Energy Bill

Let me begin by paying tribute to the Minister. There are many aspects of the Bill that we have not managed to get quite into the shape that we would have wished. However, she has constantly been courteous, thoughtful and constructive in all the exchanges and dealings that we have had with her, and she has genuinely tried to find common ground on some of the issues. That has not been possible in all areas, but I thank her for the approach that she has taken. With the hon. Member for Harrogate and Knaresborough (Mr. Willis) here too, I would like to pay tribute to the way in which he discussed the issues in Committee and to the thoughtful approach that he took to all our dealings. The Lords amendments that we are discussing are relatively minor, although we must of course be cautious about any change in the definition of fuel poverty. There is an anxiety out there that what is being done might be an attempt to change the definition by stealth and to wriggle out of some of the commitments that have been made, with a recognition that the Government are way off track in trying to meet their legally binding commitments on tackling fuel poverty. There is an obligation on the Government to end fuel poverty for all vulnerable households by 2010 and to take all households out of fuel poverty by November 2016. We are clearly well off track for the 2010 target, which is a very challenging target indeed. I hope that the Government do not intend, through the measures that we are discussing, to try to find a way of changing the definition of fuel poverty so that they can meet those targets by stealth. I hope that the Minister will be able to give us some comfort on those concerns when she responds to this short debate. I hope that the Minister can also clarify a little more what the techniques that we are debating can be used for, and therefore explain how broad their application might be. We want to understand the full implications of the changes that are being suggested. The first measure relates to fuel poverty, as we have said, but would other measures relating to fuel poverty similarly be covered? For example, we would like to see measures to require energy companies to say exactly how much a consumer would save if they were on a cheaper tariff. We would also like measures to say how we would make consumers aware of those cheaper tariffs and how they could switch. Could that be done through the orders that the Minister is putting forward today? We would also be keen to see measures to speed up the roll-out of smart meters and to say that this should be done not by 2020, which we think is a profoundly unambitious approach, but instead 2016. Could the measures that the Minister has outlined be used as a way to drive that work forward with greater speed and determination? It is important that we should see the measures that we are discussing against the background of the Bill and the context in which they were discussed in the Lords. That relates in particular to what the Minister sees as the Government's strategic role under the Bill and, therefore, the amendments that we are discussing. On carbon capture and storage, there is a strategic case for the Government requiring oversize pipelines to be put in place, so that we can develop clusters of CCS development around the country. We would be grateful if she could clarify what the Government's views are on such a strategic overview. It would also be interesting to hear the Minister's views on the Government's strategic approach to the development of an offshore grid and what they should be doing to secure it. We are well aware that there is a disagreement between the Government and ourselves about whether that should be mandated, with a requirement to put in place high-voltage DC cabling down the coast, in respect of which we see the Government as having a strategic role, and we are keen to ensure that they similarly have a strategic vision for what they would like to see done in this area. The proposals that we are discussing are modest changes that are being made for clear legal reasons. It is a shame, as we on the Conservative Benches would all recognise, that the changes made in the Lords have gone nothing like as far as we would have wished. We are very disappointed indeed that the Government did not use the opportunity in the Lords to go further and make this a more fundamentally ambitious and important Bill. It should have included measures on energy efficiency and rolling out a green deal, so that people could have energy efficiency devices installed in their homes in a way that enabled them to enjoy the benefits of that work before they started paying for the costs. The Bill should also have included measures on an emissions performance standard that would require all newly built electricity generation to cut emissions. It should have included measures to reform the climate change levy, so that it became a genuine charge on carbon, rather than another tax on business—an issue that has been so relevant in the discussions more generally this week. The Bill should also have looked at ways of introducing real incentives, so that communities that host wind farms can benefit financially from those schemes. The Bill does important things, but it could have been improved and it could have done a great deal more. We welcome some of the concessions that the Minister has made, most importantly in being prepared to extend the roll-out of the carbon capture and storage schemes that can benefit from the new levy to include those developed using gas and biomass, which is an important achievement. However, as with so many other aspects of legislation, the Bill represents unfinished business. It is one of a number of Energy Bills that we have seen in the past 13 years, but it still does not measure up to the scale of the challenge that lies before us or the enormous energy security issues that we face. That means, I am afraid, that there will have to be another Energy Bill soon after the election, when we will have a Conservative Government with the drive, the resolve and the commitment to address those issues and take them forward.