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(a) has been laid before Parliament, and
(b) has been approved by a resolution of each House.'.—[Gillian Merron.]
Amendments made: No. 53, in page 16, line 2, after '1,' insert
'(Local authorities to have regard to information on energy measures in exercising functions),'.
No. 54, in page 16, line 2, after '10,' insert
'(Building regulations relating to emissions and use of fuel and power: time limit for prosecutions), (Building regulations relating to emissions and use of fuel and power: report regarding compliance),'.
Amendments made: No. 55, in page 16, line 13, after 'Sections,' insert
'(Local authorities to have regard to information on energy measures in exercising functions),'.
17 Mar 2006 : Column 1778
No. 56, in page 16, line 13, after '10' insert
', (Building regulations relating to emissions and use of fuel and power: time limit for prosecutions), (Building regulations relating to emissions and use of fuel and power: report regarding compliance)'.—[Gillian Merron.]
Amendment made: No. 57, line 3, after 'sources,' insert
'compliance with building regulations relating to emissions of greenhouse gases and the use of fuel and power,'.—[Gillian Merron.]
2.25 pm
Mark Lazarowicz: I beg to move, That the Bill be now read the Third time.
I am glad that Members have co-operated to ensure that the Bill reached this stage. It received twice as much consideration on Report as most Government Bills, which may or may not be a good thing. If issues are raised on Third Reading, perhaps, with the leave of the House, I can respond to them through interventions, but I shall say no more at this point.
2.26 pm
Mr. Forth: This is the bit we have all been looking forward to, because I hope that with your permission, Mr. Deputy Speaker, we shall be able to range much more widely than when we were constrained by amendments and new clauses.
My remarks, sadly, probably will not be able to be concluded by 2.30, but I am sure that we can look forward to another full day of debate on Third Reading, to do the Bill proper justice. I should like to open with a quote from the Prime Minister's very good evidence to the Liaison Committee on 7 February. He said that
That sets a useful frame for Third Reading. By the way, the Prime Minister went on to say that climate change
That is one aspect that I hope we shall be able to explore on Third Reading, given the title of the Bill.
The long title of the Bill gives us some good guidance for framing our debate. It talks variously about
which we have to a large extent touched on today, in respect of the contribution that might be made by microgeneration and so on; "the promotion of microgeneration", on which we rightly spent a long time; and
There is a cornucopia of important issues that we can and should explore on Third Reading.
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Mr. Hollobone: My right hon. Friend referred to the international context for the Bill. On 12 January, I received a response to my parliamentary question about carbon dioxide emissions, which stated that the UK would reach a total of 525 million tonnes by 2020 compared to 556 million tonnes at present, so there is likely to be a decrease. However, in the United States the amount is set to rise from just over 5,000 million tonnes to 6,763 million tonnes by 2020.
Mr. Forth: I am grateful to my hon. Friend, and later in my remarks I shall quote further from the Prime Minister on exactly that point. The Prime Minister spoke words of very great wisdom. He has a clear view of the realities of climate change, emissions and the like and I am sure that we shall want to explore that, too.
One of the things on which we may want to spend some time, and which has been somewhat neglected up to now—largely because nobody saw fit to table probing amendments or examine it—is the reference in the long title to
That could be an important aspect of the Bill, should it become an Act, and of its impact on our everyday lives. We have not really explored that point and I do not think that it was really covered on Second Reading. I hope that Third Reading will offer us an opportunity to look at that part of the Bill in much more depth.
Mr. Weir: Is the right hon. Gentleman not aware that that wording refers to a change in transmission charges for renewable energy in the Scottish islands?
Mr. Forth: I look forward to hearing the hon. Gentleman seeking to contribute to the Third Reading debate and telling us a lot more about the Scottish islands—a subject that does not arise very often in the House. Perhaps he could discuss hydroelectricity and give us some inspiration about the contribution it could make to reducing emissions—
It being half-past Two o'clock, the debate stood adjourned.
Debate to be resumed on Friday 12 May.
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Remaining Private Members' Bills
VEHICLE REGISTRATION MARKS BILL
Order for Second reading read.
To be read a Second time on Friday 16 June.
FAMILY LAW (PROPERTY AND MAINTENANCE) BILL
Order for Second reading read.
To be read a Second time on Friday 7 April.
HUMBER BRIDGE BILL
Order for Second reading read.
To be read a Second time on Friday 16 June.
BOROUGH FREEDOM (FAMILY SUCCESSION) BILL [LORDS]
Order for Second reading read.
To be read a Second time on Friday 20 October.
LICENSING ACT 2003 (AMENDMENT) BILL
Order for Second reading read.
To be read a Second time on Friday 16 June.
BREAST CANCER BILL
Order read for resuming adjourned debate on Question [20 January], That the Bill be now read a Second time.
To be read a Second time on Friday 24 March.
17 Mar 2006 : Column 1779
17 Mar 2006 : Column 1781
EU-Morocco Fishing Agreement
Motion made, and Question proposed, That this House do now adjourn.—[Mr. Watson.]
2.32 pm
Jeremy Corbyn (Islington, North) (Lab): I am very pleased that we have managed to hold this Adjournment debate on the European Union-Morocco fishing agreement, which has enormous significance for many people living in the Western Sahara region. I know that this is a complicated day for us all, so I am really grateful to the Under-Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs for being on the Front Bench to answer the debate. I also thank my hon. Friend the Member for Stroud (Mr. Drew), who has taken an enormous interest in issues surrounding Western Sahara and Morocco. Unfortunately, he cannot be here today, but later in my speech I want to quote from something he sent me.
In 1974, the Spanish occupation of the Western Sahara ceased. Morocco then marched into that part of the Western Sahara and declared it to be Moroccan territory. There ensued a war that lasted some years, which was very brutal and resulted in many deaths and much destruction. The Polisario Front, which led the campaign for the independence of the Western Sahara, secured the support of the African Union and many people all around the world. It was ultimately expelled from the territory and 165,000 Sahrawi people live in refugee camps in Algeria at the present time. I have had the good fortune to visit those camps in the Western Sahara. [Interruption.] I think I am losing the attention of some Members of the House, Mr. Deputy Speaker, who appear to be having a meeting of their own in the Chamber while we should be discussing Morocco.
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