---

Energy: Low Carbon Transition Plan

My Lords, as a member of Sub-Committee B, which has investigated the energy sector and to which the Minister gave evidence, I welcome the report as being a prompt response to many of our recommendations. However, I draw the Minister’s attention to the somewhat dismissive way in which it deals with the value of such things as railway electrification, more or less saying that electricity has to come from somewhere and the railway does not carry much traffic. We know that small amounts of electrification of the railway will add considerably to the amount of use that can be made of the rest. Perhaps he would bring that to the attention of the Secretary of State. I also warn him that £30 million spent on new buses is probably a waste of money if the people who let the contracts for the use of buses make it a condition that they emit less energy.