§ Mr. Simon ThomasTo ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how much income she estimates the delays in introducing new criteria to the clear skies grants has cost the UK solar industry; and if she will make a statement. [134542]
§ Mr. TimmsThe Department needed to balance the early availability of grants against the need to adhere to European regulations. We endeavoured to keep stakeholders informed of any delays. It is not possible to put a financial estimate on this delay but preliminary evaluation of the scheme has shown that many people who were considering installation before they were aware of the grant availability still continued with their installation.
No such estimate has been made. Efforts were made to keep stakeholders informed of delays, which reflected the need to take account of European regulations.