Lords
Oral Questions
26 February 2026
New Housing: Flood Risk
That High Court judgment has been raised in recent debates on the English devolution Bill. I cannot comment on specific cases, but the case does not disapply the strong protections in the National Planning Policy Framework relating to development in areas of potential flood risk. The sequential test…
Lords
Oral Questions
26 February 2026
2 contributions
Fire and Rescue Services: Clean Energy Projects
The Government work closely with the National Fire Chiefs Council on battery fire safety. In October 2025, Minister Shanks held a round table on battery safety with industry, regulators and academics, including NFCC representatives. In the last five years, there have been four grid-scale battery fir…
The Government already have moved to make sure that the fire services and developers are closely involved in applications as far as large batteries are concerned. The planning practice guidance has been updated to ensure that developers consult fire services in the pursuit of their applications. The…
Lords
Debate
23 February 2026
Medical Training (Prioritisation) Bill
My Lords, I will speak in support of the amendment in the name of the noble Lord, Lord Patel; I thank him for the background research he has done on the amendment. The Minister will be aware that I work for the Dispensing Doctors’ Association. My father and brother were GPs and my uncle was a surgeo…
Lords
Oral Questions
23 February 2026
Global Biodiversity Loss and National Security
The proposals on farmed animals in the animal welfare strategy are designed not to harm farmers but to bring long-term improvements to animal welfare in relation to how our food is produced. Our intention is to work very closely with farmers and other relevant stakeholders so that the policies we in…
Lords
Oral Questions
12 February 2026
Changing Weather Patterns and Floods
The noble Baroness raises some important issues. I am sure that, in referring to Hull, she is aware that the Minister for Water is a Hull MP and so is very aware of these issues. We are currently looking at our reservoir policy, because we need to consider how best to make use of the water that we h…
Lords
Oral Questions
12 February 2026
Environment Agency: Waste Crime
My Lords, I speak as a member of the Environment and Climate Change Committee of your Lordships’ House. I have to say that, until we started our inquiry, I had been unaware of the scale or the seriousness of waste crime. Now, thanks largely to the tenacity of the noble Baroness, Lady Sheehan, and th…
Lords
Oral Questions
12 February 2026
Animal Welfare Strategy: Rural Communities
I am aware of the concerns around foxhounds. To reiterate, the consultation will look at all views and concerns. I urge people who have concerns around the future of foxhounds to take part in the consultation, so that point can be properly considered and discussed as we move forward on the manifesto…
Lords
Oral Questions
11 February 2026
Electric Vehicles: Transition
The Government take very seriously the issue of rural communities and recognise that car transport is essential to people’s mobility. It is essential that we move forward with coming up with a fair system. That will be the basis for all our conversations and decisions in order to make this equitable…
Lords
Committee Stage
11 February 2026
2 contributions
English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill
My Lords, I shall speak to Amendment 218. I look forward to hearing the noble Lord, Lord Pack, and others speaking to Amendments 219 and 220.
In responding on an earlier group, the Minister referred to the number of civil parishes in Cumbria. I would like to place on the record that, in North Yorks…
My Lords, I am grateful to everyone who has spoken in this short debate. I do not know which slippery slope my noble friend Lord Jamieson was referring to, but he did not address the issue raised by me and the noble Lord, Lord Pack. If it is good enough for committees in both Houses that we meet in …
Lords
Oral Questions
9 February 2026
Life Sciences: Beagles
That is a long way from animal testing but I will give the noble Baroness a straight answer on it anyway. I personally voted to ban fox hunting on every occasion in the House of Commons when I was a Member of Parliament. I personally support the Government’s intention to stop trail hunting. Those ar…
Lords
Committee Stage
9 February 2026
5 contributions
English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill
My Lords, I hope I am not causing any confusion by having moved to these Benches. It was simply because the other Benches are very congested; I continue to support the same party that I supported when I came into this House as a Conservative Peer.
I would like to use Amendment 170—I congratulate th…
It was thee and me, yes—that was the sum total who voted against. I think that we were right and history has proven that to be the case. I am still trying to get my head around where the fire and rescue service sits in the combined authority of North Yorkshire. I am concerned that now it is going to…
+3 more contributions in this session
Lords
Oral Questions
5 February 2026
Construction Industry: Timber
I am very happy to congratulate Fera. It does excellent work. When I went to Forest Research, I saw some of the wood that had, shall we say, unpleasant visitors in it, so I know that both Fera and Forest Research do important work and help biosecurity in this country. I know the noble Baroness is ke…
Lords
Oral Questions
4 February 2026
Land Covenants: Supermarket Chains
In my relative newness to government, I thank the noble Baroness for her questions. Overall, it is correct that the CMA’s regulatory framework should have independence. I would love to pick up that discussion outside the Chamber; I do not know the detail of that, but it sounds like an important thin…
Lords
Committee Stage
4 February 2026
4 contributions
English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill
My Lords, I warmly welcome back the noble Baroness, Lady Pinnock. Having broken my ankle before, I feel her pain. I will speak to Amendments 132 and 222B in this group and, if time permits, Amendment 241E in the name of the noble Baroness, Lady Freeman of Steventon.
