Water Bill
Baroness Parminter Excerpts(12 years, 7 months ago)
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The Earl of Selborne (Con)
My Lords, I declare my interests, as I did at Second Reading, that, like the Minister, I am a farmer with an abstraction licence, although I have not been flooded—so to that extent, I do not claim the same interests.
The amendment would require Ministers to issue rules for the,
“designation of … procedures, responsibilities, status and governance”,
of a market operator. I cannot believe that such ministerial control would assist in the implementation of a successful market. In regulated utility industries, whether energy, communications or water and sewerage, the management and control of market operations is initially the responsibility of the regulator, working alongside the industry. Once the market is up and running, it becomes the responsibility of the industry, supported of course by the oversight of the regulator, which provides the framework. This approach helps to ensure that the regulator and the industry work together; the industry will need to adapt to innovation and new circumstances. We recognise that in this Bill we are promoting innovation and we have to ensure that the regulation adapts accordingly. The industry will need to adapt to innovation and these new circumstances, and it is for the regulator and industry to ensure that working practices are aligned in the regulatory framework that we are establishing in the Bill. I simply do not believe that it would be helpful to have a politician—the Minister of the day, of any party—fulfilling the role of controlling the market operator in this far-reaching way.
Baroness Parminter (LD)
My Amendment 95 is grouped with the amendment moved by the noble Viscount, Lord Hanworth. I wish to probe the issue to get a bit more information from the Minister on the shadowy role of the market operator. Before I do that, however, I take the opportunity on this first day in Committee to say that the truncated nature of the parliamentary process, with less than two weeks between Second Reading and going into Committee, has presented certain challenges to those of us who are trying to do our duty and give proper scrutiny to this complex Bill, as my noble friend Lord Crickhowell said. Like others, I thank my noble friend the Minister and the Bill team for the briefings and the clarity of the briefing papers, but that still leaves certain gaps in our knowledge. Noble Lords will be aware that the comments of the Delegated Powers and Regulatory Reform Committee on the Bill were published only on Friday, and we still await the Government’s response. Clearly, we have had to table our amendments before the Government have provided us with the response to important points that the Delegated Powers and Regulatory Reform Committee has made, and that is not particularly satisfactory or helpful.
Baroness Parminter
“( ) In relation to any agreement for the supply of water in bulk between a water undertaker and a qualifying person—
(a) the Authority and any party to an agreement shall at any time if so requested provide such information as the Environment Agency or NRBW may require in relation to the volume and source of any water to be abstracted or supplied and the timing of such abstraction or supply under the agreement; (b) the Environment Agency or NRBW may at any time certify to the Authority that it is necessary or expedient for the purpose of—to vary or terminate an agreement, the Authority must seek a variation or termination of that agreement;(i) conserving, redistributing or otherwise augmenting water resources in England and Wales;(ii) securing the proper use of water resources in England and Wales; and(iii) securing the conservation of flora and fauna which are dependent on an aquatic environment;to vary or terminate an agreement, the Authority must seek a variation or termination of that agreement;(c) if the Authority is satisfied that the variation or termination cannot be achieved by agreement between the parties within a reasonable time it must by order vary or terminate that agreement accordingly.”
Baroness Parminter
My Lords, I shall speak also to Amendment 76. The amendments seek to give the strongest safeguards to the bulk transfer of water in advance of—and, indeed, in the absence of—reform proposals for the water abstraction regime, which we will discuss in subsequent amendments.
The Bill incentivises existing licence holders to sell their water to water companies even when the catchment is over-abstracted. It is welcome that the Commons amended the Bill to require applicants for new water supply licences to consult with the Environment Agency as well as with Ofwat. It is on the existing licences being traded as a result of the reforms making it easier for bulk transfers that I wish to focus with these amendments.
Clearly water companies have responsibilities about deterioration outlined in the water framework directive but, as the head of water resources at the Environment Agency said in evidence to the House of Commons, Clause 12 could even force bulk transfers of water between existing participants that could affect the use of abstraction licences.
