Water Companies: Fines

Baroness McIntosh of Pickering Excerpts

Thursday 29th January 2026 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Hayman of Ullock (Lab)]

It is important that the water companies pay the fines in such a way that it does not impact on consumers and consumer bills, and the Government are certainly keen to enforce that.

[Baroness McIntosh of Pickering (Con)]

Can the noble Baroness explain what proportion of the fines paid to date have been used to improve the environment? Will she ensure that these fines can be used to help farmers prevent pollution from agricultural diffusion? At the moment, the sustainable farming incentive is paused, and in any event it does not yet cover agricultural pollution.

[Baroness Hayman of Ullock (Lab)]

We have announced that we are reopening the sustainable farming incentive, and we hope for a good response to it. The important thing to note about the fines is that currently, if they are from Ofwat, they go to Ofwat and then to the Treasury, and if they are EA fines they go straight into the Treasury. It is important that we have an agreement where we hypothecate the fines so that Defra can decide the projects where the fine money will make the biggest difference, and then HMT provides us with the money to do that. That is the important focus.

Yorkshire: Sustainable Water Management Solutions

Baroness McIntosh of Pickering Excerpts

Wednesday 28th January 2026 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Grender (LD)]

My Lords, does the Minister agree—

[Baroness McIntosh of Pickering (Con)]

My Lords, I pay tribute—

[Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms and Chief Whip (Lord Kennedy of Southwark) (Lab Co-op)]

We have plenty of time. We will have the Lib Dems first, then the Conservatives.

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[Baroness Hayman of Ullock (Lab)]

When we brought in the recent water Act, we expected water companies to respect what Parliament had passed, and to behave in the right way regarding paying themselves bonuses when they were continuing to pollute. We will do what we can to crack down on that and to change behaviour, but I am also pleased that we are looking to prioritise a further water Bill to continue to improve the situation.

[Baroness McIntosh of Pickering (Con)]

I pay tribute to the Slowing the Flow Pickering scheme, which has prevented the flooding of Pickering. I bring to the Minister’s attention the case of Gladman Developments v Lancaster City Council. It has set aside the sequential test and overruled what MHCLG was hoping for: that optional standards will be respected. Going forward, this will contribute to greater flooding until we have mandatory SUDS standards. Is this not causing the Government concern? There is an amendment to the English devolution Bill that I hope MHCLG might support.

[Baroness Hayman of Ullock (Lab)]

Obviously, I cannot comment on the specific issue to which the noble Baroness refers, but we are absolutely committed to improving the implementation of sustainable drainage systems. The noble Baroness is aware that we have updated the national planning policy framework to do so, and we introduced new national standards in June last year. They made it clear that SUDS should be designed to cope with changing climate conditions and to deliver wider benefits. We want this to work, and we recognise that SUDS are an important part of combating future flooding.

Meat Labelling

Baroness McIntosh of Pickering Excerpts

Tuesday 13th January 2026 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Hayman of Ullock (Lab)]

I have every sympathy for the noble Earl’s concerns about the closure of small abattoirs and the distances that animals have to travel. I was previously the president of the Rare Breeds Survival Trust, which had a specific campaign on that, so I understand the issue. The Government have provided grants to support small abattoirs from closing. There are a number of difficulties—including the challenge of having trained staff in abattoirs and people who want to do the job—but we are working closely with the FSA on how we can move forward.

[Baroness McIntosh of Pickering (Con)]

My Lords, what is the position as regards imported meat, both in relation to halal and in meeting other animal welfare requirements, either from a third country or via the EU? Are we yet in a position to label that meat as meeting our very high domestic animal welfare standards?

[Baroness Hayman of Ullock (Lab)]

All trade deals, whether for import or export, are expected to meet the animal welfare standards that we set in this country—that is what we expect as our standards. When we move forward with the proposals in the animal welfare strategy, labelling will clearly be part of it.

Environmental Improvement Plan 2025

Baroness McIntosh of Pickering Excerpts

Thursday 8th January 2026 Grand Committee

[Baroness McIntosh of Pickering (Con)]

My Lords, I add my congratulations to the noble Lord, Lord Krebs, on securing this timely debate. I welcome the revised EIP published by the Government. I declare my interests as a co-chair of the Water All-Party Parliamentary Group and a vice-president of the Association of Drainage Authorities.

