Mike Kane MP: speeches 2025

Speeches

• 17 Dec 2025 · Local Government Finance · Hansard source

  More

  Changes to funding formulas can throw up huge anomalies. The Minister is well aware that Trafford council, which covers part of my constituency, is one of those anomalies. Will she commit to work with my Trafford parliamentary colleagues, Trafford council and me to see if we can iron out some of those issues?

• 9 Dec 2025 · Illegal Migrants: Unknown Whereabouts · Hansard source

  More

  When we talk about emotive subjects such as this one, it is important that we establish the facts. The hon. Member for Great Yarmouth (Rupert Lowe) recently railed on social media against illegal migrants coming to his constituency. They happened to be canoeists traversing the Atlantic and fundraising for motor neurone disease. Now he is Billy No Mates; he is like some latter-day King Cnut, without his courtiers, on the beach, railing at the tide to go backwards. Does the Minister not agree? For the record, Madam Deputy Speaker, I hope that I pronounced Cnut correctly.

• 9 Dec 2025 · Illegal Migrants: Unknown Whereabouts · Hansard source

  More

  That was No. 5.

• 9 Dec 2025 · Illegal Migrants: Unknown Whereabouts · Hansard source

  More

  There will be 18 of them.

• 9 Dec 2025 · Northern Ireland Troubles: Operation Kenova · Hansard source

  More

  We know that this was a brutal, murderous conflict, but, as we are reminded today, it was internecine as well at times. “There’ll be days like this”, in the words of one of Northern Ireland’s famous sons, but does the Secretary of State agree that, even on days like this, we should continue to keep victims and families at the forefront of our thoughts?

• 8 Dec 2025 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

  More

  T3. The Government’s new youth investment fund is supporting the charity Nacro in my constituency to build a youth hub in Wythenshawe park. The Minister knows my constituency well, so I am sure he will agree that this project shows that we have an Administration who are serious about investing in our nation’s young people.

• 18 Nov 2025 · Flood Risk and Flood Defence Infrastructure: North-west England · Hansard source

  More

  It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Dr Murrison. I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Warrington South (Sarah Hall) for this important and timely debate. For my constituents in Wythenshawe and Sale East, flooding is a growing concern, severely affecting local communities on both sides of the river. On new year’s day, we witnessed one of the most severe flood events in recent memory: the River Mersey reached its highest level in 66 years following an intense downpour—70 mm of rain in just 18 hours. Emergency crews worked tirelessly and I join my hon. Friend the Member for Stockport (Navendu Mishra) in giving my thanks to them. At Northenden golf club, helicopters dropped one-tonne bags of rock to plug the breaches in the embankments. My hon. Friend the Member for Manchester Withington (Jeff Smith) and I met representatives of our respective golf clubs, Northenden and Withington, a few days after the event. One of the nightmare scenarios now is that golf clubs cannot get insurance, and that is only spreading. That is what climate change is bringing to us. Manchester city council evacuated over 1,000 residents that day and closed footpaths and infrastructure near the river. The exact same thing had happened just a few years earlier; the then Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, visited a couple of days later—we thought we had averted disaster but clearly we had not. Thanks to flood defences, nearly 12,000 properties were protected, but tragically 99 homes were still flooded because of the embankment breaches. On 1 January, the river at Northenden peaked at 3.76 metres, well above the property flooding threshold of 3.3 metres. That was not an isolated incident. When I was a young councillor growing up in Northenden that was a one-in-100-year event, but now it is happening annually because of climate change. That is not all. The relentless discharging of untreated sewage into the River Mersey by United Utilities also points to a system under strain, as my hon. Friend the Member for Mid Cheshire (Andrew Cooper) mentioned. Storm overflows are designed to prevent sewerage systems from backing up during heavy rain. When they are overwhelmed, the environmental impact is profound. Polluted waters threaten wildlife, biodiversity and public health. The River Mersey becomes a wet wipe and tampon alley for weeks and months on end, making it unusable. Yet in 2024 alone, United Utilities discharged sewage into the Mersey estuary 1,865 times, lasting for a total of 12,500 hours. That is the equivalent of 1.4 years of continuous sewage, at an average of five spills every single day. That is just the estuary. The combination of damage to homes and businesses and the environmental impact of sewage overflow caused by flooding has created a perfect storm in my constituency and right along the River Mersey estuary. We are paying for it in countless unsustainable ways. What can we begin to do about the situation? Local action is extraordinarily important to stem the waters entering the Mersey in the first place. The South Manchester urban brooks project, in collaboration with the team at Biora, have come up with a plan to de-culvert Baguley and Fairywell brooks. We have to tackle these issues at the source. De-culverting and freeing our buried waterways, restoring them to their natural, open-air condition, is transformational: it reduces pollution, improves water health, creates vital habitat for wildlife and lowers water temperatures. Most importantly, it slows the water course down before it ever enters the River Mersey basin at all. That is why that type of infrastructure upstream is critical for helping my hon. Friend the Member for Warrington South. It also creates recreation opportunities for residents; Baguley brook in my constituency runs by a cycle path, for example. When we bring back our rivers and streams, residents gain access to improved green space, which in turn improves their own wellbeing. But more than that, de-culverting reduces the long-term infrastructure costs and acts as a natural form of green infrastructure, which, critically, slows down the flow of water and reduces peak flows during heavy rain, mitigating flooding further downstream. Bringing back our brooks in a restorative course of action will reduce flooding, but it requires careful hydrological modelling and carries a high up-front cost. It needs funding and commitment from decision-makers to succeed. Will the Minister meet me to discuss the plans in my constituency, to make sure that we take action on the devastating impact of flooding all along the Mersey valley?

