultaneously growing our economy.

“But this new wisdom, however persuasive, is utterly wrong. Yes, right now climate change may be lower down some people’s thoughts. Yes, we need to be sensitive to businesses’ needs. But in so many ways, for so many consumers, for so many firms, going green has never made so much sense.”

You can read the full speech here.

Cheaper Bills

Currently there are more than 120 different tariffs on offer by the energy companies and seven out of 10 people aren’t on the best tariff for them. The average customer tends to stay on theirs for years, despite the amount of energy they use varying over time. In 2010, 75 per cent of people did not change their tariff.

The Government wants people to save money on their bills whilst also becoming more switched on to the idea of saving energy through green measures to make further savings and protecting the environment.

Nick Clegg said:

“We need to get bills as low as possible. I know that many families are struggling with rising energy bills. We can't control volatile world energy prices. But we can still help people get their bills down.

“We want to see consumers saving money and engage with the energy they use. Precisely the kind of thrift that is good for pockets as well as the planet.”

Bills can be further reduced with energy efficiency measures such as installing loft and cavity wall insulation – which the Government requires the big energy suppliers to help households with and provide free to some of the most vulnerable consumers.

Also inside Peter Arnold asks some questions about Scottish independence.

This week Nick Clegg has been representing the UK at the 2012 Nuclear Security Summit in Seoul, which was attended by representatives from 53 nations. The Deputy Prime Minister had a number of one-to-one meetings with world leaders, including US President Barack Obama.

The UK delegation, led by the Deputy Prime Minister, called for more vigilance about the spread of potentially dangerous information and discussed progress on attempts to ‘lock down’ vulnerable nuclear materials.

During his visit to South Korea, he announced that a Free Trade Agreement between the EU and Korea had been agreed. The Agreement could bring £500m per year to the UK economy and create £2bn new export opportunities for UK businesses. He also unveiled a new Host2Host agreement which will help British firms win contracts for sporting events like the 2014 Asian Games, the World Student Games in 2015 and Pyeongchang Winter Olympics 2018.

One leader he spent time with was President Pinera of Chile, who rose to prominence in the UK with his handling of the rescue of the 33, trapped miners in October 2010.

They had a wide ranging discussion which covered, among other topics, the global economic situation; the upcoming Rio +20 environment summit (at which both Nick and President Pinera will be representing their respective countries) and tensions between the UK and Argentina over the Falkland Islands.

Interestingly, President Pinera had a keen interest in Liberal Democrat tax policy. The clearly well-informed President was quick to ask – completely unprompted – whether the Budget had yet been voted on; when the personal allowance might be raised further and how many people had been lifted out of paying income tax. Nick was only too pleased to be able to answer his questions – particularly on lifting two million people out of tax.

A clearly impressed Chilean President hailed the “excellent” tax policy before wishing Nick luck with his efforts to raise the threshold further. Extraordinary evidence of the global recognition that this policy is starting to enjoy.

“Tonight's budget votes confirmed the resolve of the Lib Dems to give tax cuts to millions and to make sure that the burden of paying more is taken by those with the highest incomes.

“But tonight's budget votes also showed that Labour are all over the place on financial policy and that their votes and actions do not match their words.

“After five days of huff and puff from Ed Balls, and sustained protest about the proposal to lower the highest level of tax rate next year, Labour MPs were not in the chamber to vote against the change. This says all the public need to know about Labour's position.

“A last minute increase in the higher tax rate before the election and no real commitment to continue the 50p tax rate while they are in opposition shows how they value rhetoric more than action.”

“It is of course right for the Treasury to explore all options before selling RBS. However, it is absolutely essential that any sale is done to deliver the best possible benefit to the tax payer.

“The best way to guarantee a fair deal for taxpayers would be through the mass distribution of the stakes the Government owns in RBS and Lloyds. It is the fairest way of giving taxpayers a share of the rewards while ensuring the Treasury returns its investment.

“If a sovereign wealth fund wants to buy shares in RBS they should be buying them direct from the taxpayer, so those people who bailed out the bank enjoy the greatest return.”