Environment Bill

Baroness Bakewell of Hardington Mandeville Excerpts

Committee stage
Monday 21st June 2021 Lords Chamber

[Lord Harries of Pentregarth (CB) [V]]

My Lords, I strongly support what the noble Duke, the Duke of Wellington, has said and many important points made by other Peers. I have only one point to make on top of the others: there has been no real improvement for so long now—certainly, not very much since 2016. In 2020, only 40% of waterways were classified as being in good health—meaning as close to their natural state as possible.

We all know that a major cause of this is sewage. In 2020, raw sewage was discharged more than 400,000 times over a period of 3 million hours, and this water, as the noble Baroness, Lady Jones, has claimed, brings huge quantities of microplastics as well. As the noble Lord, Lord Cormack, said, sewage is not the only cause: some 40% comes from run-off from agricultural industries.

The point is that, since legislation was passed and the Environment Agency has been in charge and responsible for it, there has been no real improvement. This may be due to lack of proper funding, but the fact is that it has not been able to bring about any real change. We now have the worst quality in Europe, with England comparing very badly with Scotland, where 65.7% of surface water bodies are in good health. We know this—it has been repeated time and again, and the environmental Ministers acknowledge it.

The question is: how can we ensure that real change takes place soon? Including Amendment 4 is where we must start in ensuring that good quality water is a goal that we fully intend to achieve. We must use this Bill to ensure that we achieve it.

[Baroness Bakewell of Hardington Mandeville (LD)]

My Lords, it is a pleasure to be speaking to this amendment moved by the noble Duke, the Duke of Wellington. During the past two years, many of your Lordships have raised the issue of the quality of the water in many of our iconic rivers and given very graphic examples of where pollution has been discharged, untreated, into our waterways. We have heard about chicken manure being discharged into the River Wye, previously one of the most beautiful rivers on our island. At Second Reading, the noble Earl, Lord Shrewsbury, reminded us about the discharge of raw sewage into rivers. As one of her first duties, the newly elected MP for Chesham and Amersham, Sarah Green MP, has visited the River Chess to hear from the local action group about the pollution of it.

During lockdown, with local authority swimming pools closed to the public, those who were able took to what has become known as wild swimming in the sea and rivers. I am assured that this is extremely invigorating and refreshing, but probably not so if you are encountering severe pollution on the scale that we have heard of from the noble Duke, the Duke of Wellington. Biodiversity is severely affected by the pollution in our rivers.

The treatment of sewage is the responsibility of the sewerage and water authorities. It is not sufficient for them to claim that new housing developments have overwhelmed their treatment plants and they have no choice but to discharge sewage into our rivers and sea. We have heard recently of the public disquiet about the Government’s proposals to change the planning laws. Often, statutory consultees respond to local authorities with “no comment”, but often they do not respond at all. Perhaps this is an issue of resources, with Defra cuts to the Environment Agency filtering down to the front line. The water authorities should be obliged to respond to consultation on proposed housing developments, especially where there is insufficient capacity in existing treatment plants to cope with the current, never mind the future, demand.

All noble Lords taking part in this debate have expressed concern on the issue of water quality. The Government must take it seriously if we are to restore the quality of the water in our rivers to enable biodiversity to increase, even if it is unlikely ever to reach its former levels. As the noble Baroness, Lady Young of Old Scone, and others have flagged, we will return to this in later amendments. This is a very serious matter, as my noble friend Lord Teverson and the noble Lord, Lord Cormack, said, and we fully support the comments of the noble Duke, the Duke of Wellington, in moving this amendment and look forward to the Minister’s response.

--- Later in debate ---

[Lord Carrington (CB) [V]]

My Lords, I would like to speak in favour of Amendment 10 in the names of the noble Lords, Lord Randall and Lord Taylor. The effect of light pollution is intrinsically part of the existing four priority areas for which environmental targets will be set, but it is not mentioned in any of the actions identified in the Bill to remedy or mitigate the underlying issues raised by these targets. Hence a separate target to reduce levels of light pollution is necessary and will not be difficult to implement or measure.

I declare my interest, being a vice-chair of the APPG on Dark Skies, like the noble Lord, Lord Taylor of Holbeach, and as the grandson of a knighted astronomer. Light pollution is relevant to human health, nature and wildlife, energy consumption and thereby greenhouse gas emissions. First, on health, epidemiological studies conducted in the United States have identified poorer sleep and anxiety disorders emanating from outdoor illumination, affected physical and mental health and well-being. Constant light is a well-known method of torture. Secondly, there is the effect on nature and wildlife. A review from Nature magazine in 2018 concluded that

“early results suggest that light at night is exerting pervasive, long-term stress on ecosystems, from coasts to farmland”

and

“waterways, many of which are already suffering from other, more well-known forms of pollution.”

