Finance (No. 3) Bill

That is a very fair intervention. Perhaps I am using the term ““North sea”” in a slightly generic fashion. The term ““UK continental shelf”” is a bit long-winded, but that is what I really mean. Perhaps the House will take that as read for these purposes. The hon. Gentleman is right: Centrica, the operator in Morecambe bay and other gas fields, has indeed indicated that it might not be able to resume production in the current regime and with the current prices. That makes the point, which I hope Ministers will acknowledge, that it is important for the industry and the Government to come together and negotiate, in order to ensure that we do not lose investment and production that might otherwise be lost altogether.