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New European Union emissions rules and the introduction of carbon pricing mean that the future of Longannet after 2020 is, at best, very uncertain. Therefore, resolving the transmission charging issue is likely to buy, at best, a stay of execution.
We see it happening in schools and we are active—in reference to the question that you were going to ask—in sharing best practice across the country from the best that we see in inspections, so we will continue to do that.
We have always seen it as being in our national best interests and I do not foresee circumstances in which we would go beyond the position that we have articulated.We will have to draw up our manifesto for the 2015 general election.
We talked about that for some time with some very informed folk and we felt that that was the best way forward. It would help to avoid the risk of political influence.
I say candidly that the people who are best at doing that are those who are closest—I see that you are shaking your head, but that is the principle of subsidiarity: the people at the lowest level, who are most proximate to the decisions to be made, are usually best in that regard.I gave a couple of examples earlier.