Clause 91 - Modification of licence conditions for offshore transmission and distribution
Energy Bill [Lords]
3:45 pm
Mr Stephen Timms (Minister of State (e-Commerce & Competitiveness), Department of Trade and Industry; East Ham, Labour)
I appreciate the intentions and kind thoughts behind the amendments to which the hon. Gentleman referred. I am sure that we would all want to minimise any uncertainty for those likely to be affected by the licence modification. However, I am not convinced that the amendments are necessary. The changes to the licence conditions will be published in a way that will make them available to those affected. Administrative law already requires that. The formulation has been used in the past—in the Utilities Act 2000—and I am not aware of any problems that have arisen from those precedents.
Of course, the Secretary of State and GEMA, the regulatory authority, will want to undertake the publication activities under clauses 91 and 92 as quickly as possible, but writing into the Bill the requirement that they should be performed as soon as is reasonably practicable would not add any great rigour to the processes. Rather, it would lengthen the Bill by inserting something that is not a very stiff test. I do not want to encourage the hon. Gentleman to make the test stiffer. Nevertheless, I do not believe that the amendments achieve a great deal.