Energy Bill
Debate between Lord Whitty and Lord Roper
Lord Roper
My Lords, when I heard the noble Lord, Lord Whitty, introduce this amendment I had a good deal of sympathy with it. It seemed strange that we should be losing contact with something of such importance but having heard the last three speeches, I see the strength of the points made by my noble friends Lord Jenkin and Lord Deben and by the noble Lord, Lord O’Neill. I hope that on this occasion the noble Lord, Lord Whitty, will think carefully about this amendment.
Lord Whitty
My Lords, before the Minister replies, perhaps I might point out that most of this debate has been about a sponsoring department. I regret making what was a throw-away remark as a background to this, because none of my amendments attempt to or could reassign sponsorship responsibility from one department to another. It is entirely a matter for the Prime Minister. It is not a matter for regulation. I hope the Minister will deal with the amendments on their merits because there is clearly an overwhelming view in this Room on the matter of sponsorship. I am certainly not pursuing that today.
Lord Roper
I welcome what the Minister said about considering between now and Report the Delegated Powers Committee report on how these regulations are made for the first time. It is important that that is done and I hope she will give us some indication—perhaps in the reply which the Government will make to the committee’s report—of what is to be done on that matter. We will otherwise need to come back to this matter on Report.
Lord Whitty
My Lords, I join the noble Lord in welcoming what the Minister said. It is important that the Government give a clear response before Report to the Delegated Powers Committee’s recommendations, which affect powers under three important clauses in this section.
I appreciate the Minister’s reassurances and that she is going to give me a picture of how all this operates and who relates to whom. I should have started with that before I began drafting amendments for this complex part of the Bill. I thank noble Lords who have spoken and who, by and large, were not in support of writing much into the Bill.
I have largely dealt with the issue of relations with DECC on sponsorship. However, for the sake of historical accuracy I should say that the Health and Safety Executive and its predecessor bodies, such as the nuclear inspectorate and the Safety in Mind organisation, have frequently been in the same department as the sponsoring department for all or part of their activities. That may be tidied up by banging it into a department which has little responsibility for the industry, and that may be the right place. However, I reiterate that my amendments do not seek to change the sponsorship role but to create an important relationship between ONR and DECC. The two points at which I have inserted them relate to the nuclear security and nuclear safeguards areas, which are also covered by international obligations—and the department negotiating on international obligations, along with the FCO, will be DECC.
Clearly, the Committee’s view is that we should accept the status quo, and I will withdraw any implication that I or the Labour Party will not stick with the status quo. Without wishing to upset the general sponsorship arrangements, there is an issue of whether the legislation should at least at some point reflect the relationship with DECC as well. This is not to compromise the independence of the ONR, which is clearly set out in the early parts of this section of the Bill. I would not want to do anything to jeopardise that for the reasons that the noble Lord, Lord Deben, and others have spelled out.
As to the other regulatory bodies, I will look at the map or picture and see whether I need to come back on any specifics. However, Clause 84 refers to the co-operation between ONR and the HSE, for obvious reasons. Will the Minister look at that clause—she has no obligation to respond to this—and consider whether there should be a general requirement to co-operate with the other bodies operating within the nuclear area, without going through the specifics of my individual amendments? With that, I beg leave to withdraw the amendment.