Contributions
1,962 recent contributions in Hansard
HANSARDWater Companies: FinesWe 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…29 Jan 2026HANSARDWater Companies: FinesI politely suggest to my noble friend that we do not indulge criminal organisations. We put in payment plans because it would not help a water company if we forced it to pay fines…29 Jan 2026HANSARDWater Companies: FinesIt is important that the water companies pay the fines in such a way that it does not impact on consumers and consumer bills, and the Government are certainly keen to enforce that.29 Jan 2026HANSARDWater Companies: FinesMy Lords, Ofwat has imposed fines to the value of £122.7 million on Thames Water. There is a payment plan in place, with the first 20%—that is, £24.5 million—paid last year. The…29 Jan 2026HANSARDWater Companies: FinesIn March last year, Yorkshire Water agreed to pay an enforcement package of £40 million to address the failures that were found by the investigation at that time. That package is…29 Jan 2026HANSARDWater Companies: FinesThe noble Lord makes a helpful suggestion, and I am happy to take that back to the department.29 Jan 2026HANSARDWater Companies: FinesThe Government have very ambitious plans for tree-planting, including three national forests, one of which has already begun planting and two are progressing well, so we are very…29 Jan 2026HANSARDWater Companies: FinesI suggest that the noble Lord has asked an incredibly wide-ranging and sweeping question. I am afraid I simply do not have those figures at my fingertips.29 Jan 2026HANSARDYorkshire: Sustainable Water Management SolutionsObviously, 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…28 Jan 2026HANSARDYorkshire: Sustainable Water Management SolutionsThe noble Baroness raises a very important point, and that is why we now have a strategic objective to ensure that at least 4% of flood and coastal erosion risk management…28 Jan 2026HANSARDYorkshire: Sustainable Water Management SolutionsAs I mentioned in response to the earlier question, we know that natural flood management attracts contributions from partners, including private partners, and that is something…28 Jan 2026HANSARDYorkshire: Sustainable Water Management SolutionsMy noble friend is absolutely right to raise this, and that is why we are prioritising a further water White Paper to sort these issues out.28 Jan 2026HANSARDYorkshire: Sustainable Water Management SolutionsMy Lords, this Government are committed to supporting more sustainable water management, both locally and nationally. Specifically in Yorkshire, we are working with the Connected…28 Jan 2026HANSARDYorkshire: Sustainable Water Management SolutionsI assure the noble Baroness that we talk regularly about the importance of this not just to the Treasury but to other departments.28 Jan 2026HANSARDYorkshire: Sustainable Water Management SolutionsProtecting homes is clearly very important. The national assessment of flood and coastal erosion risk, published in January last year, shows that around 6.3 million properties in…28 Jan 2026HANSARDYorkshire: Sustainable Water Management SolutionsWhen we brought in the recent water Act, we expected water companies to respect what Parliament had passed, and to behave in the right way regarding paying themselves bonuses when…28 Jan 2026HANSARDYorkshire: Sustainable Water Management SolutionsAbsolutely, and that is why Defra’s strategic policy statement sets out that we expect Ofwat to challenge water companies to halve leakage across the industry by 2050. We also…28 Jan 2026HANSARDWater White PaperI can completely assure the noble Baroness that these issues are being looked at outwith these proposals. These are concerns that we are taking very seriously in the department.26 Jan 2026HANSARDWater White PaperI thank the noble Lord for his comments. It would be useful for me to perhaps have a cup of tea with him and understand specifically which resources he is referring to, because it…26 Jan 2026HANSARDWater White PaperThe problem with targets is that half the time they are not met. With the water White Paper, we are looking at ways in which we can improve the infrastructure and get proper…26 Jan 2026