The article then mentions a UK study on the timing of bud opening in trees, also raised by the noble Lord, Lord Randall. The study demonstrated a rate of acceleration “similar to that” now “predicted for … global warming”.

A Defra report in 2019 showed a sharp decline in insect numbers, with a 31% drop in insect pollinators between 1980 and 2016, and a 60% decline in the 2,890 priority species from 1970 to 2016. The State of Nature 2019 report by the National Biodiversity Network identified urban areas as particularly affected. In 2017, a paper from Nature highlighted the connection between light pollution and pollinating insect species, suggesting a threat to world food production.

Thirdly, there is the additional and unnecessary fuel consumption associated with aggressive illumination and the extra burden on greenhouse gas emissions. The reason for illumination that is so often given is that of safety. A study by the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine found that crime and road collisions do not increase in dark or dimmed areas.

Measuring light pollution is simple, as mentioned by the noble Lord, Lord Randall, with the use of a system produced by CPRE that can form the basis of monitoring change. Let us use this opportunity to acknowledge and deal with this important area, as encouraged by the Government’s draft environmental principles, encompassing both precaution and prevention. Measures to remedy the problems are not rocket science but clearly achievable through the strengthening of the planning framework, the reform of planning permission processes, the strengthening of statutory nuisance provisions, education, and technological developments. We can also learn from examples of measures taken in countries such as France and Germany.

Surely the amendment has a necessary and worthy place in this important Bill.

[Baroness Bakewell of Hardington Mandeville (LD)]

My Lords, I shall speak in favour of Amendment 10, to which I have added my name, and I support other amendments in this group. I declare my interest, as others have done, as a member of the APPG for Dark Skies. The noble Lord, Lord Randall, has made the case for his amendment very eloquently, as has the noble Lord, Lord Taylor of Holbeach.

When I was a child—this was a while ago—I was brought up in Bristol. Like all children, I was fascinated by the moon, which shone in the sky. Man had not yet ventured to the moon, which I felt was a distant, magical planet. Although we lived in a city, it was possible to see the night sky. Streetlights were switched off before midnight, probably at about 11 pm. There was much less human activity at night in those days. I was therefore able to concoct wonderful stories in my imagination about the man in the moon and the shadows on the moon’s surface.

Roll forward to today, and the map of the country often shown on news bulletins is of a land illuminated by streetlights that are not turned off. The areas where darkness prevails are few and far between. It is impossible for a child living in an urban area to investigate the sky and see the stars twinkling in the light reflected from the moon.

To move from the emotional view of light pollution to the detail of it, it is impacting our species and ecosystems, and increased artificial light at night is directly linked to negative impacts on energy consumption, human health and wildlife such as bats, insects and plants, as others have referred to. Ten years ago I could walk down the lane at 10 pm and bats would be swooping around overhead, consuming gnats and other flying insects. Today it is very rare to see any bats overhead at night. There is a wealth of information about the effect on birds and insects of artificial light, and others have made powerful speeches about the impact of light pollution on night pollinators and on feeding cycles.

My neighbour has a telescope in their upstairs window to see the stars. How very lucky we are to live in a dark area—the only light pollution that we suffer is from Advent to Epiphany, when the church is illuminated by floodlights—but over 90% of the UK population are estimated to be unable to see the Milky Way from where they live. To my mind, that is a severe limit on their ability to observe and wonder at the world that we live in, as well as having a devastating effect on the ecosystems and biodiversity of the nocturnal environment. The night-time economy is often referred to as a good thing. It is time that the animal, insect and plant nocturnal economy was given protection to ensure its survival. I fully support the amendment from the noble Lord, Lord Randall.

My noble friend Lord Teverson spoke eloquently about the long-term biodiversity target, both onshore and offshore. I share his comments and his concerns about our territorial seas, the marine ecosystems and seagrass.

The noble Baroness, Lady Bennett of Manor Castle, urged us to reduce consumption of resources rather than improve efficiency. To make a difference, both will need to be high on the Minister’s agenda.

Tree planting, which we have debated many times, is essential to carbon sequestration, habitat protection and improving flood alleviation. Protecting our native trees from diseases imported from other countries and those carried on the wind is essential to maintain a steady increase in the number of trees. The noble and right reverend Lord, Lord Harris of Pentregarth, raised tree planting.

The amendment from the noble Baroness, Lady Bennett of Manor Castle, on soil quality is really important; the subject was raised on Second Reading. The noble Earl, Lord Caithness, has also supported this. If we do not get the soil quality right, we will not move forward.

