Legal Protections for Ancient Trees

Lord Kennedy of Southwark Excerpts

Tuesday 23rd June 2026 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle (GP)]

My Lords—

[Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms and Chief Whip (Lord Kennedy of Southwark) (Lab Co-op)]

It is the turn of the Lib Dem Benches.

[Baroness Miller of Chilthorne Domer (LD)]

My Lords, I am happy to hear from the Minister that the recommendations will result in the tree action plan by the end of this year, but will she bear in mind that there are no protections for trees that do not have tree preservation orders? By the time people realise those trees are under threat, it is too late: they have come down.

--- Later in debate ---

[Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle (GP)]

My Lords—

[Lord Kennedy of Southwark (Lab Co-op)]

It is the turn of the Cross Benches, then the noble Baroness.

[Lord Trees (CB)]

My Lords, having just turned 80, I declare an interest in the preservation of ancient trees.

Environment Act 2021 Targets

Lord Kennedy of Southwark Excerpts

Tuesday 16th June 2026 Lords Chamber

[Lord Gardiner of Kimble (Con)]

My Lords—

[Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms and Chief Whip (Lord Kennedy of Southwark) (Lab Co-op)]

We will hear from the Cross Benches, then the Opposition Benches.

[Baroness Willis of Summertown (CB)]

My Lords, I appreciate the response from the Minister. We are very good at saying what is not working but not so good at measuring what is working. Anecdotally we know that some improvements, such as rewilding and regenerative agriculture, are working for nature, but we still lack the metrics and data to record that. Can the Minister assure us that she will look at broadening out what is assessed so that we can learn which legislation is bringing about improvements in nature?

Farming and Food Production

Lord Kennedy of Southwark Excerpts

Wednesday 10th June 2026 Lords Chamber

[Lord Lilley (Con)]

My Lords—

[Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms and Chief Whip (Lord Kennedy of Southwark) (Lab Co-op)]

It is the turn of the Cross Benches.

[Lord Trees (CB)]

My Lords, bovine TB is one of the most serious challenges facing our cattle farmers in England, so I very much welcome the control strategy announced this morning by the Government, which makes a positive step change in the approach to that control. I have not seen the details yet, but will the Minister confirm that it will enable farmers and vets to use new antibody-based sensitivity tests to indicate which of their animals are infected, no matter what the official TB status is? Will they be able to have easier access to data from Defra and will they have the freedom to manage out infection in their herds? If these changes and others that are mentioned are followed, they should help improve animal health and welfare, reduce the stress on farmers from having to cull their cattle at regular intervals, and provide farmers with some welcome light at the end of a very dark tunnel.

Sustainable Farming Incentive: Small Farms

Lord Kennedy of Southwark Excerpts

Wednesday 11th March 2026 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Jones of Moulsecoomb (GP)]

My Lords—

[Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms and Chief Whip (Lord Kennedy of Southwark) (Lab Co-op)]

It is the turn of the Cross Benches.

[Lord Cromwell (CB)]

My Lords, can the Minister confirm that, in the first round of SFI26, the maximum per farm will be capped at £100,000? According to my mathematics, these aspirant billionaires with 50 hectares cannot possibly fit enough options in there to get to £100,000. Would it not be better to reduce the cap—make it, say, £30,000—and spread it far more widely over these small farms than will be possible now?

Animal Welfare Strategy: Rural Communities

Lord Kennedy of Southwark Excerpts

Thursday 12th February 2026 Lords Chamber

[Lord Herbert of South Downs (Con)]

My Lords—

[Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms and Chief Whip (Lord Kennedy of Southwark) (Lab Co-op)]

It is definitely the turn of the Cross Benches. Can they please make their minds up on who is asking the question?

[Lord Trees (CB)]

Given its mention in the animal welfare strategy, what progress have His Majesty’s Government made towards introducing a close season for the brown hare in England?

