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Fuel Poverty Bill

My hon. Friend underlines why simply having good intentions is not enough. We have all had good intentions for a long time, but they have not delivered and that is why we now need something more concrete. I am being nice to the Government, as my hon. Friend the Member for Cambridge (David Howarth) suggests, because I have talked to the Minister, and I am grateful for the time that she spent telling me about what the Department is doing. I recognise that it is travelling in a similar direction, and I hope that out of its reviews will come a recognition that the present approach is insufficient and that more energy and resources need to be directed at the issue. I see no difficulty in reconciling what is happening with the Bill. It is a belt and braces approach that says that this Government, or any other Government, need to address the issues. There is a deadline and it is not good enough simply to produce policy papers: we need action. One issue was a sticking point in my discussions with the Government, and that was the requirement that buildings be brought up to an energy-efficient state consonant with the current band B designation. Ministers were unhappy with that, because they thought that it was a very expensive commitment and would be very difficult to achieve. I do not apologise for putting the band B requirement in the Bill. It is the standard that the Government have designated necessary for all new build, so it is not an absurdly high standard. It is what the Government hope will become the norm for private dwellings, in which case it should be the norm for people in fuel poverty. We should not short-change those people. However, I am happy to make a concession on this point if that will be helpful to the Government, because I do not want the best to be the enemy of the good. I have therefore written to the Minister to say that if she is so minded, I will accept an amendment in Committee to bring the band B requirement down to band C. It will still achieve most of my objectives, such as a step change in the way we address this issue, but it will reduce costs and some of the technical difficulties. It is much more important to achieve consensus on this issue, rather than confrontation, if at all possible.