§ 2.43 p.m.
§ The Earl of LAUDERDALEMy Lords, I beg leave to ask the Question which stands in my name on the Order Paper.
§ The Question was as follows:
§ To ask Her Majesty's Government whether the charge, attributed by the Press on 22nd December to the Chairman of BNOC, that the United Kingdom Offshore Operators' Association's submission to the Energy Commission amounted to "politicking", represented the view of the Government to which BNOC is adviser.
§ Lord STRABOLGIMy Lords, Her Majesty's Government are unconvinced by the claim in the submission that current fiscal and licensing policies are a disincentive to investment in the United Kingdom Continental Shelf.
§ The Earl of LAUDERDALEMy Lords, in thanking the noble Lord for that reply, may I ask him whether it is not the case, even though the Government are not convinced about the substance of the argument now being studied by the Treasury, that it is rather a churlish response on the part of the chairman of BNOC when the Offshore Operators' 684 Association were invited to put in this paper?
§ Lord STRABOLGIMy Lords, like the noble Earl, I saw a report in one newspaper. Any views expressed by the chairman of BNOC can be taken to be either his personal views or those of the body that he is representing. Personally, I prefer to go by what he said at the meeting of the Energy Commission, when he said that the submissions are valuable; and the Government agree with that.
§ The Earl of LAUDERDALEMy Lords, in thanking the noble Lord for that rather more reassuring reply, and assuming, charitably, that the newspaper report is inaccurate, can we take it that the Government will likewise give a cordial welcome to the further paper, on the threshold of PRT and similar matters, which the Offshore Operators' Association have now submitted?
§ Lord STRABOLGIYes, my Lords, certainly. We are examining them carefully to assess how far they reflect purely the interests of the private sector rather than the national interest.
§ Lord HAILSHAM of SAINT MARY-LEBONEMy Lords, will the noble Lord not encourage these eminent QUANGO officials to use the Queen's English?
§ Lord STRABOLGIMy Lords, I must agree. I could not find the word "politicking" in the dictionary at all; but, then, of course, this may have been an in-accurate newspaper report.
§ The Earl of LAUDERDALEMy Lords, would the noble Lord clear one point? In so far as he has referred to the bias (I think that is how he meant it) towards the private sector of the industry represented by the Offshore Operators' Association, is it not the case that BNOC are also members of that body and are also represented?
§ Lord STRABOLGIYes, my Lords. We have no bias against the private sector at all. In fact, I have said continually in your Lordships' House, both in debate and in answering Questions, that we think it has a very valuable part to play.