Lords
Proceedings
9 September 2026
National Infrastructure Projects: Devolution
My Lords, the Minister will be aware that Anglian Water has raised objections to a planning application in a specific area of water stress. As matters currently stand, water companies are not statutory consultees and are deemed to have to make the connection even if the connection is unsafe. Would t…
Lords
Proceedings
8 September 2026
El Niño
My Lords, with consecutive droughts followed by a flood, the consequences for the UK are severe. The Government have tools in their toolbox, such as the Cunliffe report and the forthcoming clean water Bill. For what reason has the clean water Bill been delayed until next year, if that is the case?
Lords
Proceedings
3 September 2026
Summer Drought: Future Supply Disruption
My Lords, I welcome the response to the Environment and Climate Change Committee’s Surviving Drought report to which the Minister referred, but she will be aware of the impact on farming, the horticultural sector and the fruit and vegetable sector that this year’s drought has caused. There is a very…
Lords
Committee Stage
2 September 2026
2 contributions
Licensing Act 2003 (Mandatory Licensing Conditions) (Amendment) Order 2026
My Lords, I thank the Minister for presenting this SI and for continuing the work that the previous Government started. I declare my interests in that I was chair of the Select Committee that reviewed the Licensing Act 2003 and I currently chair the National Proof of Age Standards Scheme board. I al…
I am grateful to the Minister for responding on the point about of Section 182 guidance not, at this stage, being amended for physical sales—that is greatly appreciated from the PASS point of view—but he did not address the issue that retailers in the wine and spirit trade have raised, and I am sure…
Lords
Proceedings
23 July 2026
Charities: Banking Services
My Lords, can the Minister address the issue of access for charities and others in rural areas? Two or three years ago, the Treasury issued a mandate that every resident should live within two or three miles of a bank branch. That has simply not happened. Can he address this as a matter of urgency?
Lords
Proceedings
22 July 2026
Performing Artists and Musicians: Access to the EU
My Lords, as the Minister will know, the European entry system is proving a great difficulty for EU performing artists and musicians, and particularly for British colleagues going over to the EU. Will she look at this and see whether we can ameliorate the situation to make their travel easier?
Lords
Proceedings
21 July 2026
Farming and Food Production: Land Use Framework
My Lords, as the Minister is aware, England is now the only UK nation no longer receiving direct farm payments, leaving an enormous gap to be filled between the direct farm payments and the environmental payments coming into play. In that regard, the land use framework is a wasted opportunity. There…
Lords
Proceedings
20 July 2026
National Energy System Operator: Blackout Risk
My Lords, does the episode not show that the integrity of the energy supply system is simply not fit for purpose? There is an overdependence on renewables that needs to be addressed as a matter of urgency.
Lords
Proceedings
20 July 2026
Strait of Hormuz: Merchant Shipping
My Lords, none the less, the military personal in those bases in Oman and Bahrain will be at some degree of risk. What reassurance can the Minister give the House? When I visited Bahrain and Kuwait with HMS “Cumberland” through the Armed Forces Parliamentary Scheme, I was immensely impressed by the …
Lords
Proceedings
15 July 2026
2 contributions
Mini-tender Offers: Protection for Shareholders
My Lords, my noble friend has identified one category of vulnerable small shareholders. There is an increasing problem of scams, to which smaller shareholders are most at risk. What cyber security is being extended to that category of risk?
Scams: fraudulent activity where people masquerade as a company wanting to buy back the shares—impersonation. Online shareholding accounts are particularly vulnerable to this type of activity.
