Scottish Energy Minister Fergus Ewing held talks with the UK Government
Concerns from the Scottish Government about cuts to renewable subsidies met with a “sombre” response in Westminster, according to Holyrood’s energy minister.
Fergus Ewing held talks with UK Government counterpart Amber Rudd yesterday where he raised the issue of cuts to the green energy sector.
The Conservatives are currently planning to slash grants for renewable energy firms – a move that the Scottish Government has warned could cost thousands of jobs and damage the sector.
Mr Ewing, who is MSP for Inverness and Nairn, branded the proposed cuts “perverse” – but said Mrs Rudd had not agreed to change her stance.
He said: “It was a pretty sombre message (from Mrs Rudd).
“I raised a number of matters that are of critical importance to Scotland, but in most cases she stated that no decision could be taken until such time that the Chancellor enacts his decision on the spending review.”
Mrs Rudd has stressed that her priority is to “keep bills low as possible for hardworking families and businesses”.
However, Mr Ewing said the pair agreed there were “big advantages” to community energy projects and encouraging them should be a “shared objective”.