The Minister will be aware of my…
The Minister said that the judgment was on 15 January. If she and her department consider that their policy is being set aside by very clever planning barristers, would she perhaps bring forward an amendment from the department that would be much better worded than my humble effort in this regard? I…
+2 more contributions in this session
Lords
Committee Stage
3 February 2026
Pension Schemes Bill
My Lords, I am grateful to the Minister for summing up, albeit that there has been a delay of some two working days. I thank everyone who has spoken. I offer a particular thank you to the noble Baronesses, Lady Altmann and Lady Bowles, for lending their support to Amendments 140 and 141.
I note tha…
Lords
Proceedings
29 January 2026
Business Rates
My Lords, it would be churlish not to welcome the measures—so far as they go—that the Chancellor has introduced. However, does the Minister accept that it is small family businesses—the hair salons, cafés and restaurants, among others, to which my noble friend on the Front Bench referred—that will b…
Lords
Oral Questions
29 January 2026
Water Companies: Fines
We have announced that we are reopening the sustainable farming incentive, and we hope for a good response to it. The important thing to note about the fines is that currently, if they are from Ofwat, they go to Ofwat and then to the Treasury, and if they are EA fines they go straight into the Treas…
Lords
Committee Stage
29 January 2026
2 contributions
English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill
My Lords, I would like to give an alternative view from that of the noble Lord, Lord Shipley, on Amendment 241C. First, though, I say this to the noble Lord, Lord Bassam: I spent 10 and a half years representing Great Bentley in the European Parliament—not all of its residents, but the greater group…
My Lords, I lend my support to Amendment 100. I pay tribute to the noble Earl, Lord Clancarty, and the noble Lord, Lord Freyberg, for their knowledge in this sphere. I am grateful to the noble Earl for referencing West and South Yorkshire in this regard. I place on record how impressive Screen Yorks…
Lords
Committee Stage
28 January 2026
3 contributions
Greenhouse Gas Emissions Trading Scheme (Amendment) Order 2026
My Lords, we welcome this order but I have some important questions to ask the Minister. My party has long argued that a robust, transparent, high-standard carbon market is a cornerstone of any credible pathway to net zero by 2050. When done well, emissions trading cuts carbon at least cost, drives …
The issue is fairly complex because of the benefits and disbenefits that apply from having a really ambitious carbon pricing target. On the one hand, it drives the decarbonisation of home heating, domestic electricity delivery and all sorts of things like that in a low-carbon way, and, arguably, tha…
+1 more contribution in this session
Lords
Oral Questions
28 January 2026
2 contributions
Yorkshire: Sustainable Water Management Solutions
We have plenty of time. We will have the Lib Dems first, then the Conservatives.
Obviously, I cannot comment on the specific issue to which the noble Baroness refers, but we are absolutely committed to improving the implementation of sustainable drainage systems. The noble Baroness is aware that we have updated the national planning policy framework to do so, and we introduced n…
Lords
Oral Questions
26 January 2026
2 contributions
Grass-roots Music Venues
My Lords—
I will absolutely do what the noble Baroness asks. The Government have heard exactly what she said: that the existing policy to mitigate the impact of development on existing activities, including live music, is not always applied effectively. The creative industries sector plan committed to improvi…
Lords
Committee Stage
26 January 2026
3 contributions
Pension Schemes Bill
My Lords, this is the first time I have been able to speak on the Bill. I am delighted to follow my noble friend, who I still consider the pension tsar and who is so knowledgeable in this field. I apologise for being absent when Amendments 132 and 133 were reached; unfortunately, with all the busine…
My Lords, I am grateful to my noble friend Lord Younger of Leckie for introducing this group and setting the scene so eloquently, and to my noble friend Lady Penn for speaking to her amendment. I shall speak to the amendments in my name and I thank the noble Baroness, Lady Altmann, for lending her s…
+1 more contribution in this session
Lords
Oral Questions
22 January 2026
Number Plates Intended to Defeat Enforcement Cameras
I absolutely guarantee that this Government will show more urgency than the last one, who started an experiment a very long time ago but concluded nothing from it, and we have had to virtually start again.
Lords
Committee Stage
20 January 2026
3 contributions
English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill
My Lords, I am in favour of all the amendments in this group, particularly Amendment 6, which I have co-signed. I thank the noble Earl, Lord Clancarty, for introducing the amendment today and so eloquently expressing why it is so important to every strand of British life. Sitting next to a Lancastri…
My Lords, I am delighted to follow the noble Baroness, Lady Royall, and thank her for introducing this group of amendments. I will speak to Amendments 52, 56, 60 and 260 in my name. I thank the noble Lord, Lord Cameron, for his support for all of them and the noble Baroness, Lady Prashar, and the no…
+1 more contribution in this session