Clause 13 - Powers for carrying out functions
Energy Bill [Lords]
10:45 am
Mr Norman Baker (Shadow Secretary of State for the Environment, Environment, Food & Rural Affairs; Lewes, Liberal Democrat)
I am back again on the question of financial propriety, which I am keen to pursue. I take the view that there ought to be a clear delineation between the NDA and the private sector nuclear industry for reasons of good accounting practice, the safeguarding of public money and transparency—all concepts that the Minister would endorse.
The amendment is partly probing and partly rather more. I wish to explore the areas in which grants or loans might be made available under the powers in clause 13(2)(d) and (e). Unless the Minister convinces me otherwise—as he knows, I am always open to reason—it would seem illogical to give grants and loans to the private sector nuclear industry under powers relating to research and site clean-up, because the industry itself, as the Minister has said on previous occasions, has responsibility for cleaning up its own sites. British Energy is a self-contained, private sector company that has a duty to deal with its assets and liabilities. Only in the event of market failure should the taxpayer pick up the bill and support it. That seemed to be the Minister's view, based on earlier discussions of the Bill.
It would muddy the waters—I use the phrase again because, unfortunately, the Bill demands it on many occasions—if there was an incestuous relationship and grants and loans were transferred from the NDA to British Energy, particularly given the inevitably close relationship that will exist between the NDA and the private sector, and given the nature of the nuclear industry. The Minister was not keen to accept the idea that there should be space between the NDA and those who were employed in the nuclear industry and who could be employed two days later by the NDA. He rejected earlier amendments to that effect.
It is important that there are clear lines of financial accountability. My amendments to paragraphs (d) and (e) explore such matters. In particular, I draw the Minister's attention to amendment No. 115, which states that the power in paragraph (e)
''to use its facilities, and facilities on designated sites, for the carrying out of research on behalf of others''
should be amended such that it
''may not be exercised for the benefit of nuclear companies except where the full cost is recovered from those companies.''
That seems entirely reasonable. It would protect the public purse and ensure transparency.