Prepayment Meters: Code of Practice

Debate between Baroness Bloomfield of Hinton Waldrist and Baroness McIntosh of Pickering

Thursday 20th April 2023 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Bloomfield of Hinton Waldrist (Con)]

The noble Baroness asked a number of questions. First, Ofgem does not have the right to impose rules without consultation. It is an independent regulator accountable to Parliament, but this voluntary code is agreed by all suppliers; it will be put into their contracts by October. There were some nuances and details perhaps lost in the Ofgem announcement on Tuesday about the code of practice. The medium-risk group is always protected by the precautionary principle so, if there is any doubt that the consumer is financially vulnerable or likely to disconnect, they must not install a prepayment meter. The vulnerable group includes any family with children under five, the elderly over 65, those with many other serious medical conditions including Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s, and those in temporary situations such as pregnancy and bereavement. Ofgem has worked very hard to try to include everybody in the prevention of installation of prepayment meters and will continue to do so. They have all been paused for the moment.

[Baroness McIntosh of Pickering (Con)]

My Lords, I refer to my interest as honorary president of National Energy Action. Could my noble friend address two vital issues that the code of conduct does not cover? First, prepayment customers pay more per unit than any other customer, regrettably, and that has so far not been addressed by the Government. Will she urgently address it? Secondly, the standing charge is increasing, often every six months, by up to 20% a time. That is a charge over which customers have no control whatever at a time when there is a cost of living crisis.

[Baroness Bloomfield of Hinton Waldrist (Con)]

My noble friend is not quite correct, in that we are doing a lot to tackle the higher costs that PPM users pay, and the Government are taking action to end the prepayment penalty. There are specific costs associated with prepayment meters, not least that the Post Office is often used as a conduit for payment and charges, and there are some regulatory and system costs. We have acted, we are continuing to take action, and we are introducing reforms to the energy bills to remove this premium paid. For the moment, that will be covered by the energy price guarantee and there will be permanent resolution to the issue in April 2024.

Public Contracts (Amendment) Regulations 2022

Debate between Baroness Bloomfield of Hinton Waldrist and Baroness McIntosh of Pickering

Tuesday 13th December 2022 Grand Committee

[Baroness Bloomfield of Hinton Waldrist (Con)]

My Lords, these regulations, which were laid before the House on 8 November, have two functions. First, they amend the domestic public procurement regulations to ensure that changes in calculation of VAT in the valuation of contracts do not place undue burdens on contracting authorities. Secondly, they will ensure that NHS trusts and NHS foundation trusts are treated consistently for the purpose of applying certain obligations which promote transparency.

Public procurement in the UK above certain financial thresholds is currently regulated by the procedures laid down in the Public Contracts Regulations 2015, known as the PCRs. These financial thresholds are set down in the World Trade Organization’s Agreement on Government Procurement, known as the GPA, and are revised at international level every two years to take account of currency fluctuations. Those revisions are subsequently implemented domestically, by amendment of the PCRs, to ensure that the UK complies with its obligations under the GPA. These thresholds for regulated public procurement are not altered by this SI.

The PCRs also outline specific, less prescriptive procedures for public procurement carried out below these thresholds in order to facilitate access to public procurement for SMEs. This takes place by requiring opportunities to be advertised on a portal called Contracts Finder and by prohibiting assessments of suitability where they are used to narrow the field, rather than as part of the assessment of bids. Below-threshold regulation also improves transparency by requiring the publication of details of the contract published. The thresholds are currently £10,000 for central government bodies, known as central government authorities, and £25,000 for wider public sector bodies, known as subcentral authorities.

This SI will implement changes only to the lower-value thresholds in the PCRs and therefore only impact on the regulation of lower-value contracts. The amendments are necessary in order to address the impact of the new requirement to include VAT in the assessment of contract value. The change to how VAT is considered in estimating the value of a contract is a result of the UK joining the GPA as an independent member following EU exit. When the UK was a member state of the EU, it was obliged to adopt the EU’s methodology for calculating the estimated value of contracts. The EU’s thresholds included a 13% unilateral VAT reduction agreed upon in 1987 as a solution to a dispute with the United States. As such, contract values were to be calculated exclusive of VAT. This was, and remains, an internal EU measure which it is no longer appropriate to apply in the UK now we are an independent member of the GPA. Last year, we therefore amended the 2015 regulations, such that contracting authorities are now required to include VAT in the estimation of contract values for the purposes of establishing whether a contract is above or below the threshold.

