Biodiversity
Debate between Baroness Wheatcroft and Lord Faulkner of Worcester
Baroness Wheatcroft (CB) [V]
My Lords, I thank my noble friend Lady Boycott for securing this important debate and introducing it so eloquently. The Dasgupta Review makes eminently good sense, but I fear that, like so many well-intentioned reports, its very commissioning will be considered an end in itself. After a little debate it will be filed under the heading “too difficult”. Trying to persuade a country that it needs to change its attitude to what constitutes wealth is no easy task.
The issue of climate change has been one concerning environmentalists for decades. Only now, when there is no escaping the threat it poses, genuine action is being taken. For years it was embraced in name only by companies in search of enhanced image without undertaking any real change.
The broader biodiversity issue is destined for similar treatment. Take, for instance, the World Business Council for Sustainable Development. It sounds very worthy. More than 200 companies are proud to be members, but how committed are they to the ideas of genuine sustainability? Forgive my cynicism, but when the three worst companies on the offenders list compiled every year by Break Free From Plastic—Coca Cola, Pepsi and Nestlé, which have held those positions for the past three years—can proudly proclaim their membership of the World Business Council for Sustainable Development, it is hard to believe that change will come about without firm action from government.
We now insist that companies report on carbon emissions. If this report is to be effective, we have to find a way of forcing companies to report on their use of natural capital. It will not be easy, but will the Minister commit to trying to work with the Financial Reporting Council and its successor to find a way that this might be done?
The Deputy Chairman of Committees (Lord Faulkner of Worcester) (Lab)
The noble Lord, Lord Desai, has withdrawn from the debate, so I call the noble Lord, Lord Carrington.
Budget Statement
Debate between Baroness Wheatcroft and Lord Faulkner of Worcester(3 years, 2 months ago)
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Baroness Wheatcroft (CB) [V]
My Lords, I congratulate those making their maiden speeches today. In particular I am delighted to welcome the noble Baroness, Lady Foster, to the House. We first met at sea—appropriately, given her transport interests—and I am sure her knowledge will benefit the House.
This was a very limited Budget for a country faced with the double whammy of Covid and Brexit. I agree with the noble Baroness, Lady Bottomley, that this was a missed opportunity to deal with the issue of properly funding social care. Having witnessed the tragedy that killed so many in our care homes, surely the people of the UK would have been ready and willing to confront what must be done to ensure adequate funding of social care.
The Chancellor had to offer continuing help to those whose jobs had been hit by Covid, and I welcome the steps he has taken in that direction. However, there is more that he could and should have done. Others have talked about the perilous state of our music industry and musicians; some believe that the industry could be reduced by half unless steps are taken to ease freedom of movement for the sector. I have two specific asks, which I hope the Minister might address in his closing remarks. Here I declare my interest as chairman of the Association of Leading Visitor Attractions.
Theatres and music festivals are major contributors to the UK economy but have been among the hardest hit victims of Covid. They are desperate to get back to work but, if they are to incur the heavy costs involved in preparing for a production or festival, they need insurance. The insurance market will not provide that at anything like an affordable rate without government underwriting it. The Government have already provided that for film and television; please could they do the same for theatres and festivals?
I also make a plea on behalf of visitor attractions. For the second time, the sector will not be open over Easter even though non-essentials shops will. Here is my second ask, which I am sure the country would welcome. Could we have a special bank holiday in September? All being well, it would be a celebration of a hugely successful vaccination campaign, but it would also allow indoor attractions to benefit from bank holiday trade.
The Deputy Speaker (Lord Faulkner of Worcester) (Lab)
The noble Lord, Lord Duncan of Springbank, has been unable to join the call so I call the noble Baroness, Lady Kramer.
State Aid (Revocations and Amendments) (EU Exit) Regulations 2020
Debate between Baroness Wheatcroft and Lord Faulkner of Worcester(3 years, 5 months ago)
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Baroness Wheatcroft (Non-Afl) [V]
In debate after debate, we hear more stories of the chaos that looms with a no-deal Brexit, particularly on top of Covid, so surely the Government could make clear what state aid regime they favour and whether they no longer believe that British companies are capable of competing fairly on the world stage. Four years after the decision to leave the EU, could the Minister tell us how close the Government are to developing their state aid regime?