To protect the scarce resources, the Environment Agency and NRBW need the strongest role at the beginning of the trading process. At present the Environment Agency can only intervene once damage has occurred. That is too late, and especially so for the controls that we are proposing for a new market. In the Commons, the Government gave statutory consultee roles to both the Environment Agency and NRBW when Ofwat makes an order for bulk supplies. My amendment would give those bodies the right to compel Ofwat to intervene in or terminate a bulk supply agreement which it deems would cause unsustainable abstraction.
The issue is whether the statutory consultee role for the Environment Agency and NRBW when Ofwat makes an order regarding a bulk supply agreement means that Ofwat has to act on what these bodies say, or whether it is just advice or input on whether the supply is necessary or expedient which Ofwat can choose to ignore. Surely we need the Environment Agency and NRBW to be able to require Ofwat to intervene to vary or terminate a bulk supply agreement before unsustainable abstraction takes place. That is what both these amendments seek to achieve. I beg to move.
Baroness Northover
My Lords, I thank my noble friend Lady Parminter for tabling these amendments. Clause 8 plays an important role in achieving a more resilient water industry by encouraging the bulk transfers of water, or bulk supply agreements, between incumbent water companies and between incumbent water companies and inset appointees. We recognise my noble friend’s concern that an increase in bulk supply agreements might lead to unsustainable abstraction, particularly in advance of broader reform of the abstraction regime. We are therefore grateful for the opportunity to explore these issues in further detail today.
We would like to assure the Committee that we are serious about reforming the current abstraction system so that it is fit to face future challenges, and noble Lords are quite right to focus on this point. We are committed to putting in place an effective system that better reflects available water resources and we published our proposals for consultation in December. My noble friend Lord De Mauley will talk about our approach to abstraction reform in more detail shortly, as my noble friend Lady Parminter noted; as my noble friend Lord Crickhowell noted, Clause 12 may also appear to be relevant here.
I shall focus on Clause 8, which introduces new provisions to regulate more effectively bulk water supply agreements by introducing codes and charging rules that will govern these agreements. By enabling incumbent water companies to use water resources more flexibly and efficiently, increased water trading can both build resilience and increase the sustainable use of water resources. It can be particularly useful for water stressed areas and in times of drought. My noble friend Lady Parminter is right that we need to avoid any damage from unsustainable abstraction happening in the first place. Tackling damage after it has occurred can be a slow, difficult and expensive process. We therefore want to ensure that adequate safeguards are in place in introducing this reform to the bulk supply regime. We believe that these safeguards are already in place.
The Environment Agency and Natural Resources Wales are the regulators responsible for protecting and improving the environment and they will continue to control the impacts of abstraction through abstraction licensing. As my noble friend Lady Parminter noted, it has been agreed that Ofwat must consult the appropriate environmental body before ordering, varying or terminating a bulk supply agreement. However, I note her current disquiet at this. My noble friend Lord Crickhowell was more encouraged by the arrangement and is, as he put it, almost entirely satisfied by the correspondence from my noble friend Lord De Mauley, and I trust that my noble friend Lady Parminter has also seen this correspondence. If she has not, we will make sure that she receives it. I note also that the noble Lord, Lord Whitty, is less reassured, and I am sure that this issue will be considered further in the later group, as I have indicated. We all share the concern to ensure that we have a resilient system which does not cause damage.
I remind noble Lords that water companies have statutory environmental duties as well, including a duty under Regulation 17 of the Water Environment (Water Framework Directive) (England and Wales) Regulations 2003 to have regard to river basin management plans when deciding whether to enter into bulk supply arrangements. River basin management plans set out the environmental objectives for the water bodies within a river basin district and how they will be achieved. Each water company also has a duty under Section 37A of the Water Industry Act 1991 to produce a water resource management plan every five years that sets out how it aims to balance demand and supply over the next 25 years.
As I say, my noble friend Lord De Mauley will be addressing abstraction in greater detail in the next group, and in the mean time, I hope that my noble friend will be content to withdraw her amendment.