• 4 Nov 2025 · Supporting High Streets · Hansard source

  More

  The hon. Member is making a very impressive speech. Cultural institutions are also important for our high streets. I note that it is the 200th anniversary of the death of Jane Austen, who lived in Chawton House in Alton in his constituency. Hopefully that will help to regenerate his high street as well.

• 20 Oct 2025 · Diego Garcia Military Base and British Indian Ocean Territory Bill · Hansard source

  More

  I hope the whole Committee can unite around this point. I pay tribute to the Chagossians in the United Kingdom for the contribution they make to the schools in their communities and to the Catholic churches where they live and, in my constituency, for their work at Wythenshawe hospital and Manchester airport—it is second to none. They are welcome here, and we value them very much, despite our political differences in this Chamber.

• 20 Oct 2025 · Diego Garcia Military Base and British Indian Ocean Territory Bill · Hansard source

  More

  I am fond of the hon. Gentleman, who speaks of “doublespeak”. It was not long ago in my political lifetime that the former Member for Witney, the then Prime Minister, invited His Excellency Xi Jinping for a pint in The Plough at Cadsden, in Oxfordshire. As he departed back to China from the airport in my constituency, I sat with the Prime Minister as he fawned over the Chinese Administration like it was some papal visit. What is going on with the Conservatives? Are you divided on what our approach to China should be?

• 20 Oct 2025 · Diego Garcia Military Base and British Indian Ocean Territory Bill · Hansard source

  More

  The former Government set up a trust fund of £40 million for the Chagos islanders. After four years, only £12,000 had been spent. That is how they treated Chagossians under the last Government.

• 13 Oct 2025 · Manchester Terrorism Attack · Hansard source

  More

  During my time in and around public life, Manchester has faced a number of terrorist atrocities: the ’92 and ’96 IRA bombs, the death of Detective Constable Stephen Oake in 2003 at the hands of an Islamic extremist, the 2017 Manchester Arena terror attack, and now this vile attack on Manchester’s Jewish community. Is the Home Secretary confident that we have fully implemented the recommendations on tackling the failings identified after the arena attack, and that there is an equitable distribution of counter-terrorism resources in the United Kingdom?

