National Wealth Fund to put £28m into carbon capture project
Peak Cluster is working towards a pipeline that will take carbon emissions from cement and lime companies in the Peak District and store them below the Irish Sea.
The £28.6 million is coming from the National Wealth Fund (NWF) a body announced by the Government last year with £27.8 billion to invest in clean energy and growth industries, in the hope of catalysing other private investment.
Peak Cluster is also backed by £31 million from the private sector, the Treasury said, and will be the NWF's first investment in carbon capture, since Rachel Reeves said in March that it should be a priority.
The Chancellor said: 'We're modernising the cement and lime industry, delivering vital carbon capture infrastructure and creating jobs across Derbyshire, Staffordshire and the North West to put more money into working people's pockets.'
Energy Secretary Ed Miliband described the investment as a 'landmark' that could help 'deliver thousands of highly skilled jobs'.
'Workers in the North Sea and Britain's manufacturing heartlands will drive forward the country's industrial renewal, positioning them at the forefront of the UK's clean energy transition,' he added.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Powys County Times
31 minutes ago
- Powys County Times
‘Discussions continue' over US steel tariffs deal ahead of deadline, says No 10
Downing Street would not say whether the Government was confident that a deal to eliminate American tariffs on UK steel would be struck as Donald Trump's deadline looms. The US president has said he plans to start implementing tariffs on the US's trade partners on July 9. The UK has already managed to negotiate a deal with the US which eliminates the threat of tariffs to British car and aeroplane manufacturers. But a reprieve for the steel industry is yet to be finalised, leaving open the threat that the current 25% tariff rate could rise to 50% after the July 9 deadline. Mr Trump is reportedly stepping up pressure on countries who could soon be subject to the tariffs, urging them to negotiate trade deals with the US. But amid signs of confusion within the US administration, trade secretary Howard Lutnick has suggested America's trade partners will see the levies begin on August 9, after receiving a letter outlining them on July 9. Asked if the Government was confident a deal would be reached on UK steel, a No 10 spokesman said: 'Our work with the US continues to get this deal implemented as soon as possible. 'That will remove the 25% tariff on UK steel and aluminium, making us the only country in the world to have tariffs removed on these products. 'The US agreed to remove tariffs on these products as part of our agreement on May 8. It reiterated that again at the G7 last month. The discussions continue, and will continue to do so.' Pressed again whether ministers were confident British producers would not be hit by the 50% tariff, the Downing Street spokesman said: 'As I say, discussions continue. 'We have very close engagement with the US, and the US has been clear that it wants to keep talking to us to get the best deal for businesses and consumers on both sides.'
Powys County Times
31 minutes ago
- Powys County Times
Super junior ministers ‘acting as a collective authority in Cabinet meetings'
The High Court in Dublin has been told that so-called super junior ministers are taking part in Cabinet meetings and acting as a 'collective authority' with the Government, in breach of the constitution. The High Court is hearing a challenge by Sinn Fein TD Pa Daly about the attendance of super junior ministers at Cabinet meetings. Also attending court on Monday was Sinn Fein leader Mary Lou McDonald and Donegal TD Pearse Doherty. Mr Daly argues that Article 28 of the Constitution of Ireland limits the number of government members to 15. Sinn Féin are here today to challenge Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael blatant stroke politics. We believe they are playing fast and loose with the Constitution to grease the wheels of their grubby deal with Michael Lowry and load the Cabinet with so-called 'Super Junior' Ministers. Pa… — Mary Lou McDonald (@MaryLouMcDonald) July 7, 2025 The super junior ministers appointed include Fine Gael's Hildegarde Naughton, as well as Independents Sean Canney and Noel Grealish. Fianna Fail's Mary Butler is also a minister of state attending Cabinet. Senior government ministers are appointed by the President of Ireland on the advice of the taoiseach of the day, and with the approval of the Dail. Super junior ministers are appointed by the government on the nomination of the taoiseach. Feichin McDonagh SC told the three judges that the legal basis of their appointment was exactly the same as the other ministers of state who do not attend Cabinet. He said he has queried with the respondents about what exactly is a minister of state who regularly attends government meetings. 'One would have thought following exchange of meetings there might be some consensus, but there does not appear to be a consensus,' Mr McDonagh said. He told the court it was not possible to address the issues unless the court knows what is a super minister. 'The designation of super junior by taoiseach was in some way an exercise of executive power of the state,' he added. He said it is suggested in the respondent's affidavit that there is an office called minister of state who regularly attends government, which Mr McDonagh said does not exist. He added that a decision to pay an allowance to super juniors does not change that position. 'Four super juniors now get an allowance and we challenge the provisions in that legislation to allow that,' he added. 'There is minister of state who is told by Taoiseach they can regularly attend government (meetings) and if they come into that category they get 16,000 euro a year. 'But it is not an office, not enacted under the constitution and there is no underpinning to suggest that the office is being created.' He also queried the meaning behind the words under Article 4.1, in which it states that the Government shall meet and act as a collective authority. 'What does collective authority do? They meet and with the others (ministers) they collectively act. Who is acting collectively? It is the government along with the super junior ministers,' Mr McDonagh added. 'There will be government decisions taken and government acting collectively. 'In that scenario there are extra individuals who are there present in the counsel of chamber. They are taking a full role in the formulation and formation of government policy, thereby acting as a collective authority and there is no dispute between the parties as to that being what is happening. 'The government is formulating policy and taking countless decisions and undoubtedly purporting to act as a collective authority. 'You cannot unscramble that egg. If you have government meeting with super juniors speaking to perspective government decisions and a consensus is arrived at, that decision is no less than a government decision than one that has been voted on. 'That decision is arrived at following a process of mixing yolks to getting into scramble egg and that cannot be unscrambled.' Earlier, Ms McDonald said the Government has broken the rules. Speaking outside court, Ms McDonald said: 'This is a challenge to a government who we believe have played fast and loose with the Constitution in a bid to secure a grubby deal with Michael Lowry and to retain office, Fianna Fail and Fine Gael, we believe are acting in defiance of the Constitution. 'There are four so called super junior ministers who attend cabinet. The Constitution, in our view, is very clear. The Cabinet amounts to 15 members, and we believe that the government is breaking the rules. 'They've broken the rules because at all costs, Micheal Martin and Simon Harris wish to remain in government, so they cut this deal, as you know, with Michael Lowry, and we are here now to challenge that action and to seek clarity.' Mr Daly brought the constitutional challenge against the Government in the High Court regarding the appointment of super junior ministers. The case challenges what Mr Daly says is a 'deeply problematic and unconstitutional practice that has taken root in recent decades'. He said: 'The attendance and participation of so-called 'super junior' ministers at meetings of the Government. 'This case is a constitutional challenge aimed at protecting the integrity of our system of government under Bunreacht na hEireann with which Fianna Fail, Fine Gael and the Lowry-led Independents are playing fast and loose.'
