My Lords, I congratulate the noble Lord, Lord Freyberg, on a brilliant opening speech. I believe in two things with regard to school education. First, education is a good in itself. Secondly, a well-balanced education allows students to try out different things and see where their real interests lie…
My Lords, NHS Digital services are built and run to rigorous Government Digital Service standards. They are secure, user-centred, interoperable and continually improving. National Health Service England has significantly expanded its in-house engineering and data capability, and it is reducing its r…
My noble friend is right to point out the history. The NHS previously relied very heavily on large, outsourced IT systems that, in some cases, led to inflexibility, high long-term costs and limited NHS control over core platforms and data. I was glad to arrange for my noble friend to meet the chief …
We are trying to balance the need for foreign direct investment to ensure that our industrial strategy is fully capitalised. One answer to the question is that we welcome foreign direct investment from partners around the world that are aligned to our strategic intention, but the greater opportunity…
My noble friend is right that there are many different technologies coming along, and one of the reasons why we put the advanced nuclear framework together is to make it possible for all those technologies to have a pathway through to production in the UK. This is an important moment, when private-s…
My Lords, I thank noble Lords on the committee for agreeing to undertake this inquiry into nitrogen. Although it was my suggestion, I can take no credit for it; that must go to two scientists who worked with me on the charity SongBird Survival’s scientific sub-committee. Incidentally, I came off its…
My Lords, I speak today in strong support of the Sustainable Aviation Fuel Bill, a measure that is not only timely but essential if the UK is to maintain our leadership in clean aviation, deepen our energy security and strengthen our competitiveness in a rapidly changing global landscape. I welcome …
My Lords, I wish to address one of the practical issues that has been raised. The noble Lord, Lord Lansley, talked about restrictions at the point of use and I wish to talk about restrictions at the point of sale.
The purpose of my Amendment 23 is to propose that, in the sale of vapes and tobacco p…
My Lords, Amendments 77 to 79 propose to limit applications for judicial reviews that are without merit. It is proposed that they may be blocked by a judgment of the High Court. The amendments were tabled by the noble Lord, Lord Hunt, and me. In the likely absence of the noble Lord, I have undertake…
I am happy not to move the amendments. However, I observe that the government amendments are occasioned by the very problems that I have been describing.
My Lords, I am pleased to move Amendment 23 in my name; I believe it to be of fundamental importance. A similar amendment, Amendment 52, was moved on day one in Committee on 17 July by the noble Lord, Lord Hunt of Kings Heath, and I spoke in support of it. The amendment was not supported universally…
I am somewhat disappointed by that response, because we face a crisis. There is nothing in the Bill or forthcoming that will address the crisis adequately. However, I must defer to the Government. I beg leave to withdraw the amendment.
My Lords, I do not know whether this is premature, but I wish to speak to Amendment 83.
The modern methodology of infrastructure planning is heavily dependent on the computer. Computer-aided design software has replaced the draughtsman’s drawing board. This has greatly expedited the design process.…
As part of the initiative with the United States, we are looking at setting up 12 AMRs at Hartlepool, which will provide a lot of energy for the area for industry and around 3 million homes will benefit as well. It will create a lot of jobs in the area and bring great economic benefit to the region,…
My Lords, I want to speak in support of Amendment 128. I am uncertain of the provenance of this amendment, but it is certainly well aligned with the Government’s agenda. It seeks to extend the provisions of Clause 12 of the Bill, which apply to nationally important infrastructure projects and other …
The supposition of the noble Baroness, Lady Coffey, seems to be that the consideration of a project by those that might oppose it is subsequent to the admission of a development order. In fact, usually the opposition long predates that, and so the limitation that we are proposing is not a denial of …
My Lords, Amendment 107 might appear to be of a technical and specialised nature, but I insist that it is fundamental to the modern methodology of infrastructure planning. I will talk briefly about the problems in planning before dealing specifically with the topic of digital twins.
The cost of mak…
May I interject? The Minister seemed to imply that adopting digital twins would impose extra time and cost on planning. I contend that in fact it expedites planning and reduces the costs. I hope the Minister will consider that assertion.
My Lords, I strongly support Amendment 53B, which seeks to relieve newly commissioned nuclear power stations of the burdens of the regulations on ionising radiation. These regulations have accumulated over time and become a byzantine legal code. They require justifications for a wide variety of dail…
My Lords, Amendment 52 is of prime importance. Our planning system has become sclerotic. According to the Explanatory Notes that accompany the Bill, the time that it takes on average to secure a development consent order, or DCO, for major infrastructure projects has more than doubled in the last de…
The noble Viscount is absolutely right. We obviously do not have jurisdiction on foreign companies or companies registered outside the UK. Let me share some facts with the noble Viscount. Since 4 March 2024, Companies House has made significant progress in tackling false and misleading information o…
My Lords, it is a pleasure to speak to Part 1 of the Bill and specifically to Chapter 2, which relates to electricity infrastructure. The Bill introduces many critical reforms to our planning and grid connection systems, and, if implemented effectively, could help restore a degree of realism and res…
My Lords, I draw the Committee’s attention to my interests in the register. I am president of the Local Government Association, and I have previously been the chair of ukactive.
I welcome this timely and important report. As consumer behaviour continues to shift online, many of our towns are losing…