• 1 Sept 2025 · Draft Hovercraft (Application of Enactments) (Amendment) Order 2025 · Hansard source

  More

  I beg to move, That the Committee has considered the draft Hovercraft (Application of Enactments) (Amendment) Order 2025. It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mrs Hobhouse. The purpose of the order, laid before this House on 1 July, is to ensure that the full range of maritime legal powers currently available in relation to ships is also available to make regulations for hovercraft operating in the United Kingdom. We can be proud of the industry as the only commercial hovercraft application, we think, in the world—my officials searched in vain for anywhere else that had one. We manufacture hovercraft for a range of purposes in the UK, and they are one of our great exports, so I am delighted to speak about them in this Committee. Christopher Cockerell, in the 1950s, came up with the modern-day design of the hovercraft, which crossed the Dover strait in 1959, although Emanuel Swedenborg actually came up with the concept in 1716, before it could be developed properly. The UK has one commercial hovercraft operation, comprising two hovercraft that operate in inshore waters between Portsmouth and the Isle of Wight. The hovercraft are regulated as high-speed craft and comply fully with existing legislation. The principal legislation governing hovercraft is the Hovercraft Act 1968, which provides for Orders in Council to be made to bring hovercraft within the scope of any relevant ship requirements under the Merchant Shipping Act 1995, because hovercraft operate at sea in the same way as ships. The powers in the 1968 Act were used to make the Hovercraft (Application of Enactments) Order 1989, which is the basis on which current relevant ship requirements are applied to hovercraft. The new order, if approved, will amend the 1989 order to make it possible to apply future relevant legislation made under the 1995 Act to hovercraft as it applies to ships. It is our intention to make this order now because, for the purpose of extending the current merchant shipping fees regulations in November 2025, it is necessary to ensure that, in relation to all possible future hovercraft operations, the Department will be able to charge fees for regulating hovercraft in the same way that it charges for regulating other types of ships and vessels. This order will contain powers to ensure, through the use of provision for ambulatory reference, that legislation for hovercraft can keep pace with changes in shipping legislation where necessary. The order will cover provision relating to safety requirements, pollution prevention measures and inquiries and investigations into ship casualties, ensuring that hovercraft remain subject to the same modern regulatory standards as ships where necessary. Doing so supports consistency, safety, the protection of the maritime environment and growth across maritime operations. The order updates and refreshes some provision in the existing 1989 order to bring it up to modern drafting standards. The order also makes specific provision in respect of the ambulatory reference powers in the 1995 Act, which will mean that provision in regulations for ambulatory reference to ship requirements, where those ship requirements are applied to hovercraft by this order, will also cover those requirements as they apply to hovercraft in the same way that they apply to ships. That will ensure that the relevant legislation for hovercraft keeps pace with international standards in the same way as ships, ensuring a level playing field for UK industry and international competitors. I have highlighted the importance of this Order in Council for ensuring that hovercraft operating in the UK are subject to the same regulatory regime as ships, and that the Department has appropriate powers to ensure compliance with relevant safety and pollution prevention standards. I therefore commend this statutory instrument to the Committee.

• 1 Sept 2025 · Draft Hovercraft (Application of Enactments) (Amendment) Order 2025 · Hansard source

  More

  I thank the Opposition for their support for this statutory instrument and welcome the right hon. Member to his elevated place. This is like the ghost of Christmas past, as we shadowed one another in opposition not so long ago, and I wish him well in his new position. He asked me a number of questions. Yes, the sector is unique—that is a good point. It operates only in the Isle of Wight. I have an ongoing relationship with Hovertravel as we try to solve some of the long-standing issues around transport to the Isle of Wight. My officials have worked closely on standards with Hovertravel at least since I have been in post, along with Wightlink Isle of Wight ferries. There is a good working relationship there. This order is an administrative change, and engagement is not necessary yet. The engagement will take place when changes happen around the regulatory fees or marine pollution. That is what the order allows us to do. The right hon. Gentleman asks about costs. As this is a technical instrument, it does not contain regulatory requirements, and does not impose any immediate costs on businesses, charities, voluntary organisations or the public sector. I reiterate that we are unique in having the only commercial service on the planet—or so we think; if anybody knows of anywhere else, please let me know. We manufacture and produce hovercraft. We sell them across the world to maritime and coastguard authorities and for defence applications. More power to our elbow as a nation; may we carry on doing that. I hope that I have fully answered the right hon. Gentleman’s questions. As I said, the order makes provisions to ensure that hovercraft will remain subject to the same regulatory standards as ships; that is what we are after. It is necessary to support consistency, safety and growth across the maritime sector, as well as to ensure relevant powers to change fees. Regulatory oversight of hovercraft as well as ships is desirable. I therefore commend the order to the House. Question put and agreed to .

