My Lords, we really are at the end now. I shall try to be brief but make no apology about turning to a subject that affects the deliverability and credibility of the entire Bill. When we had a discussion on the establishment of an expert committee, the Minister referred me to the clause to which this amendment applies. Clause 139(2)(c) provides for resources to be raised for the employment of advice. I have no objection to that, but ad hoc advice, as we said the other day, is not sufficient for delivering such a complex project. We are now horribly aware of that, having been through nine days in Committee. Apart from a few serious experts in DECC and possibly Ofgem, a few very sharp lawyers sitting in the big six and other interested parties that may be on the other side of these deals, we probably know as much as is likely to be known at this stage about the nature and process of the contracts, the difference in the process of investment contracts and to a lesser extent, given that a lot still is fairly obscure, about capacity mechanisms.
The public know nothing, the potential participants know nothing and consumers know nothing. DECC, the counterparty and Ofgem will face a complex process. They will have to deal with extraordinarily complicated and novel arrangements that do not reproduce anything extant anywhere in the rest of the world when it comes to electricity supply. They will be dealing with companies who are very sophisticated, who employ the very best advice and who, necessarily and rightly, are looking for a deal which will profit them as well as helping the long-term future of our energy security.
Delivering what is in the Bill, even though it is not that thick a Bill, will be an extremely complex process. Parliament and the public would expect departments and others representing the Government and the public in this process to have very solid advice. Some of that can be dealt with on an ad hoc basis, contract by contract and aspect by aspect. However, as was made clear in a previous debate, you need an institutionalised
body which is clearly publicly known and respected, consisting of people with deep experience of the legal, financial, technological and economic issues which it is tackling. Above all, you need consistency. You need corporate memory and a body to oversee the individual officials and Ministers who, whether we like it or not, are not there for ever. They are often there only for a few months or years and cannot take full responsibility for negotiating these contracts.
The expert panel is an advisory panel, but it is an important strengthening of the whole process. I do not expect the Minister to change her mind today, but unless the Government recognise that they need something like this—they may want to call it something else—the deliverability of this whole process, on which so much depends, will look extremely shaky. I therefore hope that the Government will at least take on board that they ought to look at this concept again. I beg to move.