Yorkshire: Sustainable Water Management Solutions

Lord Kennedy of Southwark Excerpts

Wednesday 28th January 2026 Lords Chamber

[Baroness McIntosh of Pickering (Con)]

My Lords, I pay tribute—

[Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms and Chief Whip (Lord Kennedy of Southwark) (Lab Co-op)]

We have plenty of time. We will have the Lib Dems first, then the Conservatives.

[Baroness Grender (LD)]

My Lords, does the Minister agree that Yorkshire Water, and others, are effectively exploiting loopholes in the Water (Special Measures) Act? How will they urgently be prevented from rewarding themselves for a polluting and failing service—whether it is called a bonus, a retention payment or, in the case of Yorkshire Water, so-called “fixed fees” of over £1 million, on top of a large salary for the chief executive? Should this money not be returned?

Large-scale Waste Crime

Lord Kennedy of Southwark Excerpts

Wednesday 14th January 2026 Lords Chamber

[Lord Sikka (Lab)]

My Lords—

[Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms and Chief Whip (Lord Kennedy of Southwark) (Lab Co-op)]

We will hear from the Lib Dems next, then from my noble friend.

[Baroness Sheehan (LD)]

My Lords, I declare an interest as chair of your Lordships’ Environment and Climate Change Committee which produced the report on waste crime. On 16 December, the Environment Agency wrote to the committee stating that 749 new illegal waste sites had been found in 2024-25, compared to 427 in the previous year. Clearly, the system is broken, not just failing. Two of the most devastating sites are in Kidlington and in Bickershaw, Wigan. Has work started to clear the Kidlington site? If so, at what cost to the taxpayer? Why is the same priority not applied to the Wigan site, given that it is near houses and a primary school and burned for nine days last July?

Meat Labelling

Lord Kennedy of Southwark Excerpts

Tuesday 13th January 2026 Lords Chamber

[Lord Watts (Lab)]

It is this side.

[Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms and Chief Whip (Lord Kennedy of Southwark) (Lab Co-op)]

It is the turn of the Labour Benches.

[Lord Watts (Lab)]

My Lords, religious conventions change over the years. As we have heard, this is a very cruel practice. Has the Minister considered meeting religious leaders to see how animal welfare could be improved?

Wild Camping

Lord Kennedy of Southwark Excerpts

Wednesday 18th June 2025 Lords Chamber

[Lord Mackenzie of Framwellgate (Non-Afl)]

My Lords—

[Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms and Chief Whip (Lord Kennedy of Southwark) (Lab Co-op)]

We will hear from the noble Baroness, Lady Grender, first, and then from the noble Lord, Lord Mackenzie.

[Baroness Grender (LD)]

My Lords, given Labour’s manifesto commitments to improve responsible access to nature and enhance community rights to green space, can the Minister clarify what specific changes we can expect in the law and whether the rumours of a Green Paper are true? If they are not, can the Minister tell us why the opportunity of the Planning and Infra- structure Bill has not been used to deliver on those promises in order to overcome some of the persistent barriers for people in accessing the outdoors?

Budget: Implications for Farming Communities

Lord Kennedy of Southwark Excerpts

Tuesday 5th November 2024 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Rock (Con)]

My Lords—

[Lord Kennedy of Southwark (Lab Co-op)]

We will hear from the DUP Benches now.

[Lord Morrow (DUP)]

My Lords, is the Minister aware that the average holding in Northern Ireland extends to about 101 acres? In England, it is about 200 acres. Agricultural land at present makes between £12,000 and £22,000 per acre. Then take the farm dwelling sum, between £300,000 and £500,000. If you add those figures up, you get far in excess of £1 million. How can the Minister tell us that some 50%, or maybe 60%—I read somewhere it was 70%—would be caught in this valuation? Surely the farmers, particularly in Northern Ireland, are getting a very poor deal—it must be clearly understood. In England, there are many tenanted farmers; that is to a much lesser extent in Northern Ireland. Many of these farm holdings have been handed down from one generation to another, and that has to be taken into consideration.