• 17 Jul 2025 · Sustainable Aviation Fuel Bill (Fourth sitting) · Hansard source

  More

  Clause 15 provides that regulations are to be made by statutory instrument and that they may make different provision for different purposes and supplementary, incidental, transitional or saving provision. As we have already discussed, the regulation-making powers in clauses 1(6), 6(1), 10 and 11(4)(a) are subject to the affirmative procedure. The regulation-making powers in clauses 3(1) and 11(4)(b), which are largely administrative, are subject to the negative procedure; these powers will not alter the fundamental elements of the revenue certainty mechanism. Clause 16 provides information on how terms that are used throughout the Bill should be interpreted. It should be noted that our intention is for the revenue certainty mechanism only to support SAF production that would be eligible for the SAF mandate. This will be set out in the eligibility criteria during contract allocation. Clause 17 states that the Bill extends to England and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. Clause 18 sets out when the provisions of the Bill will come into force. We expect all the legislation for a revenue certainty mechanism to be in place by the end of 2026. We will continue to monitor the estimated delivery date and work with industry to deliver an effective revenue certainty mechanism as soon as possible. Clause 19 confirms that the Bill will be named the Sustainable Aviation Fuel Act upon Royal Assent. Amendment 1 agreed to. Clause 15, as amended, ordered to stand part of the Bill. Clauses 16 to 19 ordered to stand part of the Bill. Question proposed, That the Chair do report the Bill, as amended, to the House.

• 17 Jul 2025 · Sustainable Aviation Fuel Bill (Fourth sitting) · Hansard source

  More

  I beg to move amendment 1, in clause 15, page 8, line 7, leave out paragraphs (c) and (d) and insert— “(c) section 10 (payment of surpluses to levy payers); (d) section 11(4)(a) (power to amend maximum financial penalty);”. This amendment switches the order of paragraphs (c) and (d) so that the sections referred to appear in sequential order. It also corrects a cross-reference. The substance is unchanged.

• 17 Jul 2025 · Sustainable Aviation Fuel Bill (Fourth sitting) · Hansard source

  More

  On new clause 8, the hon. Member for Wimbledon is right to talk about deindustrialisation. Growing up in the 1970s, I saw the impacts of that, particularly on the east side of Manchester, with the chemical and mining industries being wiped out. In this day and age, we are still getting over that in my great city. I reassure him that we are supporting the SAF industry, in part, to grasp this opportunity for deindustrialised areas. Emerging SAF projects are often located on former industrial sites, and I remind the Committee that, if we do this right, our low-carbon fuels industry can support up to 15,000 jobs and £5 billion to the economy by 2050. I also reassure the hon. Member that work is ongoing across Government on the future of our refineries. We are acting urgently in response to the deeply concerning news of insolvency at Prax Lindsey oil refinery, and have put £200 million into the National Wealth Fund to back investment at Grangemouth. I want that work to continue at pace, and am conscious that specific sites will need to be considered on a case-by-case basis. Commissioning an additional separate report would not be beneficial, and would risk delaying potential investment decisions. Given that, I ask the hon. Member to withdraw the motion.

• 17 Jul 2025 · Sustainable Aviation Fuel Bill (Fourth sitting) · Hansard source

  More

  Thank you, Mr Western, for chairing the Committee. I also thank the Clerks, Hansard Reporters and Doorkeepers for overseeing proceedings. The Committee also benefited from the expertise of our witnesses and those who provided written evidence. As this is a hugely technical Bill and the world is watching us, I pay a massive tribute to the civil servants in my Department who worked on it. I thank all hon. Members who made this issue a manifesto commitment at the general election. I thank the Opposition for supporting the Bill and for their valuable contributions and insights. I thank the shadow Minister, the hon. Member for Mid Buckinghamshire, the Liberal Democrat spokesman, the hon. Member for Wimbledon, and all other Committee members. I thank them for their expertise and insight, and for the broadly positive, collaborative nature that they brought to the Committee. We all want the SAF industry in this country to grow and succeed so that we secure our world-class aviation sector’s future. I look forward to further engagement with hon. Members on the Bill.

