Contributions
1,962 recent contributions in Hansard
HANSARDThames WaterOne of the reasons that bills are going up—not just for Thames Water customers but for other consumers—is the lack of investment for years and years by the water companies in…04 Jun 2025HANSARDThames WaterAny future operating model will be part of Sir Jon Cunliffe’s review that is currently taking place—I am sure the noble Baroness will be aware that the interim report is out. That…04 Jun 2025HANSARDThames WaterMy Lords, the Government do not have any intention for consumers to pay towards this. We do not see that consumer bills need to go up to cover these debts. It is not for consumers…04 Jun 2025HANSARDThames WaterIt is really important that we have clarity and honesty from our water companies, because there are so many problems. If we are genuinely going to sort this out, we need to have a…04 Jun 2025HANSARDFarmers: CompetitivenessWe have a number of plans to support food production, partly through the farming road map, which we are developing. We have appointed the noble Baroness, Lady Batters, to lead…03 Jun 2025HANSARDReservoirs: Protection from ContaminationThat is an interesting question. I do not know when we last simulated such a thing, but there was the issue quite recently in Devon, where there was accidental water…03 Jun 2025HANSARDFarmers: CompetitivenessI take issue with the idea that our home-grown food security is declining. The data we have does not support that. Regarding the senior Defra team, including Ministers, not having…03 Jun 2025HANSARDReservoirs: Protection from ContaminationThat is extremely interesting and very helpful of my noble friend. I will certainly look into it, because it is an important point. Clearly, the department did such an excellent…03 Jun 2025HANSARDFarmers: CompetitivenessAs I mentioned in response to the noble Baroness, it is important that when we reform our SFI we look at how we can support upland farmers more. It is also about getting the right…03 Jun 2025HANSARDReservoirs: Protection from ContaminationThe noble Baroness will be aware of the Government’s pledge to build nine new reservoirs, and we are currently fast-tracking two of those, one in East Anglia and one in…03 Jun 2025HANSARDReservoirs: Protection from ContaminationClearly, safe drinking water has to be an absolute priority, and I am sure the department would consider all options.03 Jun 2025HANSARDReservoirs: Protection from ContaminationI can assure the noble Lord that we discuss these matters with the Home Office. As I said, much of what we need to do is across government—one thing that we have been trying hard…03 Jun 2025HANSARDFarmers: CompetitivenessI am afraid I have to admit to the noble Lord that I know nothing about New Zealand’s inheritance tax law, but I am more than happy to look into it.03 Jun 2025HANSARDReservoirs: Protection from ContaminationI refer my noble friend to a lot of the cross-government work that is taking place regarding security and state threats. Tackling the diverse range of state threats—not just…03 Jun 2025HANSARDFarmers: CompetitivenessThe noble Lord makes some important points. Interestingly, since Brexit our exports have gone down by 21%. We are very hopeful that the new agreement we are working on with the EU…03 Jun 2025HANSARDReservoirs: Protection from ContaminationThe main point is that our water supply absolutely has to be secure. We have to know that we are doing everything we can to protect it from hostile actors, as the noble Baroness…03 Jun 2025HANSARDReservoirs: Protection from ContaminationI asked about that earlier today, because it is important that we understand it. My understanding is that there has not been such an incident, but that does not mean that we…03 Jun 2025HANSARDFarmers: CompetitivenessMy noble friend raises some interesting questions. It is clearly important that we target our resources and funding on those who are most in need. That is one of the reasons why…03 Jun 2025HANSARDFarmers: CompetitivenessWe have pledged £5 billion towards farming over the next few years, which will be spent through our environmental land management schemes. We are currently working to reform SFI…03 Jun 2025HANSARDFarmers: CompetitivenessI should probably declare an interest here as I know Julia extremely well and meet her to discuss exactly these issues. Julia does an awful lot of work on uplands and common land,…03 Jun 2025