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Energy Bill

The noble Lord, Lord Jenkin, is in agreement with me as well as with the noble Lord, Lord Teverson, although I said nothing. Another point that underlines the importance of this amendment is that over recent years, instead of competition proliferating on the European stage, the number of large energy suppliers has shrunk as large corporations have merged for reasons of size or marketplace. Indeed, we are looking at a situation where very few players in the market are dealing with interests within countries. I recently had a meeting with most of the large energy suppliers on a carbon labelling scheme. It was amazing to have the five or six people in the room representing such a large tranche of the market. If some of the deals that have been speculated about go through, that number will shrink. It is therefore important that we look carefully at companies that will be moving into the field, especially with the gas pipelines and the situation about gas supply. As the noble Lord, Lord Puttnam, pointed out, this amendment is at the tail end of the Bill, but I believe it is an issue that, as an amendment, is intrinsically important to the basis of the Bill, and I hope that the Minister comes forward with a positive response to the amendment.