I am grateful for that clarification. I hope that that helps to address the point that the hon. Member for Warrington South sought to make; it also underlines the importance of the measure. It is possible and probable that the Government would come to a conclusion that members of the expert panel did not share, but as long as that was explained, I would not necessarily think that it was a problem. It may well be that the expert panel would come to a conclusion that the hon. Gentleman and others disagreed with and I agreed with, or vice versa. It is important that there is a degree of transparency and rigour in the process. That is why we will support new clause 5 and new schedule 1, if the hon. Member for Cheltenham divides the House on them.
The Minister touched on the capacity market and the amendments in the name of my hon. Friend the Member for Southampton, Test (Dr Whitehead) relating to the strategic reserve. The Minister seemed to use the same defence that we heard in Committee—that introducing a power to have a strategic reserve would send confusing signals. Indeed, his predecessor said:
“The new clause would allow us to have both a strategic reserve and a capacity mechanism. That might be the worst possible option, because it would send a confused signal to investors about the Government’s intentions.”––[Official Report, Energy Public Bill Committee, 24 January 2013; c. 329.]
The Government argued in Committee that it would be wrong to give the Secretary of State the power to introduce a new system or mechanism in future, as it would cause uncertainty. That is very different from the stance taken by the Government in the amendments that we will discuss tomorrow on 2030 decarbonisation, which give the Secretary of State a power to set a target if he so chooses, so the argument does not stand up to scrutiny. There are important points relating to a strategic
reserve that I am sure my hon. Friend the Member for Southampton, Test will seek to make. I do not think that having that power in the Bill will necessarily have the impact that the Minister suggests.
A number of amendments relating to biomass have been tabled. It was the Minister’s predecessor who took through Parliament the statutory instrument dealing with the renewables obligation earlier this year. He made a number of commitments in relation to biomass, as I gently remind this Minister, in case they were missed in the comprehensive handover that no doubt took place earlier this year. His predecessor undertook to seek from those using biomass to generate power details about the sourcing of the biomass, and to make that information more widely available.
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At that stage, I believe, the correspondence had been sent out. I am not sure whether it has come back and whether it can be shared, but that would do this debate a service, as it has been characterised by conflicting evidence. It is difficult to make a coherent and comprehensive judgment on biomass and on some of the concerns expressed in the amendments before us without being able to reconcile the discrepancies in the evidence.
The Minister’s predecessor also suggested that he would form an expert group that he said would meet before the end of the month. That month was March. Again, I am not sure whether the expert group has yet met. I would be grateful if the Minister could provide more information about that. The issue has received attention in the recent past because of conflicting information and evidence, and if we want to be sure about the place of sustainable biomass within our generation mix, we need to ensure that the evidence on which those judgments are based is comprehensive and clear. The Government could usefully undertake that task.
The Minister’s predecessor also made a commitment to look at the difference between imported and indigenous biomass supply. Again, I seek further information about that from the Minister.