A busy week in Parliament has seen George Eustice MP ask questions of the Secretaries of State for Education, the Foreign Office and the Environment. He contributed to a debate on the Rio+20 Summit, and called a Westminster Hall debate on the South West Marine Energy Park.
In Education Questions on Monday, George asked Secretary Michael Gove what progress had been made on plans for capital investment in Schools, he cited Camborne Academy's bid to the Priority Schools Building Programme in order to build new science laboratories. In response, Mr Gove acknowledged that "for a variety of reasons a number of schools in Cornwall have missed out on the allocation of capital in the past" but he pointed to his December announcement to allocate £11 million of funds to schools in Cornwall.
George questioned the Foreign Secretary on Tuesday as to his progress in selecting a replacement for the UK's judge at the European Court of Justice; he called on the Government to consult Parliament about any future appointment. Responding, William Hague said, ""We expect to be in a position to nominate a candidate within the next month... We have improved the nomination procedure by advertising the position publicly and subjecting applicants to interview by an independent panel of experts." He pledged to keep the House updated on the progress made.
Later on Tuesday, George spoke in a debate called in advance of the Rio+20 to be held later in the year. He welcomed the Government's commitment to valuing capital, which is at the heart of proposals, and warned of the danger of getting distracted from environmental and biodiversity issues in the name of tackling climate change. To read the full speech, click here
To read a full report of Wednesday's Westminster Hall debate, entitled "South West Marine Energy Park" click here. George suggested to Energy Minister, Greg Barker, that the MEP framework be used to cut red tape and ease the regulatory burden on developers.
George used the opportunity of EFRA questions on Thursday to press the Secretary of State, Caroline Spelman, to rethink the Government's approach to reforming the CAP. George advocated a much more devolved approach to environmental policy, with common targets and a market in transferable environmental obligations.