Finance Bill

I am happy to dwell on this point if hon. Members really want me to do so. There are two fixed points. We start from zero. Under any definition, that figure is zero, or thereabouts—[Laughter.] Well, as I said in Committee, there might be one or two developments, and a planning inquiry on a zero-carbon home estate is ongoing. I was asked whether the planning permission for that estate was moving forward—it is. The opposite of going forward is going backwards. As I am sure that the hon. Member for Grantham and Stamford (Mr. Davies) would agree, the Government believe in going forward, not backwards, which is exactly what we are doing on the planning inquiry. As I said, we start from zero. By 2016, all homes will be zero-carbon homes—[Hon. Members: ““New homes.””] Yes, all new homes. I have been tempted by the right hon. Member for Wokingham to go outside the scope of the amendments by discussing energy saving in existing homes, but I am sure that you would rule me out of order if I did so, Mr. Deputy Speaker. We start from zero and we will get to 200,000 new homes. Clearly, we will get to 200,000 quickly or slowly depending on the pace of the acceleration. The sum of £15 million is the cost for 2012, but that depends on the pace of acceleration. The curve of the line of acceleration might vary, but that has nothing to do with the definition of zero-carbon homes. I thought that the hon. Member for Falmouth and Camborne was right about that.