Baroness Parminter
I thank the Minister for her comments and I thank my noble friend Lord Crickhowell and the noble Lord, Lord Whitty, for their contributions in exploring this debate. It has become clear that the focus is not the new licences, which are covered by effective safeguards, but the issue of bulk trading where the licences have already been issued. It is about whether the new safeguards that have been put in, which give statutory consultee status to the environmental bodies, are sufficient. Ofwat has to consult those bodies, but it is not obliged to act in accordance with what they say. In the absence of the aligned timetables for the abstraction reform proposals and the proposals for the upstream composition, I remain concerned that we need the strongest safeguards. If we are not given satisfactory responses to the issue that we will be discussing imminently, I reserve my right to come back to it. On that basis, I beg leave to withdraw the amendment.
Baroness Parminter
“( ) Before laying a draft of an instrument in accordance with subsection (1), the Minister must publish and present to Parliament draft legislation for reforming the law in respect of water abstraction.”
Baroness Parminter
My Lords, we now touch on the issue of the absence in the Bill of any abstraction reform proposals. Amendment 96 seeks to address the issue of the non-alignment of the proposals for upstream competition, which are within the Bill, and those for abstraction reform, which are not. Without the proposals for abstraction reform running in parallel with those that create a market for trading water, there is a significant risk to our scarce water resources. I will not repeat what I said at Second Reading, but suffice it to say that the House of Lords EU Sub-Committee on Agriculture, Fisheries, Environment and Energy and the Environment Agency both concur with the Government’s own view that at present,
“significant volumes of water are licensed but unused”.
If this water is used as the result, for example, of increased trading in a reformed system, that could cause environmental deterioration.
The upstream competition briefing paper which the Government have helpfully provided for us states that they are aiming to legislate for abstraction reform early in the next Parliament. My amendment would merely give statutory backing to that commitment by this Government and would tie future Governments to abide by it. Requiring the Minister to draft public legislation to reform water abstraction will give clarity to parliamentarians about the shape of the abstraction reform proposals prior to their scrutiny of the regulations that will govern the new market in upstream competition, which the Government say could come into force by 2019. I hope that the Minister will agree that this amendment is one way—I accept that it is only one way—of reflecting the Government’s stated commitment to delivering reform in a timely and coherent way. That can be secured only by aligning the proposals for upstream reform, which are in the Bill, with those for reform of the abstraction regime, which are not. I beg to move.
Baroness Parminter
I thank my noble friend the Minister for his detailed comments and the numerous colleagues around the House who joined in this debate. We face an inadequate abstraction regime that will be reformed at some point in the future and a Bill here and now that will introduce upstream competition proposals that could exacerbate the problems of abstraction. While I thank the Minister for his comments, I do not feel he adequately answered why the Government are not prepared to put wording in the Bill reflecting our concern that there is insufficient clarity at the moment about the timetabling of this issue. My noble friend Lord Crickhowell was kind enough to say he had great sympathy with that point.
I accept that the wording I proposed might not be right. We certainly do not wish to put any barriers on the proposal for reforming the retail market. I am sure everyone in this House agrees that we want to press ahead with that now. However, in the relationship between the abstraction reform proposals and the upstream competition there needs to be clearer timetabling within the Bill. I say to the Minister that we will return to this issue on Report, and in the absence of a sequencing being put in the Bill we will look again at further safeguards that will be required to prevent more deterioration to the environment. Those safeguards will be along the lines mentioned in my previous proposed amendments, which my noble friend Lord Cathcart was kind enough to say that we should look at more seriously, particularly paragraph (c) in Amendment 74. As I said, we will come back to this matter but on that basis I beg leave to withdraw the amendment.
Water Bill
Baroness Parminter Excerpts(12 years, 7 months ago)
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Baroness Parminter (LD)
My Lords, I have neither the interests that the Minister had to declare nor the form of the Opposition Front Bench. Indeed, this is the first Bill that I will be taking through this House on behalf of the Liberal Democrat group. I may not have the interests or the form but I certainly have the passion to ensure that the Bill delivers to meet the challenges that our water resources currently face.
