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1,459 recent contributions in Hansard
HANSARDKew Gardens (Leases) (No. 3) Bill [HL]My Lords, I am most grateful to the noble Baroness for tabling these amendments. Without going on for too long, I should like to take the opportunity to place on record a number…21 May 2019HANSARDKew Gardens (Leases) (No. 3) Bill [HL]My Lords, I agree with the noble Baronesses that we should always be transparent. I hope that I will satisfactorily be able to explain why I think that these matters are covered.…21 May 2019HANSARDKew Gardens (Leases) (No. 3) Bill [HL]My Lords, I say from the outset that I take the amendment in the name of the noble Lord, Lord Whitty, with the seriousness that I know he takes Kew. I also recognise the direct…21 May 2019HANSARDKew Gardens (Leases) (No. 3) Bill [HL]I was coming to that. Let me be clear: Kew will focus on the seven residential properties on Kew Green. Kew has no immediate plans beyond the proposals for those properties.…21 May 2019HANSARDKew Gardens (Leases) (No. 3) Bill [HL]This is because the MoU relates to the plants, collections and functions, not to the land.21 May 2019HANSARDKew Gardens (Leases) (No. 3) Bill [HL]I am not forgetting those, because they are the areas being dealt with. I am going to make more progress; I am happy to continue these considerations outside Committee. One thing…21 May 2019HANSARDKew Gardens (Leases) (No. 3) Bill [HL]I think it can be ruled out, because the protections are absolutely, fully in place for the land at Kew, whether the seven residential properties—21 May 2019HANSARDKew Gardens (Leases) (No. 3) Bill [HL]All land within Kew and the Crown land, including non-core land—I used that unofficial language, shall we say, to describe the sorts of properties for which Kew recognises that it…21 May 2019HANSARDKew Gardens (Leases) (No. 3) Bill [HL]I am sorry, but would it not be easier for me to develop the argument, because much of this will I hope be covered? I think that that would be more constructive. I want to go back…21 May 2019HANSARDKew Gardens (Leases) (No. 3) Bill [HL]As I say, it goes back to those areas. I want to pin down this point. This is absolutely not about suddenly cherry-picking: “That looks like a nice site; that would be quite…21 May 2019HANSARDKew Gardens (Leases) (No. 3) Bill [HL]No. On the land under question, one of the seven residential buildings is not listed and all the rest are. On a later amendment I will go into some detail on the conditions that…21 May 2019HANSARDKew Gardens (Leases) (No. 3) Bill [HL]I would like to make some progress.21 May 2019HANSARDKew Gardens (Leases) (No. 3) Bill [HL]It would be more helpful if I could develop my arguments. It is important that I set out the legal point. My noble friend Lord Eccles is right that I should perhaps get a better…21 May 2019HANSARDKew Gardens (Leases) (No. 3) Bill [HL]My Lords, I am most grateful to noble Lords, particularly my noble friends. The amendment seeks to apply consultation by the Charity Commission to the actions of Defra and RBG…21 May 2019HANSARDKew Gardens (Leases) (No. 3) Bill [HL]The protections are available for ever to ensure that this would not be the case.21 May 2019HANSARDJapanese KnotweedMy Lords, trials often take longer than we wish, but I assure the noble Lord that we are collaborating with Canada, because it has a similar problem, and with experts across…16 May 2019HANSARDJapanese KnotweedMy Lords, it is indeed Invasive Species Week, and I would very much have enjoyed it if your Lordships had been with me in a ditch in Kent digging up American skunk cabbage. This…16 May 2019HANSARDJapanese KnotweedThe noble Lord raises something really important. A very good practice manual has been published as part of a RAPID LIFE project, showing the varying ways in which this can be…16 May 2019HANSARDJapanese KnotweedWe are strongly of the view that we need to look after our pollinators and insects, so we should not cut verges unless it is necessary for safety. This is certainly an issue I…16 May 2019HANSARDJapanese KnotweedMy Lords, we are trialling biocontrol methods to control Japanese knotweed. The Centre for Agriculture and Bioscience International is working to establish the highly specific…16 May 2019