Clause 62
Energy Bill
6:30 pm
Charles Hendry (Shadow Minister, Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform; Wealden, Conservative)
Will the Minister explain further why the distinction in this clause is different to that in other parts of the Bill? Why has he gone for an ownership threshold of 20 per cent. in this sector, but a 50 per cent. threshold for the decommissioning of offshore renewables and oil and gas installations? Will the liability of organisations or investors relate to the size of their ownership stake, so that if a company owns more than 20 per cent. of the operator they will be liable for that exact proportion of the decommissioning costs, or will there be some other structure? If so, will he explain how that will work?
In addition, will the structure take account of how long investors or organisations have had ownership of their portion of the company? There is a great difference between the returns that an investor or a company will have if it has been an investor in a company that is operating in nuclear facilities for many years and one that has only recently become an investor. Will their liabilities be equal and based purely on their shareholding, or will other factors be taken into account?
Will the Minister also clarify what will happen if the parent company is owned by a foreign Government and is essentially the sovereign fund of another country? Will the legal duty rest on the parent company or with the Government of that country?