To ensure a consistent approach, this change was applied to all thresholds in domestic procurement regulations, including the lower thresholds. While the upper thresholds were increased to make allowance for this, the lower thresholds were not, which in effect has resulted in a reduction to those thresholds. This instrument will rectify this discrepancy by raising the lower thresholds for central government authorities from £10,000 to £12,000 and for subcentral authorities from £25,000 to £30,000. This will ensure the thresholds effectively remain the same once contract values are calculated inclusive of VAT, thus avoiding bringing additional low-value contracts within scope of the below- threshold regime.

Turning to the second function, this instrument also provides that NHS foundation trusts are to be treated consistently with NHS trusts and be regarded as subcentral authorities. By way of background, for the purpose of the below-threshold regime, subcentral contracting authorities, such as local authorities, are subject to the higher of the two contract value limits for the purposes of publishing notices on Contracts Finder. NHS trusts are considered central government authorities, being listed on Schedule 1 to the PCRs; however, following consultation it was agreed that NHS trusts would sit alongside subcentral authorities in applying the higher value limit to below-threshold procurement and this is reflected in these regulations. At the time, the term “NHS trusts” was taken to mean all NHS trusts, including foundation trusts.

NHS foundation trusts were added to Schedule 1 to the PCRs last year as a category distinct from other NHS trusts. The unintended consequence was that NHS foundation trusts must now follow the lower contract value limit of £10,000 in respect of publishing notices on Contracts Finder.

This has caused confusion within the NHS, particularly because NHS foundation trusts, being semi-autonomous organisational units within the NHS, were established to have more financial and managerial freedom than classic NHS trusts. It is therefore seen as inappropriate that they should be held to the central government threshold for publication when NHS trusts are not. This amendment will rectify that by applying the same threshold to NHS foundation trusts as is currently observed by NHS trusts.

There is no impact on the Procurement Bill; having just seen that Bill through its Third Reading, I am pleased to be able to say that. This SI simply amends the existing legislation. The regulation of below-threshold procurement in the Procurement Bill is intended to continue the position that will be reached by this SI and will set the lower value limits at £12,000 and £30,000 respectively.

I commend these regulations to the Committee and beg to move.

[Baroness McIntosh of Pickering (Con)]

My Lords, I welcome this opportunity to raise an issue that arose during the passage of the Procurement Bill through the House. I congratulate my noble friend the Minister on introducing the regulations before us, which I support.

All I seek is an assurance and confirmation from my noble friend that, with these limits being lower than the limit to which we are subscribed under our independent membership of the GPA, produce from local growers, farmers and agricultural producers will be accepted in preference to those coming from the EU or other countries. Basically, it is about trying to support home-grown food and our farmers as they embark on a more sustainable way of farming.

I understand that, because the Procurement Bill is very specific, we are signed up in the same way as we were to the EU’s thresholds when we were part of it and cannot bid for such contracts over $136,000. Can my noble friend commit to the fact that we will be able to encourage our farmers to supply local hospitals, as in this case, but also military defence establishments, schools, prisons and all other public procurement contracts to ensure that we source more of our food for these establishments locally than has previously been the case?

Horizon Europe

Debate between Baroness Bloomfield of Hinton Waldrist and Baroness McIntosh of Pickering

Monday 18th October 2021 Lords Chamber

[Baroness McIntosh of Pickering (Con)]

Will my noble friend join me in congratulating the University of York on the excellent work it is doing for BioYorkshire? Will she in turn use her good offices to ensure continuity of funding for the five missions agreed at COP 25, in particular those covering soils and oceans, to ensure that our global reputation is maintained?

[Baroness Bloomfield of Hinton Waldrist (Con)]

I can indeed join my noble friend in congratulating the university on its work and confirm that Horizon’s five missions—cancer, soils, climate change, oceans and cities—are all issues with which we wholeheartedly agree and on which we are furthering research. We have always been clear that our priority is to support the UK’s R&D sector, and we will continue to do that in all future scenarios.

