Energy Bill

I said earlier that one of the great advantages of the programme was that it could lead to the end of prepayment meters. One of the reasons that it is so strongly supported by Energywatch is that it could make a massive improvement to the service offered to domestic consumers, especially those in fuel poverty. I should say, as an aside, that it is very sad that the Bill does not address fuel poverty. Although the Bill gives us the perfect opportunity to do so, fuel poverty has been excluded completely. The hon. Gentleman refers to a sunset provision. We need progress within those five years. That is not the time scale in which we will see action, but that in which the Government need to make a decision, and that is an enormous way off. We do not have time on our side, if we are to stand any chance of meeting our 2020 commitments, so we need the programme to move forward more quickly. That is why we support the view of the industry and others that 10 years would have been a sensible time scale. The Government are giving us the smack of firm consultation, but we need decision making and progress. We accept that the new clause represents movement in the right direction, but it is still disappointing that the Minister has not gone further. New clause 16 is one of several measures that we tabled—sadly, it was the only one selected—that would give consumers more information so that they were able to make better choices. I am certain that consumers want to do more.