§ Mr. StunellTo ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will list the current reviews and consultations being carried out by his Department on energy policy. [59994]
§ Mr. BattleMy Department is currently reviewing its policies and programmes with respect to support for new and renewable sources of energy. We have reviewed our policy with respect to support for clean coal technology, and set out our broad aims in the White PaperConclusions of the Review of Energy Sources for Power Generation (Cm 4071), but the detail of the programme is still under consideration. Energy Papers setting out the details of both these programmes will be published shortly.
In addition, following up the Review of Energy Sources for Power Generation, the Department is leading a Steering Committee which will take forward work on the recommendations made during that review by Merz and McLellan on electricity system security, and is working closely with OFFER to develop and implement the new trading arrangements for electricity which will replace the current Pool.