• 17 Jul 2025 · Sustainable Aviation Fuel Bill (Fourth sitting) · Hansard source

  More

  I thank the hon. Member for the new clause, which seeks to ensure parliamentary scrutiny and that the SAF revenue certainty mechanism will run effectively. I also thank him for saying that I am full of warm words, because I am. I agree with the hon. Member that it is important to have measures to assess the impact of the Bill and make necessary recommendations; however, significant developments in the SAF industry are unlikely within the first 12 months after the Bill becomes an Act. We are committed to deliver the revenue certainty mechanism as soon as possible, but it is vital that such complex contracts are considered carefully, with time taken to get them right. That will involve negotiations with potential SAF producers. I reassure the hon. Member that we are committed to transparency in the Bill. We have committed to publishing details of who receives revenue certainty contracts and on what terms. We will also continue to publish annual data on the volume of SAF supplied under the SAF mandate. I hope that he accepts the explanations in the spirit in which they are given and withdraws his new clause.

• 17 Jul 2025 · Sustainable Aviation Fuel Bill (Third sitting) · Hansard source

  More

  I thank hon. Members for their contributions. Let me start by addressing the point made by the Opposition spokesperson, the hon. Member for Mid Buckinghamshire, about the overview and ambition of this legislation. We are the first legislature in the world to attempt to create this revenue certainty mechanism. The SAF mandate was a key commitment in our election manifesto last July, and the eyes of the world, as some of our witnesses said the other day, are on us doing this work, because people are following our lead. I therefore want to bake in the competitive advantage of being ahead of the game in this area, and being a world leader in this area too.

• 17 Jul 2025 · Sustainable Aviation Fuel Bill (Third sitting) · Hansard source

  More

  I am grateful to the hon. Member. Because this will be a matter between the counterparty and the companies invited to bid, it will be subject to normal contract law, but I am happy to write to him on the matter of appeals more specifically. Question put and agreed to. Clause 11 accordingly ordered to stand part of the Bill. Schedule Financial penalties for failure to comply with levy regulations Amendment made: 2, in the schedule, page 10, line 28, after “Wales” insert “or Northern Ireland”.— (Mike Kane.) This amendment ensures that an unpaid penalty is recoverable in Northern Ireland as if it were payable under an order of the county court, as is the case in England and Wales. Schedule, as amended, agreed to. Clause 12 Power to direct designated counterparty

• 17 Jul 2025 · Sustainable Aviation Fuel Bill (Third sitting) · Hansard source

  More

  My hon. Friend is a doughty campaigner for Stansted airport, which is near his constituency. Stansted is part of Manchester Airports Group Ltd, or MAG, which I know is extraordinarily keen—along with other airports, AirportsUK, airlines and nearly all the other people who gave evidence—that we pass this legislation. Coming back to the Bill, new clause 2, which was tabled by the hon. Member for Sutton and Cheam, would make it a requirement to carry out a review of the impact of levy regulations on sustainable fuels and the industry in the UK 12 months after they are introduced. The levy regulations will not have a significant impact in the 12 months after they are made. Contract payments will form the majority of levied costs. However, contracts need to be negotiated and signed, plants built, and SAF produced and sold before costs are incurred, which is very unlikely to happen in the first 12 months. Also, review clauses are commonly included in secondary legislation and we do not need separate powers in the Bill to include them in the levy regulations. The levy regulations will be subject to the affirmative procedure, which will allow Members of both Houses to scrutinise them. Given that, I ask the hon. Member for Sutton and Cheam not to press the new clause when we come to it later. I turn to new clause 6, which was tabled by the hon. Member for Wimbledon. I understand his concerns about the effectiveness of the SAF revenue certainty mechanism and how our policy aligns with the ECAA. I assure him that the UK’s overall SAF framework and requirements have many similarities to those of the EU, generally allowing the same certification schemes to be used, reducing administrative burden and minimising market access barriers. We actively monitor the SAF market including policies elsewhere in the world, just as the world is monitoring this Bill, to ensure that we provide the right level of support to the sector. As I have said, I am proud that we will be the first country in the world to introduce a dedicated SAF revenue certainty mechanism. Alongside the implementation of the SAF mandate from 1 January 2025, we are leading the way in having clear and effective policies, grounded in legislation, that address the demand and supply of SAF. International Governments and stakeholders frequently point to the UK as an example to emulate, based on our forward-leaning and comprehensive SAF policy framework. The UK plays a key role in international discourse on SAF and has cultivated strong bilateral relationships on SAF with countries worldwide. The UK promotes co-ordinated international action on aviation emissions through the International Civil Aviation Organisation. Given the active measures that we have in place, I ask the hon. Gentlemen not to press the new clause to a vote. Question put and agreed to. Clause 6 accordingly ordered to stand part of the Bill. Clauses 7 to 9 ordered to stand part of the Bill.

