Business of the House

Debate between Lord Herbert of South Downs and Andrea Leadsom

Thursday 16th May 2019 Commons Chamber

[Andrea Leadsom]

The hon. Lady tempts me to tell her everything I know about the environmental Bill. It will be a superb and energising Bill demonstrating the Government’s and, I think, the whole country’s commitment to ensuring not only that we are the first generation to leave their environment in a better place than they found it, but that we are truly world leading in our approach to tackling some of the environmental issues ahead of us. Work is going on at pace to ensure that the Bill is ready for the second Session.

[Nick Herbert (Arundel and South Downs) (Con)]

The Housing Minister is here, so within his earshot may I ask my right hon. Friend the Leader of the House for a debate on local infrastructure and housing? We need more housing. My villages in West Sussex are having to accept large numbers of houses, but they feel that they have little control over the poorly designed process. Above all, the necessary infrastructure—the GP capacity, the local roads, the school places—does not follow. We must ensure that local infrastructure accompanies extra housing that we need.

[Andrea Leadsom]

My right hon. Friend raises an issue with which many colleagues across the House will have sympathy. We cannot build the homes that this country desperately needs without delivering the infrastructure, too. What I can tell him is that the £5.5 billion housing infrastructure fund is available to local authorities to unlock 650,000 new homes by helping to fund much needed infrastructure, and the Government recently awarded £16.5 million from that fund to West Sussex for three projects to help to provide the infrastructure that should enable the building of up to 1,300 homes.

Business of the House

Debate between Lord Herbert of South Downs and Andrea Leadsom

Thursday 14th March 2019 Commons Chamber

[Andrea Leadsom]

I congratulate the hon. Gentleman on organising a jobs fair. I know that many right hon. and hon. Members do so, and it is incredibly appreciated by their constituents. Such fairs are amazingly successful at bringing together employers and those seeking work. I encourage him to seek an Adjournment debate so that he can discuss with Ministers whether more can be done to support these excellent initiatives.

[Nick Herbert (Arundel and South Downs) (Con)]

World TB Day is on 24 March. Tuberculosis is the world’s deadliest disease; it still kills 1.7 million people a year globally, which is more than AIDS and malaria combined. There are still thousands of cases in the UK and drug resistance is a growing global health threat. Can we have a debate on this issue and on the importance of the successful replenishment of the global health fund? It is time to end TB.

[Andrea Leadsom]

First, I acknowledge the work of my right hon. Friend as chair of the all-party parliamentary group on global tuberculosis. It is an absolutely terrible disease that we must beat. The Government are already doing a great deal, including providing support through our commitment to the global fund. There is more to do, and the UK will continue to lead in this important area, but the whole world must act together if we are to eradicate this terrible disease.

Business of the House

Debate between Lord Herbert of South Downs and Andrea Leadsom

Thursday 7th June 2018 Commons Chamber

[Andrea Leadsom]

I am sure the hon. Gentleman will understand entirely why the Conservative party might be interested in all constituencies around the UK: in Government, we are always keen to provide the best possible service to all those who live in this great country of ours. We have Exiting the European Union questions on Thursday 14 June. That would be a good question to raise then, but if he wants to raise it with me separately, I can take it up for him.

[Nick Herbert (Arundel and South Downs) (Con)]

The new rail timetable had already disadvantaged my constituents in Hassocks by increasing journey times and withdrawing peak-time services, but its introduction has been a complete shambles, and my constituents continue to be disadvantaged by the cancellation and withdrawal of services on a daily basis. May we have an urgent debate on the abysmal performance of Govia Thameslink Railway and Network Rail, so that those organisations can be held to account?

[Andrea Leadsom]

My right hon. Friend is absolutely right to raise what must be a hugely frustrating experience for his constituents. The disruption of Govia Thameslink Railway services has been completely unacceptable and the Secretary of State for Transport has himself apologised for the disruption that passengers are experiencing. The Department for Transport is working round the clock with GTR to stabilise services, and that includes monitoring ongoing performance and agreeing on a revised, more consistent timetable. However, I hope my right hon. Friend will encourage his constituents to apply for GTR’s Delay Repay compensation, so that they can get their money back in the case of all affected journeys.

Draft Onshore Hydraulic Fracturing (Protected Areas) Regulations 2015

Debate between Lord Herbert of South Downs and Andrea Leadsom

Tuesday 27th October 2015 General Committees

[Andrea Leadsom]

I cannot give way again, because many Members wish to speak.

Turning briefly to surface level protections, our existing regulatory and planning regimes already offer strong protections to sensitive areas. In addition, the Government have separately committed to ensure that hydraulic fracturing cannot be conducted from wells that are drilled at the surface of national parks and other protected areas. Members can be reassured that that remains the Government’s position. We are considering how best to implement that surface restriction, but the draft regulations before us today are not a suitable vehicle, because they flows from the Infrastructure Act’s requirement to specify the protected areas within which subsurface hydraulic fracturing cannot take place. Consideration of surface activity therefore is not within the scope of the regulations.

[Nick Herbert (Arundel and South Downs) (Con)]

The Minister has just said something important that will be reassuring to our constituents. Given that the draft regulations deal with below-the-surface activity and not with surface activity, the assumption has been that drilling at the surface in protected areas would be allowed. Will my hon. Friend make it absolutely clear that it remains the Government’s intention not to allow drilling at the surface in protected areas, including national parks, and that a policy instrument will be put forward to enable that?

[Andrea Leadsom]

Yes, I can give my right hon. Friend that reassurance. The Government’s intention is to announce soon the areas in which it will not be possible for drilling to take place at the surface, and that will include all of our most valuable areas. At the moment we are defining the scope and precisely how the arrangements will work. I hope that totally reassures him and other hon. Members.

The Government recognise that some concerns have been expressed about fracking being carried out from wells drilled at the surface of some of the UK’s most valuable areas; in particular a number of groups have voiced concern about sites of special scientific interest. The national planning policy framework already makes it clear that a development should not normally be permitted if, either individually or in combination with other developments, it is likely to have an adverse effect on special interest features of an SSSI. That applies even if the development itself is outside the boundary of the SSSI.

In addition, under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, as amended, consenting authorities have a duty to conserve and enhance the features of sites of special scientific interest; that duty must be incorporated in their decision making. We have considered carefully how we can protect SSSIs and are confident that the existing planning and regulatory regime already accords them strong protections.

I stress that even when the draft regulations and the surface restrictions are in place, a company looking to develop shale will always need to obtain all the necessary permissions, including planning and environmental permits, before hydraulic fracturing can be carried out.