Lords
Proceedings
14 July 2026
State of Climate and Nature
My Lords, we welcome this Statement. The science is absolutely certain that human-induced climate change is beyond doubt. What has changed is how fast the impacts are arriving on our very own doorsteps. This summer’s heatwaves in May and June caused as many as 2,700 excess deaths; transport systems …
Lords
Debate
13 July 2026
Clean Water Bill: Chalk Streams
My Lords, I understand that the Government are on the verge of planning the NPPF. Does the Minister agree that it is more important that this is got right than got out quickly? She talked about making sure that we do something about the run-off from roads. Can she add any more detail to that?
Lords
Proceedings
13 July 2026
Climate Change: Housing Insurability, Mortgage Lending and Financial Resilience
My Lords, once we reach three degrees of warming, no one can take on the risks, so there will be no more insurance and:
“The financial sector as we know it ceases to function”.
Those are the conclusions of Günther Thallinger of Allianz, who warns that Governments will be unable to backstop the res…
Lords
Proceedings
13 July 2026
Farming Practices: Sustainable Farming Incentive
We certainly do not see larger farmers as the enemy, but we are aware that small farms have particular problems in accessing these grants. So I kindly ask the Minister: what further measures are the Government taking to make sure that smaller farmers have the skills and the ability to access these g…
Lords
Committee Stage
7 July 2026
Electricity Capacity (Amendment and Transitional Provision) Regulations 2026
My Lords, I thank the Minister for the clarity with which the instrument was introduced. The capacity market has served us well, and we welcome this examination and updating of its functionality so that it can continue to do so long into the future.
From these Benches, the Liberal Democrats have lo…
Lords
Proceedings
30 June 2026
Extreme Heat: Resilience of NHS Infrastructure
I welcome the Answer from the noble Baroness. Last Wednesday was the London Ambulance Service’s busiest ever day for life-threatening emergencies, and at least six NHS trusts declared critical incidents. Nine in ten of our NHS buildings are ill-equipped to handle heat. The Climate Change Committee’s…
Lords
Proceedings
25 June 2026
Waste Management Carriers: Regulation
My Lords, I thank the Minister for genuine progress that has been made; there is obviously more to do. My noble friend mentioned Bickershaw, a huge site mere metres from a school and from houses. The Government’s own record shows that there are at least 17 super-historic sites that blight their comm…
Lords
Proceedings
24 June 2026
Hares: Close Season
My Lords, on animal welfare issues, I declare an interest as a dog owner. Some 45% of dog owners report that their dogs feel fear from fireworks, and the majority of people who have horses similarly find that fireworks affect their animals. Can the Minister say whether the Government have any plans …
Lords
Committee Stage
23 June 2026
Nuclear Safeguards (EU Exit and Fees) (Amendment) Regulations 2026
My Lords, I thank the Minister for setting out the purpose of these regulations. Nuclear safeguards and the system for reporting, inspection and verification gives the International Atomic Energy Agency and the wider world the confidence that our civil nuclear material is being used for peaceful pur…
Lords
Committee Stage
18 June 2026
Civil Aviation (Consumer Protection and Regulatory Reform) Bill [HL]
My Lords, it is a pleasure to start the second day in Committee on this Bill. I open this group on airspace modernisation, consultation and charging and move Amendment 60 in the name of my noble friend Lady Grender, as she is unfortunately unable to be here today.
