Call for pause on privatisation of Green Investment Bank

The Scottish government has called on Westminster leaders to “pause” the privatisation of the Green Investment Bank to allow Parliamentary scrutiny of the sale.

The GIB, which employs dozens at its Edinburgh HQ, was created by the UK Government in 2012 to invest in green projects but was put on the chopping block by the then Chancellor George Osborne in 2015.

The SNP government’s intervention came as a Commons committee also raised concerns over the sale of the institution to Australian investment bank Macquarie, with its chairman saying that it needed assurances from the Business Secretary Greg Clark that it would not be sold to an asset stripper.

Meanwhile, Caroline Lucas, the co-leader of the Green Party, told MPs during a Commons debate that the Australian investment bank, had a “very, very worrying and dubious track record”.

She said: “This preferred bidder, Macquarie, not only has a dismal and terrible environmental record, it also has an appalling track record of asset-stripping. So why has the government given preferred bidder status to this company?”

The bank, which supports offshore wind farms and other green projects, was a flagship policy of the last Coalition Government. It was set up with £3.8 billion of taxpayers’ funds and was hailed as the first in the world to be dedicated to “greening the economy”. off to an “asset

Ms Lucas asked Energy Minister Nick Hurd in the House of Commons whether “selling off could lead to the bank being fatally undermined as an enduring institution?”

She added: “Will he stop the killing off of the Green Investment Bank? Will he halt the sale process with immediate effect?”

Ms Lucas told MPs: “This week we heard that the Green Investment Bank stands on the brink of not just being flogged off but of being broken up with its green purposes discarded.”

She added that since it was founded in 2012 the bank has been “a true success story,” kick-starting “truly innovative low-carbon projects” across the UK.

Ms Lucas added: “And yet this preferred bidder, Macquarie, not only has a dismal and terrible environmental record, it also has an appalling track record of asset stripping.

“So why has the Government given preferred bidder status to this company?”

SNP Energy spokesperson Callum McCaig MP also joined Ms Lucas in the Commons in calling for Parliament to “fully scrutinise” the sale.

He said: “I’m very concerned that the Tories’ plan to sell the Green Investment Bank will result in asset-stripping - which is likely to hand the buyer a significant profit at the expense of UK taxpayers nevermind the impact this could have on the future of green projects throughout the country.

“The UK Government says the bank’s HQ will remain in Edinburgh and that the UK Government will retain a symbolic “golden share” but if the bank is to be entirely privately owned it is unclear how the Tories can maintain these promises.

“I’m pleased that Climate Change and Industry Minister Nick Hurd agreed to meet Edinburgh South West MP Joanna Cherry after she asked for an assurance from the UK Government that 55 jobs at the Edinburgh HQ of the GIB in her constituency would be protected.

“And how can we be sure that whatever company buys the bank will hold on to the green credentials at the heart of the GIB?

“The sale is happening at precisely the worst time for renewables. After years of counterproductive decisions from the UK Government, renewable investment is expected to fall by 95 per cent between 2017 and 2020, and the adverse consequences of the UK’s decision to leave the EU could plunge the sector into further uncertainty.

“The UK Government must pause the sale of the GIB so that Parliament can fully scrutinise the process and the GIB can play its part too.”

While Macquarie has not commented on the Commons exchanges, UK Energy Minister Nick Hurd said: “We are asking potential investors to confirm their commitment to Green Investment Bank’s green values and investment principles and how they propose to protect them, as part of their bids.”