Energy Bill

I have no particular angst about the profits of energy companies. They ought to make profits, and I will not get tied up in the arguments about that. However, it is much better if energy companies are given the opportunity to work within a regime that the public think is fair. I therefore welcome what the Government have done, although they could have moved further on some of the issues that the hon. Member for North Southwark and Bermondsey (Simon Hughes) raised. The Government ought to be on the side of the energy companies. If the energy companies can work within a system that the public perceive as fair, it is much easier for them. If they work within a system that the public perceive as unfair, that does not help them to do what needs to be done. We need a real relationship between Government, energy companies and consumers to deliver a carbon-free economy. That is not easy, and we have to get it right. The current structure gives some of the less attractive elements of the media the ability to present the whole system in a way that is damaging to those of us who are fighting for a low-carbon, and finally non-carbon, economy. I hope the Minister will be tougher with her civil servants, so that we can find answers more quickly and clearly. Will she please also tell them that in future there shall be no occasion on which initials shall be used, and that she will explain things in a way that those who are watching on television can understand? I have been listening carefully to the debate, and I do not think anybody outside can have understood it. We have all used shorthand terms and words that do not mean anything to the general public. I beg her to get her officials to understand that we need a partnership with the general public, and we have to get it right. Frankly, we are not getting it right at the moment because we are not prepared to explain to people what we are trying to do in language that they understand. Question put and agreed to. New clause 9 accordingly read a Second time, and added to the Bill.