Energy Bill

That is fine. Every man has his price. Some are well enough off to be able to do that. Many of the people we are concerned about in this Bill and who are looking to this legislation for assistance would be very happy to be in that position. A lot of them work for nothing on the basis that they are unemployed. That is why they live in fuel poverty. As I say, the purpose of this amendment—coming from people who in the past have sought to pin down Governments to make sure that they will meet their requirements whether by international law or by British legislation—is to improve the Bill. We have had people on the Benches opposite cheering in the wings when the previous Government were taken to court because they had not met, in the eyes of some people, the requirements of the legislation of the 1990s and of 2008 to meet some of the fuel poverty targets. One would have thought that they would have been happy to make more explicit the commitment of the Government to these aims and objectives, because there is nothing which we are advocating here that is at variance with government policy. It is certainly the case that it is desirable to make explicit at every opportunity the Government’s intentions to tackle both climate change and the contribution that is made to CO2 emissions by the inadequate housing construction that we have in the United Kingdom at present. This amendment, very briefly and very effectively, draws attention to the commitments that this Government have accepted from their predecessor and to the new objectives that are incorporated within the proposed legislation as a consequence of the proposed Green Deal. If we are to make progress then it is essential that we do not at any stage lose sight of the fact that we require a 34 per cent reduction in CO2 emissions by 2020 relative to 1990 and that we need to move on to even more substantial reductions using the 1990 base figure when we get to 2050. Certainly these matters will be monitored by the Committee on Climate Change. They will be looked at by a variety of people and they will be the subject of annual reports to Parliament. It certainly does not do any harm for the annual reporting process to be incorporated in this legislation—which, of any, seems to be the most appropriate at the moment to reinforce that message. Certainly it does not do any harm for the duties of Secretaries of State to be repeated in legislation and to make clear that there is no possibility of backsliding—or, if there are to be issues relating to backsliding, that they can be the subject of parliamentary debate when the annual report is presented to Parliament. Moreover it is important that we recognise that there are somewhat clear—and, in some ways, rather difficult—relationships between the Welsh Assembly and this place. That is particularly so when ambitions embraced by the Welsh Assembly are not necessarily matched by access to funds. However, it may well be that, as a consequence of the referendum which is to be held later this year, they will have access, or a greater degree of freedom, to spend the allocations from Whitehall. Certainly it does not do any harm to have the Welsh Executive on the same page as the Secretary of State, outlining their responsibilities, and ensuring that the Welsh Ministries are included in the annual report. The three amendments in this group would enhance the Bill. They would enable those who perhaps suffer from insomnia and who read parliamentary legislation as an aid to sleeping at night to get through the first part of the Bill in which it would be made quite explicit what are the objectives and ambitions of this legislation. It is fair to say that this Bill is very ambitious and for that we give the Government credit. But it is one thing to have pre-election promises, immediate post-election legislation and Second Reading speeches, and another to realise those ambitions. That is where we have to hold them to account. It is therefore very useful for the Government to be held to account in the first clause of the Bill. That is why I am very happy to see this clause proposed and to support these amendments. They are more than just a reiteration of past policy and current ambition; they are a clear indication of what the Government have to do if they are to meet their responsibilities to the people of Britain and to those who live in inadequately insulated houses and if they are to meet their wider international responsibilities in the fight against unnecessary climate change. I am very happy to support my noble friend in her attempt to amend the Bill. I would like to think that the amendment is so uncontroversial that those who have previously sought to make the Government’s intentions explicit, and who have sought to require Governments to be more accountable, are able sign up to it. I realise that we will not be voting for it at this stage. It may well be that at Third Reading such an opportunity will arise. But it is important that we get an indication from the Minister—paid or unpaid—that there is an intention to enter into the spirit of this legislation in a more meaningful way than the somewhat inadequate words of the first clause would suggest.