Electric Vehicles: Impact on Household Energy Bills

Debate between Baroness Bloomfield of Hinton Waldrist and Baroness McIntosh of Pickering

Wednesday 23rd June 2021 Lords Chamber

[Baroness McIntosh of Pickering (Con)]

I beg leave to ask the Question standing in my name on the Order Paper, and I refer to my interest as president of National Energy Action.

[Baroness Bloomfield of Hinton Waldrist (Con)]

My Lords, under their green recovery scheme, electricity distribution network operators will accelerate £300 million of investment into network reinforcement to support low-carbon projects, including electric vehicle charge points. About half of this will be sourced from efficiencies delivered by network companies, with the rest from new funding. Ofgem estimates that this will translate to an additional 65 pence on consumer bills for the next two years. This will decrease to around 15 pence from 2023.

[Baroness McIntosh of Pickering (Con)]

I thank my noble friend for the Answer. Many will welcome this investment, but why are households, many with no car, electric or otherwise, picking up the lion’s share of the bills for not only the rewiring of electric vehicles but the cost of renewables and meeting net-zero commitments? I urge my noble friend and the Government to be more transparent, so that consumers know exactly who is paying for what.

[Baroness Bloomfield of Hinton Waldrist (Con)]

The noble Baroness makes a very good point, but the transition to net zero will affect everyone, and everyone will benefit from avoided climate change impacts and cleaner air. Ofgem publish on its website a breakdown of the costs that make up a consumer’s energy bill. These include the costs of maintaining and upgrading the electricity network, typically about 20%, and social and environmental obligations, also around 20%. The Government are very conscious of trying to deliver transparency.

Clean Energy Transition Guidance

Debate between Baroness Bloomfield of Hinton Waldrist and Baroness McIntosh of Pickering

Tuesday 8th June 2021 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Bloomfield of Hinton Waldrist (Con)]

Solar and wind are indeed now cheaper than existing coal and gas power plants in most of the world. Investments in fossil fuels will become increasingly risky, including for developing countries. Shifting away from fossil fuels is compelling, from both a climate and an economic perspective. The priority for the UK is to support renewable energy as the default choice, enabling us to continue to support developing countries to meet their growing energy needs and increase access to electricity, in line with both the sustainable development goals and the Paris Agreement. The UK has launched the Energy Transition Council to bring together political, financial and technical leaders, but one still has to remember that 600 million of the population of Africa have no access to any electricity.

[Baroness McIntosh of Pickering (Con)]

My Lords, I am delighted to support this policy and welcome its emphasis on renewables. Will my noble friend take this opportunity to confirm that there will be a moratorium on fracking activities, either in this country or abroad, which the Government might be tempted to support? While I support helping countries urgently in need of power, it seems odd that UK Export Finance provided £47.6 million of support to build two of the largest solar plants in Spain. Will my noble friend confirm that there were no worthy projects in this country that were perhaps deprived of support from UKEF, as a result?

[Baroness Bloomfield of Hinton Waldrist (Con)]

I can confirm to my noble friend that there is already a moratorium on fracking in the UK. I have been told that the UK also does not support international fracking. The moratorium came in following events during fracking operations at the end of 2019, and the Government confirm that we will take a presumption against issuing any further hydraulic fracking consents. This sends a clear message to the sector and to local communities that, on current evidence, fracking will not be taken forward in England. I am not sure of the exact details of the solar project in Spain, but I can confirm that export finance is given to projects where there is a significant benefit to the UK supply chain. If I have got that wrong, I will write and correct.

United Kingdom Internal Market Bill

Debate between Baroness Bloomfield of Hinton Waldrist and Baroness McIntosh of Pickering

Committee stage & Committee: 2nd sitting (Hansard) & Committee: 2nd sitting (Hansard): House of Lords
Wednesday 28th October 2020 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Bloomfield of Hinton Waldrist (Con)]

Having looked at that question, I would rather write to the noble and learned Lord giving a full answer—but I will do so very speedily, before we come to the next stage.

[Baroness McIntosh of Pickering (Con) [V]]

My Lords, I am grateful to have had this little debate. I am particularly grateful to the noble Lord, Lord Purvis, and the noble and learned Lord, Lord Falconer, for identifying even more issues than I and the Law Society of Scotland had done.

