---

Energy: White Paper

My Lords, it gives me enormous pleasure to follow the noble Lord, Lord Jones of Birmingham, a city which must be very proud today to have the noble Lord claim it as his own. I congratulate him on his outstanding maiden speech. Some things in this House are done by custom, but I do so with conviction, given the quality of the speech that we have just heard. I have followed the noble Lord’s distinguished career over many years, and I have thought it likely that we would see him here one day, although his particular place in the House was not quite so easy to forecast. The noble Lord’s maiden speech was in the line of a long tradition in this House of being uncontroversial, which is quite difficult on this topic. I am sure that his new noble friends will be as relieved about that duty to be non-controversial as I am, given some of his past observations on the policies of Governments. After today, in becoming a Minister, he shares collective responsibility for defending all Labour Government policies, past and present. The House will look forward with great interest to hearing him do that as robustly and controversially as he likes. I congratulate the noble Lord, and we on these Benches all wish him well. The House will eagerly anticipate hearing from him on many occasions in the future. The noble Lord, Lord Jones, said that this is a subject close to his heart, and I have no doubt that he will enjoy this first exchange. As the Stern review made clear, climate change—and the steps that we can take to protect ourselves from it—is one of the most important issues facing our generation. On these Benches, we are very glad that the Government are starting to listen to the Conservative Party about the critical importance of reducing the environmental impact of our energy industry. It is unfortunate, however, that the Government are apparently still unable to take the necessary steps to ensure that anything significant will happen. This White Paper was an opportunity for the Government to give a clear indication of their policies and commitments that will be needed to meet the energy challenge. Instead, we again have a list of possibilities and half-hearted or unclear statements. Indeed, the Government have created a great deal of confusion over one of the most controversial aspects of energy policy—whether nuclear power stations that are going to be decommissioned in the near future will be replaced. I wonder whether the noble Lord, Lord Jones, can clarify the position. Do the Government intend to stick to their line in the energy review in 2006, which stated that nuclear power, "““has a role to play””," or is the question still open to debate, even given what the noble Lord has said this morning? The Prime Minister has suggested that his mind is already made up. At Prime Minster’s Questions on 4 July, the Prime Minister said: "““We have made a decision to continue with nuclear power””.—[Official Report, Commons, 4/7/07; c.955.]" Yet, the noble Lord, Lord Jones, is on record as saying that the debate has just started. The noble Lord’s understanding of the necessary process is supported by the findings of a judicial review, which confirmed in February this year that no decision on nuclear power could be taken until a full public consultation had been completed. This White Paper appears to agree. It says nothing more than that the Government believe that, "““new nuclear power stations could make a significant contribution””," and consultations will not close until October. Can the Minister confirm once and for all not only for the benefit of noble Lords but also for the benefit of the many interested lobby groups what is the Government’s line on nuclear power? Does he agree that failing to consult fully has already led to a legal challenge, which delayed the Government’s White Paper? Further confusion about the status of the consultation will not only make it difficult for those groups who have engaged in the consultation in good faith, but will make it much harder for companies hoping to build and run any eventual power stations, to cost and tender their bids if there is a risk that the consultation process will be undermined. How can the Government expect such a controversial issue, with so many stakeholders, to be resolved effectively if Ministers say different things and no one knows the real situation?