National Energy System Operator: Blackout Risk
Debate between Baroness Kramer and Lord Whitehead(1 week, 6 days ago)
Lords ChamberRead Full debate Read Hansard Text Read Debate Ministerial Extracts
The Minister of State, Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (Lord Whitehead) (Lab)
The Government take the allegations that the whistleblowers have made recently concerning the operation of NESO very seriously. An external legal firm has been appointed to investigate, reporting to a panel independent of senior management; indeed, there is the opportunity for anybody independent of senior management to make representations to that inquiry. It would be wrong to prejudge the outcome at this stage.
As for the wider issue of constraint payments, this is substantially an issue of grid management and grid development, which the noble Lord will know were grievously neglected under the previous Conservative Government. The present Government have very ambitious plans to make sure that the grid is expanded, repaired and updated so that constraints can be managed much more effectively as part of the overall grid process.
Baroness Kramer (LD)
My Lords, these allegations, if accurate, would represent a shocking breach of public trust by an organisation now owned directly by the Government. But it also demonstrates a failure of the current whistleblowing framework that, to be heard and to have some measure of protection, the whistleblower has had to go through an Opposition MP, not to Ofgem or any other part of government. Will the Government now act to provide proper protection so that people who speak out can do so without fear of detriment and as soon as they see that there is an issue to be raised, and will they take seriously the proposals of my party for an office of the whistleblower?
Lord Whitehead (Lab)
As far as whistleblowing is concerned, I can speak only to this particular episode, but I point to the Government’s response—or, rather, the response of NESO and other bodies—in developing very rapidly a forum in which whistleblowers can confidentially and without any concerns about their own future or safety participate in an inquiry into what has taken place. Indeed, the separation of that inquiry from senior management underlines how seriously the Government take this issue but also how they wish to make sure that whistleblowers are given the proper protection and status that their concerns merit.