I am sure that the Minister will accept, in the spirit in which it is intended, that there is a growing list of unfinished business from the department, such as—this has already been referred to—the land use framework, for which we have been waiting for some time, and the water White Paper, which we were promised before the end of last year. Questions arise from the EIP. What will the relationship between the environmental improvement plan and the land use framework be? At what stage will that be set out? There is still a lot of detail left unclear in the EIP. For example, how will it be funded? Can the Minister elaborate on the success that the Government have established with private partners, farmers and others to progress the targets that they have set out in the land use framework?

More generally, having grown up in the countryside and having represented deeply rural areas in both the European Parliament and the other place, I yield to no one in my admiration of the work that farmers do in nurturing nature. How will the EIP as revised help promote domestic food production, boost self-sufficiency in food and increase food security? Farmers have faced three major shocks in recent years: Brexit, Covid and the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

I recognise that farmers have a role to play in nature recovery but they have also been battling the elements. As my friend the noble Baroness, Lady Jones of Moulsecoomb, set out, we have seen major flooding of farmland in recent years. Last year, we had a major wildfire on the North Yorkshire moors—it lasted for a long time—and faced severe water shortages that also affected farming. Clarity and certainty need urgently to be set out in the sustainable farming incentive to enable farmers to have the tools they need to grow our food and boost domestic farm production.

I welcome the focus in the EIP on nature-based solutions to water management. I pay tribute to the work performed by Pickering’s Slow the Flow scheme in saving the town of Pickering from a major flood. Its strength has been tested since its inception; I hope the Government will look to other such schemes to be rolled out in due course.

I make a plea—I know the Minister would be disappointed if I did not—and once again press her on the implementation of Schedule 3 to implement SUDS as a mandatory scheme for all major new housing developments, as set out in the Flood and Water Management Act 2010. That one instrument alone will protect many future and existing housing developments from future floods. Is the Minister able to set out today a firm date for the water White Paper to be published and an idea of the timetable for the legislation that will follow that White Paper and the excellent Cunliffe report?

I turn to species recovery and review of species. I am grateful for a briefing from Chester Zoo, which I understand is at the forefront of global conservation. It highlighted a number of threatened species on the priority list in England alone, of which 940 are in need of urgent recovery work. It is working specifically on the disappearance, surprisingly, of the harvest mouse, which it reintroduced successfully in Cheshire; the yellow sally stone-fly, a rare insect; the cotoneaster cambricus, a rare tree; and the large heath butterfly. I pay tribute to its excellent global work with its partners, and I hope the Government will be able to say today what plans the department has to work in this area of global conservation to reintroduce these species.

I am mindful of our work on the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee in the other place, looking at the numbers of species in this country that were at one time under threat, such as badgers, after the dreadful episode of badger baiting, outlawed in 1968. To what extent does the Minister’s department keep under review species such as badgers, bats and newts, which might not be as rare as we think and could be holding up development where it is needed? That goes to the heart of the Government’s growth programme.

Finally, I invite the Minister to complete the unfinished business I have set out, to work closely with farmers and others developing nature recovery to the best of their ability, and to give farmers and landowners the tools they need to increase food production, increase food security and boost self-sufficiency for food in this country.

Flooding Interventions

Baroness McIntosh of Pickering Excerpts

Tuesday 6th January 2026 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Hayman of Ullock (Lab)]

My noble friend is correct that we have committed a record £10.5 billion to flood defences, the reason being that flood risk is one of the factors that determine home insurance prices. Our investment programme is designed to manage flood risk by reducing it and by preventing further increases. Clearly, this can also take properties out of the need to use Flood Re for their insurance. To remind noble Lords, Flood Re is a joint government and industry flood reinsurance scheme designed to help UK households at high risk of flooding to access affordable insurance.

[Baroness McIntosh of Pickering (Con)]

My Lords, one of the most efficient ways to reduce flood risk is sustainable drains. When do the Government expect to implement Schedule 3 to the Flood and Water Management Act 2010 to make sure that they will be mandatory for major new housing developments?

