Climate Change Bill [HL]

I support the noble Baroness, Lady Billingham, on this important amendment. She and others in the past have quoted extremely convincing and comprehensive research which illustrates how much energy could be saved by giving us just one extra hour of daylight in the summer months. Giving us that daylight would do a huge amount to reduce the effects of climate change while increasing the safety of some of the most vulnerable groups in our society, particularly the very young and very old. We know that we could also enhance the quality of their lives by doing this. It would make it safer for children to go out to play. We know that a lot of children in this country now suffer from a lack of vitamin D, which they get from sunlight, and an extra hour would make a great deal of difference to children’s health. We also know that many people are scared of going out at night, because alcohol-related and drug-related crime is much more likely to take place in the evening and at night than in the early hours of the day. If we can, in one simple measure, reduce the use of energy in the country while making our population happier and safer, that must be a measure worth pursuing with all our energy.