The recent King’s speech setting out this Government’s aims and priorities for the next parliament was crammed with forty legislative bills – the most since 2005, providing an insight to the change we are to expect over the coming years.
Whilst Economic growth was the main headline, environment through energy, net zero and planning also featured prominently in the speech, so here is a run down of the key points:
1. The creation of new energy firm GB Energy through the Great British Energy Bill, designed to accelerate the rollout of renewables as part of the government’s effort to decarbonise the UK’s electricity system by 2030. This will be headquartered in Scotland and will develop, own and operate clean power projects, investing in partnership with the private sector.
2. The Sustainable Aviation Fuel (Revenue Support Mechanism) Bill was introduced, supported by “revenue certainty” to help reduce risk, giving investors the confidence they need to invest in UK SAF plants. The government will mandate the supply of SAF in the UK by obliging suppliers to have at least 10% SAF in their fuel mix supplied to airlines, although no timescales were provided.
3. The Water (Special Measures) Bill – A bill to regulate water companies to clean up rivers lakes and seas in the UK by giving more power to the regulator OFWAT, allowing amongst other things the scrapping of bosses bonuses if environmental standards are not met.
4. The National Wealth Fund Bill which government sees as key to address the current funding gap for green investment projects that are not being funded by private investors.
5. The Planning and Infrastructure Bill aims to streamline the delivery process for critical infrastructure, including accelerating upgrades to the national grid and boosting renewable energy.
It is worth noting that not all bills become law, and not all new legislation comes from bills introduced through the King’s speech, some come through secondary legislation or amendments to existing legislation, however it does demonstrate intent, and EHS Management is keen to see how this next era of government delivers. Watch this space!
