Part of the debate – in the House of Lords at 3:00 pm on 11 September 2003.
Lord Marsh
Crossbench
3:00,
11 September 2003
My Lords, on that basis, I wonder whether the noble Lord can give us some indication of what he thinks is the way. It is not a new problem; it was forecast for some years before the Government came into office. It has built up over a long time. The energy white paper worked on the assumption that the problem could probably be solved by market liberalisation and international agreements. There is no evidence that that is working, and nuclear power is one of the areas in which one can see the possibility of doing something about it.
A document issued by the Government laying out its policy, or proposed policy, on a topic of current concern.Although a white paper may occasion consultation as to the details of new legislation, it does signify a clear intention on the part of a government to pass new law. This is a contrast with green papers, which are issued less frequently, are more open-ended and may merely propose a strategy to be implemented in the details of other legislation.
More from wikipedia here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_paper