Only one in four of our rivers and lakes is a fully functioning ecosystem. Equally troubling, many of our water supplies are under pressure from unsustainable levels of abstraction and the combined effect of climate change and a growing population. Liberal Democrats accept that each generation is responsible for the fate of our planet so it is no surprise that we want to protect natural resources, on which future generations and economic prosperity depend. We therefore support the Bill, which sets the framework to improve the health of our precious lakes and rivers while keeping water available and affordable.
We are members of a coalition Government so of course there are areas where we would like to see the Bill go further. Opening up the upstream water market should go hand in hand with the reform of the abstraction licensing regime, rising demand for water should be tackled by greater metering and affordable flood insurance should equally help to build up our resilience to future flooding. These are areas that I will be seeking to strengthen in the Bill through clarification and amendment.
I credit Ministers who have gone a long way to meet the widely held aspirations for a stronger commitment to sustainable resource management in the remit of the water regulator, Ofwat. The introduction of a primary duty to secure the long-term resilience of water supply and sewerage systems is significant, and made all the stronger by the new Minister, Dan Rogerson, during the Bill’s passage in the Commons. To make crystal clear the Government’s intention to protect our natural resources, I would hope that Clause 24 could be amended to oblige rather than invite future Governments to take into account social and environmental matters when drawing up future strategic priorities and objectives for Ofwat. I invite Ministers to reflect further on that.
It is a disappointment that the Government are not legislating now to reform the water abstraction regime. The current system, in place for more than 40 years, has left ecosystems damaged. As the House of Lords EU Sub-Committee D’s 2012 report into EU freshwater policy said, and I must declare an interest as a member of that committee,
“delaying this reform for at least 15 years fails to respond to the urgency of the situation”.
Like the Opposition, we on these Benches think that without the proposals for abstraction reform running in parallel with those that create a market for trading water, there is significant risk to our scarce water resources. The Government’s consultation document on abstraction reform confirms as much, saying:
“Significant volumes of water are licensed but unused. If this water is used, for example, as a result of increased trading in a reformed system, this could cause environmental deterioration”.
Equally, the Environment Agency has identified a large number of catchments where increased trading could leave less water in river or groundwater than is needed to maintain required environmental standards.
The Government so far have committed that the timetables for both reforms are “likely to be broadly similar”. We need assurances that proposals for upstream reform, which are in the Bill and which could come into force by 2019, will be fully aligned with reform of the abstraction regime, which is not legislated for. In the absence of the Minister being able to give such assurances, there must be further environmental safeguards put in place prior to the introduction of upstream competition.
Liberal Democrats support the proposals to open up retail competition in the business market which has worked so well in Scotland, saving money for businesses, charities and public authorities with multiple sites and enhancing water resource management. However, in Committee we will seek clarification over the proposals to open up the upstream wholesale market to competition. While this may make trading between water companies easier, this theoretical market model seems to include the potential for the de-averaging of prices and currently lacks parliamentary scrutiny of central elements, such as the setting up of the market operator.
Managing water resources for the long term has to take account of affordability for consumers now, with more than 2 million households currently spending more than 4% of their income on water bills. This coalition Government are to be applauded in getting more families on low incomes out of paying tax to boost the money they have to meet household expenses. The water companies could do far more to bring those household expenses down by more firmly tackling bad debt which adds £14 to all our water bills. Recognising that finding non-payees is critical and that 80% of them are in rented households, a voluntary database for landlords to register tenant details will soon be introduced. In Committee in the other place, Water UK expressed the view that a voluntary approach simply does not work, a view echoed by the EFRA Select Committee. The evidence of Northumbrian Water which has had such a website for two and half years shows that only 7% of landlords have registered, and they were the landlords who were already committed to tackling the issue.
Why are the Government, unlike the Welsh Government, not implementing the bad debt provisions in the Flood and Water Management Act 2010 which would make compliance with the database mandatory when such a move could help company debt recovery and bring household bills down? Do the Government support the fixing of the date for implementation of those proposals, should the voluntary database fail to work?
