Lords
Proceedings
17 June 2026
Thames Water
My Lords, the Minister will be aware that it is not necessarily just ownership of a water company that is the deciding factor, and there are other jurisdictions in which leakage and sewage going into rivers and the sea are problems. I think of Denmark, where the vast majority of water companies are …
Lords
Proceedings
16 June 2026
Children: Physical Punishment
My Lords, did not the Preston Davey case prove that the current situation is simply not working? That poor boy was sexually assaulted and abused for months. The question has to be asked: why did no one from any agency pick this up?
Lords
Committee Stage
15 June 2026
Digital Waste Tracking (England) Regulations 2026
My Lords, I welcome the Minister to her place and thank her for introducing the regulations before us. I say at the outset that they are extremely welcome; obviously, I welcome them. I declare that I recently joined the Environment and Climate Change Committee of this House, so ably and excellently …
Lords
Proceedings
15 June 2026
World Ocean Day
My Lords, there is evidence to prove that the noise and sonic boom from offshore wind farms is causing damage to porpoises, dolphins and whales. Would it not therefore make sense to have a moratorium on future offshore wind farms until we have more knowledge of what damage is being caused to our mar…
Lords
Committee Stage
15 June 2026
2 contributions
Pollution Prevention and Control (Fees) (Miscellaneous Amendments) Regulations 2026
My Lords, I am grateful to the noble Lord, Lord Wilson of Sedgefield, for introducing the regulations. I have a couple of questions. He said that there are 100 companies. Is the number going up or down each year? I imagine that the number of companies will probably reduce. It would be helpful to kno…
The Minister said that the Government are recovering costs this year and that that is why the cost is higher than what was recovered in the past. Can he give the Committee a commitment that the increase in the hourly rate next year will not be as high as what we have seen this year?
Lords
Proceedings
11 June 2026
Sustainable Drainage Systems
My Lords, the Minister will be aware that a recent court case set aside these informal and non-mandatory provisions. The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs wants to implement the statutory basis of the 2010 Act to make these mandatory. Will she please agree to do so at the earliest p…
Lords
Proceedings
10 June 2026
Farming and Food Production
I am grateful to the Minister for that reply but, of course, environmental schemes do not put food on the table. Will she take this opportunity to set out how the Government intend to put the focus back on to food production and farming, particularly to boost the productivity of farms in the uplands…
Lords
Committee Stage
10 June 2026
Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986 (Amendment) Regulations 2026
My Lords, I congratulate the Minister and the department on bringing forward these regulations, which I believe reach the right balance. As the noble Viscount, Lord Stansgate, who has great expertise in the field of science, has set out, there will be certain circumstances in which we will have to c…
Lords
Proceedings
9 June 2026
E-scooters and E-bikes
My Lords, does the Minister have a timetable for the introduction in law of the insurance scheme? He knows from our discussions during the passage of the English devolution Bill that the Motor Insurers’ Bureau is very keen on this. Can he also look outside Parliament at the new super highway for bic…
Lords
Proceedings
9 June 2026
Water Companies
My Lords, I thank the Minister for the work that she and the department are doing in clearing up the rivers, watercourses and seas, though privatisation and EU regulations have played their part. She will be aware that the Cunliffe review referred to pollution and flooding being addressed up stream …
Lords
Proceedings
8 June 2026
South East Water: Disruption of Supply
My Lords, a lot of the regulation relating to water still comes from the European Union. Will the Government look at that in isolation or as part of the water Bill when it is before the House this autumn?
Lords
Proceedings
8 June 2026
Royal Mail
Does the noble Lord share my concern that perhaps the postal service and the Royal Mail are focusing too much on parcel delivery and not enough on a universal letters service that plays to elderly populations in rural areas? If we go fully digitalised and if we lose the postal service, it would be a…
Lords
Proceedings
3 June 2026
Access to Nature Green Paper
Is the Minister aware that farms are businesses and that there has been a worrying trend of sheep worrying, dog attacks on sheep and wildfires started by the public accessing the countryside? Who will be responsible for ensuring that the Countryside Code is applied, both in the letter and the spirit…
Lords
Proceedings
20 May 2026
Youth Justice
My Lords, I welcome the plan. Will the Minister join me in recognising the role that young offender institutions play? Can she update the House on the recruitment and retention of those who serve in often very difficult circumstances in those institutions?
