Sanctions (EU Exit) (Consequential Provisions) (Amendment) Regulations 2020

Baroness McIntosh of Pickering Excerpts

Thursday 29th October 2020 Lords Chamber

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

My Lords, I thank my noble friend for introducing these sanctions and for making the statement in regard to the atrocities today in France. I also take this opportunity to welcome the noble Baroness, Lady Hoey, to this House and wish her many happy years of service in this place. I look forward very much to hearing her maiden speech.

My noble friend the Minister will be aware that terrorism knows no borders. My question is not dissimilar to that from the noble Lord, Lord Bradshaw. Is my noble friend absolutely convinced that the regulations we are approving today will, in and of themselves, provide him with all the tools at the disposal of the Foreign Office and the other departments to which he has referred? They will need them. The most effective action in controlling the financing of terrorism, which we have traditionally followed, has been through the UN; much more recently, in the last 40 or 50 years, it has of course been through the European Union. Will he assure me this afternoon that, even though we have left the European Union, we will work completely at one and closely with its members, in addition to the Five Eyes?

The atrocities in France, today and recently, have taught us that we must be ever vigilant for terrorist attacks, while recognising that perpetrators may travel freely across borders. I believe it is incumbent on us to work closely with our nearest neighbours in that regard.

I am sure this is kept under constant review. However, in addition to the regulations before us today, will my noble friend repeat the assurance that we will keep these regulations—and others flowing from the 2018 and 2019 measures—under constant review? I have one particular concern: to try to close down the channels of communication used by what appear to be sole perpetrators, such as in the recent attacks in France. Can my noble friend and his department address the possibility of cutting down these channels of communication, to make it less likely that these sole perpetrators will be in a position to act?

INSPIRE (Amendment) (EU Exit) Regulations 2020

Baroness McIntosh of Pickering Excerpts

Wednesday 9th September 2020 Grand Committee

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

I welcome this opportunity and congratulate my noble friend the Minister on introducing the changes today. As these are technical changes, I hope I am permitted to ask some general questions about how the INSPIRE regulations have been working to date and what changes might flow from the end of the transition period. My question is not dissimilar to that of my noble friend Lord Naseby. Does the Minister know the costs for district councils, county authorities and unitary authorities, for example, to provide this information? It may seem an odd question, but who looks at this data? It seems an extraordinary amount of data is being collected and for anyone interested in the environment, as I am, it is immensely interesting, but do we know how widespread its use is? Is it mostly used by other public bodies, universities and official bodies such as the Commission itself? What is the purpose of collating all this data?

I notice that it says that charging arrangements are in place. Does my noble friend know roughly the average charge for accessing this data? If there is no right to appeal, how does my noble friend know that the charge that is being levied is fair? I would be particularly interested to know whether the charge relates, for example, to the mapping that is being done for flooding. I congratulate successive Governments and the Minister’s department for the mapping that has been done. Ideally, if one looks at the mapping that is available to a district council, this is much more detailed and it would be of enormous benefit to the householder to know to whether and to what extent, particularly in terms of surface water flooding, which is a relatively recent phenomenon—we have only really recognised it since 2007—they are likely to be specifically at risk of such flooding. The reason I ask this is that I understand that district councils are reluctant—this may have changed—to provide this level of detail, because it could have adverse implications for the householder’s insurance. Presumably the whole point of accessing this information is that the Environment Agency is giving more global mapping, but it would be extremely interesting to get hold of what the district and county councils are setting out. It would be helpful to know that.

How will any complaint be made about the way in which the data is accessed or how the cost of accessing such data is levied? It would also be helpful to know that. Also, is the Minister confident that public bodies have the resources, particularly looking at the fact that resources available to councils—to local authorities—is extremely tight? We have seen this in things such as environmental health and trading standards being potentially compromised. Is the Minister confident going forward that these public bodies have the resources available to fulfil their obligations under the regulations?

Finally—I am sorry not to use up all my time but my noble friend might well be relieved about that—can my noble friend confirm that this information is also provided to the European authorities, such as the European Commission, the European Environment Agency and others? Will that continue to be the case? Obviously, in terms of the European environmental directives such as the water framework directive and the waste water directive, this type of information is extremely useful for seeing whether patterns are emerging, particularly in terms of climate change.

Sorry, I did say “finally” but it was very inadvertent. Does my noble friend have plans to look, for example, at data that is currently being collected by water companies through their normal daily work? That could show at a very early stage that Covid may be present in a particular community—perhaps not narrowing it down to a household but to a community. Do the Government have access to that information, which will be extremely important in preventing and controlling community outbreaks?

