Energy Bill (Carry-Over Extension)

Tom Greatrex Excerpts

Monday 18th November 2013 Commons Chamber

[Tom Greatrex (Rutherglen and Hamilton West) (Lab/Co-op)]

I am pleased to be able to address the House on this brief but significant piece of business. I am grateful for the Minister’s explanation of the Government’s reasons for seeking to extend the time available for consideration of the Energy Bill, and for his making it clear that they still intend that it should receive Royal Assent by the end of the calendar year. He was not in post at the time, as he will recall, but I am sure he was familiar with our deliberations in Committee, where it was made clear that that was the Government’s intention after the Bill had been subject to some delay.

May I press the Minister on whether he intends that the amendments made in another place, where the Bill will have its Third Reading tomorrow, will be debated before or after the Chancellor’s autumn statement on 5 December? Of course, the Minister is not part of the Government’s business management team, but it is important for the House to know which will be the case.

Some significant issues were raised during the debates on the important amendments made in the Lords, most notably on the amendment from the Liberal Democrat peer, Lord Teverson, which I understand involved a licensed rebellion against the Government by Liberal Democrats. Not for the first time, the Energy Secretary was non-committal when asked about this recently. Will the Minister therefore update the House on the Government’s attitude to the Lords amendment? If he cannot tell us that, perhaps he could give us his own opinion on the matter.

The Minister may be aware that last week the devolved Parliament in Edinburgh undertook to provide an emergency statement on electricity market reform in relation to Government Lords amendment 66. The Westminster Scottish National party spokesman, the hon. Member for Angus (Mr Weir), is not in his place this evening, but the Edinburgh SNP energy spokesman suggested that it was a constitutional outrage that there had been no prior discussion with the devolved Government. There is currently a predilection towards creating grievance and diversion in Edinburgh that I hope we will be rid of in less than a year’s time. Nevertheless, will the Minister explain whether there has been any discussion with the devolved Administrations about the closure of the renewables obligation? He is well aware, as I am, that about a third of the financial support for renewable energy in the UK goes to Scotland, which has less than 10% of the consumer base. It is spread across the board in Britain, which works in all our interests—we share the risks and rewards. The Scottish National party asserts that that will continue post separation if those of us in Scotland vote that way, for reasons I still fail to understand, next September. Will the Minister be clear on discussions with devolved Administrations? Powers relating to the promotion of renewable energy currently exist in the Scottish Parliament.

This is an important Bill which, as the Minister said, we supported on Third Reading. We expressed reservations on some areas of energy policy that have not been addressed, but it is an important, much-delayed and much-needed Bill. We do not intend to oppose the motion and hope the Government do everything they can to ensure that its passage is complete before the end of the calendar year, as the Minister indicated. Industry and the investment community need to get on with the urgent work of renewing our energy infrastructure and capacity in a low carbon, sustainable way for the future.