Contributions
164 recent contributions in Hansard
HANSARDLeaseholders: Service ChargesMy Lords, management companies are buying up leaseholds in order to impose exorbitant charges. At what stage does this become a criminal activity?20 Jul 2022HANSARDEnergy Bill [HL]My Lords, I am tempted to address some of the issues that the noble Lord, Lord Moylan, has raised, but I have other things to say. However, I welcome his support—if I understand…19 Jul 2022HANSARDEnergy (Oil and Gas) Profits Levy BillMy Lords, this legislation, which is being rushed through Parliament, has the ostensible purpose of addressing the crisis of fuel poverty that is affecting an increasing number of…13 Jul 2022HANSARDSmall Modular Nuclear ReactorsTo ask Her Majesty’s Government when, and under what circumstances, they will place orders for small modular nuclear reactors.28 Jun 2022HANSARDSmall Modular Nuclear ReactorsI am not reassured by the Answer the Minister has given. To await the completion of a generic design assessment of a proven technology is to impose an unnecessary delay. There is…28 Jun 2022HANSARDCatapults (Science and Technology Committee Report)My Lords, the opening speaker in this debate, the noble Lord, Lord Mair, has filled the foreground with much important detail. I shall confine myself to the background. Catapults…19 May 2022HANSARDQueen’s SpeechMy Lords, in the time that is available to me, I wish to make a wide-ranging and cursory review of our education system, comprising secondary education, further education and…17 May 2022HANSARDEuropean Research CouncilMy Lords, we should soon be admitted to the Horizon Europe programme for funding research and innovation if the Government were to undertake not to invoke Article 16. However,…27 Apr 2022HANSARDNuclear Energy (Financing) BillMy Lords, I wish to speak to Amendment 1. The noble Lord, Lord Howell, disposed of the previous version of this amendment most effectively in an eloquent speech in Committee, yet…24 Mar 2022HANSARDGenetically Modified Organisms (Deliberate Release) (Amendment) (England) Regulations 2022My Lords, I am a member of the Secondary Legislation Scrutiny Committee and I can assert that the committee is supportive of the purposes of this statutory instrument. However,…14 Mar 2022HANSARDNuclear Energy (Financing) BillMy discourse on renewables would have been on the extraordinary cost of having to accommodate intermittence. I am afraid there are other things to discuss. I have already…08 Mar 2022HANSARDNuclear Energy (Financing) BillThe proponents of this amendment are trenchantly opposed to nuclear power. They are proposing as a condition for allowing a company to construct a new nuclear plant that a…08 Mar 2022HANSARDNuclear Energy (Financing) BillNo, I am not in the business of explaining that. There has never been consensus in the party but, right now, I think there is consensus as never before. The party is facing up to…08 Mar 2022HANSARDNuclear Energy (Financing) BillThat is exactly what I have been talking about.08 Mar 2022HANSARDNuclear Energy (Financing) BillIf I could interject, we are objecting to the complete exclusion of nuclear, which is the agenda of the Liberal Democrats. It is madness.08 Mar 2022HANSARDNuclear Energy (Financing) BillI quite agree with what the noble Lord, Lord Howell, has just said; indeed, I feel somewhat pre-empted. However, before I address the amendment, I shall talk about cost overruns.…08 Mar 2022HANSARDNuclear Energy (Financing) BillBe that as it may, when we talk of value for money, we usually have in mind the amount of money we would be paying for an item that is subject to immediate use or consumption. The…08 Mar 2022HANSARDNuclear Energy (Financing) BillLet me answer that. Looking at the alternatives proposed by the Liberal Democrats, I could go into a long discourse to outline what will happen to our industries if we forgo an…08 Mar 2022HANSARDNuclear Energy (Financing) BillYes, indeed. In 2010, the Liberal Democrats in the coalition Government proposed that 10 new nuclear plants should be built. Of course, they have totally changed their opinion.08 Mar 2022HANSARDNuclear Energy (Financing) BillI regard this amendment as a complete blind. Indeed, the figures that have been quoted do not tally with the ones to which I am privy. Large nuclear power plants are the only…08 Mar 2022