I am grateful to my noble friend for bringing these regulations before us in the form of a statutory instrument.

[The Deputy Chairman of Committees (Lord Russell of Liverpool) (CB)]

I understand that the sound issues have now been sorted out, so I again call the noble Lord, Lord Bhatia.

Biodiversity: Aichi Targets

Baroness McIntosh of Pickering Excerpts

Monday 20th July 2020 Lords Chamber

[Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park [V]]

There is no doubt that monoculture is the greatest friend of pandemics and disease and that biological diversity is the greatest buffer and hedge against instability and the kind of dangers that we have seen materialise in recent months. Although the details remain to be worked out at the finest level, we are shifting from the common agricultural policy, where payment is based pretty much on the amount of land turned into farmable land, to a new system of environmental land management that rewards farmers on the basis of their delivery of a public good. That includes environmental stewardship, management of land to slow the flow of water and diversity of species. I very much hope that this move to ELM, which is a world first, will deliver the kind of results for which the noble Baroness asks.

[Baroness McIntosh of Pickering (Con)]

I am delighted that my noble friend has put nature at the heart of the Government’s biodiversity targets. Will he go one step further? Can we learn the lessons from Covid and accept that food security should be recognised as a public good in the Agriculture Bill?

[Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park [V]]

The Agriculture Bill is winding its way through Parliament as we speak, being expertly delivered by my noble friend Lord Gardiner. The concern about putting food security as a public good is that we are trying to move away from a subsidy system based on rewarding landowners for converting land into land that can produce food. While on the surface, and when it was developed, the old system may have made perfect sense, it has proven to be disastrous. It is clear that the new system has to be designed to ensure that no public money is handed to landowners without a return of some form of public good. We have to be slightly careful about how we define public good and that work is under way. We certainly recognise the value of food production but, on the whole, that is recognised by the market, unlike the environmental benefits that we know landowners, more than anyone else, provide.

Environmental Protection (Plastic Straws, Cotton Buds and Stirrers) (England) Regulations 2020

Baroness McIntosh of Pickering Excerpts

Friday 10th July 2020 Lords Chamber

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

My Lords, a simple ban is only part of the problem. In response to the consultation, the Chartered Institute of Wastes Management asked clearly that alternatives such as paper and wood be explored. Could my noble friend update us on where we are on the use of these alternatives? Furthermore, does it not seem nonsensical that we are failing to dispose of plastics, whether single use or otherwise, where they could be reused—the plastic that is created from this—and recirculated so that there would be minimum waste? Should we not take a more whole-life approach to end-of-life use at the time of manufacturing any product, plastic or otherwise?

Food and Drink: Waste Prevention

Baroness McIntosh of Pickering Excerpts

Wednesday 17th June 2020 Lords Chamber

[Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park [V]]

The noble Baroness raises a hugely important point. In relation to pubs, the focus of this exchange, we in government are trying hard to encourage the repurposing of spoiled beer. There are vast amounts of it, as I have described. Two obvious alternative options for the use of spoiled beer are animal feed—the Food Standards Agency has confirmed that it is safe and can be handled appropriately—and redirecting it to anaerobic digestion plants. Not all the plants are designed to accommodate spoiled beer, but many can. We are working closely with the UK Former Foodstuffs Processors Association, the Anaerobic Digestion and Bioresources Association and other government departments to ensure that this happens. Of course, the same principle applies to food across the board.

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

My Lords, will my noble friend congratulate the water companies on working so closely with the British Beer & Pub Association? They have waived their fees and agreed to collective applications, which is very welcome. Surely to goodness a hoist could be in place, particularly for the smaller brewers, to enable the barrels to be removed. As my noble friend so rightly says, there is a willing market for them in anaerobic digestion.

[Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park [V]]

I am happy to echo my noble friend’s thanks and congratulations to the water sector. Defra was pleased to confirm that it will waive the usual charge to publicans—around £1,000 to £1,500—for disposing of spoiled beer. It is also taking steps to streamline the beer disposal application process and minimise the administrative burden on publicans. Those steps include allowing bulk applications from pubs and redeploying teams from elsewhere in water companies to focus solely on processing applications from pubs. She is right to identify a possible solution to the problem of the weight of these barrels, which are hard to remove by hand, but other options are being explored as well.