[Baroness Hayman of Ullock (Lab)]

The noble Baroness is right that sustainable drainage is an important factor in managing flood risk. I am sure she is aware that I am personally supportive of this measure. The department is looking at it and is working with MHCLG, which, as the planning department, also has a particular interest in this. I will keep the noble Baroness up to date as we progress.

Energy Market Reforms

Baroness McIntosh of Pickering Excerpts

Tuesday 4th November 2025 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Hayman of Ullock (Lab)]

I thank my noble friend for the question. Nuclear energy is part of the Government’s strategy in order to have sufficient energy for this country and to move away from gas power stations, for example. Personally, I am keen on small modular reactors: they are very important as part of our nuclear energy mix. I know that colleagues of mine in Cumbria have been pressing that we should have them there, as well as in Sheffield.

[Baroness McIntosh of Pickering (Con)]

My Lords, I refer to my interest as honorary president of National Energy Action. The warm home discount—for those households in greatest fuel poverty—has remained at £300 for the last few years. What plans do the Government have to increase that figure so that the poorest, most fuel-impoverished households will receive more money off their bills?

[Baroness Hayman of Ullock (Lab)]

Clearly, it is absolutely critical that we support families who struggle to pay their electricity bills. We do not want people to be cold in the winter. I am not aware of any plans to increase that payment at the moment; I will get back to the noble Baroness if I am wrong. It is important to bring down bills but also to work with energy companies on their support for vulnerable customers, because there is a role for energy companies to play in that aspect.

Fishing and Coastal Growth Fund

Baroness McIntosh of Pickering Excerpts

Monday 27th October 2025 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Hayman of Ullock (Lab)]

The noble Lord is absolutely right: overfishing has been a real problem and we absolutely need to ensure that it does not happen in the future and that the fishing quotas that are agreed are sustainable. In fact, they are, in theory, sustainable at the moment, but we need to get the best data we can in order to make the best decisions in the future. Clearly, we hope that working with the EU more closely will enable this.

[Baroness McIntosh of Pickering (Con)]

My Lords, before Britain left the European Union, the inshore fishermen, the under-10 fishermen, were promised an increased quota of cod and other fish—before the waters warmed up and they went elsewhere. Under the coastal fund, will there be anything for the inshore fishermen, who are now the largest number of fishermen in English waters?

[Baroness Hayman of Ullock (Lab)]

The noble Baroness is absolutely right to refer to inshore fishermen, who are a really important part of our industry. Regarding detail, we are negotiating with stakeholders. We are looking to work very closely with all the different groups that are interested or have an impact with this growth fund. Clearly, they will be an important group as part of our discussions.

Waste Crime

Baroness McIntosh of Pickering Excerpts

Wednesday 15th October 2025 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Hayman of Ullock (Lab)]

I will have to write to the noble Lord and the House about exactly where the sites are because I do not have that information in front of me. When we came into government, we acted to put pressure on to get that area, Hoads Wood, dealt with, because it had been dragging on for far too long, as the noble Lord is aware. That is also why we have brought in the changes that we are making, increasing the Environment Agency’s budget and looking to do more about enforcement, because we do not want these situations dragging on. The blight on the countryside is just too grim.

[Baroness McIntosh of Pickering (Con)]

My Lords, does the Minister share my concern that, despite the excellent work of the Environment Agency, a report in July showed that only 27% of waste crimes, and 12% of crimes on private land, are reported? What can the Government and the Environment Agency do to ensure that these waste crimes, often connected to organised crime, are reported and acted on at the earliest opportunity?

Plastic Pollution

Baroness McIntosh of Pickering Excerpts

Monday 15th September 2025 Lords Chamber

Asked by

[Baroness McIntosh of Pickering]

To ask His Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the impact on the environment in the United Kingdom of the failure to reach agreement on a Global Plastics Treaty, and what immediate steps they are taking to tackle plastic pollution in the United Kingdom.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Baroness Hayman of Ullock) (Lab)]

My Lords, the UK supports an ambitious treaty to end plastic pollution, and I am very disappointed that no agreement has been reached. Plastic pollution is an urgent issue, with amounts of plastic entering the ocean set to triple by 2040 compared with 2016. The Government therefore remain committed to reaching an agreement on global action. Domestically, we have taken significant steps towards a circular economy for plastics and will publish the circular economy strategy for England this autumn.

