Clause 10 - Short title, commencement and extent
Home Energy Conservation Bill
8:00 pm
Mr Michael Meacher (Minister of State (the Environment), Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs; Oldham West and Royton, Labour)
We are talking about part 2, which is clause 4. It has been agreed that that clause remains part of the Bill, but that the Government will table an amendment on which we will have further discussions—hopefully it will be an agreed amendment—and which will mention eradication of fuel poverty.
My hon. Friend asks about the basis on which that will come into force. It is an odd question, because the Government's fuel poverty strategy, based mainly on the home energy efficiency scheme and the energy efficiency commitment, is already in force. As I said, £600 million has been committed up to 2004. The energy efficiency commitment becomes operative on 1 April this year, so that to which the revised clause 4 refers is already in place. I think that I can give an assurance that the revised clause 4 will come into force on the same basis as the rest of the Bill. However, although those measures need to have a point at which
action begins, I repeat that clause 4 refers to actions that are already well on stream.