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Energy Bill

I shall try to re-establish the consensus that I thought was ruling in the Chamber, but which both sides appear to be wobbling over at the moment. The Government's White Paper is reasonably clear, actually. It talks about the energy companies being prepared to pay a substantial risk premium, over and above any realistic estimate of the cost of disposal. That is good, but there is one worrying sentence in the White Paper:"““These costs will include a proportion of the fixed costs of building a geological disposal facility.””" That is the issue that the Government must resolve. My hon. Friend is right to tease away at this one, because the crucial question of what proportion of the costs industry will have to bear is not clear. I hope that the Government will make that clear when—I hope shortly—they produce their further proposals. I encourage my hon. Friend to continue teasing on this one.