Energy Bill delayed

The coalition government's Energy Bill, containing the framework for the Green Deal, will not receive royal assent before the summer recess as planned by DECC.

Congestion in the House of Commons has been cited as the reason for the delay and the report stage is not now expected to be scheduled until the autumn.

Writing in the Guardian shadow energy secretary Meg Hillier accused the government of attempting to shelve the Bill.

“We should not be surprised,” she wrote. “Ministers at DECC have lost their argument with the government’s business managers, and the centrepiece of climate change policy has been sidelined.”

A spokesperson from DECC refuted the accusation, saying that the department hoped to get an early slot after the summer recess, which would allow it to maintain the original timetable.

Energy secretary Chris Huhne confirmed that the delay wouldn’t impact the government’s flagship home energy efficiency scheme, saying: “We are determined to hold to the October 2012 deadline for the launch of the green deal and are working to ensure that we meet it.”

Responding to the news, environmental campaigning groups WWF-UK and Friends of the Earth have said the additional time should be used to address some of the perceived inadequacies in the Bill, including those raised in written submissions to the Public Bill Committee and those reported by the Committee on Climate Change.

These include the need to integrate the Bill with other climate change and energy efficiency regimes, the introduction of mandatory display energy certificates, and the adoption of a “whole house” approach to energy assessments, including consideration of water efficiency.