Energy Bill

Thank you, Madam Deputy Speaker. This is an issue that I tried to raise in Committee by way of an amendment, but ironically it was not selected, so I am pleased to see that it has been selected for debate this afternoon. Many people have been worried about the possibility of a link between childhood leukaemia and electromagnetic fields from high-voltage power cables. As mentioned in Committee, the Department of Health funded the Draper report, which found that children living within 200 m of high-voltage power lines from birth had a 70 per cent. increased risk of developing childhood leukaemia. [Interruption.] The Government have received recommendations for action on the matter from the Health Protection Agency, from SAGE, which is the Government's stakeholder group, and from Back Benchers, who carried out a public inquiry under the direction of my hon. Friend the Member for Norwich, North (Dr. Gibson). [Interruption.]