Climate Change and SustainableEnergy Bill

The hon. Lady is right. As I have said, it is easy in this place to talk and reach agreement on a cross-party basis. The problem is leaving this place continuing to agree on a cross-party basis on what needs to be done. Until we can get past our political problems with that, we will not make progress. Parts of the Bill do not apply to Scotland. Separate legislation is passing through the Scottish Parliament, and that reflects many of the provisions in the Bill that do not apply to Scotland. During the passage of the Bill one good change was made by the Minister in respect of the charging regime for renewable energy on the islands off the Scottish coast. He did not go as far as I would like. There have been many debates about changes in the mainland and offshore. I will not rehearse those arguments. I am sure that the Minister will not delight me by making the announcement that I would seek. I live in hope that some day he might do so. The hon. Member for Glasgow, North (Ann McKechin) made an extremely good point about the report from Energy Action Scotland. It was an excellent report. There are difficulties with energy in rural areas. In my constituency, many houses in rural areas still have old-style oil-fired central heating. It is an expensive way to heat a house. We need to tackle the problem. As has been said, there is a difficulty with alternative sources. We face increasing energy costs, something which pushes many people into fuel poverty. That is the reason for the increase in fuel poverty over recent years. Action needs to be taken. On many occasions, I have raised the issue of prepayment meters. Often, the poorest in society are discriminated against by energy companies. Again, that is an issue that the Government must consider. There is the complexity of new technologies, particularly with new-style boilers. Another problem is the cost of new technology. It is all very well telling someone that he or she needs a combined heat and power boiler, but such technology must be available at an affordable price so that people will invest in it. In that way, we will ensure that we reduce consumption. I was interested in what the hon. Member for Basingstoke (Mrs. Miller) said about natural insulation. Will we all be asked to put on another jumper in the winter? The hon. Lady did not go quite that far. I was interested also by her remarks about televisions in the House. In my five years in this place, I have faithfully switched off my television every night. I have not yet been carted off by the Serjeant at Arms. Perhaps I will be at the end of the debate. We all have an individual responsibility to reduce our energy consumption. We must be serious and have a cross-party agreement. It is imperative that we adhere to it outside the House. I urge everyone to support the Bill. Let us give it a fair wind and a good start.