Contributions
1,483 recent contributions in Hansard
HANSARDSewage DischargesI would like to know when the noble Baroness thinks we should precisely say we will end this. We have had a piece of research that says that we can resolve this in its entirety if…14 Nov 2022HANSARDSewage DischargesThe noble Baroness will be aware of the very strict new conditions set by Ofwat on water companies about how they reward their senior staff and shareholders, and of the absolute…14 Nov 2022HANSARDSewage DischargesMy noble friend makes a good point. The recent outflow at St Agnes in Cornwall, which rightly had a lot of publicity, lasted for 10 minutes, and there may have been some sewage in…14 Nov 2022HANSARDSewage DischargesThe noble Baroness is usually much more devastating in her attacks than that. She knows that 2050 is a date by which we hope to see the problem completely resolved. We are going…14 Nov 2022HANSARDSewage DischargesThe noble Lord will be aware of some very extensive fines issued to water companies. A £90 million fine was imposed on Southern Water recently. There are 100,000 reports a year to…14 Nov 2022HANSARDAvian InfluenzaI totally take my noble friend’s point. We are talking about taxpayers’ money here and are deeply sympathetic to farmers who have been hit by this but also have responsibility to…03 Nov 2022HANSARDAvian InfluenzaMy noble friend is absolutely right to raise the importance of keeping people informed. In fact, it works both ways: members of the public are keeping us informed—often through…03 Nov 2022HANSARDAvian InfluenzaI do not know specifically, but I would be very surprised if it does not. Our chief scientific adviser, Professor Gideon Henderson, is a very renowned scientist; he ensures that…03 Nov 2022HANSARDAvian InfluenzaThe right reverend Prelate is absolutely right. Further to that, the previous but one Prime Minister made a commitment at UNGA—the United Nations General Assembly—that Britain…03 Nov 2022HANSARDAvian InfluenzaOn the emergency measures, we are concentrating absolutely on biosecurity. We are trying to ensure that we get to farms as quickly as possible: they are visited within 24 hours in…03 Nov 2022HANSARDAvian InfluenzaWe have a devolved system of government, and the Scottish Government have this decision in their hands. They will be talking to the Scottish NFU, Scottish research establishments…03 Nov 2022HANSARDAvian InfluenzaI am grateful for this opportunity to inform noble Lords about the very serious situation relating to avian influenza and all that we in Defra are doing, working with our…03 Nov 2022HANSARDAvian InfluenzaI assure my noble friend that there is a sort of task force already in place. Defra and the devolved Administrations, working with the Animal and Plant Health Agency, Natural…03 Nov 2022HANSARDAvian InfluenzaWe have very high animal welfare standards here, as seen in the removal of battery cages, and have worked faster than other countries in Europe and elsewhere to improve those…03 Nov 2022HANSARDWater Companies: PollutionEnormous amounts of money have been spent on new water infrastructure, but sewage companies are responsible for the maintenance and resilience of drainage and wastewater networks.…02 Nov 2022HANSARDWater Companies: PollutionMy Lords, the Government welcome this robust regulatory response from Ofwat where water companies are underperforming. It provides a great example of strong environmental and…02 Nov 2022HANSARDWater Companies: PollutionI take what the noble Baroness says about the level these sanctions are set at. If she thinks that there are areas that could be improved on, we will work with Ofwat to do that.…02 Nov 2022HANSARDWater Companies: PollutionWe have put more money into the Environment Agency and it has been recruiting more enforcement officers to do precisely that. We are also working with citizen science. I pay…02 Nov 2022HANSARDWater Companies: PollutionAs part of this failure to hit its commitments, Thames Water will be returning to customers next year £51 million. An average household water bill to take all the fresh water into…02 Nov 2022HANSARDWater Companies: PollutionI refer the noble Lord to the Environment Act as a first measure, probably the most significant piece of environmental legislation that any country has brought forward. That…02 Nov 2022