Lord Henley:

Moved by Lord Henley

39: After Clause 7, insert the following new Clause—“The Chair of Great British Energy(1) The Chair of Great British Energy may not be appointed until the appointment has been scrutinised by the—(a) Treasury Committee of the House of Commons, or any successor committee, and(b) Energy Security and Net Zero Committee of the House of Commons, or any successor committee.(2) The Chair of Great British Energy must undergo an annual review on their performance and this review must be—(a) carried out by external auditors;(b) submitted to the Secretary of State and laid before Parliament.”

My Lords, my noble friends are not here at this stage. This was part of the first group that was discussed somewhat earlier, and I think quite a lot of us feel that this was not properly answered by His Majesty’s Government. I wonder whether we could have a further response from the Minister on Amendment 39, because I am concerned that the House has not yet had a proper explanation. I beg to move.

My Lords, I have great respect for the noble Lord, but I am not sure whether he was present when we debated it. I thought I gave a very full response to the noble Lord, Lord Frost. I referred to the issue of whether the appointment of the chair of GBE was subject to scrutiny by a Select Committee and said to the House that, following normal practice and the practice of the last Government, this would be a matter for discussions between the Secretary of State and the chair of the Select Committee. I think it was a very full and appropriate response.

I am afraid I am not happy with that and I think I would beg to test the opinion of the House.

Ayes 102, Noes 123.

Amendment 39 disagreed.