We are all aware of the contribution that cattle make to agricultural emissions—currently accounting for 60%. The Committee on Climate Change recommends that the Government implement a 20% reduction in the consumption of meat and dairy; most speakers referred to that. Can the Minister say whether the Government are preparing a strategy to ensure that this 20% reduction is implemented? Perhaps this will be through raising awareness with the public of the effect on the environment of meat and dairy consumption.

This has been an important and fascinating group of amendments. I look forward to the Minister’s response.

[Baroness Jones of Whitchurch (Lab)]

My Lords, I thank the noble Lord, Lord Teverson, for introducing this important debate and all noble Lords who have contributed to the hugely important spectrum of issues raised this evening.

I thought the noble Lord, Lord Teverson, made a significant point that repairing our marine biodiversity is as important as rebuilding our land-based biodiversity. But it is true that, as it stands, the Bill ignores the marine environment completely. I agree that that needs to be addressed.

Sadly, our seas and oceans are increasingly polluted. Plastics and microplastics, chemical fertiliser, run-offs from agriculture and, as we debated earlier, sewage discharges, are all damaging the quality of our seas. We are killing off our coral, creating ocean dead zones, and allowing excess algae blooms to suck the oxygen out of our water. The effects of this are damaging to both marine and human life, but, as the noble Lord, Lord Teverson, argued, if we act now, reverse those trends and encourage new growths of seaweeds and seagrasses, the oceans could be harnessed as a positive source of carbon sequestration in our climate change strategy. There is everything to fight for.

In his Second Reading response, the Minister mentioned the blue belt around our overseas territories. Of course this is welcome, as is the growth of marine protected areas around the UK coastline, but there is so much more we should be doing. The current marine protected areas still allow damaging seabed extraction and fishing. I hope the Minister can confirm that the recommendation of his colleague, the noble Lord, Lord Benyon, that there should be a string of highly protected marine areas will be implemented in full.

Sadly, so far, the Government have seemed reluctant to legislate to ensure that any future marine protections are legally enforceable. That is why we would welcome the inclusion of robust marine biodiversity targets in the Bill. Our experience with the Fisheries Bill last year was that the Government were not prepared to put sustainable fishing at the heart of the Bill. As a result, the charity Oceana has reported that, post Brexit, only one-third of the UK’s key fish populations is in a healthy state, with bottom trawlers and supertrawlers causing particularly damaging effects on the marine environment. So, if not now, when will we see action on these issues?

Environment Bill

Baroness Bakewell of Hardington Mandeville Excerpts

2nd reading
Monday 7th June 2021 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Bakewell of Hardington Mandeville (LD)]

My Lords, it is a pleasure to be taking part in this Second Reading at last. I declare my interest as a vice-president of the Local Government Association. The Bill is an important and complex piece of legislation and should, if it delivers on its promise and the Government’s aim, make the United Kingdom one of the world leaders on biodiversity, climate change and environmental protection. As always, the devil will be in the detail of its 250 pages, much of which will be examined in Committee.

Clause 16 sets out the five environmental principles which are key to success. Environmental protection must, not should, be integrated into policies. Preventive action must be taken to avoid damage. The precautionary principle must be strong enough to protect the environment. Environmental damage must, not should, be rectified at source. The polluter does indeed need to pay for all damage caused. If these five principles are adhered to strictly, the country will move forward and reach its goals well within target. If they are not enforced, then targets are unlikely to be met. My noble friend Lady Parminter has referred to the departments which are included in the environmental principles. All government departments must be aligned to the environmental agenda, otherwise nothing will be achieved.

The Secretary of State may well draft these policies but, if the OEP is unable to take real action to ensure adherence, principles and targets are meaningless, especially because the Secretary of State drafts the guidance that governs it. The office for environmental protection has been mentioned by many noble Lords: the noble Lord, Lord Cameron, like my noble friend Lord Oates, is concerned about its independence. Peers are concerned that, unless the OEP has real powers, it will not be able to fulfil its promise of enabling the natural environment to recover, thrive and prosper in the way that I believe the Bill and the Ministers intend.

It is vital that the OEP’s remit covers all the devolved Administrations, including Northern Ireland. It is a nonsense if the OEP does not take account of the power-sharing nature of the Northern Ireland Executive. The noble Baroness, Lady Ritchie of Downpatrick, raised concerns about this.

There is concern that the environmental review will be weakened by a third party claiming “substantial hardship”. This completely undermines the polluter pays principle before we have even started, as mentioned by the noble Lord, Lord Anderson of Ipswich. Of course there will be hardship for the polluter in having to pay for its misdemeanours. Either the Government are serious about protecting the environment or they wish to protect the polluter; they cannot have it both ways. The noble Lord, Lord Rooker, gave us examples of the lack of accountability, and my noble friend Lord Teverson reminded us of the importance of marine conservation, so vital for us as an island nation.

