Great British Energy Bill

Lord Russell of Liverpool Excerpts

Committee stage
Wednesday 15th January 2025 Grand Committee

Debate on Amendment 88 resumed.

[The Deputy Chairman of Committees (Lord Russell of Liverpool) (CB)]

My Lords, any noble Lords who were not able to speak on Monday and who wish to speak before the opposition spokesman may now do so.

[Viscount Trenchard (Con)]

At the point when the Committee decided to adjourn its deliberations on Monday, I was about to make a brief intervention in support of my noble friend Lady Noakes and the noble Lord, Lord Vaux. As my noble friend Lady Noakes explained, GBE will be a private company, which would normally allow it nine months in which to file its accounts. As my noble friend explained on Monday, Amendment 88 changes that to six months, in line with the requirement for public companies. GBE may not be a public company technically, but it certainly is a company of huge interest to the public. It is therefore obviously right that the company should be required to prepare its accounts in accord with the rules applicable to public companies, rather than taking advantage of the more lenient requirement applicable to private companies.

In his remarks in the House yesterday, the Minister said that he recognised that it was the role of the Opposition to scrutinise legislation. But I ask the noble Lord: is it not actually the role of the whole House to scrutinise legislation, including the Government’s own Back-Benchers? He probably did not mean it when he said that it was the role of the Opposition.