Energy Bill [HL]

My Lords, I shall speak to Amendment 20Q in this group. I allowed it to be grouped with Amendments 20P and 20PA because it gives a contrasting view on the topic. The amendment moved by my noble friend Lady Maddock, and that spoken to by the noble Baroness, Lady Smith, seek to remove the conditionality, either totally or in relation to the report, before regulations are introduced. My concern, which I expressed earlier, is to ensure that regulation is not introduced unless there has been careful thought and consideration, because a regulatory solution would be an admission of failure and is not to be undertaken lightly. Clause 37(1) requires not only that the report is published but that the Secretary of State considers that the regulations will improve energy efficiency and not reduce the number of properties available for rent. Those are the good requirements prior to the introduction of any regulation, and I support them. Amendment 20Q adds another requirement, namely that the report should be approved by both Houses of Parliament. We have already discussed the fact that the use of the regulation-making powers in this chapter could have a significant impact on the private rented sector, both in terms of economics and of the regulatory burden that could be laid on it. It will be important to ensure the widest possible consideration of the impact of any regulation. I tabled my amendment in relation to Clause 37, but my points apply also to Clause 40, which covers the power to make tenants’ energy efficiency improvement regulations. Both will have a significant impact. Let us assume for a moment that the Secretary of State is some kind of ideologue who sees everything through green-tinted spectacles. While not for a moment would I say that this is a description of the current holder of that office, let us assume that we have such a green ideologue in the position of Secretary of State. That Secretary of State appoints another green ideologue to carry out the review, because Clause 36 makes no requirement for the reviewer to be an independent person. We could easily get one ideologue appointing another ideologue—there are rather a lot of them around in this area—to carry out a review which would then be undertaken from a particular set of prejudices. My amendment, in addition to providing the ordinary involvement of Parliament in such an important decision at any early stage and not simply in approving regulations, in approving the report would also be able to provide some kind of counterweight if a green bias was built into the review. I am aware, of course, that there is a form of institutionalised bias along certain lines in both Houses of Parliament, and that Members of both Houses have a wide range of views on these issues. It is therefore important that the findings of the review are subjected to full and dispassionate scrutiny by both Houses and approved as the basis, effectively, for the Secretary of State to go forward and introduce regulations. While I have treated this in a rather light-hearted way, there is a serious point here in that we want to be clear before defaulting to regulation. This would provide another pause in the process before ending up in regulation. For that reason, I hope that the Minister will favour my amendment in this group and not those of the two other noble Baronesses.