The disposal of waste is a problem that the world has been wrestling with for a long time. A UK citizen now has a greater carbon footprint in 12 days than citizens in seven other countries will have in a year—the noble Lord, Lord Khan, referred to that in his opening speech. We are producing a huge amount of waste and should, as a country, deal with it rather than exporting it to other countries. This will mean producing significantly less waste. We are subsumed by plastic. The right reverend Prelate the Bishop of Salisbury reminded us of the need for constraint and selflessness in order to ensure that progress is made. We wish him well in his retirement and will miss his contributions in this Chamber.

Clause 61 deals with “Transfrontier shipments of waste”. I am concerned that we should be transporting any waste at all. As a country, we need to produce less waste and find better recycling methods for that which we do produce. Deposit return schemes are part of the solution and need implementing sooner than 2023. Secondary legislation is likely to deal with this, and I welcome the affirmative procedure.

I also welcome the separation of waste, which is the responsibility of the householder and ensures that each one of us thinks about the waste that we produce and how we dispose of it. It signals the end of throwing away everything that might be recyclable into a single bin: this often ends up in an incinerator instead of being properly recycled. Many local authorities have successfully collected separated recyclables for years. Of course there are challenges for those in blocks of flats, but these are not insurmountable. I will examine fly-tipping in Committee—it currently affects 67% of farmers and costs over £47 million a year to clear up. This is where a tightening of the law around the polluter paying is desperately needed.

My noble friend Lady Parminter spoke about water conservation, supported by the noble Baroness, Lady Boycott, and the noble Lord, Lord Cameron, who is also concerned about the pollution in our rivers, including the River Wye. The noble Earl, Lord Shrewsbury, spoke eloquently about how raw sewage is discharged into rivers, and other noble Lords supported his comments. This practice has to stop—and soon.

Every day, 2.9 billion litres of water are lost due to water leakages. This is scandalous, given that in some countries women are walking miles to fetch clean, drinkable water. We must all play our part in rectifying this and conserving water. My noble friend Lord Redesdale referred to water efficiency and its importance, as did my noble friend Lord Chidgey. My noble friend Lord Bradshaw and the noble Lord, Lord Smith of Finsbury, spoke eloquently about rainwater re-use. We fully support this on the Lib Dem Benches.

Part 6 deals extensively with nature and biodiversity and has strong links to the Agriculture Act. Local nature recovery strategies will be dependent on willing landowners collaborating to ensure success. Local authorities also have a very significant part to play in ensuring biodiversity gain in planning permissions. My noble friends Lady Parminter and Lord Oates raised this, and the noble Baroness, Lady Boycott, raised the threat of 3,500 houses on the borders of Knepp. On the one hand, the Government are seeking to strengthen the role of planning authorities but, on the other, they are undercutting the democratic input. The noble Lord, Lord Cormack, referred to this issue, which we will debate tomorrow.

The noble Baroness, Lady Bennett of Manor Castle, and the noble Lord, Lord Whitty, raised the harm which pesticides do to the environment.

Lastly, I turn to deforestation. The noble Baroness, Lady Young of Old Scone, is a great advocate for our trees, woodlands and forests, and she and the noble Lord, Lord Carrington, referred to the tree action plan. While it is relatively easy to ensure that no illegal deforestation takes place in the UK and that produce grown on such land is not sold on, this is trickier when trying to hold other countries to account. It is estimated that 1.3 billion people depend directly on forests for their livelihoods; there is therefore a clear human rights issue that sits alongside the climate and nature emergencies. My colleague and noble friend Lady Sheehan raised this issue. It is not about protecting the wealthy, who are creaming off the profit from the desecration of the land. Most deforestation is driven by poverty, but exploited by greed.

It will be important for the UK’s laws to be enforced so that all produce from deforestation and conversion is removed from our supply chains. The noble Lord, Lord Trees, referred to illegal deforestation. Loopholes in goods from Brazil will need careful monitoring to ensure this happens. Countries change their laws, as does the UK; the 0.7% on aid is a prime example. The nation should be vigilant to ensure that we monitor the side-effects of such changes in policy, both at home and abroad.

Many noble Lords have referred to access to and enjoyment of the environment, including my noble friend Lord Addington and the noble Lord, Lord Smith. Access is important but it needs to be signposted and stock needs protecting. Animals and the public can both enjoy the countryside if the public are aware of the need to respect the environment they walk through.