I thank my noble friend Lady Bloomfield for her answers, as far as they went, but, bearing in mind in particular the way that procedure operates in this place as opposed to the other place, it is extremely important that we have a very full letter. Perhaps she could write to the three of us who have contributed, as well as putting a copy of her letter in the Library, before we get anywhere close to the next stage.

I would like to, and still do not, understand why we are bringing in a new definition of “sale” that has a different meaning from that in the Sale of Goods Act 1979. I do not know whether my noble friend is saying that we are widening the definition to include what is generally understood in EU law, but I do not recognise any of this from what is before us in the Bill, so I would be grateful if my noble friend could write to me and say what, precisely, is the legal basis for widening and changing the definition in the way that the Government have in that regard.

I am grateful to the noble Lord, Lord Purvis, for the definitions that he gave and the illustrations that he posted as being a particular problem north of the border. I am also grateful to the noble and learned Lord, Lord Falconer of Thoroton, because I think this is absolutely vital: none of us here this evening wants to put up barriers to trade between the four nations of the United Kingdom. However, it is absolutely essential that we have clarity on the face of the Bill for the reasons that the noble and learned Lord, Lord Falconer of Thoroton, has given: we do not wish to have to resort to private-law actions before the courts—that, surely, is not acceptable. I quite understand that the Government have had to bring this Bill forward in something of a hurry, but I am here this evening to help them identify these issues.

Certainly, I am now even more confused as to why Clause 14(6)(c) has been introduced, particularly as regards the noble and learned Lord, Lord Falconer of Thoroton, referring to Clause 8(6) in this regard. However, rather than delay proceedings this evening, I will say that it would be extremely helpful to have a written understanding from my noble friend Lady Bloomfield as to why we are in this position this evening. With those remarks, I beg leave to withdraw Amendment 66 at this stage.

Agriculture Bill

Debate between Baroness Bloomfield of Hinton Waldrist and Baroness McIntosh of Pickering

Report stage & Report: 2nd sitting (Hansard) & Report: 2nd sitting (Hansard): House of Lords
Thursday 17th September 2020 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Bloomfield of Hinton Waldrist (Con)]

My Lords, I am grateful to my noble friend Lady McIntosh for introducing this amendment on behalf of the noble Lord, Lord Empey. I confirm that my noble friend Lord Gardiner has agreed to meet the noble Lord, Lord Empey, at the earliest opportunity.

There is no doubt that the Government will use these powers. The introduction of fair dealing obligations is vital in the creation of a more equitable supply chain. This is a point on which there is wide agreement. However, the Government believe it is equally important that these obligations are appropriate and proportionate and produce the right outcomes.

To ensure this, the Government intend to consult industry before regulations are made, to ensure that they are properly tailored for the issues at hand. In this regard, a UK-wide consultation exploring contractual issues in the dairy sector has recently been concluded. The consultation invited a broad range of views about future regulations, asking specific questions about various issues. Some of these issues, such as contractual exclusivity, are almost unique to the dairy sector. The Government intend to repeat this approach for any future exercise of the powers in Clause 27, allowing the views from industry and other stakeholders, often about very detailed sector-specific issues, to inform final decisions.

The introduction of blanket obligations across the whole of UK agriculture would hinder the ability to reflect the specific nuances of each sector and potentially fail to address the specific problems experienced by particular types of producer. Also, given that certain agricultural sectors are far better integrated than others, comprehensive obligations could ultimately lead to provisions being introduced into sectors where they are simply not required.

I hope I have given sufficient reassurance and ask my noble friend to withdraw the amendment on behalf of the noble Lord, Lord Empey.

[Baroness McIntosh of Pickering (Con)]

I am most grateful to those who have contributed to this debate and am sure the noble Lord, Lord Empey, is grateful for the opportunity to have put forward his views and the sentiments described in these two amendments.

My noble friend is absolutely right that the consultation with the interested parties that has just concluded will be crucial in the development and implementation of the regulations. It would be helpful to have confirmation that these responses will be available on the web so that we can look at them when it comes to implementing regulations before the House at that time.

At this moment, given the confirmation of a meeting with my noble friend Lord Gardiner, I am sure it is the wish of the noble Lord, Lord Empey, with the leave of the House, to withdraw the amendment.

