Ecodesign for Energy-Related Products and Energy Information (Amendment) (Northern Ireland) Regulations 2025

Debate between Baroness Bloomfield of Hinton Waldrist and Earl Russell

Wednesday 26th March 2025 Lords Chamber

[Earl Russell (LD)]

My Lords, I thank the noble Lord, Lord Hunt, for introducing this SI. I will concentrate most of my remarks on the details of the SI before us rather than the amendment in the name of the noble Baroness, Lady Hoey.

Before I do that, I turn to the reasons for the regret amendment. Once again, the strength of feeling on these matters is clear to see, as shown by the speakers on various sides of the House. We on these Benches supported the Windsor Framework as a means of moving on from the stalemate following Brexit, but it is far from perfect and there clearly remain real and legitimate concerns about the lack of parliamentary oversight on these matters and the impact that Brexit itself and the Windsor Framework are having on businesses in Northern Ireland.

It is strange that the Government chose not to consult Northern Ireland on this SI. Given its political sensitivity, it would surely always be better to have consulted. I note that there is no legal duty to hold the consultation as the instrument does not make any substantial changes, but I view consultation with Northern Irish authorities as a different class of consultation and more a matter of common courtesy.

I note that the full impact assessment has not been produced. The Explanatory Memorandum says that the changes brought in

“are expected to have no significant direct or no significant indirect, impact on business, charities or voluntary bodies”.

As part of the reset in our relationship with the EU, I hope the Government will review the oversight mechanisms for how they consult the relevant sectors in Northern Ireland. I would welcome a response from the Minister on this point.

I turn to the tabling of the amendment. I must say, although it is absolutely the noble Baroness’s right to table her amendment, that it is hard to see, in my mind at least, that this SI justifies it. Everything that she may wish to say in the main Chamber could have been spoken just as clearly in the Prince’s Chamber at a more convenient time for everyone involved.

The SI itself will ensure that the latest EU rules on product-specific ecodesign and energy labelling automatically apply to Northern Ireland and can be enforced there, as required by the Windsor Framework. The new rules are updating previous Northern Ireland regulations from 2010 and 2011. The new regulations seek to ensure that household and some office items, such as tumble dryers, have a standby mode, and that for other items, such as mobile phones or tablet computers, consumers can acquire some spare parts.

The Government rightly argue that these regulations will bring benefits to Northern Ireland’s residents as they will save money on reduced electricity usage and be able to repair mobile devices if they break, saving the need to buy again from new. If the Department for Energy and Net Zero thinks that these regulations are good for energy efficiency for the people of Northern Ireland, while I welcome the fact that the Minister wants to bring the regulations to the whole of the UK, why can that not happen until March 2026? Is it possible to bring that forward? Clearly, if we could align these regulations across the whole of the UK and get these benefits for everybody, to my mind at least, that would be a good thing. There are staggered start dates for the regulations coming into force to replicate the staggered nature of the EU regulations themselves. The first will come in on 9 May 2025.

This statutory instrument has not been drawn to the special attention of the Houses by the Joint Committee on Statutory Instruments. However, the SI was noted as an instrument of interest by the Secondary Legislation Scrutiny Committee. It points out that

“while manufacturers from Great Britain (GB) selling into NI or the EU will have to meet the EU’s new product standards, the Department says that “the majority” of the products covered by this instrument will also still be compliant with GB standards”.

The committee also notes that the impact of enacting this SI is that, further forward,

“the legislation always automatically reflects the most up to date EU rules on product-specific ecodesign and energy labelling, removing the need for further secondary legislation to implement updates in UK law when the EU rules are replaced in a way that affects NI”.

The committee recommends that

“it would be helpful to also publicise future changes through a Parliamentary Statement to both Houses”.

Will the Minister respond to this suggestion? In his opening remarks, I think he talked about memorandums of understanding; if could he just clarify that point for me, it would be appreciated.

I note the Minister’s points about being on a journey on these matters. In general, we welcome these measures for ecodesign and would like to see them implemented across the UK.

[Baroness Bloomfield of Hinton Waldrist (Con)]

My Lords, I too thank the Minister for introducing this SI, which seeks to update the existing ecodesign and energy labelling regulations for Northern Ireland in line with the Windsor Framework. These amendments ensure that Northern Ireland continues to adhere to EU rules on energy-related products, reflecting the requirements of the framework. While the Government’s intention behind this statutory instrument is understood, there are several aspects that warrant closer scrutiny and further clarification. I note the concerns of the noble Baroness, Lady Hoey, about the ramifications of these regulations on small businesses and consumers, as reiterated by other noble Lords in the House.

Before examining the impact and provisions of the current measures, we should consider the history behind them. The previous Conservative Government had a long-standing commitment to improving environmental standards while ensuring that businesses and consumers were given the tools necessary to thrive in an energy-efficient economy. When the ecodesign and energy labelling regulations 2021 were first introduced in this House, they focused on reducing carbon emissions through ensuring that products in the market met higher energy-efficiency standards. These regulations set minimum standards for products that consume energy, helping to lower energy bills for consumers and reduce the environmental impact across the economy.