I agree with the noble Baroness, Lady Altmann, on the role of pension funds. These are very influential and have the ability to put pressure on companies to act to protect the environment.

I welcome the Bill and look forward to the debates in Committee, and the government amendments trailed by the Minister in his opening speech. I look forward to his response to the many points which noble Lords have made during this long debate.

Trade and Official Controls (Transitional Arrangements for Prior Notifications) (Amendment) Regulations 2021

Baroness Bakewell of Hardington Mandeville Excerpts

Tuesday 18th May 2021 Grand Committee

[Baroness Bakewell of Hardington Mandeville (LD)]

My Lords, I thank the Minister for his introduction to these two short statutory instruments, which are closely interrelated. The first is a short SI concerned with sanitary and phytosanitary checks to ensure efficient pest and disease control, which is extremely important. Previous speakers have spoken knowledgably and from experience on this subject.

This is all about border control, yet the EM makes no mention of Northern Ireland, but deals with England, Scotland, and Wales. Given that this is extremely important, I am surprised that we are debating this only today, on 18 May. The SI came into force on 1 April, as the previous regulations ceased on 31 March. This is all very retrospective and unsatisfactory.

I am concerned that paragraph 7.5 of the Explanatory Memorandum states that although businesses could

“attempt to comply with control requirements”,

the Government do not think this is necessary and they will not be enforced. Is this safe? Are the Government, in their anxiety to assist businesses, not opening a loophole which could see the importation of diseased material?

The SI on plant health deals with the payment of fees from England to Northern Ireland. Can the Minister say whether there is a similar arrangement from Northern Ireland to the UK or whether this a one-way arrangement only?

This is a fairly straightforward SI on the face of it, and appears to be solely about the waiving of fees for pre-export and export certification services. However, I have one concern about the wording at paragraph 2.4 of the Explanatory Memorandum, which states:

“The exemption also applies to movements of goods by private individuals in their passenger baggage.”


This Minister referred to this in his opening remarks. I am by no means a frequent global traveller, but one thing I have experienced is that, if you fly out of GB to another country, taking plants and plant products, even for your private consumption on the flight, is not permitted. Given the rise in pests and pest-borne diseases, and the decimation they can bring to our plant life, it seems odd to be allowing individual travellers to carry plant products in their luggage without an exemption certificate, and likely to be a recipe for disaster. Perhaps I have misunderstood the meaning of this paragraph, and I would be grateful if the Minister can provide some clarification.

I have two other comments on this SI. First, new paragraph 2(d), which is inserted by Regulation 2, refers to

“introduction into, and movement within and out of Northern Ireland”.

There is, however, no mention of the destination after leaving Northern Ireland. Is it to be assumed that it is always going to be England, Scotland, or Wales? I am extremely grateful to the noble Lord, Lord Taylor of Holbeach, for sharing his experience with us. It has been most helpful.

Secondly, new paragraph (4B), which is inserted by Regulation 3(2)(b), states that new paragraph (4A)

“ceases to have effect at the end of 31st December 2022.”

What is proposed to happen then? Presumably fees will be introduced, as the noble Lord, Lord Taylor, suggested. What is the likely scale of these fees? Will this be a burden for businesses which will have benefited from a fee holiday? The noble Lord, Lord Taylor, referred to a possible increase in fees.

I am generally content with these two SIs, but there are some worrying aspects to this, and I look forward to the Minister’s concluding remarks.

Natural Habitats: Infrastructure Projects

Baroness Bakewell of Hardington Mandeville Excerpts

Monday 26th April 2021 Lords Chamber

[Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park (Con) [V]]

My Lords, we will set legally binding targets through the Environment Bill and an environmental improvement plan, which will be reviewed every five years. The Government will have to report on progress towards achieving those targets every year. The OEP will hold the Government to account on progress and every year can recommend how we can make better progress, to which the Government must respond. The OEP will have the ability, if necessary, to take the Government to court, although of course we hope that that will be unnecessary. In many respects, the scrutiny that this Government and future Governments can expect to receive will exceed greatly the scrutiny that existed before we left the European Union.

[Baroness Bakewell of Hardington Mandeville (LD) [V]]

My Lords, habitat loss comes in many forms, and often because of human activity, as in the loss of ancient woodland due to the construction of HS2. However, it can also occur because of climate change, as in the large landslide on the Jurassic Coast between Seatown and Eype in Dorset. Does the Minister acknowledge that this may require the intervention of infrastructure to provide protection for the remaining coastline?

[Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park (Con) [V]]

There will be moments when such interventions are of course justified, and there will be others when nature-based solutions might be better applied to the kind of problems that the noble Baroness has cited. We know, for example, that flood prevention can be achieved much more effectively and cheaply in some circumstances by planting trees rather than building concrete defences, and the same is true of a range of other problems that the Government are required to address.

Biodiversity Emergency

Baroness Bakewell of Hardington Mandeville Excerpts

Thursday 22nd April 2021 Grand Committee

[Baroness Bakewell of Hardington Mandeville (LD)]

My Lords, I thank my noble friend Lord Teverson for securing this debate and for his passionate introduction. I am currently reading James Rebanks’s book, English Pastoral: An Inheritance. The Rebanks family have farmed in Cumbria for over 600 years. His latest book details the massive change in farming practices and the devasting effect that such change has had on biodiversity. The removal of stone walls, destruction of ancient hedgerows and accelerated use of chemical fertilisers and weedkillers have all taken their toll on plants, insects and birds.

The Government have produced numerous plans to remedy the loss of biodiversity. In 2011, Defra produced a strategic plan for England, Biodiversity 2020. An evaluation in 2019 showed insufficient progress against its targets. In January 2018, the 25-year environment plan appeared. December 2020 saw the development of a new strategy for nature to replace Biodiversity 2020. The Environment Bill’s First Reading in the Commons was in January 2020; it will eventually arrive here. In March 2021, the Prime Minister said that tackling climate change and biodiversity would be his number one international priority. For all this rhetoric, there has been no actual progress.

The Woodland Trust has produced a report on the state of our woods and trees which finds that only 7% are in a good ecological condition. However, some local authorities have risen to the challenge. Bristol City Council has declared an ecological emergency and has a plan to redress the decline by 2030. We hope that others will follow suit.

It is estimated that 75% of the world’s land surface and 66% of the ocean has been significantly altered and degraded by human activity. One million species are threatened with extinction. Are we going to wait until we, as humans, are also threatened with extinction before we take this matter seriously? Will the Minister press the Government to declare a biodiversity emergency now and take stringent action?

[The Deputy Chairman of Committees (The Earl of Kinnoull) (Non-Afl)]

My Lords, we have been able to reconnect with the noble Lord, Lord Bradshaw, whom I therefore call.

Animal Welfare (Sentencing) Bill

Baroness Bakewell of Hardington Mandeville Excerpts

2nd reading
Friday 16th April 2021 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Bakewell of Hardington Mandeville (LD)]

My Lords, I thank the noble Lord, Lord Randall of Uxbridge, for his introduction to this important Bill, and Chris Loder, who steered it through the other place. It has significant implications for animals and those attempting to ensure their safety and well-being. The whole thrust of the Bill is the length of sentences for cruelty to animals. I am grateful to the RSPCA and Blue Cross for the briefings provided.

It is obvious that current legislation is inadequate, with the maximum sentence under the Animal Welfare Act 2006 standing at six months’ imprisonment. This compares to five years in Australia, Canada, India, Latvia, New Zealand and Scotland, and three years in Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Germany, Hungary, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland and Romania. Others have referred to this. England has always prided itself on its animal welfare ethos, so it is surprising that it does not have more stringent punishment for those who abuse and cause pain and distress to animals. We are lagging behind.

This Bill makes a change to increase the maximum penalty from six months to five years and so that it could attract an unlimited fine. However, fines have been imposed in the past, but are not a real deterrent, as they often remain unpaid and cruelty continues unabated. Occasionally, harm will occur to an animal because of ignorance or an unintended accident. It is not these offences that the Bill seeks to address. Its purpose is to prevent unnecessary cruelty by acting as a warning to others. Those who engage in deliberate, calculated and sadistic behaviour towards animals can expect to receive the maximum custodial sentence and a heavy fine, and I fully support this.

Our current legislation also can administer a lifetime ban on keeping animals. These disqualification orders are difficult and time-consuming to administer and not often monitored. It is occasionally the case that someone who has been served with a lifetime ban is back in the courts for a similar offence several years later. Perhaps they hope that no one will notice. It is these persistent offenders for whom the extension of the prison sentence may be most appropriate, but if a disqualification order is imposed, it must be properly monitored, recorded and enforced.

Organised dogfighting is currently illegal, but very large sums of money can change hands at one of these events. Fining is not likely to deter the most hardened of these criminals in their sadistic practices, but a hefty prison sentence will not only curtail their freedom but will also curtail their illegal income, as the noble Lord, Lord Randall, said.

