SPT agrees that checks and balances should be in place, which is why such a provision was included in the 2019 act.

We are now in a position in which the panel will be put in place, there will be full scrutiny and we will put in place guidance, which the Net Zero, Energy and Transport Committee will have a chance to look at. If we delay that process, we will have to go back to primary legislation, which, as I have said in a number of debates, will stall it even further.

As I have said, I am preparing to meet SPT. We will discuss the matter further. However, franchising is going forward at the right pace.