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4,729 recent contributions in Hansard
HANSARDTRIPS Agreement: VaccinesI disagree. This is a very good agreement, and the Government have seen no evidence that IP rights, including the protection of undisclosed information or trade secrets, are any…11 Jul 2022HANSARDTRIPS Agreement: VaccinesI did answer the question but let me repeat the answer. In 2021, we donated 30.8 million doses of AstraZeneca—11 Jul 2022HANSARDTRIPS Agreement: VaccinesMy Lords, the consensus-based agreement reached at the WTO’s 12th ministerial conference streamlines compulsory licensing processes for developing countries to manufacture and…11 Jul 2022HANSARDWinter Heating InitiativesI will certainly pass my noble friend’s thoughts on to whoever occupies those great offices in the Treasury in the next few weeks. Regarding his first point, we want to ensure…07 Jul 2022HANSARDWinter Heating InitiativesI am slightly confused by the noble Baroness’s question. Yes, of course, we are rolling out the energy bills support scheme, which is a £400 payment that will be delivered through…07 Jul 2022HANSARDWinter Heating InitiativesThat is a complicated subject but, irrespective of the impact, we can all agree that energy efficiency is a good thing. Using less energy and spending less money on it is an…07 Jul 2022HANSARDWinter Heating InitiativesThere were a number of questions there. The noble Lord, Lord Whitty, mentioned the considerable sums that we will expend on the social housing decarbonisation fund; that funding…07 Jul 2022HANSARDWinter Heating InitiativesI am sorry that the noble Lord is so down on the ECO scheme. It is a good programme and, as he is probably aware, we are expanding it to £1 billion a year. It is not the only…07 Jul 2022HANSARDWinter Heating InitiativesWell, we could spend the whole of this Question Time debating those issues. The noble Baroness makes some good points. I am sure that we will have some extensive discussions on…07 Jul 2022HANSARDWinter Heating InitiativesI look forward to seeing the Liberal Democrats campaigning on taking away from people money that has been allocated. It is a universal payment but of course there are considerable…07 Jul 2022HANSARDWinter Heating InitiativesThe House and I need no convincing of the value of energy efficiency. As I constantly remind the House, we are already spending considerable sums on energy-efficiency schemes, but…07 Jul 2022HANSARDWinter Heating InitiativesThe noble Baroness makes a powerful point. I point to the public sector decarbonisation scheme, for which I am responsible, which has already rolled out billions of pounds’ worth…07 Jul 2022HANSARDHorizon EuropeI can indeed give the noble Lord that assurance. The money is a direct replacement and will go to research, but our preference remains to associate to Horizon Europe, if possible.…07 Jul 2022HANSARDHorizon EuropeIt is clearly a difficult political time at the moment but I have great faith in the institutions of this country. I am sure we will get through it and continue the excellent work…07 Jul 2022HANSARDHorizon EuropeThe Minister the noble Lord refers to, one of my ex-colleagues, was doing an excellent job in putting together precisely the programme that the noble Lord asks for. We remain…07 Jul 2022HANSARDWinter Heating InitiativesMy noble friend makes an important point. The Secretary of State has asked the British Geological Survey to have an additional look at the problems and evidence surrounding the…07 Jul 2022HANSARDHorizon EuropeIndeed, the Northern Ireland protocol is the excuse that the EU gives for refusing to live up to its commitment. These are separate agreements and issues. We would prefer them to…07 Jul 2022HANSARDHorizon EuropeI do not know if the noble Baroness was listening to the replies that I gave but the Treasury is fully committed to the £6.8 billion announced in the spending review. The…07 Jul 2022HANSARDHorizon EuropeI agree with the noble Baroness that this co-operation has benefits for both sides and it is a shame that the EU continues to drag science into wider politics. Now, more than…07 Jul 2022HANSARDHorizon EuropeMy noble friend is exactly correct.07 Jul 2022