Contribution
My Lords, I thank the noble Earl, Lord Russell, the noble Lord, Lord Cameron of Dillington, and my noble friends Lord Roborough, Lord Howell, Lord Trenchard, Lady McIntosh and Lady Noakes for their contributions on this group. The debate raised critical issues regarding the sweeping powers, as we highlighted, given to the Secretary of State. Why is it that any and all directions that the Secretary of State gives to GBE are hidden from the eyes of the public and lack parliamentary scrutiny? Considering once again that GBE is funded by £8.3 billion of taxpayers’ money, is subject to an unlimited cap on financial assistance and will not cut the British consumer’s energy bills, this is deeply concerning.
Let me turn to the amendment of the noble Earl, Lord Russell. Amendment 66 would ensure that the Secretary of State does not give any direction to GBE without first delivering an oral Statement before Parliament setting out those directions. I am acutely aware of the lack of detail in this legislation, and it is crucial that we have proper oversight of the wider activities of GBE as ordered by the Secretary of State. It is not only I who thinks this: the Government have agreed. In fact, in Committee in the other place, the honourable Member for Rutherglen, Michael Shanks, said that the Government want Great British Energy to be
“accountable, transparent and clear about how it is delivering on its objectives”.—[Official Report, Commons, Great British Energy Bill Committee, 15/10/24; col. 168.]
I therefore see no reason why the Minister should not support amendments that seek to improve accountability and reporting measures in the Bill and ensure sufficient oversight of the objectives, directions and activities of GBE. If the Prime Minister stands by his statement that he would not make a single promise that he was not confident he could deliver, the Minister ought to support these amendments, which would ensure that GBE was indeed “accountable, transparent and clear about how it is delivering on its objectives”.
The UK Infrastructure Bank, referenced by my noble friend Lord Trenchard, was set up with the explicit purpose of financing projects to drive our energy transition, and it already includes rigorous safeguards to ensure that taxpayer money is spent effectively. Governed by strict rules and subject to detailed annual reporting, it provides the public with comprehensive information on its performance and investments. Given that these robust mechanisms are already in place for the Infrastructure Bank, is it not fair—indeed, essential—that GBE undergoes the same level of scrutiny and oversight? If we are truly committed to safeguarding public funds, surely the same level of accountability should applie to all publicly funded energy initiatives.
Amendment 87 in the name of my noble friend Lady McIntosh would require a Minister to table a motion for resolution in each House of Parliament on any directions that are given by the Secretary of State to GBE before the directions are adopted. In a similar fashion, Amendment 66 in the name of the noble Earl, Lord Russell, would prevent the Secretary of State from directing GBE unless they have delivered an oral Statement to Parliament. I am grateful to both noble Lords for bringing these amendments, which will undoubtedly improve the levels of scrutiny and oversight to which the directions which are given to Great British Energy will be subject.
The only details included under Clause 6 are that
“Great British Energy must comply with the directions”
and that:
“The Secretary of State must publish and lay before Parliament any directions given to Great British Energy”.
This is simply not good enough. It is the bare minimum to allow Parliament to have sight of the directions issued to Great British Energy before they are acted on. In fact, it would be negligible to allow Great British Energy to be directed without sufficient parliamentary scrutiny. I therefore trust that the Minister has listened carefully to the concerns raised by Amendments 66 and 87.
Amendment 86, tabled by the noble Lord, Lord Cameron of Dillington, seeks to ensure that, before giving any direction to Great British Energy, the Secretary of State must consult
“the National Energy System Operator”—
known as NESO—
“the Climate Change Committee and the Gas and Electricity Markets Authority”.
I discussed in detail the importance of consultation in our debate on Amendments 56 and 116. As I said, engagement and consultation with the relevant parties is crucial if GBE is to be a success. The Secretary of State must not act in isolation. It is crucial that he or she consults with the relevant stakeholders. I therefore welcome the amendments in the names of the noble Lord, Lord Cameron of Dillington, the noble Earl, Lord Russell, and my noble friend Lady McIntosh. I look forward to the Minister’s response on the concerns raised by noble Lords in the debate on this group.