Contributions
247 recent contributions in Hansard
HANSARDWater (Special Measures) Bill [ Lords ] (Fourth sitting)I beg to move, That the clause be read a Second time.14 Jan 2025HANSARDWater (Special Measures) Bill [ Lords ] (Fourth sitting)I question what value regulated capital value, given how completely out of whack it is with reality, is bringing to the table. I do not have all the answers, but I question…14 Jan 2025HANSARDWater (Special Measures) Bill [ Lords ] (Fourth sitting)The whole thing is reverse engineered—I am completely in agreement on that—and that is not necessary or useful in terms of where we are getting to, and that is causing a lot of…14 Jan 2025HANSARDWater (Special Measures) Bill [ Lords ] (Fourth sitting)I have the name of one here: Thames Water Utilities Cayman Finance Holdings Ltd. Why Cayman? If I say “Cayman”, people say “tax haven”. That is why it is there. We should be doing…14 Jan 2025HANSARDWater (Special Measures) Bill [ Lords ] (Fourth sitting)I beg to move, That the clause be read a Second time. We have covered this already, so I will be brief. I highlight subsection (2): “The special administrator of a water company…14 Jan 2025HANSARDWater (Special Measures) Bill [ Lords ] (Fourth sitting)I beg to ask leave to withdraw the motion. Clause, by leave, withdrawn. New Clause 22 Prohibition on bail-out of water company shareholders and creditors “(1) The Secretary of…14 Jan 2025HANSARDWater (Special Measures) Bill [ Lords ] (Fourth sitting)I will speak first to new clause 19, which has three parts. Proposed new section (2DZA), which I will cover very quickly, essentially ensures the financial stability of water or…14 Jan 2025HANSARDWater (Special Measures) Bill [ Lords ] (Third sitting)I beg to move amendment 11, in clause 12, page 16, line 11, leave out from “to” to “such” in line 13 and insert “recover from its creditors”.14 Jan 2025HANSARDWater (Special Measures) Bill [ Lords ] (Third sitting)I will speak about clauses 12 and 13 together, with clause 12 covering England and clause 13 covering Wales. Clause 12 relates to the Secretary of State’s ability to recover…14 Jan 2025HANSARDWater (Special Measures) Bill [ Lords ] (Third sitting)I thank the hon. Gentleman—I think he jumped in before I had finished the sentence, which was on the creditors and the management. Who is responsible for this? Yes it is the…14 Jan 2025HANSARDWater (Special Measures) Bill [ Lords ] (Second sitting)The Minister said from 2025, which is great, but over what timeline? Is that the Library’s 10 years, or is that another timeline?09 Jan 2025HANSARDWater (Special Measures) Bill [ Lords ] (Second sitting)We are here for another week or so. I take the point about apples and pears, but if the information is already in DEFRA’s hands, would it be helpful, if DEFRA can move fast…09 Jan 2025HANSARDWater (Special Measures) Bill [ Lords ] (Second sitting)I will keep this short. I am looking forward to the factsheet, but the Minister will note that new clause 25 focuses on overflows, not emergencies or storms. Frankly, it does not…09 Jan 2025HANSARDWater (Special Measures) Bill [ Lords ] (Second sitting)Would the Minister be willing to give information on the breakdown of that £6 billion? That would be very helpful. Also, I think we are all in agreement and of course we want to…09 Jan 2025HANSARDWater (Special Measures) Bill [ Lords ] (Second sitting)Mr Vickers, may I revert to amendment 16? I am sorry; I thought I had mentioned it. I will read it out: “The undertaker must ensure that, within 12 months of the passing of this…09 Jan 2025HANSARDWater (Special Measures) Bill [ Lords ] (Second sitting)I am very happy with looking at monitors upstream and downstream. That is fine, but I want them all to be in, and I want them done quicker. In the last seven years, 14,000…09 Jan 2025HANSARDWater (Special Measures) Bill [ Lords ] (Second sitting)Let us talk about the spectrum of information here. We have got the number of spills, where we have no idea how long those spills went on. We then have EDMs—event duration…09 Jan 2025HANSARDWater (Special Measures) Bill [ Lords ] (Second sitting)Yes, of course, the EDMs are automatic; I was talking about the spot monitoring by individuals.09 Jan 2025HANSARDWater (Special Measures) Bill [ Lords ] (Second sitting)Amendment 13 is about volume. It would add volume to the list in clause 3, which includes “the location of the emergency overflow…when the discharge began…when the discharge…09 Jan 2025HANSARDWater (Special Measures) Bill [ Lords ] (First sitting)I will just express disappointment. The Bill currently sets a deadline of six months, which is not exactly a moment in time; six months is a long time to get something done. I…09 Jan 2025