Clause 36
Energy Bill
5:30 pm
John Robertson (PPS (Dr Kim Howells, Minister of State), Foreign & Commonwealth Office; Glasgow North West, Labour)
The hon. Gentleman has been very generous with his time, but I still want to get my head around what he is saying. The £42 million is there to be used. Is he saying that we should keep opening up the criteria until we have spent £42 million just for the sake of spending it? I could be wrong, but if a Government did that, would it not be the duty of the Opposition to call attention to the fact that £42 million of taxpayer’s money had been wasted? Should we not look at several criteria that suggest that there is a chance that we will get a return for our investment, or do we throw the money away and hope that some day we might get something back?