Contributions
1,483 recent contributions in Hansard
HANSARDWater Companies: Customer BillsI thank the noble Duke for his continued interest in this issue. Undoubtedly, we could resolve the situation by spending somewhere between £120 billion and £600 billion separating…23 May 2023HANSARDWater Companies: Customer BillsMy noble friend is right to a point. The Government give direction to Ofwat and have given it very clear direction in terms of resolving issues in relation to sewage overflows…23 May 2023HANSARDWater Companies: Customer BillsFirst, the noble Baroness suggests that there was no sewage going into rivers before water companies came along. Underinvestment when they were nationalised businesses was at…23 May 2023HANSARDWater Companies: Customer BillsI fear the noble Lord and I are working off different facts. Capital investment by water companies is 84% higher than it was before the sector was privatised. I have seen…23 May 2023HANSARDWater Companies: Customer BillsThe noble Baroness makes a good point, because the activities within Parliament and outside it on this issue have really struck home, and people are, rightly, demanding that we…23 May 2023HANSARDWater Companies: Customer BillsI do not agree that levelling up is a soundbite—it is really happening. I do agree that we need to make sure that we are supporting water companies and, through the regulator,…23 May 2023HANSARDWater Companies: Customer BillsMy noble friend makes a very good point. Water is the only utility business where the regulator does link reward for company executives and dividend payments to performance. It is…23 May 2023HANSARDWater Companies: Customer BillsMy Lords, it is Ofwat, the independent regulator, and not the Government that assesses water companies’ business plans and sets the overall price cap that each company may recover…23 May 2023HANSARDWater Companies: Customer BillsI am concerned about making sure that water companies spend money on infrastructure that is needed to clean up our rivers and environment. We have to ask ourselves what the best…23 May 2023HANSARDEnvironmental Permitting (England and Wales) (Amendment) (England) Regulations 2023I am grateful to your Lordships for your important contributions to this debate and for what I sense is support for the amendments to the 2016 environmental permitting…22 May 2023HANSARDEnvironmental Permitting (England and Wales) (Amendment) (England) Regulations 2023My Lords, the purpose of this instrument is to make nine minor amendments to the environmental permitting regulations 2016 as applied to groundwater activities. Groundwater is a…22 May 2023HANSARDEnvironmental Permitting (England and Wales) (Amendment) (England) Regulations 2023That the Grand Committee do consider the Environmental Permitting (England and Wales) (Amendment) (England) Regulations 2023. Relevant document: 36th Report from the Secondary…22 May 2023HANSARDLand Use CommissionWe are having very good discussions across government. You cannot have a land use framework that does not address planning—I know that we will be talking about planning later…22 May 2023HANSARDLand Use CommissionThe noble Lord identifies a strange social phenomenon which is going on, where people who can afford to live in villages are driving into towns to commute or work there, and they…22 May 2023HANSARDLand Use CommissionThe right reverend Prelate raises a crucial point. We talk about farmers and land managers, but those descriptions are too simple and generic, because we have owner-occupiers,…22 May 2023HANSARDLand Use CommissionI would love to spend hours talking about this issue; it is one of endless fascination. I have the zeal of the convert on this because I was always sceptical about what I felt was…22 May 2023HANSARDLand Use CommissionI compliment the noble Lord on his leadership of the committee that produced this excellent report. We are involved in discussions right across government, including with the…22 May 2023HANSARDLand Use CommissionMy concern about a commission is that it would probably have to be a creature of statute. That would take time. We would have to have consultations and pass legislation, and…22 May 2023HANSARDLand Use CommissionI am not entirely sure what the noble Baroness is talking about; she might have given me some examples. It is important that a land use framework gives land managers the ability…22 May 2023HANSARDLand Use CommissionMy Lords, I declare my farming interest as set out in the register. We welcome the committee’s report and agree with many of its findings. The land use framework programme led by…22 May 2023