Telegraph
36 minutes ago
- Telegraph
Labour opens door to wealth tax
Downing Street has opened the door to introducing a new wealth tax following pressure from Labour's union paymasters. No 10 repeatedly refused to rule out a new levy on wealthy taxpayers after Lord Kinnock, the former Labour leader, said the party was 'willing to explore' it. In a briefing with journalists on Monday, the Prime Minister's spokesman initially appeared to suggest a wealth tax was off the table, pointing back to past comments from the Chancellor ruling it out. However, he failed to explicitly repeat that commitment, instead saying repeatedly that Sir Keir Starmer stood by his position that 'those with the broadest shoulders carry the greatest burden'. It will raise suspicions that Rachel Reeves is considering a new raid on the rich to plug the hole in Britain's finances left by the Government's dramatic reversal on welfare cuts. The Prime Minister is facing mounting pressure to consider the move. On Sunday, some of Labour's biggest union paymasters, including Angela Rayner's former employer Unison, backed calls for a wealth tax. One union source told The Telegraph they would raise the idea with the Prime Minister and lobby Labour MPs. Asked on Monday if Sir Keir would back a wealth tax, his spokesman said: 'We have repeatedly said that those with the broadest shoulders carry the greatest burden, and the choices we've made reflect that… But as you know, I'm not going to write the next Budget for you right now.' He went on to point out that 'the Chancellor has said in the past that we're not going to be bringing in a wealth tax', but repeatedly failed to repeat that commitment. Asked if those words reflected the Government's current position, the spokesman said: 'The existing position is what I've just said a couple of times, which is that we have repeatedly said, as the Prime Minister has said, that those with the broadest shoulders carry the greatest burden, and the choices we've made reflect that.' He added: 'The Government is committed to making sure the wealthiest in society pay their fair share of tax. And that's why the Chancellor announced a series of reforms in the last Budget to help fix the public finances in as fair a way as possible.' In an interview with The Telegraph earlier this year, Ms Reeves said there would be no increases to wealth taxes in her Autumn Budget. 'We're not interested in a wealth tax,' she said. 'Our priority is to grow the economy and that's the way that you make working people better off and secure better public finances. 'But there was lots of speculation ahead of the Spring Statement, including in your paper, about all the taxes I was going to raise. What taxes did I raise in the Spring Statement? None.' Asked on Monday if the position had now changed, the spokesman said: 'The position is as it's always been, and as I say, the Government is committed to making sure the wealthiest in our society pay their fair share of tax, but I'm just not going to write future Budgets here, as is our long-standing position.' Economists have warned that a new wealth tax would trigger a fresh exodus of the rich from Britain. However, the Prime Minister's spokesman insisted that finance leaders still see the UK as the 'best place in the world to invest in'. It comes after Cabinet ministers were warned taxes would have to rise following Sir Keir's capitulation on benefits. The gutting of the welfare cuts package last week has required the Treasury to find an extra £4.6 billion a year but has emboldened hard-Left Labour backbenchers to push for more policy changes. Speaking on Sky News on Sunday, Lord Kinnock, who led the Labour Party between 1983 and 1992, said of Sir Keir's Government: 'The appearance has been given that they are bogged down by their own imposed limitations. 'There are ways around that, ways out of it, pathways that I think people are willing to explore and actually would commend themselves to the great majority of the general public. 'They include, for instance, asset taxes in a period in which for the last 20-odd years in the United Kingdom, like quite a lot of other Western economies, earned incomes have stagnated in real terms while asset values have zoomed. They've just gone through the roof and they've been barely touched. 'Now, you wouldn't have to touch assets of under £6 million or £7 million, so people's houses would be secure. But even by going for an imposition of 2 per cent on asset values above £10 million, say, which is a very big fortune, the Government would be in a position to collect £10 billion or £11 billion a year.' Five trade unions have told The Telegraph that they will pressure the Prime Minister to pursue wealth taxes, while Labour rebels threw their weight behind the demands.
