Clause 4
Energy Bill
1:15 pm
Charles Hendry (Shadow Minister, Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform; Wealden, Conservative)
It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship this afternoon, Mr. Amess. The Minister will be delighted to know that new clause 4 is in my name, but he will have to wait a little longer for the chance to discuss that. I imagine that it will cause the Labour party as much consternation and debate as the original clause 4.
The clause that we are discussing seems very straightforward. It sets out who may apply for a licence, what requirements must be met in relation to that, the manner in which the application should be made, the information that should accompany it, and the fee. I wonder, however, whether the Minister has also considered whether it should contain a reference to the appropriate time for which a licence should last. I imagine that there have been discussions about that in his Department. One would clearly expect licences to last for a period of years, but does he have it in mind that they should last for five, 10 or 20 years? Some guidance on that would be helpful.
Also, what about making stipulations with regard to who is responsible for the maintenance of the facility? This would seem to be a good point in the Bill at which to set those out. I should be grateful if the Minister would respond to those two points.