I thank the Minister for her response. The amendment was not seeking to add a disproportionate hurdle or to create a lengthy procedure or encumbrance that would prevent us benefiting from the expertise of National Grid. On the contrary, we were trying to give National Grid cover and protection by ensuring that we remove the discretion that is currently in the Bill. It comes down to another example of creating enabling powers that can be broadly interpreted. Obviously, we all trust that future Governments and Ministers will have the best interests of everyone at heart, but it is incumbent on us to make sure we write legislation in such a way that it enshrines that principle.
The purpose of the amendment was simply to question the reason for the degree of discretion and desirability factored into the clause. I would be grateful if the noble Baroness would reflect on that a bit more over the summer. The potential conflicts of interest are wide-ranging. I was grateful that the Minister mentioned the capacity mechanism, a measure which strikes at the heart of what National Grid does. The Committee already knows this, but we currently have two parallel solutions for capacity: the capacity mechanism as proposed in the Bill, which will not come into force until 2018-19, and in the interim period we have National Grid consulting on interim measures, apparently under its own licence initiatives and powers, to address what it considers to be a short-term concern about capacity markets. That already seems to be evidence that this is a highly complex and many-faceted Bill that creates unique circumstances within which the National Grid has to operate.
I am willing to withdraw the amendment, but I would like the Minister to consider the degree of discretion that the Secretary of State has. I beg leave to withdraw the amendment.