Contributions
388 recent contributions in Hansard
HANSARDDraft Electricity and Gas (Energy Company Obligation) Order 2022I promise to be brief. Part of the technical consultation that the Minister has alluded to for solid walls is really important. Is there a major gain in preventing the latent heat…18 Jul 2022HANSARDEngagementsQ7. The Prime Minister knows how proud we are of our industrial heritage in the north of England and what it means for our future. Last Friday, it was a joy to be on the banks of…13 Jul 2022HANSARDEnergy Price RisesOne thing we can do to bring energy prices down is have an absolutely massive expansion of renewable offshore energy, whether that is tidal or wind. Last week, I met National…12 Jul 2022HANSARDGenetic Technology (Precision Breeding) Bill (Eighth sitting)In the oral evidence sessions, we heard about not only the costs of implementation but the practical challenge with labelling precision bred organisms, which is that they are…07 Jul 2022HANSARDGenetic Technology (Precision Breeding) Bill (Eighth sitting)I am listening to a really good debate. Does the Minister agree that the Bill gives us the opportunity to strengthen our environmental protections, not just to maintain the status…07 Jul 2022HANSARDGenetic Technology (Precision Breeding) Bill (Fifth sitting)I apologise for the inappropriate language, Mr Davies; I am just getting a bit over-excited. The hon. Gentleman is asking us to include a legalistic definition of nature. I have…05 Jul 2022HANSARDGenetic Technology (Precision Breeding) Bill (Sixth sitting)I understand that the hon. Lady is leery about market consequences, and we should always have a good look at them. Some of the welfare issues that we think of as distressing also…05 Jul 2022HANSARDGenetic Technology (Precision Breeding) Bill (Sixth sitting)I am listening hard to the hon. Lady’s speech and I wholeheartedly agree with her about some of the welfare issues she has described. Does she agree, however, that the Bill offers…05 Jul 2022HANSARDGenetic Technology (Precision Breeding) Bill (Fifth sitting)In nature there will be random deletions continually within the genome, so the idea of sections of DNA being taken out or added in is part of the process.05 Jul 2022HANSARDGenetic Technology (Precision Breeding) Bill (Fifth sitting)I am not looking sceptical. You are describing nature. You are describing the fact that bits of genetic material will get swapped around in a series of different vehicles,…05 Jul 2022HANSARDGenetic Technology (Precision Breeding) Bill (Fourth sitting)Q Okay, but if I flip it the other way and you do not have the discretion, you are effectively closing off avenues to what biology will do naturally. If you want to say, “No, we…30 Jun 2022HANSARDGenetic Technology (Precision Breeding) Bill (Fourth sitting)Q I will be very brief. There were tanks of fish when I was at university and I have seen the distress that sea lice cause to salmon. It is a problem that has been impenetrable to…30 Jun 2022HANSARDGenetic Technology (Precision Breeding) Bill (Fourth sitting)Right. I am very grateful for the exchange.30 Jun 2022HANSARDGenetic Technology (Precision Breeding) Bill (Fourth sitting)Q That is not my understanding. What you are saying, in effect, is that what we do not want to be doing is creating a plant that is both drought-resistant and has a natural…30 Jun 2022HANSARDGenetic Technology (Precision Breeding) Bill (Fourth sitting)Q Biology can make mistakes—some mistakes are positive, and some are deleterious. But gene editing allows us to press fast-forward; it is a speeding up of the opportunity that…30 Jun 2022HANSARDGenetic Technology (Precision Breeding) Bill (Fourth sitting)Q No, it is not—forgive me, Mr Stringer; shout if you want me to stop. The classic example is that Belgian Blue cattle, through a natural genetic mutation, ended up with…30 Jun 2022HANSARDGenetic Technology (Precision Breeding) Bill (Fourth sitting)Q But there is no risk to humans, no risk to health. This is about a commercial give and take, in effect. That is the consequence of the uncertainty in the drafting. Dr…30 Jun 2022HANSARDGenetic Technology (Precision Breeding) Bill (Fourth sitting)Q I presume it would be somewhere between the market and the regulator, and we have heard about the importance of that. If you are going to go far down and take multiple steps,…30 Jun 2022HANSARDGenetic Technology (Precision Breeding) Bill (Fourth sitting)Q We spoke in a previous evidence session about the difficulty of codifying the beautiful complexity of biology into law, because biology in and of itself is not in a static…30 Jun 2022HANSARDGenetic Technology (Precision Breeding) Bill (Fourth sitting)Q Sorry, what I meant was, obviously they have stuff in place and they have some sets of regulations in their countries to address your concerns, along with the laws that they…30 Jun 2022