In practice, products placed on the Northern Ireland market will remain subject to the EU energy-efficiency and labelling standards. These updates are designed to ensure that Northern Ireland’s product offerings continue to meet the high environmental and energy-efficiency standards set by the EU. These amendments to the ecodesign regulations seek to enhance energy efficiency by imposing stricter performance requirements on a wide variety of products, including household appliances, lighting products and electronics. Can the Minister provide further details on the specific impact these regulations will have on businesses, particularly small and medium-sized enterprises in Northern Ireland? How do the Government intend to ensure that businesses are not burdened by excessive compliance costs or administrative hurdles when adapting to these new requirements?

Great British Energy Bill

Debate between Baroness Bloomfield of Hinton Waldrist and Earl Russell

Committee stage
Wednesday 15th January 2025 Grand Committee

[Earl Russell (LD)]

My Lords, in moving Amendment 95, I will speak also to my Amendments 96 and 97, on accountability to Parliament. This group is all about GB Energy reporting to Parliament. As I have said, the Bill is quite short and some bits are missing, so I think noble Lords are just looking for as much reassurance as the Minister can give on these matters.

As the Bill stands, there are no real basic requirements for GB Energy to produce an annual report, or requirements for it to report to Parliament, beyond those in Clause 7 and what the Minister has said at the Dispatch Box today. I note that GB Energy will be subject to the same general reporting as other arm’s-length government organisations.

My Amendment 95 would ask GB Energy to publish an annual budget report, which would be sent to the Energy Security and Net Zero Committee or a successor committee of the House of Commons. That report must include but not be limited to,

“a breakdown of current and expected funding sources … spending per sector … grid spending … future spending … estimations of future profitability”.

It goes on:

“A representative of Great British Energy must appear before the Energy Security and Net Zero Committee, or any successor Committee, if requested”.


Amendment 96 says:

“Great British Energy must publish an annual report and send it to the Energy Security and Net Zero Committee, or any successor Committee, of the House of Commons”,


and that that report

“must consider Great British Energy functions and activity in the contribution to the following … supporting local communities and economies … the achievement of the United Kingdom’s climate and environmental targets … the relationship with The Crown Estate … a just transition to green energy … a jobs and skills transition into the green economy”.

It would also provide that Great British Energy must appear before that committee if requested.

Amendment 97 would require GB Energy to commit to an ongoing sustainable development review of its activities. It states:

“Great British Energy must keep under review the impact of their activities on the achievement of sustainable development in the United Kingdom”.


This would require GB Energy to keep under constant review the impact of its activities on sustainable development goals, as recognised by the United Nations, the Commonwealth and other bodies that refer to human rights developments, which aim to meet the economic, environmental and social needs of the present, while also ensuring the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.

At the outset I acknowledge to the Committee that my amendment is a direct copy of one tabled by the noble Baroness, Lady Hayman, and so skilfully negotiated with the noble Lord, Lord Livermore, the Financial Secretary to the Treasury, as part of the Crown Estate Bill. It was agreed as a government amendment to that Bill as it left your Lordships’ House. I wish to put on the record my thanks to both of them for their work in getting the amendment into the Bill. My reasons for bringing the amendment here again are, as I said, simply to mirror the other Bill, because the two organisations are so closely interlinked. For me, this is a minimum backstop amendment. I have added my name to Amendment 116, in the name of the noble Baroness, Lady Hayman, and I continue to support it, but I wish to make clear that if that amendment falls, this one is a kind of backstop.

My amendments are relatively straightforward, so I will turn to the other amendment in this group, Amendment 117, in the name of the noble Baroness, Lady Bloomfield of Hinton Waldrist. This would hold Great British Energy accountable to the relevant parliamentary committees of both Houses of Parliament.

The Minister has said—I already suspected that this would be the case with an arm’s-length body—that this would be subject to parliamentary scrutiny. It is good that he has confirmed that from the Dispatch Box. I just wanted to indicate my full support for the amendment and the principles that it sets out. It is obviously important that all bodies that the Government set up should be subject to parliamentary scrutiny from the Select Committees.

[Baroness Bloomfield of Hinton Waldrist (Con)]

My Lords, I shall speak to the amendments in this group, which contains amendments in my name and those of the noble Earl, Lord Russell, one of which he moved. I thank the noble Earl for introducing this group; I appreciate the sentiment and spirit of his amendments, and his support for mine.

I do not wish to repeat noble Lords’ arguments from previous groups, but these amendments again seek to shape the governance, accountability and sustainability of the proposed Great British Energy entity. They have been drafted in line with the values of responsible governance, fiscal prudence and national interest, so, although I will not repeat his arguments, or those of my noble friend Lady Noakes from earlier, I wholeheartedly agree with the comments made by my noble friend Lord Roborough on the first group.

On Amendment 95, which would require GBE to publish an annual budget report, I appreciate the sentiment of ensuring transparency in how public funds are utilised. On these Benches, we have always championed the prudent use of taxpayers’ money, and this amendment acknowledges that principle. However, we must ensure that such reporting is not merely a box-ticking exercise. The report must provide meaningful insights, ensuring that GBE operates efficiently and delivers value for money. We cannot allow an additional layer of bureaucracy to stifle innovation or create unnecessary costs. Therefore, I agree with the noble Earl, Lord Russell, on the spirit of this amendment, and I look forward to hearing from other noble Lords about how the reporting requirement could best be used to ensure that GBE operates in the best interests of the nation.