There will be no immediate changes to the energy and climate change select committee after what chair Angus MacNeil described as the “astonishing” abolition of DECC.
MacNeil said there would no changes to its remit, operations or membership, which can only be done by order of the House of Commons.
The ECCC is established under Standing Orders of the Commons, he added.
Earlier this week, the select committee held its final inquiry session before the summer recess.
MacNeil said: “Over the coming weeks I will speak to colleagues to explore how we can ensure that effective Parliamentary scrutiny on the crucial issues of energy and climate change continues.”
The SNP MP said today’s merger of the energy and climate change brief into a combined Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Policy cast doubt on a plethora of ongoing policy.
“To whom falls the central statutory obligation, contained in the Climate Change Act 2008, to reduce the UK’s carbon emissions by 80% from their 1990 baseline?,” he said.
“Which Department will take responsibility for the energy and climate aspects of negotiations to leave the EU? Who will champion decarbonisation in Cabinet? Who will drive innovation in the energy sector?”
Image: Angus MacNeil (Parliament TV)
