Before the noble Baroness sits down, will she explain again why she rejected Amendment 55AFB in the name of the noble Viscount, Lord Hanworth, which would have inserted in government Amendment 55AF a reference to current market prices? I find my entry in the Register of Interests extremely misleading because it should imply competence to deal with this Bill, whereas I find it extremely hard to penetrate. However, I would have thought that over time the PPA must bear some relation to market prices. It cannot be set for all time, surely. The Minister seemed to be saying that it was important to give the certainty of a fixed price. That would mean a variable degree of subsidy, depending on what was happening to the actual price in the market.
I also have some difficulty with Amendment 55AB, introduced so impressively by the noble Lord, Lord Roper. I find it difficult to get away completely from the idea of efficiency being a criterion as well as independence. All the emphasis on the ability to borrow in the markets or from the banks and thus to have the certainty of a demonstrably viable price seems to take us far away from the market and questions of efficiency, although I am all for encouraging independent generators. However, the Minister’s rejection of Amendment 55AFB really puzzles me. Surely there must be some relationship with current prices in the market.