Energy Bill [HL]

My Lords, I shall speak to Amendment 29ZB and also about the general principle of local carbon budgets, on which we have tabled two other amendments. We have just heard the noble Lord, Lord Judd, and the noble Lord, Lord Deben, will also speak on this issue. At the start of discussions on this Bill, I suggested by way of an amendment that the Government should seek to quantify the level of carbon reduction they are seeking to achieve with this legislation, either directly or as a by-product of legislation, given that in improving energy efficiency we reduce carbon. The noble Lord, Lord Marland, said that he was in complete agreement on the relevance of the Bill to carbon targets and to the fuel poor. Today we are seeking to build on that agreement and that relevance. The value and purpose of local carbon targets is quite evident. Local authorities were very keen to take up the previous Government’s pilot schemes which examined how carbon could be reduced by setting targets locally. The success and popularity of these schemes is quite significant. There is fairly widespread support for this approach. The Minister will be aware of the support from his ministerial colleagues, not just from his own department but from other departments as well. The Minister’s noble friend Greg Barker has said: "““It can’t all be done from the centre. We can put in the big infrastructure””," but, "““fundamentally this is a transition that has to””," have the active engagement of people locally. He added: "““I’m working now with my officials, having worked very extensively with Friends of the Earth in opposition, on local carbon budgets to try and come up with something that is effective, that is fair and useful, but also doesn’t impose undue burdens on councils””." The key is the real difference that having local carbon budgets could make. I am disappointed that since the 2010 spending review we have pulled back and local authorities are no longer required to choose which national indicators they wish to report on. The Department of Energy and Climate Change will still produce local carbon figures, so we are still recognising the relevance of local carbon reduction. This Bill, which already works with local authorities, is an ideal opportunity to bring forward these kinds of measures and work with local authorities and I am grateful to the Minister for the opportunity to raise this. This issue has some very key supporters. One of the things said quite rightly by Greg Barker is that we have to find a way that is fair and effective but does not produce undue burdens on local authorities. The attitude of local government to local carbon budgets is one of support; clearly they would not support anything they considered placed undue burdens on them. The Minister may have seen the letter to Secretary of State Chris Huhne from local authority leaders of all parties—Councillor Barbara Janke, the Liberal Democrat leader of Bristol City Council; Sir Richard Leese, the leader of Manchester City Council which is of course Labour and Councillor Mike Heenan, Conservative leader of Stafford Borough Council. There were pages and pages of local authority leaders of all parties who want to support this. I am sure the other noble Lords received the same letter I did from the leader of the Conservative-controlled West Sussex County Council, Louise Goldsmith, as well as from Barbara Janke and Sir Richard Leese. These council leaders, players not only in their local authority but in their community, would not be seeking to impose burdens on their local authority if they thought they were ineffective, or that they were too costly or that they would not work. They are proposing them because they know they can do it and they know they can make a difference. The Localism Bill is very interesting but one of its big problems is that local authorities may not have the money to implement some of the things they wish to do. This amendment is an opportunity, in the spirit of localism, to introduce measures to have local targets to meet carbon budgets. The Government’s attitude is interesting. I see that the Minister is reading his notes at the moment. I have sat in his seat on many occasions, and the file comes along with a piece of paper on which is the amendment, the explanation of the amendment and the word ““Resist””. It then gives you the reasons to resist. I urge the Minister, in his usual style—I congratulate him on the co-operation that he has shown to the Committee; it really has been rewarding for those of us putting forward alternative suggestions to have a Minister who has been so willing to listen and take matters back—to tear up the piece of paper that says ““Resist””. This is something that we can achieve; we can make a difference. Across Government there have been discussions with Friends of the Earth and Ministers from his own department and from the Cabinet Office. If there is that level of interest from the Government, the Minister can make his mark on the subject with this Bill. It is unusual to get such widespread support throughout local government and across the parties without question, as well as from the Federation of Small Businesses. I have received a letter from Francis Wood from the FSB, who says: "““The Federation of Small Businesses fully backs the local carbon budget approach. Small businesses want to play their part in the fight against climate change and enjoy the benefits of being more energy efficient. However, we need a framework that is flexible and supportive to encourage small businesses rather than penalise them””." The letter then talks about all the different things that the federation wants to do and how it has worked with local authorities. It continues: "““Meeting the Budgets will require councils to work with local business, as well as residents, community groups and other stakeholders. The London Borough of Islington which has committed to cutting carbon emissions in the local area by 40 per cent by 2020, has placed this co-operative approach at the heart of its plans by establishing a Climate Change Partnership which has brought together 150 local organisations, including many small businesses””." Francis Wood is of the view that local authorities working together with small businesses boosts local business and local employment, citing the examples of, "““offering free solar panels and efficiency advice to residents and businesses””." So, in order to ensure that local carbon budgets work effectively, we think that they need to be mandatory and set out in law. There is also the role of the trade unions. The GMB has been in contact on behalf of the workforce that works in these industries, and it is very supportive of local carbon budgets. It sees not just see the impact on its workforce in terms of employment but, if we do not reduce carbon, the social, environmental and health impacts on us all. There are reasons why there should be very clear measures. I draw the Minister’s attention to the report from the Audit Commission. The commission, as all Ministers from past and present Governments will be aware, is pretty hot when it comes to seeing if there is value for money or waste. It looked at the impacts in National Indicator 186 on local action on climate change. It is unfortunate that the Government got rid of NI 186 before it really had a chance to bed in and show what it could do. As it says, it was very new at the time of its abolition. Two reports tried to capture whether having local authorities signing up to that national indicator to reduce carbon locally could make a difference, and their view was that these national indicators, with their signed-up commitments from local authorities to reduce carbon, provided additional momentum. The targets were good but they were a small start. One of the reports said that, although NI 186 had its weaknesses, it, "““prompted concerted action for the first time””." So, across the board, auditors, the Audit Commission, business and local authorities want the Government to act, and every indication from government Ministers to NGOs and other organisations is that they also want to act. I do not pretend that our amendment is perfect; we are happy to discuss its wording and its location in the Bill. We are seeking the commitment that has been made to the principle in private to be put into the Bill, so that as a Parliament we can work with local authorities to make a difference and get the change that we all want to see.