• 17 Jul 2025 · Sustainable Aviation Fuel Bill (Third sitting) · Hansard source

  More

  I think the hon. Member for Sutton and Cheam has a point, in that the public will be interested in how this is made. Advanced-waste SAF, including SAF made from non-recyclable municipal solid waste, is a key part of the SAF industry. We have backed and invested in this kind of SAF in our grant funding programme, the advanced fuels fund, as I mentioned earlier, and we are backing it again in this Bill, providing the revenue certainty that advanced waste-based SAF producers need to attract investment and scale up fast. The hon. Member’s new clause, however, is not what the SAF producers need, and would place more burdens on our local authorities. There is nothing preventing local authorities from using their municipal solid waste for SAF production if they believe that it provides the best value for money and environmental outcomes. We heard in evidence the other day, when waste actually has a value to it, is it waste any more? However, municipal waste often needs to be pre-treated and processed before it is used in SAF production. This often means that SAF producers look to buy their waste from processors, rather than from local authorities. We do not believe that access to municipal solid waste is currently a significant barrier for UK SAF production, and it is likely that discussions on the availability of municipal solid waste would happen once a project is close to taking a financial investment decision. I ask the hon. Member to withdraw his new clause.

• 17 Jul 2025 · Sustainable Aviation Fuel Bill (Third sitting) · Hansard source

  More

  It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Western. We often discuss our bicycles and their technology, but today we have to talk about the revenue certainty mechanism, which I am glad we are doing. The RCM is part of the Government’s agenda to decarbonise aviation in the United Kingdom. I will address the amendment moved by the hon. Member for Mid Buckinghamshire, but first I put on the record my thanks to him and other Opposition parties for their general support for what we are trying to do in the Bill. This Government back synthetic power-to-liquid SAF, which is why we have introduced a separate power-to-liquid sub-obligation, the SAF mandate. We have a separate power-to-liquid pot in the advanced fuel fund, which we are funding up to £63 million. Any RCM contracts awarded will be on the basis of the design phase of the project, including technological pathway and feedstock designation. I hope that answers the hon. Member’s worries about redundancy, because the process will evolve. Making changes to feedstock requirements or fuel type after contracts are awarded would be extremely challenging for producers. Instead, during our contract allocation process, it is for the Government to decide on the right mix of SAF that will be supported under the revenue certainty mechanism. Given that, I ask the hon. Member to withdraw the amendment. The clause allows the Secretary of State to direct the counterparty to enter into a revenue certainty contract with a SAF producer. The Secretary of State will decide who gets revenue certainty contracts through an allocation process. Making the leap from lab to commercial scale is difficult for SAF producers—we heard that in the evidence sessions on Tuesday. Commercial plants typically cost £600 million to £2 billion, so they need to attract a lot of investment, yet first-of-a-kind plants often struggle to get investment because there is no clear, predictable market price for SAF. The revenue certainty mechanism will address that. Under the revenue certainty mechanism a SAF producer will enter into a private law contract with a Government-backed counterparty that sets a strike price for SAF. If the producer sells SAF for less than the strike price, the counterparty will pay the difference. If the producer sells it for more than the strike price, it will pay the counterparty. This follows the example of similar schemes in the renewables sector, which showed that a private law contract with a Government-backed counterparty is a rock-solid commitment that will drive investment into projects. As we heard in our evidence sessions on Tuesday, British SAF producers are ready. They have the tech and the innovation; they just need the final piece of support from the Government to take off. That is why SAF producers, airlines, environmental groups and investors back these measures. A Government-backed counterparty will enter into the contracts rather than the Secretary of State, because investors value the day-to-day independence of a Government-owned private company and its