HC Deb 29 November 1976 vol 921 cc450-2
2. Miss Fookes

asked the Secretary of State for Energy if he will make a statement about the future organisation of the electrical supply industry.

18. Mr. Rost

asked the Secretary of State for Energy when he expects to announce his proposals to restructure the electricity industry.

The Secretary of State for Energy (Mr. Anthony Wedgwood Benn)

Discussions are still in progress and I will make a statement when these are completed.

Miss Fookes

Will the Secretary of State get some sense of urgency into this matter? It has been hanging fire for some time, and this is having a harmful effect on the staff and their future in the industry.

Mr. Benn

I am anxious to get it right as well as to do it in due time. I appreciate the anxiety in the industry. The discussions to which I referred in my answer have been taking place with both management and unions. I think that the hon. Lady knows that I had some anxieties about the over-centralisation which I detected in the Plowden Report, and was anxious to see the industry not too far disconnected from its customers.

Mr. Rost

Does the right hon. Gentleman accept the main recommendation of the Plowden Committee that the CEGB and the Electricity Council should be merged? If so, when will he introduce legislation to implement that recommendation?

Mr. Benn

As the hon. Gentleman appreciates, legislation will be needed. I cannot give a timetable for that legislation. I have fully taken on board the need to co-ordinate the investment programmes and planning of the supply boards with the CEGB. That does not mean that it is absolutely inevitable that changes as radical as those proposed by Plowden should be carried through. That is what we are discussing now.

Mr. Palmer

When does my right hon. Friend hope to publish a White Paper on the matter—a suggestion which I have put to him on a number of occasions?

Mr. Benn

I have considered that matter. My hon. Friend's knowledge and interest is well appreciated, but I hope that he will allow me to consider later whether a White Paper is necessary or whether a statement commenting on the Plowden recommendations is sufficient. Once a statement of principles, backed by future legislation, is made, I would hope that some transitional arrangements would bring about some of the benefits even in the interim.

Mr. Tom King

Is the right hon. Gentleman aware that in preparing for this subject I have been studying some of his previous answers and have found that he gave the same answer to this Question on 19th July, when he had had the Plowden Report for some months? Is it not clear that a decision on this matter is already holding up further appointments to the board concerned and causing some problems? Is it not a matter of urgency to resolve the matter now?

Mr. Benn

I congratulate the hon. Gentleman on his translation to this subject. I am glad that the first result of his studies has been to detect consistency in my answers. If he proceeds on that basis, he will not go far wrong. The cuttings that the hon. Gentleman may have seen were probably those relating to the delay in making appointments. The appointments to replace Sir Peter Menzies and Sir Arthur Hawkins have already been made. There is no question of a hold-up.