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Energy Bill

The plant directive. Thank you. That looks after sulphur dioxide, nitrous oxide and particulates, but it does not look after carbon dioxide in any way, yet that is an example of how emission performance standards can work in another area. The Government always talk about having a range of instruments that they can use for energy policy, and this could be an important one. Other nations manage to combine that with carbon capture and storage technologies and research and also with emissions trading schemes, so I do not see why we should not be able to do that in the United Kingdom. The very last thing I come back to is a point made by the noble Lord, Lord O’Neill, which I was well persuaded by. Will the social tariffs to be introduced cover particular disadvantaged groups? We saw the statistics on the cancer group, a small—not small enough—but important group which is not covered by the schemes at the moment. I think that the whole House would like the Minister’s assurance that such disadvantaged groups will also benefit from this legislation.