Contributions
149 recent contributions in Hansard
HANSARDPlanning and Infrastructure BillMy Lords, first, I declare my involvement in a family farming and land management business. Secondly, I record my thanks to the Bill team for their courtesy in coming together to…25 Jun 2025HANSARDGenetic Technology (Precision Breeding) Regulations 2025My Lords, it will be no surprise to anyone in the House that I strongly support this statutory instrument. Precision breeding as a method of plant breeding is safer and more…06 May 2025HANSARDGreat British Energy BillMy Lords, I ought to report on Amendment 111 in the name of the noble Lord, Lord Offord. The assessment of the effects of offshore wind farms on the environment, with particular…22 Jan 2025HANSARDGreat British Energy BillMy Lords, Amendment 86 in my name is, as noble Lords will realise, very similar to Amendment 56 in the name of the noble Baroness, Lady Hayman, which was spoken to last month by…13 Jan 2025HANSARDGreat British Energy BillMy Lords, I support the last speaker on Amendment 65. When I saw Amendment 65 in the name of the noble Lord, Lord Offord, on the readiness of the National Grid for this brave new…13 Jan 2025HANSARDGreat British Energy BillMy Lords, I sympathise with the amendments on land use put down by the noble Lord, Lord Fuller. He wishes to ensure that in this very densely populated country of England we use…13 Jan 2025HANSARDSmall Farms and Family BusinessesMy Lords, I thank the noble Earl for promoting this debate, and I declare my interest as a retired farmer who has already handed on to his son. To plagiarise LP Hartley’s famous…12 Dec 2024HANSARDGreat British Energy BillMy Lords, I do not believe that the Bill should be too specific on the investment targets of GBE. As I said in an earlier group, I believe that GBE should remain flexible and…03 Dec 2024HANSARDGreat British Energy BillMy Lords, I added my name to my noble friend Lord Vaux’s Amendments 4, 6 and 7. This was largely because when the Bill went through its stages in the other place, the Government…03 Dec 2024HANSARDGreat British Energy BillMy Lords, I am a supporter of Great British Energy, its purpose and the proposed flexible approach inherent in the Bill. We need to quickly adopt the new generating technologies…18 Nov 2024HANSARDWater (Special Measures) Bill [HL]My Lords, my Amendment 59 follows on very neatly from those put forward by the noble Baroness, Lady Young. It too is very much a probing amendment and is largely designed to…30 Oct 2024HANSARDUN Sustainable Development GoalsMy Lords, I too thank the noble Lord, Lord McConnell, for introducing this debate. In the UN’s 2024 report on progress towards the sustainable development goals, goal 2 on zero…17 Oct 2024HANSARDUN Sustainable Development GoalsDillington—or just Lord Cameron.17 Oct 2024HANSARDRural CommunitiesMy Lords, I congratulate the noble Baroness, Lady McIntosh, on introducing this debate, and the noble Lord, Lord Elliott, on his maiden speech. There is a perception, in our towns…15 Oct 2024HANSARDLand Use FrameworkMy Lords, the Minister has answered the questions about the involvement of other departments and about getting expertise in from the outside. The House of Lords report was adamant…12 Mar 2024HANSARDHeat PumpsMy Lords, the Minister will be aware that if heat pumps became universally used as a primary source of heat in rural Britain, the electricity supply to many villages and market…06 Mar 2024HANSARDAutomated Vehicles Bill [HL]I hope the House will forgive me, but these various amendments on safety prompt me to ask the Minister about something that has not featured much in our discussions: the issue of…06 Feb 2024HANSARDUN Sustainable Development GoalsSome 60% of the population of sub-Saharan Africa are smallholder farmers, and most of them are women. Food from domestic resources is crucial for reaching many of these SDG goals:…16 Jan 2024HANSARDAutomated Vehicles Bill [HL]My Lords, forgive me for intervening before the Minister responds, but the word “rural” in Amendments 51 and Amendment 61 attracted my attention, as you might expect. As I said in…15 Jan 2024HANSARDAutomated Vehicles Bill [HL]My Lords, I support the Bill. It is right that as a nation we should signal our acceptance of this technology, even if it is not quite yet oven-ready or mature enough to be…28 Nov 2023