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Energy Bill [Lords]

I beg to move, That the Bill be now read the Third time. I begin by thanking the many hon. Members who have contributed so much to the discussions on the Bill. The hon. Members for Hackney South and Shoreditch (Meg Hillier), for Liverpool, Wavertree (Luciana Berger), for Ogmore (Huw Irranca-Davies), for Rutherglen and Hamilton West (Tom Greatrex), for Blaydon (Mr Anderson), for Hyndburn (Graham Jones), for Wansbeck (Ian Lavery) and for Southampton, Test (Dr Whitehead), who is my constituency neighbour, put a lot of work into the Bill during its lengthy consideration in Committee. I extend my thanks to the hon. Member for Bolton North East (Mr Crausby) and my hon. Friend the Member for Gainsborough (Mr Leigh) for chairing the Bill Committee, and to the hon. Member for Brighton, Pavilion (Caroline Lucas), who worked tirelessly and made a substantial contribution to the debate, for which I am extremely grateful. On the Government Benches, I should like to extend my gratitude to the hon. Members for Richmond Park (Zac Goldsmith), for Mid Norfolk (George Freeman), for Stourbridge (Margot James), for Devizes (Claire Perry), for Winchester (Mr Brine), and for Stratford-on-Avon (Nadhim Zahawi), and to my hon. Friends the Members for Norwich South (Simon Wright) and for Wells (Tessa Munt), for the dedication that they have shown in scrutinising the Bill in its passage through the House. I also thank my officials, who have worked extremely hard to develop the legislation and who helped Members with their inquiries. The centrepiece of the Bill is the green deal, an innovative finance mechanism to release capital for energy efficiency. The green deal is the first measure of its kind anywhere in the world, and it allows a payback to investors over long periods beyond the normal tenancy or period of owner-occupation, so that householders do not have to pay any of the cost up front, and much more energy saving becomes affordable. It creates a new market in energy saving that will cut energy bills, ensure against future price rises, provide local jobs, boost green businesses and improve our nation's energy security. We have worked hard to allow hon. Members to scrutinise the provisions in detail, and I believe that the proposal has been strengthened.