Great British Energy Bill

Lord Ravensdale Excerpts

Committee stage
Tuesday 17th December 2024 Lords Chamber

Moved by

[Lord Ravensdale]

56: Clause 5, page 3, line 27, at end insert—
“(6A) Prior to publishing a statement of strategic priorities for Great British Energy the Secretary of State must consult—(a) the Climate Change Committee,(b) the National Energy Systems Operator,(c) Natural England,(d) the Environment Agency, and(e) any other person the Secretary of State sees fit.”Member’s explanatory statement
This amendment would require the Secretary of State to consult relevant stakeholders before publishing the statement of strategic priorities.

[Lord Ravensdale (CB)]

My Lords, I declare my energy interests in the register and rise to speak to Amendment 56 on behalf of the noble Baroness, Lady Hayman, who cannot be here today. This is a probing amendment around which bodies the Secretary of State ought to consult with ahead of publishing a statement of strategic priorities. I note that the noble Lord, Lord Cameron of Dillington, has tabled Amendment 86 in relation to this, which is similar and which we will come on to in a later group.

On previous groups, noble Lords have been quite clear that we would like to scrutinise the statement of strategic priorities alongside the legislation. As that will not be possible, in lieu of that we need to ensure the robustness of the process of agreeing the statement. This amendment is simply about ensuring that all the relevant information, evidence and expertise have been factored in ahead of the publication of the statement of strategic priorities to ensure that the relevant trade-offs, difficult questions and conflicting pressures are being considered ahead of that fixing of GBE’s strategic priorities.

Between them the organisations listed in the amendment have a comprehensive overview of what needs to be done to deliver our climate change targets, the Government’s target to achieve clean power by 2030 and our environmental targets. Consulting each of them will ensure that their views and recommendations have been fully considered in the preparation of that statement of strategic priorities. I hope the Minister will consider this suggestion as a helpful addition to the Bill.

I also support Amendment 116 to which the noble Baroness, Lady Young, will speak. It would align with other recent legislation that specifically mentions our climate and nature targets and would ensure that we take a consistent and systems-led approach across all that legislation. I reference here the recent work on the Crown Estate Bill. I beg to move.

Amendment 56A (to Amendment 56)

Moved by

--- Later in debate ---

[Lord Ravensdale (CB)]

My Lords, I shall make a few brief points. I take the point made by the Minister about the list system with Amendment 66, but I hope we can get some assurance leading up to Report on the stakeholders that Great British Energy will engage with.

On Amendment 56A, without retreading some of the debate on previous groups, I support what the noble Viscount, Lord Trenchard, is saying about this. There is clear consensus that GBN should remain a separate organisation from Great British Energy, but that is not to say that Great British Energy cannot invest in nuclear projects—fuels, components or nuclear batteries, for example. Clearly, there is an important interface there.

I was very encouraged by what the Minister said on Amendment 116 about the importance of the consistency, and by the strong arguments made by the noble Baroness, Lady Young, on the Crown Estate Bill and consistency with other legislation. I also enjoyed the interesting and unique angle that the noble Lord, Lord Hamilton, had on his support for Amendment 56. I look forward to further discussion with the Minister between now and Report. I beg leave to withdraw the amendment.

Amendment 56 withdrawn.