insulation from political change. The counterparty will also have expertise in contract administration. This follows the model of contracts for difference schemes in other renewables sectors, where the Low Carbon Contracts Company, a Government-owned body, enters into the contracts, rather than the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero. When we consulted on how the revenue certainty mechanism should be administered, stakeholders strongly supported having a counterparty. The clause ensures that the Secretary of State can exercise control over how and on what terms the counterparty enters into the revenue certainty contracts. This is consistent with the approach for similar schemes. The Government will set eligibility and assessment criteria for the competition to allocate contracts, which will focus on ensuring value for money, maximising the benefits of UK SAF production, and supporting viable projects. Any restrictions on our ability to decide which projects to allocate contracts to would affect those objectives and jeopardise the whole scheme. The allocation process and the terms of the contract will need to be consistent with the requirements of the Subsidy Control Act 2022, which makes sure there is oversight of the mechanism by the Competition and Markets Authority through the mandatory referral process. The oversight will ensure that the objectives of the revenue certainty mechanism address the subsidy control principles set out in that Act. This includes ensuring that the scheme addresses an identified market failure, that any funding provided is proportionate to achieve that objective, and that any distortions of competition, investment or trade are minimised effectively. Clause 2 provides that producers must be notified of a direction made under clause 1 that affects them. This provides transparency and ensures that producers are aware of any directions towards them. It also gives the Secretary of State powers to revoke a direction and its effect, which protects the Government from entering into a contract where a producer has not met the criteria defined during the allocation process due to unexpected circumstances. We need to ensure that the taxpayer and the sector are protected, and this clause ensures that we can remove ourselves from the contract negotiation process if any issues arise. Clause 3 enables the Secretary of State to make regulations requiring the counterparty to maintain a register and publish the revenue certainty contracts, subject to any necessary redactions. This will ensure transparency by keeping a register of successful applicants and information on specific agreements, and make it clear which SAF producers have received contracts and on what terms. We will also continue to publish information on the volume of SAF supplied under the SAF mandate. These publication requirements will balance transparency and the commercial and confidential nature of contracts and negotiations. We believe that any stronger requirements to publish information may make producers reluctant to enter into negotiations or affect our ability to ensure value for money.

• 17 Jul 2025 · Sustainable Aviation Fuel Bill (Third sitting) · Hansard source

  More

  Clause 4 enables the Secretary of State to designate a counterparty for the revenue certainty mechanism. It also sets out that the counterparty must be a company wholly owned by the Government. There are several reasons for doing that. First, a Government-owned counterparty will be highly creditworthy, meaning that producers will find it easier to get cheaper financing, so their costs will be lower and the SAF they produce cheaper. Secondly, the counterparty will have day-to-day operational independence, giving investors confidence that the scheme will not be changed or dismantled. This approach follows similar schemes for renewable electricity generation and for hydrogen production and carbon capture. For those reasons, the Low Carbon Contracts Company, a Government-owned private company, acts as the counterparty. The LCCC has significant expertise in delivering similar contracts, and we have worked closely with it when developing the Bill. The clause also states that the Government-owned counterparty must consent to being designated. In practice, it is very unlikely that the designated counterparty would fail to provide or withdraw its consent, but it is important that there is a theoretical exit option, as the Government cannot force a private entity to undertake actions that may be to its detriment. Question put and agreed to. Clause 4 accordingly ordered to stand part of the Bill. Clause 5 Transfer schemes Question proposed, That the clause stand part of the Bill.