The Bill rightly seeks to build up our national water resources, but unlike the water White Paper, there is insufficient focus on the equally important issue of demand management. The Government argue that this can be pursued outside legislation, and of course it can. Indeed, it is good to see the recent changes Ofwat has made to its calculation of a total expenditure approach which should incentivise water companies to use demand management and green solutions such as water catchment management as opposed to capital investment, but we need leadership on metering to help tackle the demand for water, and such leadership should be reflected in this Bill.
In the UK, every person uses about 150 litres of water a day, which is one of the highest levels in Europe. Anglian Water confirms that households which are metered use 10% to 15% less water, yet less than half of the country is presently on a water meter, and current water company plans aim to reduce water usage by just 5 litres a day per person by 2020. Metering gives consumers greater control over their water consumption and the chance of improved affordability. It also helps water companies target households using large amounts of water, provide water efficiency support and tackle leaks. The case for smart water metering, combined with advice on how to reduce water usage and social tariffs which minimise affordability issues for disadvantaged heavy-use households, is strong. The independent Walker review in 2009 recommended a widespread switchover to metered charging. This conclusion was supported by the EFRA committee and more recently, at Second Reading in the other place by the former Defra Minister, the honourable Member for Newbury, who called for a possible legislative stimulus for metering, adding,
“knowledge is power for households”.—[Official Report, Commons, 23/11/13; col. 79.]
The Government’s response in the other place was that companies might invest a lot of money in meters that,
“could be spent on other infrastructure”.—[Official Report, Commons, Water Bill Committee 10/12/13; col. 164.]
Surely this Government believe it is for companies to decide their own business priorities within the framework set by government and the regulator. At present, if a company wants to consult its customers about introducing compulsory meters, it cannot unless the Secretary of State determines that either the whole or part of the area of that company is one of serious water stress. Location should not be a bar to action, and so I will table an amendment to the Bill to remove this restriction on business and send a strong signal to water companies about moving towards universal metering.
Like many in the House, I feel deep sympathy for those who, as a result of recent flooding, face the worry, upheaval and stress of rebuilding their lives. I am sure that we will hear more about the impact of flooding in Somerset from my noble friend Lady Bakewell of Hardington Mandeville later. The fact that the Bill guarantees affordable flood risk insurance to all householders is therefore extremely welcome and Ministers are to be congratulated on negotiations with the insurance industry which could deliver this.
Flood Re will be a private sector body handling public money and, as such, its aims should clearly reflect the need to act in the public interest and to incentivise householders to reduce their flood risk over time. By amending Clause 51 in this way, we can transition to a stronger place at the end of the scheme’s 25 years. By doing so, it will reflect the Liberal Democrat view that to successfully manage flood risk we need a greater people and community focus, not just a focus on institutional responses, with their infrastructure plans for flood defences and installing huge pipes. Moreover, given that a number of new clauses were added in Committee in the Commons and therefore lacked pre-legislative scrutiny, I and my noble friend Lord Shipley, who sadly cannot be here today, look forward in Committee to teasing out a number of questions about Flood Re’s operation and the ability of key agencies and local communities to respond to the flooding challenges which the adaptation sub-committee of the Committee on Climate Change recently set out so clearly.
In conclusion, Liberal Democrats strongly welcome the Bill. It will help to meet the Government’s stated goal of securing the most efficient use of scarce water resources. I have, however, highlighted a number of areas which I hope will be addressed in Committee, and look forward to participating enthusiastically as the Bill passes through this House.
Flooding
Baroness Parminter Excerpts(12 years, 7 months ago)
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Lord De Mauley
Yes, my Lords. The NPPF contains tough requirements, so we can build in high-risk areas if there is nowhere else at lower risk; the needs and benefits outweigh the assessed flood risk, taking account of mitigation measures; buildings are safe and less susceptible to flood damage; and flood risk is not increased overall and, indeed, where possible, is reduced. So, yes, I am.
