Water Bill

Debate between Lord Geddes and Lord Whitty

Tuesday 25th March 2014 Lords Chamber

[The Deputy Speaker (Lord Geddes)]

My Lords, perhaps I can be of assistance to the House, particularly the noble Lord, Lord Whitty. Paragraph 8.137 of the Companion to the Standing Orders says quite clearly:

“On report no member may speak more than once to an amendment, except the mover of the amendment in reply or a member who has obtained leave of the House, which may only be granted to … a member to explain himself in some material point of his speech”.

My interpretation is that provided the noble Lord, Lord Whitty, gets the leave of the House, he is able to answer—if he so wishes, of course.

[Lord Whitty]

I am not sure whether the leave of the House is divisible business. With the leave of the House, I will explain to the noble Baroness, Lady Byford, that the sustainable development duty under the current Ofwat remit is a secondary duty. For several other regulators, including Ofgem, it is now a primary duty. That is what my amendment seeks, and it would cover social, environmental and economic matters, not simply resilience and water efficiency.