Energy Bill

Debate between Baroness Stowell of Beeston and Lord Grantchester

Tuesday 19th November 2013 Lords Chamber

[Lord Grantchester]

My Lords, we, too, thank the Minister for joining with the energy department to bring forward this sensible amendment which, if implemented, will undoubtedly save lives. We also thank the noble Baroness, Lady Finlay, and other noble Lords, including my noble friend Lord Harrison who cannot be in his place today, who have campaigned strongly on the issue. Deaths from carbon monoxide and from fire are avoidable. These alarms are cheap to buy and fix and must be among the most efficient life-saving devices ever on the market. It must also be stressed that there can be no substitute for regular maintenance. I am glad to see that element also included in the amendment.

While welcoming the consultation to capture views on how the measure may be taken forward as part of a wider review, our only concern is that the Government may not bring forward the necessary regulations despite the undoubted value of these devices, which could save hundreds of lives a year. Will the Minister tell the House when the review announced on 16 October will report? We see no reason to hold up this welcome measure unnecessarily while the review looks at a number of other, quite unrelated issues. We therefore urge the Government to move with some haste on this measure, so saving tenants across the country from the risk of death either from fire or from carbon monoxide poisoning.

[Baroness Stowell of Beeston]

I am grateful to all noble Lords who have spoken and for their support for these government amendments. I share the views expressed by my noble friend Lady Maddock and the noble Baroness, Lady Finlay, on the work that my noble friend Lady Verma has done in this area. It was she who responded to the debates in Committee and ensured that there was the greater collaboration across government departments that led to the announcement that I made on Report. We have worked together on this, but the amendment was triggered by her response to the debates that took place in Committee.

I do not think that there is a great deal more for me to add to the points that I made when moving the amendment. I am grateful to the noble Lord, Lord Grantchester, for his support for the amendment. As I said in my opening remarks, the review that the measure forms part of will conclude next June. We will be as swift as possible in making public our conclusions in response to that review. As I have said and as I have demonstrated today, if the outcome of that review is a decision that we should regulate, we now have in place the order-making powers that would make that possible. The noble Lord urged us to go further, but as I said when we discussed this matter at the previous stage, his own Government conducted a comprehensive review of this area only in 2009 and concluded that they should limit regulations to just the installation of solid-fuel appliances. I accept his challenge and the pressure he puts on me to make sure that we go further, but we are doing this by way of review because we think that it is the right thing to do. I am quite confident that, by conducting a comprehensive review, we will be able clearly to demonstrate that our conclusions are evidence-based and well informed.

Renewable Heat Incentive Scheme Regulations 2011

Debate between Baroness Stowell of Beeston and Lord Grantchester

Tuesday 22nd November 2011 Grand Committee

[Baroness Stowell of Beeston]

I understand the point that the noble Baroness makes. However, the way in which we have constructed the scheme means that I would not expect the sort of change that we have experienced with the feed-in tariffs for solar PVs to be repeated in this context. We would ensure, through our mechanisms for cost control within the department, that we are monitoring progress very transparently and that we would avoid that kind of emergency change that she refers to. It is unnecessary to give a specific commitment on a timetable as such because of what I have said, but I absolutely understand and appreciate her point.

Turning to the points raised by my noble friend the Duke of Montrose about large-scale biomass, the renewables obligation certificates and RHI, it is possible for new projects to receive the renewables obligation for the electricity generated in a CHP plant and the RHI for heat generated by that plant. A plant cannot claim the higher awards for CHP under the RO and the RHI. Does that make sense to my noble friend? I am glad if it does. My noble friend also asked whether the Scottish Government could award ROCs. The decisions regarding the details of renewables obligations, including the setting of banding levels, are for the Scottish Government. A separate consultation on their support of renewables obligation certificates was published on 21 October.

[Lord Grantchester]

Perhaps I might detain the Committee for one extra moment. Could the noble Baroness consider the question of affordability? While understanding the situation that we are in—especially in the wider European context at the moment—nevertheless, I am concerned that affordability is put up as a criterion that may overrule all other aspects. Could she comment on the relative importance of affordability and say whether her department is moving in any way at all to pick winners and losers? Winners such as PV might provide more affordable success stories than other technologies that might, in terms of their overall rate of return, be worthy of being equally treated. Nevertheless, because of the extra costs involved in their technologies, they are unlikely to be as affordable as others. Can she comment more widely on the affordability criteria in the memorandum?