Contributions
1,387 recent contributions in Hansard
HANSARDWater Industry: Financial ResilienceOfwat is the independent regulator and, as the hon. Member will know, the Government direct it through the strategic policy statement. It is Ofwat’s job to ensure that in the…28 Jun 2023HANSARDWater Industry: Financial ResilienceI thank my hon. Friend for that. It is essential that we have fully functioning regulators. Since the Government came to power, Ofwat has done an enormous amount to streamline…28 Jun 2023HANSARDWater Industry: Financial ResilienceI thank my right hon. Friend for broadening the scope of the debate. We are in discussions with the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities—many of these issues…28 Jun 2023HANSARDWater Industry: Financial ResilienceI thank my hon. Friend for pointing that out. He is absolutely right: whatever the Opposition say today, one of the measures they did not vote for in the Environment Act 2021 was…28 Jun 2023HANSARDWater Industry: Financial ResilienceIn the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, we have our individual portfolios, and I am the water Minister. The Secretary of State has full confidence in her…28 Jun 2023HANSARDWater Industry: Financial ResilienceI will highlight the Thames super-sewer—it will be ready to open in the not-too-distant future—which is a tremendous project for the people of London, including many of her…28 Jun 2023HANSARDWater Industry: Financial ResilienceAll those plans are being assessed right now. The draft plans go to Ofwat, where they are analysed with a fine-toothed comb. All the things I have mentioned today will be…28 Jun 2023HANSARDWater Industry: Financial ResilienceThere is a structure and a process for working through this matter. It is up to the individual water companies and the regulator working with them to ensure that they are…28 Jun 2023HANSARDWaste IncinerationIt is crucial for waste incineration plants to have the correct permits and to be correctly monitored, which is why the Environment Agency has imposed strict emissions limits and…25 May 2023HANSARDTopical QuestionsI believe the Environment Agency has already met Mr Turner and his group, and I am happy to meet my hon. Friend too. Obviously, I must stress that managing coastal change in those…25 May 2023HANSARDWaste IncinerationThe hon. Lady is right, and we are committed to measures to introduce a much more circular economy. We must cut the amount of resources that we use, and recycle more, reuse more…25 May 2023HANSARDTopical QuestionsThe hon. Gentleman may not be aware that dividends and profits of water companies cannot come from customers —[Interruption.] If the water companies want to compensate people and…25 May 2023HANSARDTopical QuestionsI know that my hon. Friend is a doughty campaigner on the issue of Walleys Quarry, and that the Secretary of State has visited the area recently. I know, too, that there was a…25 May 2023HANSARDWaste IncinerationWe want to see less waste being sent to incinerators, which is why we set a statutory target to halve the 2019 level of residual waste by 2042. The Environment Agency inspects and…25 May 2023HANSARDWaste IncinerationWe have legislated to prevent incinerators from accepting separately collected paper, metal, glass and plastic unless they have gone through a recycling facility first. We are…25 May 2023HANSARDDraft Packaging Waste (Data Reporting) (England) (Amendment) Regulations 2023I beg to move, That the Committee has considered the draft Packaging Waste (Data Reporting) (England) (Amendment) Regulations 2023. It is a pleasure, as ever, to see you in the…23 May 2023HANSARDDraft Packaging Waste (Data Reporting) (England) (Amendment) Regulations 2023I will need to think about that for a minute. My hon. Friend is talking about imported products. The glass bottle will come under a different system of recycling anyway; it could…23 May 2023HANSARDDraft Packaging Waste (Data Reporting) (England) (Amendment) Regulations 2023I thank the shadow Labour Minister for supporting this SI. I think she can see that it is just about a couple of much-needed tweaks to the system. The hon. Lady referred to…23 May 2023HANSARDDraft Packaging Waste (Data Reporting) (England) (Amendment) Regulations 2023Of course, the data is being collected only by companies with a certain turnover and a certain tonnage, so many small businesses are not involved in this. We have listened to…23 May 2023HANSARDPlastic Pollution in the OceanThank you, Sir Christopher. You might be pleased to hear that I may not go on for half an hour, but that will give a little time for my hon. Friend the Member for North Devon…18 May 2023