| Previous Section | Back to Table of Contents | Lords Hansard Home Page |
Lord McIntosh of Haringey moved Amendment No. 41:
- Page 7, line 16, at end insert--
On Question, amendment agreed to.
Clause 9, as amended, agreed to.
Clause 13 [Objectives and duties under 1989 Act]:
[Amendments Nos. 42 to 47 not moved.]
Lord McIntosh of Haringey moved Amendment No. 48:
On Question, amendment agreed to.
[Amendments Nos. 49 to 52 not moved.]
Lord McIntosh of Haringey moved Amendment No. 53:
On Question, amendment agreed to.
Clause 13, as amended, agreed to.
Clause 10 [Guidance on social and environmental matters in relation to gas]:
Lord Beaumont of Whitley moved Amendment No. 54:
The noble Lord said: I rise formally to move this Amendment No. 54. I emphasise the word "formally" because Amendments Nos. 55 and 60 in the name of the noble Lord, Lord Ezra, are probably more to the point than Amendments Nos. 54 and 59 standing in my name and that of the noble Lord, Lord Hardy of Wath. But there are times when I look at the progress that we are making and I wonder whether the 2 per cent cut in carbon dioxide emissions by 2010 is not rather more realistic than the target of 20 per cent which is contained in the other amendments to which I have referred.
In spite of what the Minister is bound to say in reply to the amendments, it is not at all a bad idea to insert into the Bill a certain amount of realism as to what we must achieve in terms of our objectives. The noble Lord, Lord Ezra, will speak to his amendments but the amendments in his name and that of the noble Lord, Lord Hardy, and myself are all to that end.
Perhaps I may comment on the other amendments in the group. Amendments Nos. 56, 57 and 58 in the name of the noble Lord, Lord Kingsland, seem to me to be well worth supporting. I am rather dubious about the meaning of Amendment No. 62 in the name of the noble Lord, Lord Kingsland. I suspect that it does not mean very much but, if it means something, I suspect that I do not like it at all. But the other amendments put forward by the noble Lord, Lord Kingsland, seem
The Deputy Chairman of Committees (Baroness Turner of Camden): I should inform the Committee that, if this amendment or Amendment No. 55 is agreed to, I cannot call Amendment No. 56 because of pre-emption.
Lord Ezra: I want to speak to Amendment No. 55, which is a correction of Amendment No. 54, where the figure of 2 per cent is referred to instead of 20 per cent.
As the noble Lord, Lord Beaumont, has made clear, the purpose of the amendment is to put into the legislation the very firm commitment which the Government have to a 20 per cent cut in carbon dioxide emissions by 2010. That is so firmly enshrined in government policy that it is proper that it should find its place in legislation and it is appropriate that this should be the legislation in which we place it.
It is entirely relevant to the functions of the regulator that that objective, so firmly stated and repeated by government, should be in the Bill. We know that the Government would prefer to retain a more flexible approach. Nonetheless, this is a matter of such fundamental environmental importance that we on this side of the Chamber would like to press very hard for it to be included in the Bill. I hope that, on consideration, when the Minister replies, he will accept this proposal. It is entirely in line with present government policy.
Baroness Buscombe: In rising to speak to this group of amendments, we wish particularly to refer to Amendments Nos. 56 to 58 and 61 to 63. We are concerned to ensure that there are sensible constraints with regard to the implementations of Clauses 10 and 14, which relate to guidance on social and environmental matters in relation to gas and electricity.
Let me make it clear that we are not opposed to the scope of these clauses; it is their effect that, if unchecked, could ultimately work against the interests of consumers, in terms both of quality of service and of price. These provisions give Ministers a discretionary power and we want to know how that power will be invoked. Under the existing framework there is an obligation on the part of the regulator to have regard to the disadvantaged, particularly the elderly and the chronically sick. That is a very good thing and at present, in response to that, approximately £1.20 per year from our electricity bills, for example, is used for energy efficiency initiatives and similar measures.
The effect of this Bill could multiply that sum. Will that benefit the consumer? And to what extent should our utility bills be used as a form of stealth tax to fund the Government's social and environmental projects? In our social security debates in this Chamber we consider winter fuel payments and other initiatives covered by the Department of Social Security and paid for from Treasury funds. We believe that this Bill
Our amendments seek at the least to ensure that guidance issued by the Secretary of State pursuant to these clauses will be properly reviewed and considered at regular intervals for the long term. In particular, Amendments Nos. 58 and 63 would require any guidance issued to be laid in draft and approved by each House of Parliament. Although not regulations in the pure sense, the guidance will be used to set the framework in which the authority operates and yet, in preparing it, as currently drafted, the Secretary of State is not constrained by the Bill's regulatory objectives. We believe it to be appropriate therefore that a much higher degree of scrutiny is applied than is presently proposed. The amendments would make the issuing of guidance subject to affirmative resolution procedure.
An additional consideration which the Government must take into account in this context is the possible limitations on the powers of the Secretary of State, under Clause 14, as a result of Directive 96/92/EC, which sets out common rules for the internal market in electricity. Indeed, there is a corresponding Directive 98/30/EC for the internal market in gas.
Taking the electricity directive as an example, its purpose is to encourage the completion of the internal market in electricity and it is one of the measures adopted to establish the internal market within the European Community. The directive sees the completion of a competitive electricity market as an important step towards the completion of the internal energy market, but recognises the need to balance the opening of electricity markets to competition and the need to comply with public service obligations. In some member states the imposition of public service obligations is seen as necessary to ensure security of supply and consumer and environmental protection which free competition, left to itself, will not guarantee.
The directive allows member states, subject to Article 86 of the European Union treaty, to impose in the general economic interest public service obligations which may relate to security, including security of supply; regularity; quality and price of supplies; and environmental protection. Obligations must be clearly defined, transparent, non-discriminatory and verifiable. There is also provision for member states to derogate from the application of the provisions of the directive relating to generation and the management of networks in so far as the performance of the obligations would obstruct the performance in law or fact of obligations imposed in the general economic interest.
The scope for derogation is constrained by the requirement that the development of trade must not be affected to such an extent as would be contrary to the interests of the Community, which are defined to include, inter alia, competition for electricity customers in accordance with the directive and Article 86 of the
Article 86 also provides that undertakings entrusted with the operation of services of general economic interest must be subject to the rules of the treaty, including the rules on competition in so far as the application of such rules does not obstruct the performance, in law or in fact, of the specific tasks assigned to them, and provided the development of trade must not be affected to such an extent as would be contrary to the interests of the Community.
The Secretary of State will therefore, we believe, be constrained by the requirements of the directive to the extent that any guidance on social or environmental matters amounts to the imposition of a public service obligation. We question therefore how the Minister proposes to respond to that.
("( ) In this section and sections 4AB and 4A, references to functions of the Secretary of State or the Authority under this Part include a reference to functions under the Utilities Act 2000 which relate to gas conveyed through pipes.").
Page 9, line 30, at end insert ("or the Utilities Act 2000").
Page 10, line 25, at end insert--
("( ) In this section and sections 3B and 3C, references to functions of the Secretary of State or the Authority under this Part include a reference to functions under the Utilities Act 2000 which relate to electricity conveyed by distribution systems.").
7.15 p.m.
Page 7, leave out lines 24 to 27 and insert--
("(1) The Secretary of State shall issue guidance to enable the Authority to contribute to the attainment of any social or environmental policies, in particular policies to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases in line with the target of a 2% cut in carbon dioxide emissions by the year 2010 and any subsequent climate change targets that are adopted and any other targets set out or referred to in the guidance.").
Next Section
Back to Table of Contents
Lords Hansard Home Page