Contributions
1,387 recent contributions in Hansard
HANSARD South East Strategic Reservoir OptionIt is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Bone. I congratulate the hon. Member for Oxford West and Abingdon (Layla Moran) on securing the debate. I realise that she…16 Mar 2022HANSARDBiodiversityMy hon. Friend is a great advocate for this, as Members can tell, and he has regularly bent my ear about the green spaces in his constituency. Through our Environment Act 2021, we…10 Mar 2022HANSARDWater QualityWe are the first Government to set out our expectation that water companies must reduce storm sewage overflows, and our Environment Act includes a raft of powers to support that…10 Mar 2022HANSARDBiodiversityI thank the hon. Gentleman for that and for his shared interest in biodiversity. He is right: we must not just do this at home—we have to deal with it abroad as well. Biodiversity…10 Mar 2022HANSARDCoastal CommunitiesCoastal communities are key to our levelling-up agenda, supported by the UK shared prosperity fund, the coastal communities fund and the £100 million UK seafood fund. Up to 2027…10 Mar 2022HANSARDCoastal CommunitiesWe take coastal erosion extremely seriously, which is why 17% of our flood protection budget is going to be devoted to coastal areas and coastal erosion. We work very closely in…10 Mar 2022HANSARDWater QualityAction is happening on this side of the House, and if the hon. Gentleman followed it, he would know exactly how much we are doing. Through our Environment Act, we have taken a…10 Mar 2022HANSARDCoastal CommunitiesI thank my hon. Friend for that question and welcome her to her seat. How wonderful that she has chosen DEFRA orals to ask her first question. That is very fitting, because I…10 Mar 2022HANSARDCoastal CommunitiesI am tempted to ask whether my hon. Friend joined the swimmers with her bathing costume on. I thank her for her work in campaigning on this matter, which she constantly talks…10 Mar 2022HANSARDBiodiversityThe Government have a world-leading target to halt nature’s decline by 2030, and recovering urban biodiversity is an important part of that work. Through our local nature recovery…10 Mar 2022HANSARDTopical QuestionsOfwat is legally required to act in accordance with the policy statement that my right hon. Friend referred to, and the Government expect Ofwat to take serious action against…10 Mar 2022HANSARDDraft Flood Reinsurance (Amendment) Regulations 2022The Bellwin scheme comes under the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities. Although I am the floods Minister, there is only one significant fund that comes under…09 Mar 2022HANSARDDraft Flood Reinsurance (Amendment) Regulations 2022I thank Members for all their comments on the statutory instrument. Of course, flooding affects so many of us. I come from Somerset, and we have had to deal with very serious…09 Mar 2022HANSARDDraft Flood Reinsurance (Amendment) Regulations 2022I beg to move, That the Committee has considered the draft Flood Reinsurance (Amendment) Regulations 2022. It is a pleasure as ever to have you in the Chair, Mr Robertson. This…09 Mar 2022HANSARDDraft Flood Reinsurance (Amendment) Regulations 2022I would say that my hon. Friend is being a bit cheeky, actually. It is £5.2 billion—an extraordinary amount of investment in flood defences and coastal erosion, covering up to…09 Mar 2022HANSARD Agriculture: Sustainable Intensification and MetricsIt is, as ever, a pleasure to see you in the Chair, Mr Davies. I congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for York Outer (Julian Sturdy) on bringing this subject forward. The…22 Feb 2022HANSARDFlash Flooding: LondonI thank my hon. Friend for her question, and I pay tribute to all those who responded to the flash flooding incidents in London last summer, which took everybody so by surprise. I…27 Jan 2022HANSARDFlash Flooding: LondonI thank my hon. Friend for that question, and my sympathy goes out to those who suffered and indeed are still suffering. We expect water companies to carry out their duties and…27 Jan 2022HANSARDTopical QuestionsI cannot comment on matters in that specific plan, but I congratulate my hon. Friend on that work, as our wildflower meadows are so precious. There are only 3% left, and we need…27 Jan 2022HANSARDTopical QuestionsIt was a pleasure to plant that tree; I hope it is doing well. I congratulate my hon. Friend on his tremendous work with the whole team in Gloucester to plant that huge wood. It…27 Jan 2022