Contributions
1,387 recent contributions in Hansard
HANSARDDogs (Protection of Livestock) (Amendment) BillI must start, of course, by congratulating my right hon. Friend the Member for Suffolk Coastal (Dr Coffey) on guiding the Bill through the House, and by thanking her for all her…17 May 2024HANSARDDogs (Protection of Livestock) (Amendment) BillIt is a pleasure to speak on what I consider to be a very important Bill. Not only is it important to many countryside lovers, but it has been very much supported by the National…17 May 2024HANSARDDogs (Protection of Livestock) (Amendment) BillLoud cheers from behind me. We are making great progress on delivering so many of those measures that were originally intended in the Animal Welfare (Kept Animals) Bill. I think…17 May 2024HANSARDAnimal Welfare (Responsibility for Dog Attacks) BillI must, of course, begin by thanking my hon. Friend the Member for Southend West (Anna Firth) for presenting the Bill. She has a commendable record in respect of animal welfare…17 May 2024HANSARDBiodiversity LossIt is a pleasure to see you in the Chair, Ms Rees. You are keeping everyone to time—excellent. I thank the hon. Member for Brighton, Pavilion (Caroline Lucas) for securing this…15 May 2024HANSARDBiodiversity LossI have to take issue with that, because I am trying to say that we have the framework and targets in place. The OEP came out with a somewhat critical report, but it will have…15 May 2024HANSARDBiodiversity LossThat has been raised by many. We have a bee unit in DEFRA working on that, with our bee pollinator strategy, and on invasives such as the Asian hornet. We have to tackle all those…15 May 2024HANSARDBiodiversity LossThe point is that we have legally binding targets and a remit to report on them, so everything that we are doing is so that we can drive towards our targets. We have targets and…15 May 2024HANSARD World Species CongressWe have done a lot of work with DLUHC on improving and speeding up site strategies. We have a new method for site strategies, which is particularly working for newts, and…14 May 2024HANSARD World Species CongressIt is an absolute pleasure to see you in the Chair, Sir Charles, because I know you are interested in areas such as these and have done much work on them yourself. I must also…14 May 2024HANSARD World Species CongressI think the hon. Gentleman would respect that we are the party that set up the OEP. We actually set up a body that would challenge us to make sure that we are on target. That was…14 May 2024HANSARDTree PlantingThis Government have put in place the most comprehensive regime ever to increase tree planting. Crucially, it is underpinned by legislation in the Environment Act 2021 and legally…09 May 2024HANSARDTree PlantingI thank my right hon. Friend for the work she has done in her constituency to encourage tree planting, but she is right that the process needs to be fast and simple. We have taken…09 May 2024HANSARDTree PlantingI highlight again the low-sensitivity map, which points out exactly the same things as the map the hon. Gentleman refers to. We have many funds focused in particular on urban…09 May 2024HANSARDTree PlantingI ask the hon. Gentleman to look at his own tree-planting record. This Government have planted more trees than Labour did. We now have the plan in place so, if one looks at the…09 May 2024HANSARDAnimal WelfareThis Government remain absolutely committed to implementing our action plan for animal welfare. Since the action plan was published in 2021, we have made significant progress on a…09 May 2024HANSARDAnimal WelfareI thank my hon. Friend for that question, and indeed for his own work on animal welfare in this place, which has been impressive. I also thank the pupils of Larch class at Three…09 May 2024HANSARDTopical QuestionsI must first commend the national forest for all that it has achieved. Many farmers are involved in that forest, too. That is why the Forestry Commission’s map showing the best…09 May 2024HANSARDDraft Management of Hedgerows (England) Regulations 2024I beg to move, That the Committee has considered the draft Management of Hedgerows (England) Regulations 2024. It is a pleasure to have you in the Chair, Mr Stringer, for what I…08 May 2024HANSARDDraft Management of Hedgerows (England) Regulations 2024I thank my hon. Friend so much for that very fitting intervention. Of course, I would be delighted to remember and recognise Peter Ainsworth. That was such an important proposal,…08 May 2024