Clause 4
Energy Bill
1:15 pm
Martin Horwood (Shadow Minister (Environment), Environment, Food & Rural Affairs; Cheltenham, Liberal Democrat)
It is very good to be serving under your chairmanship once again, Mr. Amess, at this clause 4 moment. Perhaps you will permit me to rephrase a question that I asked a little earlier, which is also directly relevant to the clause that we are now considering, about a risk identified in the impact assessment. That is the possibility that the time scale for introduction of the licensing regime might act, in the words of the risk assessment, as a disincentive to developers in the short term. The impact assessment also raises again the possibility that the narrowness of the licences will discourage innovation in storage technology.
Perhaps, bearing those two matters in mind, the Minister will suggest the time scale on which the licensing regime is expected to come into force, and reassure us that there will not be a slow grinding of the wheels of Government, to the point at which the industry becomes disenchanted and frustrated with the current, less adequate regime.