Contributions
1,496 recent contributions in Hansard
HANSARDEnvironment Bill (Tenth sitting)I beg to move amendment 156, in schedule 1, page 126, line 2, leave out ‘have regard to the need to’. This amendment makes the independence of the OEP an absolute requirement. I…05 Nov 2020HANSARDEnvironment Bill (Tenth sitting)Thank you, Mr Howarth, for that note of concern about Committee proceedings. I am sure that in no way tripped us up or stopped us achieving our purpose, but thank you for…05 Nov 2020HANSARDEnvironment Bill (Tenth sitting)That is absolutely right. We need to make sure, as we go through each element of the OEP’s formation and operation, that it is not only thought to be independent, but seen to be…05 Nov 2020HANSARDEnvironment Bill (Eleventh sitting)I take the Minister’s points on amendments 121 and 180, and we do not intend to proceed further with those. However, on amendment 184 the Minister has essentially repeated the…05 Nov 2020HANSARDEnvironment Bill (Eleventh sitting)Once again my hon. Friend hits the nail on the head. In many cases a contractor, or someone who has decided to undertake an action, may make a cold calculation about what they can…05 Nov 2020HANSARDEnvironment Bill (Eleventh sitting)I hope that, after that plethora of votes, everyone knows where we have got to. I think and hope that I know, but we shall see whether I am speaking to the right amendment.…05 Nov 2020HANSARDEnvironment Bill (Eleventh sitting)I beg to move amendment 121, in clause 35, page 21, line 24, leave out from “review” to end of line 28. This amendment allows the Upper Tribunal to grant any remedy it thinks fit.05 Nov 2020HANSARDEnvironment Bill (Eleventh sitting)I did not expect the Government to be over-enthusiastic about this idea, and indeed, they have demonstrated that they are not. They have indicated that they have concerns about…05 Nov 2020HANSARDEnvironment Bill (Eleventh sitting)Amendments 119 and 120 are connected. They seek to provide in the Bill a definition of the purpose of an environmental review. We think that will strengthen environmental reviews…05 Nov 2020HANSARDEnvironment Bill (Eleventh sitting)I beg to move amendment 119, in clause 35, page 21, line 2, at end insert— “(2A) The purpose of an environmental review is to promote the integrity of environmental law and the…05 Nov 2020HANSARDEnvironment Bill (Eleventh sitting)We do not intend to press this to a Division if we are satisfied that the public are fully protected in terms of how this works overall. The Minister has to some extent, by…05 Nov 2020HANSARDEnvironment Bill (Eleventh sitting)These two amendments are really important for completing the process of environmental review and the way in which an environmental review may come about and be discharged through…05 Nov 2020HANSARDEnvironment Bill (Eleventh sitting)I beg to move amendment 123, in clause 35, page 20, line 40, at end insert— ‘(1A) Where the OEP has given a decision notice to a public authority but has not applied for an…05 Nov 2020HANSARDEnvironment Bill (Eleventh sitting)Indeed, my hon. Friend makes the point about specialist environmental expertise in a far better way than the Government did to the EFRA Committee. Among other things, the upper…05 Nov 2020HANSARDEnvironment Bill (Eleventh sitting)This is a substantial group of amendments that all have the same effect—to transfer proceedings in a variety of different areas from the upper tribunal to the High Court. I…05 Nov 2020HANSARDEnvironment Bill (Eleventh sitting)I thank the Minister for that response. Our suggestion that the OEP ought to have a more serious power has to some extent been answered with reassurance by the Minister. However,…05 Nov 2020HANSARDEnvironment Bill (Eleventh sitting)I beg to move amendment 118, in clause 33, page 19, line 39, at end insert— “(2A) A decision notice may also direct the public authority to rectify the failure to comply with…05 Nov 2020HANSARDEnvironment Bill (Eleventh sitting)I wonder whether the Minister’s speaking note was written before the Government tabled the next amendment that we will debate, because his reply is one that I might well have…05 Nov 2020HANSARDEnvironment Bill (Eleventh sitting)I beg to move amendment 6, in clause 32, page 18, line 40, leave out “may” and insert “must”. Where the OEP has reasonable grounds for suspecting a serious break of environmental…05 Nov 2020HANSARDEnvironment Bill (Eleventh sitting)Something that we have been trying to point out fairly consistently as we have gone through the Bill is the use of “may” and “must”, and we will come shortly to another one of…05 Nov 2020