Fisheries Bill [HL]

Debate between Baroness Bloomfield of Hinton Waldrist and Baroness McIntosh of Pickering

Report stage & Report: 2nd sitting (Hansard) & Report: 2nd sitting (Hansard): House of Lords
Wednesday 24th June 2020 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Bloomfield of Hinton Waldrist (Con)]

My Lords, I am grateful to my noble friend for her amendment, which seeks to place additional requirements were the Government to introduce schemes for the sale of rights to use fishing quota in England. These include requirements that rights must not be sold to non-active fishers and are prioritised for sale to under-10 metre vessels. As noble Lords will be aware, Clause 27 relates to the sale to English boats of rights to use fishing quota for set periods of time. It provides the necessary powers for the Government to make regulations in the future allowing the auction or tender of such rights in England. It is important to note that such rights may be sold for only a fixed period and do not give rise to any long-term rights to quota, which will impact on their tradability.

The Bill as drafted provides flexibility for any scheme to be tailored to future needs. This includes broad powers for the Secretary of State to specify persons or descriptions of persons who are eligible or ineligible to buy these fishing opportunities. This includes all of the criteria set out by my noble friend in her amendment. Clause 27(3)(d) allows any scheme to specify the persons or descriptions of persons who are eligible or ineligible to buy rights. Clause 27(3)(h) allows a scheme to permit rights to be sold or not to be sold to a person who meets certain conditions. Clause 27(3)(k) and (l) allow any scheme to permit or to prohibit the transfer of rights.

In England, we will tailor any auction scheme to our marine environment and fishing industry. The criteria to be applied to any future auction or tender could address concerns raised in relation to the under-10-metre fleet. Measures could be introduced to limit the lots being tendered, the amount of time they are tendered for and the groups they are targeted towards. The Government would fully consult on the scheme and any allocation criteria before it was introduced. It would be unhelpful to restrict the scheme before we had competed that consultation.

With regard to my noble friend’s point about whether fishing rights could be sold after purchase, that would be determined when developing any such scheme. The Government could place restrictions on this, including restricting the onward sale of certain stocks upon which different parts of the English fleet place more importance. However, it might be appropriate to allow the onward sale of rights to use some stocks. This could provide flexibility to the industry and allow rights to be exchanged throughout the year in response to market conditions, weather patterns and suchlike. Fishing is not always a predictable business and it is important that the industry can adapt to changing circumstances.

To summarise, under the current drafting in the Bill the Government can already introduce the provisions set out in the amendment. It is also right that the specific arrangements or criteria for any auction scheme are developed in consultation with stakeholders, rather than being prescribed in advance. The scheme will be consulted on and will be brought forward under the affirmative procedure, so noble Lords will have the chance to debate the structure at that point. The consultation and parliamentary scrutiny processes should ensure that stakeholders’ views are fed into the setting up of the scheme.

With that explanation, I hope that my noble friend will feel able to withdraw her amendment.

[Baroness McIntosh of Pickering [V]]

I am very grateful to those who have contributed to this short debate, and I thank my noble friend Lady Bloomfield for her remarks.

The noble Lord, Lord Teverson, under whom I have the honour to serve on the EU environment sub-committee, rightly identified the comparison with milk quotas and explained why that would be regrettable. I thought that the scheme that he described for Cornwall was a good one and would not trade the quota for use by anyone other than active fishermen.

I am grateful to the noble Lord, Lord Grantchester, for his kind remarks. He pointed out the slight deficiency in the amendment, which at this stage I tabled more for the purposes of debate. I congratulate him on potentially securing the position of under-10-metre vessels through the adoption of his amendment earlier this afternoon.

I take this opportunity to thank my noble friend Lady Bloomfield for confirming that this issue will be set out in more detail through the affirmative procedure. With those few remarks, at this stage I beg leave to withdraw the amendment.

Rivers: Catchment Management

Debate between Baroness Bloomfield of Hinton Waldrist and Baroness McIntosh of Pickering

Monday 23rd March 2020 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Bloomfield of Hinton Waldrist (Con)]

My Lords, working with natural processes can help mitigate flood risk, alongside other actions, including traditional defences, especially when considered across an entire catchment. The 25-year environment plan encourages strong local leadership to take a joined-up approach to deliver multiple benefits at a landscape and catchment level. The Environment Agency is currently rolling out a more integrated approach to engagement at the catchment and river basin district scale to secure local involvement.

