Clause 45
Energy Bill
4:00 pm
Malcolm Wicks (Minister of State (Energy), Department for Business, Enterprise & Regulatory Reform; Croydon North, Labour)
I hope to cover that important question in due course.
When deciding whether a modification is to be made, this clause, like clause 41, requires that the Secretary of State must exercise his power only with the aim of securing that prudent provision is being made for the technical matters, the financing of the designated technical matters and the cost estimates of those matters.
If the Secretary of State proposes to make a modification, he will have to determine that the programme originally submitted no longer makes prudent provision for those matters. In determining that, the Secretary of State will make reference to the guidance in force. Additionally, the Secretary of State will take into consideration comments made by the interested parties.
On the appeals procedure, as is the case with all issues across Government where the Secretary of State has the power to make the final decision, disputes between the operator and the Secretary of State can be settled by recourse to administrative law procedures. Therefore, an appeals procedure is not necessary. I am advised that that is also consistent with analogous legislation such as the Nuclear Installations Act 1965 and also in terms of legislation for offshore renewables.