Domestic Gas and Electricity (Tariff Cap) Bill

Debate between Baroness Vere of Norbiton and Baroness Neville-Rolfe

Report stage (Hansard): House of Lords
Wednesday 27th June 2018 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Vere of Norbiton]

My Lords, I was doing really well until the last sentence. I tried to follow my noble and learned friend. Of course, there will be a period leading up to the point at which the Secretary of State has to make the decision on whether to keep the cap. At that time, he will look at the information that is available to him and make a judgment on whether the conditions for effective competition are in place.

[Baroness Neville-Rolfe]

My Lords, I thank my noble friend for her full and helpful answer. I was very clear when she sought to sit down that all was well. I will need to read my noble and learned friend Lord Mackay’s intervention before we come back at Third Reading. My expectation is that we can find a way through this to meet my concern that, conditions permitting, the cap can end in 2020, and to meet the concerns that have been expressed by a number of learned experts from the industry on the correct discretion on the extension of the cap. I beg leave to withdraw my amendment.

Disposable Cups Ban

Debate between Baroness Vere of Norbiton and Baroness Neville-Rolfe

Monday 21st May 2018 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Vere of Norbiton]

The noble Baroness is completely right that it is for businesses to join in the fight against the scourge of single-use disposable cups. However, an enormous amount of work is being done, with companies and retailers working together to reduce the number of cups used by deploying both the carrot and the stick approach, with either a charge or a discount. We welcome that. On the research mentioned by the noble Baroness, I do not know whether any has been done but I shall certainly write to her if any has.

[Baroness Neville-Rolfe (Con)]

My Lords, the problem is that disposable cups are not recyclable. Do the Government accept that we must move away from a situation where we are building up waste right across the environment, from woodlands to beaches to waste dumps, to one where all disposable cups are recyclable—and marked as such—so that people can dispose of them and reuse them, as is already the case with drinks in cans?

[Baroness Vere of Norbiton]

My noble friend is quite right. It is the moisture barrier between the cardboard and the inside of the cup that is the problem. However, I understand that a large amount of research has been going on in this area and that products are coming on stream which will be recyclable. I should also say that on capacity, the Alliance for Beverage Cartons and the Environment is looking at increasing the capacity for recycling, and indeed a company called DS Smith in Kent has the capacity to recycle nearly all the cups that are currently being used.

Immigration White Paper

Debate between Baroness Vere of Norbiton and Baroness Neville-Rolfe

Monday 5th February 2018 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Vere of Norbiton]

My Lords, we are well aware that there are shortages in certain areas and there may be overstaffing in other areas. As for what the Government are doing, they are listening. The most important thing that we can do at the moment is to listen to businesses, to universities and to our colleagues across the European Union. The Government have a number of user groups, which have been set up with representatives from all sorts of different organisations. The most important thing we can do is listen, and if we feel that there will be shortages in certain areas—whether regions or sectors—that is what our future immigration policy must address.

[Baroness Neville-Rolfe (Con)]

My Lords—