[Baroness McIntosh of Pickering (Con)]

I take this opportunity to congratulate successive Governments on their efforts to reach agreement for a global plastic pollution treaty. What are this Government doing to reduce the use of plastics in the economy, mindful of the fact that the Government set up a Circular Economy Taskforce in March, one of the top five priorities of which was reducing the use of plastics? How often has the task force met and what progress has it made to reduce the use of plastics, so that we can at least control our own use in the absence of a global treaty?

[Baroness Hayman of Ullock (Lab)]

We are taking a number of steps domestically to tackle plastic pollution. First, we have banned the supply of single-use vapes which, when littered, can introduce plastic, among other substances, into the environment. We are also working with the devolved Governments to bring forward a ban across the UK on wet wipes that contain plastic. The collection of packaging reforms that we have brought in is the first step in the transition to the circular economy for all materials, including plastic. For example, the deposit return scheme includes plastic drinks containers. We have also extended producer responsibility for packaging, so that producers are incentivised to consider reducing the packaging that they use. Increasing the circularity of the plastic sector will reduce the need to produce virgin materials, which will reduce the plastic pollution associated with that. I will have to write to the noble Baroness on the number of times that the task force has met.

Dogs (Protection of Livestock) (Amendment) Bill

Baroness McIntosh of Pickering Excerpts

2nd reading
Friday 5th September 2025 Lords Chamber

[Baroness McIntosh of Pickering (Con)]

My Lords, I welcome the Bill and add my congratulations to my noble friend Lady Coffey and others who have participated in the proceedings. I give a very warm welcome to my noble friend Lord Hart and congratulate him on his excellent maiden speech. I declare briefly my interest as associate of the British Veterinary Association.

We have heard why this Bill is needed and about the gap in the current legislation. The changes we have seen since 1953, when the original Act was passed, are dramatic: the number of livestock has doubled, dog ownership now stands at 12 million and one in three households owns a dog. There have been 34,000 incidents a year of dogs worrying sheep, with 15,000 sheep being killed by dogs annually. This causes great concern and distress to the farming community. The Countryside Code has a role to play here but this demonstrates its weakness, as does the number and nature of wildfires we have seen, not least the one that is still burning on Langdale Moor, causing great concern in North Yorkshire.

Farming is not a charitable undertaking. Farmers care greatly for their livestock; they cherish and nourish them. It is a huge personal loss, not just an economic loss, and causes extreme grief when a sheep dies as a result of sheep worrying or a dog attack. It shows a gross lack of respect for the countryside and the farming community, as well as for sheep and other livestock. We should take note of the contribution that the farming community and livestock industry make to the food and drink sector; at the moment, this stands at £153 billion, and farming is a great part of that.

I have two small questions to put to the Minister. The first concerns the description of the animals that are covered. I welcome the introduction of camelids in the Bill, which will cover alpacas, llamas and others. In my former constituency in North Yorkshire, there are petting farms, and other areas have petting zoos. Will these be covered if a dog attack or worrying incident takes place? Secondly, is my understanding correct that the provisions of the Bill will lapse in 2034? If that is the case, for what reason? The problem will not just disappear at that time.

I give a warm welcome to the Bill. My noble friend Lady Coffey outlined each and every one of the provisions, which I support, including giving the police the authority in the circumstances described by my noble friend Lord Colgrain, in which many of the perpetrators—the dogs—may go free. I wish the Bill a smooth passage, but would like answers to those two brief questions.

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[Baroness McIntosh of Pickering (Con)]

Would it make sense, when the regulations come forward, to embrace all commercially produced animals in the definition, for the avoidance of doubt?

[Baroness Hayman of Ullock (Lab)]

I am happy to take these issues away. At the moment, it covers grazing land. The definition of grazing land is something, again, that the courts can look at. Perhaps we can consider those definitions further. On the noble Baroness’s final point, that the legislation will lapse in 2034, I would just like to confirm that it is not going to lapse in 2034.

I am confident that it has been recognised here today that the Bill is really necessary to protect our farmers and our livestock. I thank all noble Lords for their time and valuable contributions. The robust measures that this introduces are long overdue. Again, I congratulate the noble Baroness, Lady Coffey, on continuing to pursue this issue. We must pass the Bill without delay to support our dedicated farmers who have long been calling for these measures.