Baroness Parminter (LD)
The Secretary of State has received assurances from the ABI that households will receive every possible support from the insurance industry. Can my noble friend the Minister say what evidence there is to show that that is happening?
Lord De Mauley
Yes, my Lords. Indeed, some examples of how the insurance industry has responded are that it has drafted in extra staff, including cancelling Christmas leave, to ensure that capacity is sufficient to deal with the increased volume of claims; it has deployed emergency response vehicles to flooded areas to give advice to affected communities; it has called customers in flooded areas to offer assistance; it has deployed loss adjusters to visit affected areas as quickly as possible to assess damage, begin the drying out of properties and arrange for repair work to begin; and, importantly, it has prioritised vulnerable and elderly customers.
Peatlands
Baroness Parminter Excerpts(12 years, 8 months ago)
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Baroness Parminter (LD)
My Lords, the poor condition of upland blanket peat bogs causes nearly 300,000 tonnes of CO2 to be released into the atmosphere every year. Can the Minister say at what date the Government intend to increase peatland restoration in the national greenhouse gas emissions reporting?
Independent Panel on Forestry Report
Baroness Parminter Excerpts(12 years, 9 months ago)
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Lord De Mauley
Yes, my Lords. Although the new body will be able to buy and sell land in its role as a land manager, there are no plans for it to sell any part of the estate to raise revenue to support itself.
Baroness Parminter (LD)
Do the Government intend to maintain transitional arrangements so that there are woodland grants until the introduction of England’s rural development programme in 2015, so that the Government’s welcome commitment to increase woodland cover can actually be achieved?
Lord De Mauley
Yes, my Lords. We have addressed the impact of a gap between rural development programmes by encouraging applicants who were originally considering applying for grants in 2014 to bring these forward to 2013. The Forestry Commission is presently considering applications to fund the planting of up to 2,600 hectares of woodland in 2014. The current RDP has seen over 12,000 hectares of woodland planted and funded through the English woodland grant scheme. Current applications for planting in 2014 therefore represent an annual planting rate above that in the rest of the current programme.
Badgers: Bovine Tuberculosis
Baroness Parminter Excerpts(12 years, 9 months ago)
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Baroness Parminter (LD)
My Lords, I thank my noble friend for introducing this debate and his speedy overview of the issue. I also welcome the Government’s commitment to eradicate this terrible disease and its impact on our wildlife, our farmed animals and our farming community. I want to focus on the cull pilots, which were introduced nearly two years ago to the day. They were set up to test three things: first, the effectiveness of removing the target percentage of badgers; secondly, the safety of culling by free shooting; and thirdly, the humaneness. Let us remind ourselves that free shooting has not been trialled anywhere else in the world for badgers, and therefore I understand the decision by the Government at that time to introduce those pilots—although even before we had the changes in the pilots, with the introduction of cage-trapping and the extension periods to both, I certainly had some sympathy with the view that the boundaries of the pilots were beyond the parameters of the randomised badger culling trials and therefore could not be used as a gauge for the likely outcome of the pilots in analysing the impact of reducing the incidence of TB in cattle.
Given the evidence that we have had of those pilots, it is hard to conclude anything other than that they have failed the efficacy test that was set in 2011. The licence issued specified,
“the killing of no less than the specified minimum number of badgers in a single period of 6 weeks during the Open Season”.
During the period of the two pilots, both of the cull periods were extended: in Somerset, from 42 to 63 days and in Gloucestershire, from 42 to 93 days, with a week intervening in between. Cage trapping has been introduced to supplement free shooting and of course the initial number of badgers has been revised and brought down by the Government. Even with those changes, though, it was still impossible for the cull to reach that 70% of the population that the cull licence required it to achieve.
It has clearly been the right decision for the Government to set up an independent panel to assess the outcome of the two pilots, particularly in the light of their commitment to support evidence-led policy. We all therefore eagerly await the outcome of the IEP. In advance of that, however, I have three questions for the Minister. First, what is the expected time for the delivery of the report from the independent expert panel, given the extension to the pilots and any impact that that might have on the subsequent decision by the Secretary of State about whether to roll out culling in up to 10 further areas?
