asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether they will now accede to the request made both in debate on 8th July and in the last annual report of the International Energy Agency, to provide a clear definition of the Government's aims and priorities in energy policy.

Since 1979 the objective of energy policy has been to ensure that the UK has adequate efficient, secure and diverse supplies of energy available at the lowest possible cost. To achieve that, the Government have a well-known policy of reliance on market forces and they bring these to bear where practicable through privatisation, encouraging competition and efficiency, and applying financial disciplines to those nationalised industries that for the time being cannot be privatised.