Water Industry (Specified Infrastructure Projects) (English Undertakers) (Amendment) Regulations 2020

Baroness McIntosh of Pickering Excerpts

Monday 8th June 2020 Lords Chamber

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

My Lords, I am most grateful. I welcome the regulations and congratulate my noble friend the Minister both on introducing them and on the wide and full consultation on their implementation.

I will focus my brief remarks on my noble friend’s references to new reservoirs and water transfer. In particular, I draw his attention to the work and investment of Yorkshire Water. It set up and invested heavily in a regional grid, enabling water to be transferred into one of the largest areas of water supply, and from areas of plenty to areas that are under more stress. Perhaps that could be rolled out across regions in future. I also draw his attention to the Slowing the Flow at Pickering project, which includes not just a reservoir but other soft natural water defences and which could also be used as a pilot scheme elsewhere.

I was particularly taken by my noble friend’s remarks referring to building regulations and labelling, which do not require primary legislation. I firmly support him in that regard—that is, being able to roll out more, with a particular ability to make houses more resilient to floods, encourage more water metering and reduce leakage.

I also draw my noble friend’s attention to the Government’s current review. The current Defra and Environment Agency guidance refers to reservoir owner and operator requirements, which were updated on 15 April this year. It states:

“You must meet certain requirements if you own or operate a reservoir, or intend to build one.”


Currently, there are different requirements for large reservoirs above ground level of more than 25,000 cubic metres and those holding less. Further, in a letter from Parliamentary Under-Secretary Rebecca Pow in response to a colleague on 1 May, the Government asked the expert Professor Balmforth to lead a second-stage review with a wider assessment of reservoirs, including their safety legislation and its implementation. This begs the question—I hope that my noble friend will be able to answer it this afternoon as I gave him prior notice of it—of how water storage will be regulated under the environmental land management scheme, which pays and rewards farmers and landowners for possibly storing water on their land. Currently, the Flood and Water Management Act 2010 allows for this monitoring and control to be reduced to reservoirs of 10,000 cubic metres or more. I urge my noble friend not to implement that part of the Act for the moment to ensure that more small-scale reservoirs can be built—that is, reservoirs not on the scale of the Thames tideway tunnel before the House today but smaller-scale ones that will prevent downstream communities flooding.

I, for one, welcome the fact that the sunset clause is being removed in the instrument before us. I wish my noble friend’s Motion speedy passage.

Air Quality and Emissions

Baroness McIntosh of Pickering Excerpts

Tuesday 19th May 2020 Lords Chamber

[Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park]

That is a commitment that not only am I happy to make but that the Government as a whole can make. We do not believe that there is a choice between economic recovery and tackling climate change. Indeed, if we are to resolve the issue of climate change and broader environmental damage, it will be because we have reconciled economic growth with the reality that we live in a finite world where our impacts on the planet have direct implications for future generations. In my view, the choice between economic recovery and environmental action is a false one.

[Baroness McIntosh of Pickering (Con)]

My Lords, while it is welcome to see more electric buses replacing diesel buses in London and other big cities, can my noble friend explain what sustainable source of energy will drive these buses and all the electric cars that are envisaged for the future?

[Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park]

The Statement made by the Department for Transport a few days ago included increased investment in charging networks throughout our cities, which has direct implications for private car use. Equally, we are ramping up investment in transforming our buses from being in many cases very highly polluting to being as close to zero-emission as possible. On the whole, the dominant thrust in technologies is in the direction of electric travel, but it will be for the market to determine ultimately what is the best value for money in delivering clean transport for the future.

British Citizens Stranded Overseas

Baroness McIntosh of Pickering Excerpts

Thursday 14th May 2020 Lords Chamber

[Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon]

The noble Baroness raises an important point on repatriation, and I thank her for her kind remarks. We have worked with EU nations, our partner countries, as well as with other countries in the repatriation efforts. We have brought back some of their citizens, and they have brought back British nationals. On the proposed introduction of the quarantine in the United Kingdom at the end of this month, the details are still being determined; I will of course share them with noble Lords once they have been made clear. We will make sure that this is communicated to all nationals returning to the UK or via the UK.

[Baroness McIntosh of Pickering (Con)]

My Lords, I congratulate my noble friend the Minister and the Foreign Office team on what has been a massive effort. Can he assure me and the country that there are no stranded passengers on cruise ships who were caught out? Can he explain why it seems that the Foreign Office advice was slow to change, allowing cruise ship passengers to depart from the United Kingdom for often far-flung destinations and leaving them stranded when the quarantine was reaching its peak?

[Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon]

I thank my noble friend for her kind remarks. On repatriation, particularly from cruises, rest assured that we have returned all British nationals, as I said in my original Answer. It has been a massive exercise, but a successful one. On the travel advice, we were of course guided by medical advice and ensured that British nationals could continue to travel until it was necessary to impose limitations, which the Foreign Secretary did. We continue to review that travel advice going forward.

Covid-19 Update

Baroness McIntosh of Pickering Excerpts

Tuesday 17th March 2020 Lords Chamber

[Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon]

My Lords, on the specific issue of ventilators, I am sure the noble Lord followed the announcement. We have had a very positive response from various manufacturers in the UK on the issue of addressing any shortfall of ventilators that may occur. He raises an important point on the new restrictions imposed by the European Union. The Commission President has clearly indicated, for example, that medical staff should be able to travel freely into the UK, as are transporters of goods. She has also made clear that UK travellers will not be affected by the measures imposed. We certainly believe that supplies will continue without hindrance. However, there are challenges domestically for each country in the European Union, as we have found here in the UK, and there will undoubtedly be challenges that are taken together on issues of supplies reaching people as efficiently as they are.

I draw an analogy with the challenge we have had in certain supermarkets up and down the country, which has actually been caused not by a certain shortage of food but by people’s practices. Supply chains are set up to cater for a delivery of a certain quantity to a certain place. If a person is going in and buying 10 things instead of one, that has an implication in the supply chain. That is why the Government have implored everyone not to be panicked by this, to be responsible and to look out for each other. Ultimately, if I have one piece of advice to share from the Dispatch Box, it is exactly that: we need to ensure that we look in front of us, behind us and to our left and right to ensure that we are equally looking after those around us, as well as ourselves.

[Baroness McIntosh of Pickering (Con)]

My Lords, I work externally for dispensing doctors. They have put to me that there is a shortage among front-line medical staff—both doctors and nurses—of personal protective equipment, or PPE. There is a fear that this is being exported and not made available to local staff. Can my noble friend look into that and also give the House an assurance that medical supplies coming from countries such as the United States will be completely accessible going forward? Obviously, there will be no transatlantic flights. Is any information available on Eurostar journeys and what the advice is on Eurostar?

[Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon]

My Lords, transatlantic flights are continuing. As I said, certain airlines have made certain decisions to rationalise routes, but those routes continue to operate. The importance of international collaboration and ensuring that we work together as one was discussed at the G7. The noble Baroness asked about health services and staff at the front line. I will take that back to the Department of Health, but I assure her that, having had occasion to attend specific COBRA meetings, I know that this is very much a one-HMG effort, although, as we have seen, it includes the Chief Scientific Adviser, the Chief Medical Officer and representatives of NHS England—we have very much adopted an inclusive approach.

Chemicals Regulation

Baroness McIntosh of Pickering Excerpts

Monday 16th March 2020 Lords Chamber

[Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park]

We absolutely recognise that the costs may be substantial. That is why we are aiming to keep the transition to UK REACH as simple and straightforward as possible. We are considering a wide range of measures to minimise the burden and costs for businesses and will continue to work with BEIS, which we of course already work closely with, and the wider industry sector to keep these measures under review. We have developed grace period provisions, grandfathering and downstream user import notifications to minimise disruption to businesses and supply chains at the end of the transition period, while ensuring that UK regulators know which chemicals can legitimately be placed on the market. These measures give businesses two years, starting from the end of 2020, to provide the information required to be compliant with UK REACH

[Baroness McIntosh of Pickering (Con)]

My Lords, will my noble friend commit to the UK remaining a partner of the European Environment Agency? As he will be aware, a leading figure of the Johnson household —no less a figure than Stanley Johnson—was responsible for setting up this agency and is very wedded to remaining. It plays a leading role in terms of chemicals and all sorts of environmental protections. Will the Minister commit to our remaining a member of the EEA?

[Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park]

I have discussed the issue many times with the Johnson in question. We will take decisions based on science and on the best available evidence, including looking at approaches taken by other chemicals regimes right across the world, well beyond the European Union. We will not seek ongoing alignment with the EU regulatory system but we will not diverge simply for the sake of it. There may be good reasons for taking a different approach on a particular substance to reflect UK circumstances, but that does not mean reducing standards or levels of protection. For example, for many years the UK has been at the forefront in opposing animal tests where alternative approaches can be used—the last-resort principle. We could be more rigorous in applying this principle in the future and there are many other examples where we might want to diverge.