[Baroness McIntosh of Pickering (Con)]

My Lords, I am mindful that many of those who were evicted from their homes in the winter floods may not be back home yet and have the extra anxiety of coronavirus. One simple measure the Government could take would be to stop the automatic right to connect new developments to antiquated Victorian pipes that cannot take them, and which force the sewage into people’s homes. That unique measure, together with full catchment management, SUDS and soft flood defences such as Slowing the Flow at Pickering, would save many more houses. Can the Minister take the message back to her department, urgently, to stop the automatic right to connect to public sewers?

[Baroness Bloomfield of Hinton Waldrist]

I am aware of my noble friend’s valuable input and interest in the Slowing the Flow scheme at Pickering and other natural flood management measures; this is not the first time that she has raised this issue. Current planning guidance has a hierarchy of sustainable drainage options that developers can choose from for rainwater drainage. These favour options such as soakaways and sustainable drainage systems—for example, to a local pond or stream—over connecting to public sewers. We need to include the option of connection to the wastewater sewer, as this is a matter of public health. Removing the overall right to connect to an existing sewer would offer no clear benefits and could slow down housing development. But I acknowledge my noble friend’s consistent concerns about this issue, which I will raise again within the department.

Fisheries Bill [HL]

Debate between Baroness Bloomfield of Hinton Waldrist and Baroness McIntosh of Pickering

Committee stage & Committee: 3rd sitting (Hansard - continued) & Committee: 3rd sitting (Hansard - continued): House of Lords
Monday 9th March 2020 Lords Chamber

[Baroness McIntosh of Pickering]

My Lords, I am grateful for the opportunity to debate this. We heard the figures earlier for the quota that is held: 29% of the UK fishing quota is owned or controlled by just five families; 49% of the English quota is held by companies based overseas; and the majority of UK fishing boats—79% of which are small-scale—hold only 20% of the UK quota. It is a source of great concern to me, as I said, and it was explored at some length in the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Select Committee, which I had the privilege to chair for four or five years with my able deputy Barry Gardiner MP, who I know continues to take a great interest in these matters. One of the most shocking things that we discovered was that some of the boats and quotas were owned not just by foreigners but by non-active fishermen. The one that shook me most was that they were owned by English football companies. I therefore hope that the Minister, in summing up this little debate on whether Clause 27 should stand part will assure me that only active fishermen will be allowed to qualify.

My main comments relate to the work done in preparation for the Bill by the Delegated Powers and Regulatory Reform Committee in its sixth report of this Session. The committee was particularly concerned that the power under Clause 27 to distribute extra quota envisages fishing opportunities for British fishing boats that will take effect when the UK takes back control. The report refers in particular to paragraph 153 of the Explanatory Notes, and this is what I would like to press the Minister to clarify today. The original Bill’s Explanatory Notes say in that paragraph:

“The scheme would only be used in relation to the portion of UK quota which may be allocated by the MMO or the Secretary of State to English fishing boats. The scheme could include the requirement that certain criteria are met in order to purchase fishing opportunities, for example environmental criteria.”


This is the most important part:

“It is not intended that a scheme would be used to sell fishing opportunities exclusively on the basis of price.”


That has been toned down in the revised Explanatory Notes to the Bill before us today. The last two sentences of paragraph 172 say:

“The regulations could include the requirement that certain criteria are met in order to purchase fishing opportunities, for example environmental criteria. The regulations could therefore require fishing opportunities to be allocated on criteria other than the price.”


It sums up debates held on earlier amendments relating to Clause 27, but I would like the Government to reassure us that quotas will not be tradeable. If they are going to be sold on and the main criterion will be price, we could set up a situation similar to that with the milk quota, and that is totally unacceptable. Will the Minister assure us that that will not happen? That is what the Delegated Powers and Regulatory Reform Committee has also asked us, and I wish to press the Minister in this regard. Will she reassure us that they will not be tradeable and not governed exclusively by price? Would the Minister, in summing up, assure us that, in accordance with paragraph 153 of the Explanatory Notes to the original Bill, it is not the Government’s intention that sales of fishing opportunities under Clause 27 should be governed exclusively by price? Will she also offer a full explanation of the Government’s intentions with regard to the application of criteria other than price? What will they be? Could she expand on the interrelationship between these other criteria and price and their relative weighting? I am particularly concerned that these quotas might be turned into a tradeable commodity—that they will be governed exclusively by price and that that might extend to people other than our active fishermen. That would be totally unacceptable.

