Energy Bill [HL]

My Lords, I beg to move Amendment 13 and speak to the other amendments in this group. One could argue that the first three amendments could appear in the code of conduct or some form of secondary regulation, but the fact is that the primary legislation does not specify that such arrangements should do so. Therefore, one way or another, these amendments aim to ensure that these principles are followed in whatever regulations cover the delivery of the Green Deal. Amendment 13 aims to protect those who effectively inherit a Green Deal arrangement. It is attempting to ensure that, because the Green Deal attaches to the property and not to the current occupant, subsequent occupiers are not unfairly prejudiced by the nature of the deal. In other areas of financial arrangements, we know that a significant number of deals start at a relatively low level of repayment and rise over time. Indeed, one could argue that the sub-prime mortgage market in the United States based on those principles almost brought the whole of world capitalism to its knees, but it is used in more respectable circumstances as well. However, in this case, it is important that subsequent occupiers are not disproportionately penalised. The golden rule should apply to the totality of the deal, but if the golden rule is delivered by low payments at the beginning, then subsequent occupiers, while they are required to pay a larger proportion of it back, may well not benefit from the golden rule. That is the intention of this clause. There may be better ways of expressing it but it is a principle, I would have hoped, that the Government could adopt. Amendment 14 requires Green Deal providers to be up-front about the costs of the deal and to inform consumers of the total cost. This relates not only to the immediate cost of the various measures that are to be taken but also to the terms of the repayment; in other words, the rate of interest and annual repayments. This suggests the APR should be calculated in the same way that is provided for under the consumer credit regulations. It would be better if the Green Deal offered a fixed rate of interest for the totality of the deal, as provided for in Amendment 15. This may go a little far for the Government and a little flexibility might be required. I would prefer Amendment 15 but, if the Government are not prepared to accept that, Amendment 14 will ensure transparency and clarity regarding the rate of repayment interest. Amendment 16 deals with the fees. My consumer champion antennae always go off in any context when there is a separate reference to fees. There are some later amendments which deal with this in a slightly different context and perhaps this would be best considered in that light. However, the reference to ““any fee”” in this context seems odd to me. It is a reference to any fee over and above the cost of the Green Deal arrangements. If the fee referred to here relates, for example, to the fee of the assessor, surely that should be included in the Green Deal arrangements. If it relates to a fee from the financial institution providing for the Green Deal, that also should be clear as part of the Green Deal arrangements. So what does ““and any fee”” relate to over and above those arrangements? A suspicion may be that it includes things like exit fees. If there is to be an exit fee—as has existed in the energy market to the detriment of consumers—we need to be clear about that. This has to be made clear to the consumer at the point of entry and also to anybody taking on the obligations. An exit fee is not appropriate here. You have established a deal at the beginning which is attached to the property rather than the individual. If the occupier or a subsequent occupier wishes to pay off the whole deal early, it should be open to them to do so and the potential cost should be reflected in the deal’s totality. If this relates to something down the line, like an exit fee, it needs to be dealt with separately. If it relates to a fee incurred at the point of assessment, it ought to be included within reference to the Green Deal arrangements. The Government’s comments on that and how they will deal with these aspects would be very welcome. I beg to move Amendment 13.