Member

On Amendment 47, tabled by the noble Lord, Lord Offord of Garvel, we recognise the need for a reduction in energy bills. This is hugely important and it needs to happen quite quickly—something which is not in the amendment. However, I remind the Conservatives that the previous Government spent £39.3 billion between October 2022 and March 2023 subsidising household energy bill payers. That money was the direct result of the war in Ukraine causing havoc with the international energy markets. The result is that, although the money supported individuals through a difficult period, and it was good that it was paid, there were exactly zero long-term benefits for our energy security as a country. The reality is that if we do not transition our energy and get energy security, we could be in exactly that place again. The world continues to be unstable, and we need to free ourselves of our addiction to international gas markets. We fully support the Bill and what it is doing on this.