[Baroness Bloomfield of Hinton Waldrist]

Clause 27 allows for the sale of rights to English fishing opportunities —quota and days at sea, known as “effort”—for a calendar year. I, too, have two copies of the Explanatory Notes, and there must be a third copy because I could not find the original one to which my noble friend referred. We could allocate quota another way, not based on price, but we do not need new legislative powers in the Bill to do that. This power just gives one option for the future approach: an additional quota for a limited period. I have asked for clarification on what other criteria could be used and their relative weighting, but it may be that I will have to write to my noble friend on that issue.

Any sales must be made in accordance with regulations that may include a range of provisions. These provisions could cover rights to be sold by competitive tender or auction, setting minimum prices, payment of compensation to anyone who holds rights but does not use them, and a range of other issues that would ensure that the sale of quota was tightly regulated. The 2018 fisheries White Paper made clear that any additional quota that the UK obtains as an independent coastal state would be allocated differently from the current distribution methods. This clause provides the Secretary of State with the mechanisms to do just that for English quota. Schedule 5 provides equivalent powers for the Welsh Government, for Welsh quota.

I have listened to noble Lords’ concerns; this clause now requires the Secretary of State to consult on the regulations, and to make clear that quota could be sold on the basis that price is not the only relevant factor. For example, a determining factor in any tender or auction could be in relation to proof of use of sustainable fishing methods or benefit to a local community. I therefore ask my noble friend not to oppose this clause.

[Baroness McIntosh of Pickering]

My Lords, I have to say that I find it very disappointing, as the noble Baroness, Lady Jones, said, that the Bill will leave this place without the information being before us. The Minister did not reply on whether it is going to be an entirely tradeable economy or whether it will apply to non-active fishermen, and I find it very disappointing that we will not hear further clarification before the end of Committee.

--- Later in debate ---

[Baroness Bloomfield of Hinton Waldrist]

My Lords, I can commit to writing on the issues of tradeability of fishing rights and non-active fishermen, but I do not have the answers to hand.

[Baroness McIntosh of Pickering]

I do not think I shall get any satisfaction this evening so I shall not press this matter now, but I will return to it at a later stage.

Flooding Compensation

Debate between Baroness Bloomfield of Hinton Waldrist and Baroness McIntosh of Pickering

Tuesday 25th February 2020 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Bloomfield of Hinton Waldrist]

Of course I pay tribute to the extraordinary response from the national response centre. It was stood up on February 14 and the scale of its response was truly extraordinary: we have installed three miles of temporary flood barriers and 90 mobile pumps. However, that is not to say there are no grave risks involved in the rising tides, particularly on the River Severn. I know that the peak time will be between midnight tonight and 5 o’clock tomorrow. We are severely worried that the flood defences in place will be tested by the amount of time they have been under pressure; there is some risk of overflow.

[Baroness McIntosh of Pickering (Con)]

My Lords, will my noble friend also thank the council officials and those from the Environment Agency who have been on duty for weeks during the present floods? Does she not agree that it is morally indefensible to continue to build and sell in flood plains houses for which no insurance cover can be bought?

[Baroness Bloomfield of Hinton Waldrist]

I agree with my noble friend, but it might be helpful to set out that “building on flood plains” is a catch-all expression. There are two different forms of flood plains; indeed, London is on one of them—I am not sure whether she is suggesting that we stop building here. However, high-risk flood zones, known as flood zone 3a, were developed as permitted, subject to Environment Agency concerns being satisfied. National planning policy is clear: inappropriate development in areas at risk of flooding from all sources should be avoided by directing development areas to lower risk. Where development is in a high-risk area and is absolutely necessary, sufficient measures should be taken to make sure homes are safe, resilient and protected from flooding. New housebuilding and most other forms of development should not be permitted in functional flood plains where flood water has to flow or be stored in times of flood. These flood plains are known as flood zone 3b.