Clause 36
Energy Bill
9:15 am
Charles Hendry (Shadow Minister, Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform; Wealden, Conservative)
I am glad that the Minister tells us that it is perfectly clear. We are looking forward to his detailed explanation. I wish to be there with the Minister when the Plain English Campaign next come to present the gobbledygook award. There are sometimes elements of legislation that are, to some extent, opaque. This is more opaque than we are used to.
The Minister could also give us greater clarity about proposed new section 32M—the fossil fuel reference is rather vague, and what parameters are involved? We certainly think it sensible that, as in proposed new section 32H, small payments can be carried over. That is a practical way to avoid unnecessary costs and excessive burdens. It brings us to the heart of the problem with the Government’s proposals and to the new clauses on feed-in tariffs.
The truth is that ROCs are too bureaucratic and are not well suited to microgeneration. The Government approach to microgeneration has failed to deliver the goods. There is massive potential in the United Kingdom for huge growth in microgeneration, but that could be thwarted by the Government’s lack of imagination about how to fund its growth.