§ 15. Mr. Portilloasked the Secretary of State for Energy when he expects to publish a draft licence under which British Gas will operate after privatisation.
§ Mr. Buchanan-SmithAs my hon. Friend will now be aware, the draft licence was made available to the House on Monday 9 December.
§ Mr. PortilloI thank my right hon. Friend for making available the draft licence before the Second Reading debate last week. Has he had an opportunity to consider whether a specific duty in the Bill on the regulator to promote competition would help to strengthen the licence that he has produced?
§ Mr. Buchanan-SmithMy hon. Friend must recognise that, unlike other industries that supply services or materials in the domestic market, there is no scope for providing two separate pipelines to two houses in the same street. It was in recognition of that fact that we drafted the Bill and licence in the way that we did. However, we shall have an opportunity to discuss the matter in Committee.
§ Mr. HardyDoes the Minister accept that the draft licence hardly enlightens the House, since it is almost incomprehensible? Does he also accept that although those who will serve on the Committee might be pleased that the licence was published last week, they will still wish to know how much the Government expect to make from the sale of the British Gas Corporation.
§ Mr. Buchanan-SmithI am sorry that the hon. Gentleman does not understand those simple mathematics. I look forward to debating the matter with him in the weeks ahead.
§ Mr. RowlandsMay we take it from the reply that the Secretary of State gave a few moments ago to our questions that this draft licence is a firm deal between the Secretary of State and Sir Denis Rooke and is not subject to any substantial change?
§ Mr. Buchanan-SmithIt is a draft licence, which was put before the house to give hon. Members the opportunity to debate it. The House will have full opportunities to consider this important matter.