Contributions
1,571 recent contributions in Hansard
HANSARDINSPIRE (Amendment) (EU Exit) Regulations 2020That the Grand Committee do consider the INSPIRE (Amendment) (EU Exit) Regulations 2020.09 Sept 2020HANSARDINSPIRE (Amendment) (EU Exit) Regulations 2020My Lords, noble Lords will be aware that the INSPIRE Regulations 2009 established a UK spatial data infrastructure by requiring common standards for spatial data held by public…09 Sept 2020HANSARDTree PlantingMy Lords, we have seen an increase in planting rates in England over the last year. They are up from 1,400 hectares in 2019 to 2,200 in this planting season but, as the noble Lord…03 Sept 2020HANSARDTree PlantingBiosecurity is enormously important, not least because we are an island nation. We announced a £2 million partnership investment, which I mentioned earlier, alongside the Scottish…03 Sept 2020HANSARDTree PlantingWe will use the outcome of the consultation—it is a genuine consultation; we know we need to hear from stakeholders across the country—to guide the manner in which we deploy the…03 Sept 2020HANSARDTree PlantingMy Lords, we committed to increasing planting across the UK to 30,000 hectares per year by 2025 in line with the Committee on Climate Change recommendations. We are consulting on…03 Sept 2020HANSARDTree PlantingThe noble Baroness makes a hugely important point. The picture for international deforestation is depressing; around the world, we think that we are losing around 30 football…03 Sept 2020HANSARDTree PlantingThe Government are committed to protecting our ancient woodlands. Two years ago, in 2018, we strengthened the protection of ancient woodlands, ancient trees and veteran trees…03 Sept 2020HANSARDTree PlantingThere are many reasons. First, the noble Lord is right: Scotland is doing its bit. It is planting at a much higher level than we are seeing elsewhere. Scotland retains that…03 Sept 2020HANSARDTree PlantingThis is a priority area for Defra, a department that I belong to. Yes, we are seeing increasing numbers of threats to our native trees. The whole country is aware of ash dieback…03 Sept 2020HANSARDBiodiversity: Aichi TargetsWe have expanded our protected areas at sea, provided new funding for woodland expansion, peatland restoration and nature recovery and increased significantly our funding for…20 Jul 2020HANSARDBiodiversity: Aichi TargetsMy Lords, the UK assessment shows five targets on track and 14 targets progressing. The Government need, and are determined, to do more. We are playing a leading role in…20 Jul 2020HANSARDBiodiversity: Aichi TargetsOne of the problems with the Aichi targets is that they are so open to misinterpretation or different interpretations. One thing that we are pushing hard for in the next round of…20 Jul 2020HANSARDBiodiversity: Aichi TargetsDefra is analysing all the available data on air quality, in particular the impact on air quality of the measures taken to protect people against Covid. I am not in a position…20 Jul 2020HANSARDBiodiversity: Aichi TargetsAs far as we can see, the postponement has not damaged the agenda, in the same way that our being given a few extra months to deliver the climate clock at the end of next year has…20 Jul 2020HANSARDBiodiversity: Aichi TargetsThere is no doubt that monoculture is the greatest friend of pandemics and disease and that biological diversity is the greatest buffer and hedge against instability and the kind…20 Jul 2020HANSARDBiodiversity: Aichi TargetsThe Agriculture Bill is winding its way through Parliament as we speak, being expertly delivered by my noble friend Lord Gardiner. The concern about putting food security as a…20 Jul 2020HANSARDBiodiversity: Aichi TargetsMeasurement is crucial to understanding and delivering good policy, but it is not as important as the policies themselves. If you look at what the Government are doing as a whole,…20 Jul 2020HANSARDBiodiversity: Aichi TargetsThe department on whose behalf I am speaking today is making progress in the construction, development and delivery of the OEP. As the noble Baroness knows, we need legislation…20 Jul 2020HANSARDEnvironmental Protection (Plastic Straws, Cotton Buds and Stirrers) (England) Regulations 2020My Lords, the instrument before your Lordships, the Environmental Protection (Plastic Straws, Cotton Buds and Stirrers) (England) Regulations 2020, is being made to restrict the…10 Jul 2020