My Lords, I have to confess that I did not find the Minister’s reply at all reassuring. The fact that existing capacity meets the maximum plausible demand is not quite the point. The Minister might be aware—or perhaps would remember if she had been in her post a year or two back—that all we need is a major fire at one of our terminals or a catastrophe of some kind and we would be in very severe difficulties. In drafting this amendment, I deliberately did not specify the means—I did not specify gas storage. All I specified was the end. Whether someone is willing to provide gas at a fixed price for a fixed period and how they do it were deliberately not specified. For that reason, some of these arguments are a little wide of the mark.
I am not as convinced as the Minister that the existing gas market works at all well. It is in the interests of the major gas suppliers to hold supply back and then to dribble it in at times of high demand. That is when they make a lot of money. There is no one in the loop at present who protects the interests of the consumer. It is certainly not in the interests of the gas supply companies to do so. I am disappointed that the Government are not taking a more active position on this matter. However, if they are determined to turn their back on this, there is nothing more to be done today and I beg leave to withdraw the amendment.