Secondly, it is critical that we have confidence that the assessment of the humanity of these pilots has been done on the basis of the badgers that were killed by free shooting as opposed to those killed by cage-trapping. Will the Minister therefore confirm that there will be full disclosure of how the data were collected and assessed at the time of release, so that we can be assured of the methods used to kill the badgers?
Thirdly, given that the costs of cage-trapping are significantly higher than those for free shooting, and that the duration of the cull has increased the costs for policing, does the Minister now accept that a new impact assessment is necessary prior to the Secretary of State deciding whether or not to allow the rollout of these culls, so that we know what the net cost/benefit is, both to the taxpayer and the farming community?
The Government have made it clear that they will not do nothing on this important issue, and I applaud them for that. As we await the reports from the IEP, and as the future of licensed shooting is in doubt, I urge the Government to redouble their support for the vaccination programme and to set up a high-level working group to take leadership on this issue and bring together the key players of the NFU, the Wildlife Trusts and the National Trust in order to give best-practice guidance to those in the farming community and landowners who want to take forward voluntary vaccination as a means to tackle this appalling disease.
Food: Food Banks
Baroness Parminter Excerpts(12 years, 9 months ago)
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Lord De Mauley
The noble Lord makes a fair point about energy prices. Although we cannot control volatile world energy prices, we can still help people get their bills down. The best way to keep everyone’s bills down is to help people save energy, ensure fair tariffs and encourage competition, and that is exactly what we are doing.
Baroness Parminter (LD)
My Lords, usage of food banks is rising right across Europe, including in the relatively wealthy countries of the United Kingdom, France and Germany. In light of this, what discussions have the Government had with the European Commission in advance of its planned initiative on sustainable food?
Lord De Mauley
My noble friend asks an important question. We have been working closely with the Commission and other member states with regard to the communication on sustainable food. We met members of the food and drink sector before responding to the Commission’s consultation in October. We have also convened a meeting between interested parties and the Commission. It is a very complex matter but we have ensured that the Commission is aware of the many sustainability and resource-efficiency initiatives undertaken by the UK food industry in recent years.
Bovine Tuberculosis
Baroness Parminter Excerpts(12 years, 9 months ago)
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Baroness Parminter (LD)
My Lords, the Minister said that there is an ongoing debate about the role of artificial insemination, and therefore it could merit further research. I suggest that the Government could use the money they are putting aside to research the gassing of badgers, which was deemed inhumane by a Member of this House’s committee in the 1980s.
Lord De Mauley
I can confirm to my noble friend that we are indeed continuing research into AI.
Animal Welfare: Cats and Dogs
Baroness Parminter Excerpts(12 years, 10 months ago)
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Baroness Parminter (LD)
My Lords, I am delighted to participate in this debate secured by my noble friend. I do so not as a dog owner, nor indeed as a cat owner—much to the chagrin of my 10 year-old daughter, who puts persistent pressure on me but I will resist. That is not to say that I do not understand the many benefits that cats and dogs bring to homes in our country in terms of companionship, health, and animals’ ability to encourage people’s better nature. It is important that this House is debating this issue and it does not do so enough. I pay tribute to my noble friend for securing this debate.
We as individuals have a huge duty of care to animals, and the way that we treat them is important. We should reflect on how we do so because it is also an indication of how we treat our fellow humans. Like others, I pay tribute to the welfare organisations that do so much for our companion animals. As a former head of campaigns and former vice-president of the RSPCA, it is no surprise that I shall focus on that organisation at a time when it is being targeted because of what is seen to be more political campaigning. I dispute that, but it nevertheless means that the vital work it undertakes in re-homing cats and dogs can be put to one side. The RSPCA is now re-homing more than 11,000 dogs and nearly 30,000 cats a year; we should remember that and pay tribute to the organisation and its volunteers who carry out that work.