The amendment is straightforward a…
Lords
Committee Stage
15 June 2026
2 contributions
Contracts for Difference (Definition of Eligible Generator) (Amendment) Regulations 2026
My Lords, I thank the Minister for introducing this instrument. On the face of it, it is a modest instrument. It alters just 12 words in the 2014 regulations to allow contracts for difference to support the continued operation of existing nuclear power stations. However, those 12 words carry some si…
I welcome the Minister’s comments. There is just one thing that I would like to raise: the need for a bit of parliamentary oversight before the CfDs are signed. Can the Minister go away and think about whether there is some process through which Parliament could be informed? That would be a welcome …
Lords
Committee Stage
15 June 2026
Pollution Prevention and Control (Fees) (Miscellaneous Amendments) Regulations 2026
My Lords, I thank the noble Lord, Lord Wilson, for stepping in for the Minister and for introducing the SI. The instrument revises the hourly rate used to determine fees paid by the offshore oil and gas industry for environmental regulatory services provided by OPRED. Specifically, the instrument in…
Lords
Committee Stage
10 June 2026
Energy Prices Act 2022 (Amendment) (Northern Ireland) Regulations 2026
My Lords, we welcome and support the Energy Prices Act 2022 (Amendment) (Northern Ireland) Regulations 2026—and particularly the continued effort to ensure that consumers in Northern Ireland receive appropriate protection from the continued volatility of energy costs following the war in the Middle …
Lords
Committee Stage
10 June 2026
Contracts for Difference (Allocation) (Amendment) Regulations 2026
My Lords, I thank the Minister for his introduction—clearly, this stuff is more complicated than eBay. I also thank my noble friend for raising important questions about geothermal that I hope the Minister will come to answer, but we support the inclusion and further development of that technology w…
Lords
Proceedings
8 June 2026
Royal Mail
My Lords, I want to ask the Minister about future access to Post Office counter services now contained in TGJones stores. What steps are the Government taking to ensure that those counters are not closed, particularly in deprived urban areas and rural areas, and are the Government considering requir…
Lords
Debate
2 June 2026
Civil Aviation (Consumer Protection and Regulatory Reform) Bill [HL]
My Lords, I thank the noble Lord, Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill, for introducing the Bill and for the briefings that he and his team have kindly provided to Members of the House. We approach this Bill with an open mind and with a clear desire for greater clarity and certainty. Its relatively short len…
Lords
Proceedings
21 May 2026
Offshore Oil and Gas: Venting and Flaring
My Lords, the Green Alliance has found that North Sea operators are still wasting gas worth £300 million a year—enough to heat around 570,000 homes. That lost gas is nearly a third of Jackdaw’s projected peak output. Why are the Government tolerating such inefficiencies? Will the Minister commit to …
Lords
Proceedings
19 May 2026
El Niño: Impact
My Lords, I very much welcome this Question. The coolest years are now warmer than the warmest years used to be, and all the signs are that we have a record weather event coming up over the next two summers. Can I also return to wildfires? I think they are really important. I know the Government are…
Lords
Proceedings
19 May 2026
Climate Change: Government Action
My Lords, our understanding of climate change is fundamentally reliant on international global science, which is under threat. I implore this Government to do more to support international climate science. What specific actions are the Government taking to monitor the cumulative impact of that reduc…
Lords
Proceedings
19 May 2026
King’s Speech
My Lords, it is an honour to speak in this debate on energy security. I look forward to the maiden speeches of all the new noble Lords and noble Baronesses, and I wish them well in their time here.
If a week is a long time in politics, the period since the last parliamentary Session feels like an e…
Lords
Oral Questions
28 April 2026
National Emergency Plan for Fuel
The noble Earl is absolutely right to point to the complexity of the situation at the moment, not just in terms of particular kinds of fuel supply but the knock-on effects of, for example, a lack of supply in the Middle East as a result of some refineries being bombed and long-term supply questions …
Lords
Proceedings
22 April 2026
British Industrial Competitiveness Scheme
My Lords, I thank the Minister for her response. I pick up on a point that my noble friend made as part of her formal response to the Statement in relation to the retail energy market. The Minister may need to go away and think about it, and that may well be the answer. Does the Minister admit that …
Lords
Oral Questions
22 April 2026
Clean Power 2030 Action Plan: Rural Communities
My Lords, I declare my interests as chairman of Amey, Acteon and Buckthorn Partners, all of which are involved with the energy transition. I also congratulate the noble Lord, Lord Nagaraju, who spoke outstandingly well. We look forward to his contributions in future debates; he will be a very welcom…
Lords
Oral Questions
22 April 2026
Low-carbon Heat Networks
The noble Earl is quite right to emphasise how important it is to accelerate the rollout of heat networks, particularly in view of the present gas volatility crisis. As has already been mentioned, heat networks can source their heat from anywhere. For many years Southampton heat network, if I dare m…