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Energy Bill

The purpose of the amendment was to get the response the Minister made, because one of the problems is that we could end up with smart meters being rolled out in the locations where meters are at present, so people could not access them. That would completely negate any value that could accrue to people who wanted to use smart meters. I hope that in the consultation the cost-benefit analysis will take on board as a priority the positive benefits to the consumer as opposed to cost considerations about the unit, because without the information being available the meters lose many of their advantages. I love the asides in debates in this place. The Minister said that he is quite adept at using the video recorder. Perhaps I should mention that I recently gave a children’s party. We have a video recorder, but one of the young children had no idea what it was because the technology has moved on and it is not possible to buy them. We are dealing with the antiquated, which reminds me of the joke about the gramophone. I raised that because I thought it might strike people further down the line as quite amusing. The Minister made a serious point about the benefits of VDU displays being available and showing information so that people can switch between suppliers. I beg leave to withdraw the amendment. Amendment, by leave, withdrawn.