Plastics: Reduction in Use

Debate between Lord Gardiner of Kimble and Baroness Symons of Vernham Dean

Tuesday 7th May 2019 Lords Chamber

[Lord Gardiner of Kimble]

My Lords, it is clear that the Government recognise the need for consistency on what we are in a position to recycle and to ensure proper marking so we know what can be recycled. The Government must and will take responsibility in these areas.

[Baroness Symons of Vernham Dean (Lab)]

My Lords, the noble Baroness, Lady Neville-Rolfe, consistently made the point—from the Minister’s Benches—that there should be a national policy on how we dispose of plastics. That has been consistently resisted on those Benches and made a matter for local authorities. I do not know whether the Minister does his own weekly shopping, but it is enormously difficult to buy fruit and vegetables without plastic containers, to the detriment of the environment. The noble Baroness made this point about disposal consistently and his own side has resisted over and over again.

[Lord Gardiner of Kimble]

My Lords, I am a little confused by what the noble Baroness has said. When I go into our fruiterers, I pick up and look at the fruit and am given it in a paper, not plastic, bag. As I have already said, Morrisons are using paper bags instead of plastic ones. This is happening more often. As I said in my earlier answer, we recognise the need for consistency. We need to enable people to recycle more, but we also need to reduce the use of plastic. I have been very clear about that.

Flood Defences

Debate between Lord Gardiner of Kimble and Baroness Symons of Vernham Dean

Thursday 3rd December 2015 Lords Chamber

[Lord Gardiner of Kimble]

My noble friend is absolutely right. Partnership funding is in addition to the £2.3 billion of government spending on capital expenditure, which we wish to have in our six-year investment programme. We think there is about £600 million additional partnership funding from private sources, local enterprise partnerships, public bodies and local levies. This will be very important. It will have a degree of flexibility, ensuring that we can work in areas that will be of the greatest benefit to the most people to protect their properties. It is a very important initiative.

[Baroness Symons of Vernham Dean (Lab)]

My Lords, I declare an interest as my own village of Vernham Dean was badly affected by flooding last year, although I personally was not affected. Can the Minister assure the House that the Government have had discussions with the insurance companies to ensure that payments are made promptly when people are badly affected and have to leave their homes?

[Lord Gardiner of Kimble]

The noble Baroness makes a good point. I have not personally had those discussions but I will ask colleagues about it and write to the noble Baroness. My house was flooded and my insurance company—I had better not say which one—was very co-operative and worked extremely fast, so I think it is very important. As the noble Baroness said, it is about payment of bills. When someone is in the dreadful position of having their property flooded, we all need to rally round and the insurance companies need to pay.

Press Regulation

Debate between Lord Gardiner of Kimble and Baroness Symons of Vernham Dean

Wednesday 3rd July 2013 Lords Chamber

[Lord Gardiner of Kimble]

I defer to the many Privy Counsellors in your Lordships’ Chamber. Not being one, I have not yet attended a meeting, so I am not in a position to comment fully, but I entirely understand the point that my noble friend is making.

[Baroness Symons of Vernham Dean]

The Minister said that wrongdoing took place, so can he explain the Government's retreat from the position that the victims of that wrongdoing had to be satisfied by the outcome of what is now before the Privy Council? Will he please explain to those victims that retreat and the delay in giving them the satisfaction that was promised?

[Lord Gardiner of Kimble]

The important thing is to make sure that this is done properly and correctly, and that is what is being done. I do not quite understand what the noble Baroness means in so far as we are going through the current process because of the need to ensure that this does not happen again.

[Baroness Symons of Vernham Dean]

What about the victims?

[Lord Gardiner of Kimble]

I understood that. The victims are precisely why we are here. It is to ensure that this does not happen again. That is the final objective that we need to secure.

Media: Press Regulation

Debate between Lord Gardiner of Kimble and Baroness Symons of Vernham Dean

Thursday 14th February 2013 Lords Chamber

[Lord Gardiner of Kimble]

My Lords, the very first thing, as I said yesterday, is that we need to ensure—and we all seek to ensure—that what happened never happens again. On the point that my noble friend makes about the charter, I have looked into the number of charters, and there are hundreds of them covering a wide range of varieties. They are a vehicle for setting up a legal body. I say to my noble friend that we are seeking to achieve an upgrading and enhancing of the professional standards of the press. We have excellent men and women working in the press, and we have a few people who have let that profession down very badly indeed.

[Baroness Symons of Vernham Dean]

My Lords, when the Minister was at the Dispatch Box, he stressed the importance of victims—and he did so again in the Statement that we had from the Commons yesterday. Could he tell us whether the victims—the Dowlers, the McCanns—believe that the charter is going to serve their needs, and whether they support that, instead of the underpinning recommended by Lord Justice Leveson?

[Lord Gardiner of Kimble]

My Lords, I am confident that the points made by Hacked Off and other groups will form part of the ongoing talks. I should explain that the royal charter is a draft document published to aid the continuing cross-party discussions. The Prime Minister and the Culture Secretary have held a number of meetings with Hacked Off. I assure your Lordships that those views continue to be heard and are taken into account. I am, of course, aware of what the ladies and gentlemen and Hacked Off have said about the royal charter, but it is an honest endeavour.