| Previous Section | Index | Home Page |
28 Mar 2003 : Column 571—continued
Mr. Blunt: My hon. Friend the Member for Christchurch (Mr. Chope) raised an important point on the absence of sanctions. One of the problems of relying on targets and the availability of information in the public domain is that the Government may change the basis on which they provide the information. They have done precisely that in the White Paper when addressing energy efficiency because it uses measures of how many million tonnes of carbon are saved rather than the percentage change to energy consumption. It is even more difficult to assess whether the Government are achieving their targets when the basis of the figures changes.
Brian White: I have an assurance on the way in which the Government presented the targets in the White Paper. The hon. Member for Guildford (Sue Doughty) received a parliamentary answer stating that 5 million tonnes of carbon is equivalent to the 20 per cent. target identified by the PIU. I am happy to amend my Bill to detail the target in such terms. The key point is that the annual report will set out what has happened and how the Government are moving toward reaching the targets. It will also identify barriers so that action can be taken against them. We did not know what constituted the barriers in the past; we have had only an assertion of what the target is. As the target should be reached in several years' time, there is currently no mechanism to identify how close we are to it. The Bill would allow for such a mechanism.
Clause 1(2) sets out different methods and technologies that are applicable to the report. The report should outline aspects of the generation of heat
and electricity so that it will be clear which parts are working. If anything is not working, that can be rectified. I believe that the vast majority of the measures will work, demonstrating to the business community that there is a tremendous opportunity for investment and for new industries to move forward. As my hon. Friend the Member for Bridgend (Mr. Griffiths) said a moment ago, there are great opportunities for innovative schemes. One of the problems, under all Governments, has been the lack of a clear indication of how the different technologies fit into the overall picture. The reporting structure should address that concern.Clause 1(3) is designed to ensure progress in the early implementation of the EU directive on the energy performance of buildings. The Government are to be congratulated on the early introduction of that directive. The Bill allows annual assessments of progress to be made, to ensure that no time is lost in implementing the directive.
One of the key parts of the Bill is clause 2, which gives statutory backing to domestic energy efficiency targets.
Mr. David Chaytor (Bury, North): Does my hon. Friend agree that energy efficiency measures are the quickest, cleanest and most effective way of reducing carbon dioxide emissions? Does he accept that, in contrast to the renewables policy, energy efficiency measures enable individual businesses and householders directly to influence their energy bills because they control the introduction of those measures? Does he welcome the use of capital allowances for businesses to implement energy efficiency measures, and does he think that capital allowances could also be used to allow individual householders to offset against personal taxation the cost of installing new boilers or insulation? Is there some mileage in that idea, and will my hon. Friend raise it with the Chancellor?
Brian White: I am sure that the Chancellor will have heard my hon. Friend's intervention. I agree that capital allowances for businesses are crucial, and I am sure that they could work for domestic use as well. He is right to identify energy efficiency as the key to achieving the Government's targets on CO2 emissions. Even though the White Paper talks about 5 million tonnes of carbon, I think that the 20 per cent. target set by the PIU is crucial. It is worth remembering that the White Paper says that energy efficiency is likely to be the cheapest, cleanest and safest way of achieving the Government's energy policy objectives. That is why clause 2 is important.
Dr. Nick Palmer (Broxtowe): Does my hon. Friend agree that energy efficiency measures also tackle the fuel policy agenda championed my hon. Friend the Member for Nottingham, South (Alan Simpson), which, unlike some energy measures, combines social action with environmental action?
Brian White: My hon. Friend makes an important point. It is interesting to note that the PIU report identified micro-CHP as a significant way of tackling fuel poverty. It is important that we use energy efficiency measures to reduce the energy use of local authorities
and domestic households, and I pay tribute to the work of my hon. Friend the Member for Nottingham, South (Alan Simpson).
Alan Simpson (Nottingham, South): On energy efficiency measures, does my hon. Friend accept that there is a case for extending, rather than reducing, the warm front programme? We should look at the lessons learned in Scotland, where additions to the programme have been made. Given that there are 1.7 million fuel-poor households who are not eligible for the programme and 1.4 million households who are not fuel poor but are eligible, we should look at the allocation process. We need to be able to target energy efficiency gains more effectively so that those in the greatest fuel poverty are the greatest beneficiaries of the programme.