Lords
Proceedings
19 May 2026
Climate Change: Government Action
My Lords, does the Minister agree that there is a role for adaptation in tackling climate change? Would the Government see fit to reward farmers for retaining excess floodwater in times of flood to prevent downstream communities flooding?
Lords
Proceedings
18 May 2026
EU-UK SPS Agreement: Food-related Standards
My Lords, I wish the noble Baroness and the Government well in these crucial SPS negotiations. The farmers have made a perfectly reasonable request that there should be a transitional period before the new arrangements come into place sometime in 2027. Will the Government look favourably on that req…
Lords
Debate
27 April 2026
3 contributions
English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill
My Lords, I support the more focused amendments in the name of the noble Baroness, Lady McIntosh, on the agent of change that deal only with the noise issue, primarily as it might and does affect grass-roots music venues.
A number of amendments to Bills that have been going through ping-pong recent…
At end insert “, and do propose Amendments 94F and 94G in lieu—
+1 more contribution in this session
Lords
Statutory Instrument
27 April 2026
Agriculture (Delinked Payments) (Reductions) (England) Regulations 2026
My Lords, I rise to declare my interest as a member of a farming company and also involved in the fertiliser industry, which was mentioned a little earlier. Fertilisers and fuel are farmers’ most expensive costs, and we see unprecedented increases ahead of them, on top of three bad harvests in a row…
Lords
Debate
23 April 2026
3 contributions
English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill
My Lords, I will also speak to Motions F and F1. I thank the noble Lord, Lord Shipley, and the noble Baroness, Lady Scott, for their amendments in this group.
Lords Amendments 36, 90 and 155 would remove from the Bill the provisions relating to local authority governance and executive arrangements.…
At end insert “, and do propose Amendments 94B and 94C in lieu—
+1 more contribution in this session
Lords
Oral Questions
23 April 2026
2 contributions
Sustainable Farming Incentive: Flood Prevention and Drought Resilience
The sustainable farming incentive will continue to support flood prevention and drought resilience. The streamlined SFI offer for 2026 includes actions that slow the movement of water during periods of heavy rainfall, keep soil covered and increase organic matter, which improves the soil’s ability t…
The noble Baroness is right: it is important that we recognise the role that farmers, land managers and landowners have in supporting the Government’s ambitions on flood and drought resilience, and that this should be delivered through any way that is practical and possible, while at the same time l…
Lords
Proceedings
22 April 2026
British Industrial Competitiveness Scheme
My Lords, I shall press the Minister on North Sea oil, as she rehearsed it this afternoon. We just had a debate on clean energy. My noble friend Lord Moynihan on the Front Bench said that 70% of gas imports to the UK are coming from Norway and that they are potentially under a challenge from the Nor…
Lords
Oral Questions
22 April 2026
3 contributions
Clean Power 2030 Action Plan: Rural Communities
My Lords, I am delighted to have secured this debate and I look forward to hearing all contributions, particularly the maiden speech. I declare my interest as honorary president of National Energy Action and the UK Warehousing Association. I also serve on the Environment and Climate Change Committee…
My Lords, it is a great honour to rise and address this House, and I am grateful for the opportunity. I thank the noble Baroness, Lady McIntosh of Pickering, for raising this important Question. I express my sincere thanks for the warm welcome from all sides of the House. I am appreciative of Black …
+1 more contribution in this session
Lords
Oral Questions
21 April 2026
Electricity: Domestic Pricing
The reference that the noble Baroness makes to Denmark is an interesting one, inasmuch as the Danish system is wholly integrated between renewables, heat and power of different kinds—particularly district heating and various such things, which can be used in conjunction with other forms of energy to…
Lords
Oral Questions
20 April 2026
Trains: Punctuality
I think that the noble Baroness will find that the public purse is recompensing that delay replay now. It is a good scheme to compensate people properly for significant delays, but the object, which I have been talking about in this Question, is to reduce the delays by better management of the railw…
Lords
Debate
13 April 2026
3 contributions
English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill
My Lords, I am grateful to speak briefly on this revised amendment, which I have brought back from Committee. At the outset, I would like to echo the words of the Minister on the loss of Lord Beecham, who was a very charming colleague and a very hard-working and assiduous Member of this House. He wi…
My Lords, I am grateful to those who have contributed to this short debate, and I am grateful to the Minister for her response. On behalf of councillors in North Yorkshire who have approached me on this, I have to say I am deeply disappointed, for all the reasons that we have given. For the moment, …
+1 more contribution in this session