While I am grateful to the RSPCA for a list of the sentences handed down for a variety of animal cruelty offences, I regret that I am reluctant to read those harrowing offences out and I commend those who have managed to do so. I cannot imagine what motivates people to cause such appalling suffering, often on very small defenceless animals, as my noble friend Lady Parminter said. Those who take pleasure in such activities are a serious threat to animals and children and are likely to be perpetrators of domestic violence. The noble Baroness, Lady Fookes, the noble Lord, Lord Taylor of Holbeach, and other noble Lords referred to this. Research and surveys indicate that 70% of the public wish action to be taken to curtail the activities of those inflicting animal cruelty in its worse forms. This Bill allows this that happen.

Often an elderly person will keep a cat. It will be their only companion and friend. The bond between the two will enrich the life of the elderly person, providing them with company and a one-way conversation. We as society have a duty to ensure that that pet is safe from harm from those engaged in mindless violence for fun, often drink and drug-fuelled. A fine is no deterrent, but a custodial sentence is a very different matter.

There is an extensive range of sections in the Animal Welfare Act 2006, which start with causing unnecessary suffering and move through the more serious to mutilation and poisoning. It is vital that this Bill should pass and enter the statute book so that adequate protection can be provided for all animals, whether domestic pets, farm livestock or wild animals. All speakers have wished to see this Bill become a statute. I look forward to the Minister’s response.

Food Waste

Baroness Bakewell of Hardington Mandeville Excerpts

Wednesday 24th March 2021 Lords Chamber

[Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park (Con) [V]]

My Lords, that is very much the direction in which we are focusing our efforts. For example, Food Waste Action Week in March is the first of what we hope will be an annual event focused on citizen food waste and is all about increasing awareness. We are also urging businesses to help consumers directly. The way food products are sold, packaged, labelled, priced et cetera can make a big difference to waste levels at home. We are funding both of WRAP’s campaigns: Love Food Hate Waste and Wasting Food: It’s Out of Date. These schemes are about helping and motivating people to cut waste. There is masses of evidence to suggest that that is working.

[Baroness Bakewell of Hardington Mandeville (LD) [V]]

My Lords, with queues at food banks and children suffering from food poverty, food waste is an outrage. In some cases, supermarkets are refusing to take produce grown under contract, resulting in it being ploughed back into the ground. These crops could be used to make meals to help feed the homeless. What is the Minister doing to ensure that no nutritious food is destroyed in this way?

[Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park (Con) [V]]

My Lords, there are so many benefits to cutting food waste and the noble Baroness has mentioned just one. The total amount of surplus food redistributed in the UK in 2018 alone—as a consequence, partly, of UK Government efforts—was 56,000 tonnes. That is worth £166 million and is food that would have been thrown away but was not. UK food redistribution almost doubled between 2015 and 2018 for charitable and commercial sectors. Surplus food redistributed via charities made up almost 60% of that total, up from 40% in 2015. We are investing in numerous organisations that are on the front line of ensuring that food, instead of being wasted, is redistributed to those people who need it most.

Heather and Grass etc. Burning (England) Regulations 2021

Baroness Bakewell of Hardington Mandeville Excerpts

Thursday 18th March 2021 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Bakewell of Hardington Mandeville (LD)]

My Lords, this is a very emotive subject and one that often generates contradictions. The subject of the SI is the licensing of heather burning on moors which are within an SSSI, an SAC or an SPA area.

Arguments have suggested that allowing heather and grass burning on a rotational basis leads to increased flooding and wildfires. I am not convinced by these arguments. I live close to the Somerset Levels, where the peat does not catch fire but does flood on a regular basis. Those of us living in the south-west saw extensive television coverage in February of an intense wildfire on Dartmoor which burned out of control overnight. Fire crews attended from a large area over the south-west. At the same time, there was a fire on Bodmin Moor. I cannot speak for the wildfire on Bodmin, but the fire on Dartmoor was started deliberately. Dartmoor is a site of a blanket peat bog.

Many noble Lords, including the noble Earl, Lord Caithness, have referred to the effect of wildfires. Of the wildfires in the Devon and Somerset fire authority region since 2016, 36 have been accidental, started by sparks from bonfires, chimneys, discarded cigarette ends, barbecues et cetera—the noble Lord, Lord Greaves, referred to this. Some 32 fires were started deliberately on others’ property, four were started deliberately on the owner’s property and 19 were started deliberately where the owner was unknown. This is a total of 91, or an average of 15 per year. However, there was only one wildfire in 2016 but a peak of 30 in 2019. There have been three so far this year; only one was accidental.

The fire that raged on Saddleworth Moor in 2018 burnt for 10 days. It was started deliberately, involved fire crews from seven counties and destroyed four square miles of moorland in an area covered by a no-burn policy. Management of the moorland is a very delicate balance between protecting the wildlife, regrowth of the heather and sphagnum moss and protection of the peat bog. It would seem to me that having well-organised and regulated cool burning is far better than leaving the heather to become old and dry and suspectable to largescale wildfires which could ignite the underlying peat, causing far more damage.