Brian White: My hon. Friend is absolutely right. The Government have made a good start, and they have already met many of their targets for removing people from fuel poverty, but there is an awful lot more to do and there are lessons to be learned from Scotland. It is important that we do far more over the next 20 years than we have done over the last 20.
Mr. Gwyn Prosser (Dover): I am pleased to be here this morning supporting my hon. Friend's important Bill. On domestic energy efficiency targets, which I agree are the crux of the Bill, does he agree that there is scope to go beyond 2010 and consider more ambitious aims?
Brian White: Absolutely. There are different definitions of fuel poverty, and it is important to use the widest definition.
Other parts of clause 2 stem from Government amendments made to the Bill introduced by my hon. Friend the Member for Brighton, Kemptown last year, so hopefully they will be relatively uncontroversial.
I have already referred to clause 3 and to the lifting of the renewables obligation from the CHP industry. Clause 4 imposes on Ofgem a statutory duty to have regard to the sustainable energy policy when discharging its functions. There is guidance on environmental and social issues, but it is important that Ofgem has statutory backing. Clause 4 also takes on board the proposal in the White Paper that the regulator should publish an environmental impact assessment for any significant new policies. I have had discussions with the regulator on those issues.
Mr. Gareth Thomas: Clause 4 is important, and if, as I hope, the Bill is given a Second Reading, the clause stand part debate in Committee will be an excellent opportunity to discuss Ofgem's performance on renewables, given its complete failure since the introduction of the new electricity trading arrangements seriously to address the concerns of CHP and renewables generators.
Brian White: As someone who tabled amendments to that effect in the Standing Committee considering the Utilities Bill, I would be delighted to have that debate. However, it is important to recognise that Parliament, not the regulator, sets out the framework of the regulator's job. Regulators will do what Parliament tells
them to do, and it is up to us to give Ofgem the powers to consider sustainable energy policies, renewables and CHP if that is what we want it to do.Clause 5 also responds to the White Paper, and it allows the Gas and Electricity Markets Authority to fund the capital costs of new sustainable energy schemes. Clause 6 helps to tackle fuel poverty by ensuring that the policies of local authorities and the Government will be co-ordinated.
Ms Debra Shipley (Stourbridge): In defining fuel poverty, the terms "total income" and "disposable income" are very important. In the White Paper, the Government have moved from the standard assessment, which is 10 per cent. of disposable income, to 10 per cent. of total income. Will my hon. Friend comment on that?
Brian White: Both definitions are important. The Government have used the narrower definition for the first initiative, and it is important that we now begin to use the wider definition to which my hon. Friend refers.
Mr. Chope: Does the hon. Gentleman accept that one of the many problems faced by pensioners is that they cannot invest in insulation for their houses because of the high burden of council tax? There are now more than 1 million pensioner households who pay over 10 per cent. of their income in council tax. Will the hon. Gentleman say something about that?
Brian White: Given that Tory councils have a higher council tax than Labour councils, I wonder why the hon. Gentleman does not raise that point. If I strayed too far down that road, you would rule me out of order, Madam Deputy Speaker.
To conclude, my Bill is a modest step towards turning the White Paper's aspirations into reality. In the Prime Minister's words:
- "By working with others, the costs of action will be acceptable—and the costs of inaction are far greater"
My Bill has widespread support from a broad coalition of renewables organisations, environmental non-governmental organisations, homelessness and housing charities and, as I said, the green movements of all three major parties. I believe that taking action on renewables and energy efficiency provides the best way forward. With the help of my Bill, renewables and energy efficiency will have the chance to "prove themselves", as the Minister for Energy and Construction said when he launched the White Paper. Sustainable energy does not have to come at the expense of prosperity. Indeed, there are clear economic advantages in moving this sector forward, so I trust that Parliament will give its backing to the Bill.
| Next Section
| Index | Home Page |