The Deputy Speaker (Lord Faulkner of Worcester) (Lab)
The noble Lord, Lord Berkeley, has withdrawn from the debate, so I call the noble Lord, Lord Moylan.
Heavy Commercial Vehicles in Kent (No. 1) (Amendment) Order 2020
Debate between Baroness Wheatcroft and Lord Faulkner of Worcester(3 years, 5 months ago)
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Baroness Wheatcroft (Non-Afl) [V]
My Lords, it is a pleasure to follow the noble Lord, Lord Berkeley, who asked some very pertinent questions.
I thank the Minister for introducing these statutory instruments, which are clearly necessary. She explained them clearly; nevertheless, they will not ease the concerns of the nation’s hauliers, who are still in doubt about what their position will be at the end of the year. Can the Minister tell them, for instance, whether they will need ECMT documentation? If so, we have a major problem, since only a fraction of our hauliers would be able to collect such documentation.
Other noble Lords have spoken about the problems that we will have under these arrangements and the new proposals. I have grave concerns about the impact that all this will have on Kent, a county once renowned as the garden of England. I declare an interest: I have a house on the Kent coast. I am therefore very familiar with the weight of freight traffic, which pounds up and down Kent’s road network.
Operation Fennel is the Government’s plan to provide —[Inaudible]—for up to 7,000 lorries in the event of delays at the Channel Tunnel and the Port of Dover. More than—[Inaudible]—4,000 provided at what was Manston Airport. The noble Lords who referred to hygiene are absolutely right. The prospect that, very soon, 8,000 drivers could be cooped together in cramped conditions, inevitably mixing with each other, is nothing less than horrifying. A Covid outbreak would be almost certain. Can the Minister say how drivers displaying symptoms would isolate? This would be in a district—Thanet—with the second-highest Covid rate in England. Thanet District Council’s director of operational services said:
“An outbreak at Manston would have a significant impact on already stretched services.”
Equally, an outbreak at Sevington, where up to 3,400 drivers could be held, could cause—[Inaudible.] The nearest hospital, the William Harvey Hospital at Ashford, is already under strain. But Manston has many other—[Inaudible.] The A229, a road with no hard shoulder, and other nearby roads are likely to become log-jammed, blocking the road network around both Margate and Ashford hospitals.
But it is not just hospitals that cause a problem. If there is a fire in the area, emergency services could find it almost impossible to get through, given that the planned parking lanes leave little leeway for them to pass. Thanet’s council leader has said that a lack of information from the Government on vital issues such as traffic flow proposals is seriously hampering the council’s ability to plan how to mitigate the effects on residents. As recently as Tuesday, the council was still waiting for key information, such as an assessment of the traffic movement in the area, analysis of key environmental impacts and comprehensive operational management plans for the lorry parks. Do the Government realise the dangers they risk imposing on east Kent?
Already there have been months of delays on the M20 as—[Inaudible]—parking lanes were put up, taken down, and have now been put up again. I do not understand why they were taken down, as at that stage we did not have a trade deal. Surely putting them up once and leaving them there would have been a more sensible and economical decision. The area is now being defaced by the creation—without any public consultation —of a monstrously ugly visible lorry park at Sevington.
The Government seem very loath—[Inaudible]—the people of Kent. Recently, they turned the Shorncliffe army camp into a camp for migrants who—[Inaudible]—crossed the channel. The local council handled the issue rather more sensitively than the Government, and the local—[Inaudible]—welcomed the newcomers. Nevertheless, the lack of consultation is a real cause for concern. Now, without consultation, the area faces the prospect of many thousands of drivers, from all over the UK and Europe, being stranded in cramped, risky and potentially insanitary conditions in an area in which Covid is already rampant. So what alternative plans do the Government have to ameliorate this potentially dire situation? In the event of a Covid outbreak in one of these lorry parks, how would the Government react?
The Deputy Speaker (Lord Faulkner of Worcester) (Lab)
My Lords, the noble Lord, Lord Foulkes of Cumnock, has withdrawn, so I call the noble Baroness, Lady Randerson.