Carbon Budget 6
Debate between Lord Kennedy of Southwark and Baroness Boycott(2 weeks, 1 day ago)
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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 and then from the Conservative Benches.
Baroness Boycott (CB)
My Lords, I am very pleased to hear that the Government continually reassess carbon budget 6, but I would like to hear the Minister’s response to the concerns of Ofgem, which has said that the volume of grid connection applications
“exceeds even the most ambitious demand forecasts”.
Further, last week, the Energy Secretary said that energy demand “remains inherently uncertain”. What is the Minister’s department doing to try to work out how much energy will be needed by data centres? Can the Government commit to using only low-carbon sources of power for these operations?
Airport Expansion
Debate between Lord Kennedy of Southwark and Baroness Boycott(4 months, 1 week ago)
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Baroness Boycott (CB)
My Lords, can the Minister answer a question that is very puzzling to me? When we proposed airport expansion, it was about increasing business traffic into this country. Since Covid, that has simply not been the case; so much business is done online, and in fact, what we are benefiting is tourism. A recent report from the New Economics Foundation found that in 2023, we exported £41 billion abroad, and this is a deficit. What is the logic, given that we are all encouraged to do things online, of vastly expanding our airports right now?
Female Genital Mutilation
Debate between Lord Kennedy of Southwark and Baroness Boycott(8 months ago)
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Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms and Chief Whip (Lord Kennedy of Southwark) (Lab Co-op)
My Lords, it is the turn of the Labour Benches.
Early Years Provision: Bell Review
Debate between Lord Kennedy of Southwark and Baroness Boycott(1 year, 4 months ago)
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Lord Kennedy of Southwark (Lab Co-op)
My Lords, we will turn to the Cross Benches next, and then we will hear from the noble Lord.
Baroness Boycott (CB)
My Lords, we have just come to the end of a report on ultra-processed and HFSS foods. When it comes to early years nutrition, it is quite a Wild West out there. For a start, we have the lowest rate of breastfeeding in Europe and the OECD, because there is very little support. When you get on to infant feeding formula, a lot is marketed at babies who are younger than six months and there is extreme confusion about the way that milks can be advertised.