Energy Markets Competition Assessment

Graham P Jones Excerpts

Thursday 27th March 2014 Commons Chamber

[Mr Deputy Speaker (Mr Lindsay Hoyle)]

Last but certainly not least, the voice of Hyndburn, Graham Jones.

[Graham Jones (Hyndburn) (Lab)]

I was most interested in the answer that the Secretary of State gave to my hon. Friend the Member for Blaenau Gwent (Nick Smith)—that he had had four years of impatience or that he had been impatient over the period. Looking back, does he not regret that the Energy Act 2013, which took more than a year to go through Parliament, does not contain a single concrete measure to improve competition in either the wholesale or the retail energy market?

[Mr Davey]

Even though the Act may have taken a year to get through this House, I am afraid that the hon. Gentleman did not manage to read it. We had measures supporting Ofgem from both its retail market review and its wholesale market review. There was also the overall reform of the electricity market to ensure that we had competitive markets for the future. I am afraid that the hon. Gentleman is wrong.