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Amendment made: No. 8, in page 108, line 34, leave out '3A(5)(a)' and insert '3A—
( ) in subsection (1) (principal objective of GEMA in relation to electricity), at the end insert "or the provision or use of electricity interconnectors"; and
( ) in subsection (5)(a)'.—[Mr. Timms.]
Clause 182
Amendment made: No. 9, in page 143, line 12, at end insert—
'( ) In section 3A(2)(b) of the 1989 Act (duty to have regard to ability of licence holders to finance obligations under Part 1 or the Utilities Act 2000), for "or the Utilities Act 2000" substitute ", the Utilities Act 2000 or Part 2 or 3 of the Energy Act 2004".'.—[Mr. Timms.]
Clause 185
Amendment made: No. 19, in page 144, line 39, after 'than', insert
'sections [Imposition of civil penalties] to [Appeals against civil penalties] or'.—[Mr. Timms.]
Clause 190
Amendment made: No. 10, in page 149, line 6, after 'sections', insert '[Microgeneration],'.—[Mr. Timms.]
Schedule 2
Amendment made: No. 11, in page 160, line 27, at end insert—
'( ) The Secretary of State must lay before Parliament a copy of anything that the NDA publishes in accordance with sub-paragraph (1) or (2), and the Scottish Ministers must lay before the Scottish Parliament a copy of anything that is so published.'.—[Mr. Timms.]
Schedule 3
Amendment made: No. 12, in page 163, line 5, at end insert—
'( ) The Secretary of State must lay before Parliament a copy of anything that the NDA publishes in accordance with sub-paragraph (1) or (2), and the Scottish Ministers must lay before the Scottish Parliament a copy of anything that is so published.'.—[Mr. Timms.]
Schedule 6
Amendment made: No. 15, in page 179, line 4, leave out 'transfer'.—[Mr. Timms.]
13 Jul 2004 : Column 1365
Schedule 7
Amendment made: No. 16, in page 183, line 28, leave out
'issued out of the Consolidated Fund'
and insert
'paid by the Secretary of State'.—[Mr. Timms.]
Schedule 9
Amendment made: No. 17, in page 201, line 23, leave out '1988' and insert 'Taxes'.—[Mr. Timms.]
Order for Third Reading read.—[Queen's Consent, on behalf of the Crown, and Prince of Wales's consent, on behalf of the Duchy of Cornwall, signified.]
6.11 pm
The Secretary of State for Trade and Industry (Ms Patricia Hewitt): I beg to move, That the Bill be now read the Third time.
I am particularly grateful to my hon. Friend the Minister for Energy, E-Commerce and Postal Services for his highly skilful and assiduous handling of the Bill during Committee and Report stages, and also to my hon. Friend the Minister for Small Business and Enterprise for his valuable contribution at both stages. May I express my thanks to them and to all hon. Members who served on the Standing Committee?
The Bill is part of the Government's continued commitment to deliver a sustainable energy future for the United Kingdom. We face enormous challenges—climate change, declining indigenous energy supplies and ageing infrastructure. We cannot ignore those challenges, for our own sake and for the sake of future generations.
In the energy White Paper that I published last year we set out how we would tackle fundamental changes in our energy environment, and we set challenging goals—to cut greenhouse emissions by 60 per cent. by the middle of the century, with real progress by 2020, to secure reliable energy supplies, to maintain competitive markets at home and abroad, and to ensure that every home in our country is adequately and affordably heated. We are working hard right across Government to deliver on all those commitments and, following my right hon. Friend the Chancellor's announcement yesterday, we have the resources to do so.
The Bill is an important part of an even larger picture of activity delivering on the White Paper. Much of the discussion that we have had in the House and in Committee during the passage of the Bill focused on that bigger picture, and rightly so—the Bill presented an excellent opportunity for debate. In April, we published our first annual report on the implementation of the White Paper, setting out what we are doing to deliver our commitments.
I refer particularly to the issue of security of supply, which is of huge importance and is recognised as such in all parts of the House. The new duty to report annually
13 Jul 2004 : Column 1366
to the House on security of supply underlines how seriously we in Government take that issue. But we know from business and consumers that primary legislation is not always the answer. We have to be creative and flexible to overcome many of the challenges that we face. As ever, we will regulate only where it is appropriate and with a light touch.
Many other issues have arisen during our debates. Energy efficiency was mentioned by a number of my hon. Friends and by Opposition Members. We remain committed to increasing investment in energy efficiency, as it is by far the most cost-effective way to meet all our energy goals. The energy efficiency action plan aims to deliver more than 12 million tonnes of carbon saving—well beyond the 10 million that we anticipated in last year's White Paper. There is also the potential of saving consumers more than £3 billion a year by the end of the decade.
I recognise that there has been some disappointment that our goal of delivering annual savings of more than 4 million tonnes of carbon for the household sector by 2010 is lower than what we initially projected in the White Paper. Since that was published, we have continued to refine the projected savings that we can achieve in that sector. None the less, the objective that we are setting currently represents a demanding increase in activity from the industry. It also requires us to promote sustained consumer demand for greater energy efficiency.
We will review our progress on the energy efficiency aim for the household sector in the review of the climate change programme later this year, and in the 2007 review announced in the energy White Paper action plan. If we find that we can go further than we set out in the action plan, we will do so.
Brian White: Many industries in the sector are in the market for investment at the moment. Will my right hon. Friend assure them that they will be taken into account when the climate change review is under way, and that there will be constant dialogue with the industry?
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