Farming and Food Production: Land Use Framework

Lord Grade of Yarmouth Excerpts

Tuesday 21st July 2026 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Hayman of Ullock (Lab)]

The Government are supporting farmers through a number of different schemes. For example, we have committed at least £200 million through the farming innovation programme to support productivity improvements. We are also supporting skills development, farmer collaboration and adoption of innovative land management practices. There is a lot going on and a lot of options for farmers who are looking for support.

[Lord Grade of Yarmouth (Con)]

My Lords, is the Minister aware that one of the solutions to food production and the use of land lies in the agritech sector? The sector can produce a lot of food under glass, et cetera, which will reduce the carbon footprint of imports, use less land and help provide food security. The problem is the cost of energy, which defeats the business plan of the agritech sector. Are the Government prepared to look at this?

[Baroness Hayman of Ullock (Lab)]

This comes right back to the beginning: if we are to bring down energy costs, we need to be more self-sufficient in energy, and, if we are to be more self-sufficient in energy, we need to invest in renewable energies and nuclear.

Waste: Incineration

Lord Grade of Yarmouth Excerpts

Tuesday 22nd October 2024 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Hayman of Ullock (Lab)]

We are working very closely with local authorities but also with devolved Administrations. One thing we see as a high priority is building constructive working relationships with the devolved Administrations and different tiers of government. It is only by working together and sharing best practice that you achieve the kind of results that the noble Baroness is talking about.

[Lord Grade of Yarmouth (Non-Afl)]

My Lords, I draw attention to my registered interests. In the race to net zero, and given the importance of reducing carbon footprints, how excited are this Government about our world-leading advances in small modular reactors—SMR nuclear?

Water Companies: Failure

Lord Grade of Yarmouth Excerpts

Tuesday 21st May 2024 Lords Chamber

[Lord Douglas-Miller (Con)]

I absolutely assure the right reverend Prelate that this would be the case. If a water company were to go into administration, the special administrator would take control of the company and it would be regulated in exactly the same way as any other water company and subject to all the same environmental rules and regulations.

[Lord Grade of Yarmouth (Non-Afl)]

My Lords, we have reached the end of a long period of very low interest rates, during which the regulated utilities have taken on a great deal of debt. That was not a problem when interest rates were so low but, now that interest rates have risen, does the Minister think it time that the regulators of those industries took a keener interest in the balance sheets of the regulated utilities?

[Lord Douglas-Miller (Con)]

The noble Lord raises a very good point. Undoubtedly, mistakes were made in how water companies reacted over the past 10 or so years, when interest rates were very low. Now that interest rates have risen, so have the costs of the borrowings, which have created a number of difficult financial implications for them. However, we all hope that interest rates are falling.

Winter Floods

Lord Grade of Yarmouth Excerpts

Thursday 6th February 2014 Lords Chamber

[Lord De Mauley]

My Lords, I have got the message and will take it back to the Department for Transport.

[Lord Grade of Yarmouth (Con)]

My Lords, after the water subsides, I suspect that the next headache will be an insurance nightmare. One has not heard in the considerations of the lessons learnt whether the Government will try to understand the insurance implications for farmers, householders and businesses. One would imagine that, as a result of the now frequent flooding, many of those properties and businesses will be absolutely uninsurable—or insurable only at a cost that is entirely prohibitive. I hope that, once the catastrophe has been managed, the insurance implications going forward will be considered.

[Lord De Mauley]

My noble friend is ever topical, because we will debate the issue of flood insurance, specifically in the context of the Water Bill, on Tuesday. He will know that we have been working very hard for many months with the Association of British Insurers on this very issue.