Clause 94 - Consents for generating stations offshore
Energy Bill [Lords]
10:00 am
Mr Andrew Stunell (Chief Whip; Hazel Grove, Liberal Democrat)
I beg to move amendment No. 179, in
clause 94, page 73, line 15, leave out subsection (4).
Subsection (4) prevents Scottish Ministers from exercising power under the clause unless they get the say so of the Secretary of State. We will be interested to hear what the Minister has to say about the purpose of that subsection because it seems entirely otiose to us. What is his objection to allowing Scottish Ministers to decide on some of these important matters relating to the offshore renewable energy industry in and around Scotland?
The clause deals with holding inquiries, setting conditions and granting consents. Those all seem entirely proper matters for Scottish Ministers to consider. In what circumstances would the Secretary of State consider transferring the powers? I refer the Minister to his letter to my hon. Friend the Member for Lewes on 10 June about the exercise of order-making powers in relation to clauses 85, 86 and 88. This appears to be another version of the same issue of orders being made by the Secretary of State.
There appears to us—on the face of it and considering the clause—to be every possible reason for those powers being exercised at regional or the Scottish level, so we are rather surprised to find subsection (4) here. We hope that this can be a short debate, the Minister can explain everything to us and we can all be happy, but that subsection appears to be an unnecessary and restrictive addition.