Lords
Proceedings
14 July 2026
Violence Against Retail Workers
My Lords, convenience stores recorded 5.8 million incidents in 2025 alone. The total cost of that was £354 million, with an average cost of over £7,000 per store. Not only is there the human cost on shop workers but the economic cost to convenience stores and larger stores. The Government must do mo…
Lords
Proceedings
14 July 2026
State of Climate and Nature
My Lords, I thank the Minister for the Statement and for giving us the opportunity to raise issues in this regard. I associate myself with the comments made from the Front Bench. Will the Minister reply to the question about taking productive land out of production? The wheat harvest is expected to …
Lords
Debate
13 July 2026
Clean Water Bill: Chalk Streams
My Lords, I think this is the first time the noble Baroness has said that the Bill may not reach Parliament in this Session. Where there is no need for primary legislation—for example, the proposals in the Cunliffe review—will she look to bring these in through secondary legislation where that is ap…
Lords
Proceedings
13 July 2026
Farming Practices: Sustainable Farming Incentive
My Lords, common land is excluded from both the SFI and the countryside stewardship higher tier. When will the Minister ensure that owners and graziers on common land can apply for SFI and the higher tier? She will be aware that most of these people are in the uplands and are really suffering at thi…
Lords
Proceedings
9 July 2026
European Entry and Exit System
My Lords, I have a general question for the noble Lord. I thank him for what he is doing to try to smooth things for passengers from here across Europe. Is it right that a British passenger has to check in for each new country in the EU that they visit, whereas European passengers coming here from t…
Lords
Proceedings
8 July 2026
Rochdale Grooming Gang: Offender Deportation
My Lords, it appears that the said gentleman, Shabir Ahmed, has ripped up his Pakistan passport and claims to be without a state at the moment. That is an issue that has not yet been addressed. The issue of the law, the Immigration Act 1971, could simply be addressed in the Government’s legislation …
Lords
Proceedings
7 July 2026
Drugging and Sexual Assault of Women
My Lords, does the noble Lord share my concern that one of the main perpetrators in the Rochdale grooming gangs has been eligible for early release and is not immediately set for deportation? What message is that giving to those very real victims who suffered huge deprivation in the grooming gang sc…
Lords
Committee Stage
7 July 2026
REACH (Amendment) (No. 2) Regulations 2026
I am most grateful to the Minister for presenting these regulations before the Committee. I probably ought to say that I was a Member of the European Parliament when the original REACH agreement and regulations came forward.
I am also grateful to the Minister for commenting on the concerns raised b…
Lords
Proceedings
1 July 2026
Pharmacy Closures
My Lords, I refer to my interest advising the Dispensing Doctors’ Association, and my late father and my brother were dispensing doctors. The Minister will be aware that where there are no community pharmacies, dispensing doctors stand prepared to give vaccinations, such as for meningitis B for stud…
Lords
Proceedings
1 July 2026
Farming Road Map and Profitability Review
My Lords, the road map does not appear to address the very real issue of the funding gap between the collapse in basic farm payments, which is accelerating faster than anyone expected, and the incoming funds from environmental land management schemes. Have I missed it? How does the road map address …
Lords
Proceedings
29 June 2026
Food Security
My Lords, I congratulate the noble Baroness, Lady Batters, on her report, which has been a fantastic contribution to this area. I say to the Minister that the Government should revisit the clean energy proposals to take 10% of the most productive farmland out of food production and make sure that it…
Lords
Proceedings
23 June 2026
Legal Protections for Ancient Trees
Is the Minister aware of any rules that control the felling of trees in conservation areas? There seems to be a spate of councils cutting down trees that are much loved by the local community in conservation areas of towns and villages. Is this something she could look at?
Lords
Committee Stage
23 June 2026
Planning and Infrastructure Act 2025 (Consequential Amendments) Regulations 2026
I thank the Minister for presenting the regulations. I am afraid I am going to break the harmony. The Minister will recall our debates on the previous legislation that my noble friend Lord Lansley rehearsed. I go back to the time I was first elected to the other place—on the same day as my noble fri…
Lords
Proceedings
22 June 2026
Grooming Gangs: Independent Inquiry
My Lords, many of those convicted under the provisions of the grooming gangs were actually taxi drivers, and yet they are a category of people who have to pass all sorts of checks before they are able to pick up—particularly vulnerable young women. How did they escape those checks and how were they …
Lords
Proceedings
17 June 2026
Integrated Care Boards: Budgets
My Lords, the Government have identified that NHS England staffing and administration costs have risen to £2 billion, with significant duplication between NHS England and the department. Have the Government identified savings that can be made that could, for example, be used to deliver healthcare in…