In 2019, 153 fires took place in the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service area, only four were in areas of moorland managed for grouse and none happened during the burning season. All were due to accident or arson. The issue of licencing for burning is obviously not likely to reduce the risk of wildfires.

I sit on the Secondary Legislation and Scrutiny Committee and have been involved in discussions there. The Explanatory Memorandum accompanying the SI is confusing, with inconsistencies in figures for just how much of the moorland is affected by the instrument and how much of the peatbog is covered.

However confusing the SI is, one thing is clear: blanket bog is a valuable resource for carbon storage and sequestration. As referred to by the noble Baroness, Lady Jones of Whitchurch, the UK’s blanket bog represents 13% of the world’s resource and therefore needs protecting. There are currently consents to burn over 142,000 hectares, which is 90% of the SSSI designated deep peat and 40% of upland deep peat. Licences to burn cover peat only to a depth of 40 centimetres. This is not deep peat. This is a cool burn. Since 2017, 47% of consents have been removed. Of those that remain, 50% are in perpetuity. Can the Minister tell the House, in numbers not percentages, just how many consents to burn have been granted in perpetuity and how the Government plan to deal with these licences?

Defra has not helped itself with its answers to the Secondary Legislation and Scrutiny Committee questions. There was an element of arrogance that has not moved the arguments forward, in particular in relation to the blurring between what constitutes guidance and what is legislation. Today the Joint Committee on Statutory Instruments published its report; it also had difficulty in getting elucidation from Defra on access to the map referred to in the instrument. I regret that I found the comments by the noble Baroness, Lady Bennett of Manor Castle, unnecessarily offensive.

I am concerned that the peat strategy, first trailed in the 25-year environment plan, has yet to be published, and we are dealing with these important environmental issues on an ad hoc basis. It was expected that the peat strategy would be published in early 2021. We are a quarter of the way through the year—I would describe that as early, but there is no sign of this document. Will the Government continue to deal with peat on a piecemeal basis? A proper overarching strategy is needed —and it is needed now.

My noble friend Lord Bradshaw referred to peat for horticultural use. Given the debate, the comments of the noble Baroness, Lady Ritchie of Downpatrick, and the concerns of the Secondary Legislation and Scrutiny Committee and the Joint Committee on Statutory Instruments, I strongly suggest to the Minister that he withdraw this SI, publish the peat strategy without delay, and encourage Defra to rewrite this SI to reflect that strategy.

Beijing Winter Olympic Games 2022

Baroness Bakewell of Hardington Mandeville Excerpts

Wednesday 10th February 2021 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Bakewell of Hardington Mandeville (LD) [V]]

My Lords, the Winter Olympics is a wonderful spectacle that we all enjoy watching. However, are we prepared to countenance sending Team GB to a country with such an appalling record on human rights, with Hong Kong in addition to the plight of the Uighurs? Are the Government waiting for a third devastating infringement of human rights before they decide to ignore China’s threats of retaliation before withdrawing ministerial attendance?

[Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon (Con)]

My Lords, we have been very much on the front foot and leading the charge. I have been engaged quite extensively, as the noble Baroness will know, at the Human Rights Council and within the UN framework in raising egregious abuses of human rights, particularly against the Uighurs in Xinjiang. I have already answered on the question of attendance in my original response.

Trees

Baroness Bakewell of Hardington Mandeville Excerpts

Monday 25th January 2021 Lords Chamber

[Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park (Con) [V]]

Invasive non-native species like grey squirrels and muntjac deer are a clear threat to our native biodiversity. They cost the economy around £1.8 billion per year and they impact negatively on our trees and woodlands. The Forestry Commission provides advice on maintaining red squirrel habitats and managing grey squirrels, while the Roslin Institute is researching into ways to breed infertility into females. This would provide a more humane way of reducing their numbers. In addition, we support work by the UK Squirrel Accord in developing an oral contraceptive to reduce the grey squirrel population.

[Baroness Bakewell of Hardington Mandeville (LD) [V]]

My Lords, trees are essential to meeting the Government’s biodiversity and carbon targets. However, massive tree planting programmes have seen saplings being poorly planted and subsequently dying in large numbers. Can the Minister reassure us that the money to be put into the tree planting strategy will indeed deliver healthy adult trees in the future?

[Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park (Con) [V]]

I can absolutely reassure the noble Baroness that the purpose of the England tree strategy is to deliver trees for the long term. It would be regarded by us and by everyone else as a failure were we not to deliver larger mature trees in the future.