I also acknowledge the work that this coalition Government have done on the welfare of dogs. As has been noted, it is this Government who will bring in compulsory microchipping for dogs, which will be incredibly valuable in reuniting pets with their owners; and it is this Government who plan to clear up some of the confusion in the legislation around the definition of a public place, so that criminal liability can be extended to private property.
The issue that I want to cover relates to the welfare of dogs and specifically the consolidation of dog legislation. As many Members will be aware, it is presently scattered among 10 pieces of legislation—soon to be 11 if the Bill that made us begin this debate late reaches the statute books. That plethora of legislation leads to confusion among the law enforcement agencies—dog wardens, RSPCA inspectors and others—about which legislation is right to use in different situations, be it dog fighting, straying, prohibition types or dangerous dogs. It also means that there can be some lack of clarity for the general public to know who they should report incidents and complaints about.
There are clearly a number of arguments in favour of dog legislation consolidation; I will concentrate on just four. The first is that the legislation we have at the moment tends to be very reactive, so does not prevent accidents from happening. It is interesting to note that both Northern Ireland and Scotland have recently passed legislation to make earlier intervention possible. Secondly, most of this legislation was drafted prior to the Animal Welfare Act 2006 and may not take account of the current understanding of dog behaviour and welfare. That is particularly true in the area of dangerous dogs, where it is generally accepted that there are critical developments and environmental influences which affect aggression, and that it is not just about the breed types. It is interesting that in America, in October I think—certainly this autumn—President Obama said that breed-specific legislation was ineffective and that the right approach should be to encourage responsible dog ownership regardless of breed.
Thirdly, the existing legislation is incredibly complex and has required an awful lot of legal testing. There is nothing wrong with that; court cases can often be very helpful in understanding what the legislation was seeking to achieve, but in the area of the Dangerous Dogs Act it has become extremely complex and expensive to enforce. The seizing and kennelling costs associated with enforcing that legislation in England and Wales alone for the police force is £4 million every year. We are also getting a ballooning number of prosecution cases, which is making the costs much, much higher for our hard pressed law enforcement agencies, including the police. Fourthly and finally, the trends in animal welfare are clearly all moving in the wrong direction. Cruelty prosecutions are up, the number of dog bites is up, the number of prosecutions for prohibited types is up, and the number of prosecutions for people not keeping their dogs under control is up as well. Something is clearly not working. We are not only compromising animal welfare but putting human safety at risk.
In conclusion, there are loud voices in favour now of consolidating the dog legislation. In a recent 2010 consultation for the Government, 78% of the public said that they were in favour of it, the EFRA Select Committee said that it was in favour of it, and we know that ACPO is as well. I ask the Government: what is their current thinking on the case for consolidating dog legislation welfare?
Food: Waste
Baroness Parminter Excerpts(12 years, 10 months ago)
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Baroness Parminter
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what recent discussions they have had with supermarkets about food waste.
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Lord De Mauley) (Con)
My Lords, we are working with retailers through the Waste and Resources Action Programme to reduce food waste. We have set targets on reducing food and packaging waste for food retailers and manufacturers under the third phase of the Courtauld commitment which runs from 2013 to 2015. This phase targets a further 1.1 million tonnes of waste reduction. Forty-nine signatories have already signed up to the commitment, with a combined share of more than 90% of the UK grocery market based on sales.
Baroness Parminter (LD)
I thank my noble friend for that reply. Is he aware that only one supermarket—Tesco—has published its food waste figures? How can the appalling levels of waste be driven down without more monitoring and reporting? Will the Government require all major food businesses and supermarkets to publish their food waste figures in their annual reports?
Lord De Mauley
My Lords, retailers are already reporting their food waste figures to WRAP under the voluntary Courtauld commitment, so legislation specifically is not needed. Tesco’s initiative, which I warmly welcome, shows that the voluntary approach is working. Retailers like Tesco recognise that food waste is a global issue. Knowing where the waste is occurring is the first step to dealing with it and means they can focus their efforts in the right places.