Biodiversity and Conservation

Lord Roborough Excerpts

Thursday 13th March 2025 Grand Committee

[Lord Roborough (Con)]

My Lords, I declare my interests as set out in the register as a farmer, forestry developer, landowner, owner of fishing rights and investor in Circular FX, Cecil and Agricarbon, which provide services to the natural capital industry. I am most grateful to my noble friend Lord Grayling for securing this timely and important debate on the Government’s strategy for biodiversity and conservation. As Conservatives, we hold a deep-seated belief in our responsibility to preserve and enhance the natural heritage entrusted to us; that is why we brought forward the Environment Act 2021.

I must bring up the dreadful news on SFIs from Defra this week, as it impacts directly on the topic of this short debate: we expect farmers to deliver most of these improvements. Many were already facing unexpected financial hardship from the massive reduction in delinked payments, but this latest news adds many more who were expecting to transition to SFIs this year but had not yet applied. I ask the Minister: what assessment has been made of the impact of the SFI announcement on the financial viability of the farming industry? What impact will that have, in turn, on compliance with the legally binding commitment, delivered in our Environment Act, to deliver the 30% improvements in biodiversity and nature recovery? If incentives to benefit nature restoration and biodiversity largely target action by farmers and landowners, how can pausing them help?

The Government have committed to a nature restoration levy, which will possibly—I hope we will hear—replace the current biodiversity net gain system that we created. We on these Benches have grave concerns about its creation, as articulated by my noble friend Lord Grayling, and also about placing its administration with Natural England rather than with local authorities. How can the Minister reassure us that this will deliver better outcomes for nature?

Atlantic salmon populations have collapsed by over 75% in our rivers over the last 50 years, as evidenced by reported rod catches, and despite almost all fish being caught and released over recent years. The Atlantic salmon is a crucial indicator of the health of our river catchments and it is now on the IUCN red list. What specific measures will the Minister take to address water quality, pollution, selective restocking and habitat degradation in our rivers to support its and other species’ recovery? I urge the Minister to identify the salmon as a keystone species for biodiversity and nature restoration efforts. I hope that the noble Baroness, Lady Jones of Moulsecoomb, might agree with this strategy, given her comments on water quality. I note my noble friend Lady Helic’s comment that the hare is probably also a worthy inclusion as a keystone species to gauge the success of nature restoration.

I fully support the comments of my noble friend Lord Caithness: bracken can be a scourge, and it is depressing that its presence is so widespread in locations where we should really be planting trees in order to fulfil our strategy of restoring our woodland cover. My noble friend Lord Grayling mentioned the renegotiation of our TCA with the EU prior to mid-2026. I agree with his environmental comments and add that we also expect this Government to negotiate a deal that delivers complete zonal attachment in our exclusive economic zone for British fishermen.

Given this Government’s disappointing financial decisions, and as my noble friend Lord Courtown rightly highlights, we need more private sector finance to replace the public purse. It would be helpful if the Minister could help us understand what role she sees for private sector finance to replace public finance in biodiversity and conservation improvements. I very much look forward to the Minister’s reply to this short debate and the many questions posed, in writing if necessary.

Flood Reinsurance (Amendment) Regulations 2025

Lord Roborough Excerpts

Monday 10th March 2025 Grand Committee

I do not want to unnecessarily prolong the debate this afternoon, but I would like to know how many insurance companies are not currently members of the flood reinsurance scheme. The Minister has indicated that 75% of insurance companies are in the scheme, which indicates that roughly 25% are not. Can the Minister please confirm this? Are there any plans for this 25% of companies to join in the future? That apart, I fully support this statutory instrument.

[Lord Roborough (Con)]

My Lords, I, too, thank the Minister for introducing this statutory instrument to ensure that flood reinsurance can continue to operate effectively. For that reason, His Majesty’s most loyal Opposition are pleased to support it. Although the measures are necessary, they raise several questions about the future of the Flood Re scheme and the Government’s broader approach to flood risk and resilience.

The flood reinsurance scheme established under the Water Act 2014 was designed to provide much-needed reinsurance for household insurers facing flood risk, ensuring the availability and affordability of flood insurance for properties at risk of flooding. This initiative, introduced by the previous Conservative Government, remains a crucial safety net for many home owners across the country. It has offered vital support as we face increasing flood events that threaten the stability and safety of homes across Britain.

However, we must recognise that the scale of flooding is rapidly increasing. Recent assessments by the Environment Agency indicate that approximately 6.3 million properties in England are at risk of flooding from rivers, seas or surface water. This is projected to increase to 8 million properties by 2050, reflecting the escalating threat posed by climate change and extreme weather events. This highlights the importance of ensuring that the Flood Re scheme is sufficiently robust to support the growing number of home owners at risk.

The statutory instrument proposes an increase in the total levy from £135 million to £160 million. The Government’s assessment indicates that this rise will likely be passed on to consumers, resulting in an estimated increase of £1.60 per household insurance policy. Although this increase may seem modest on an individual basis, it raises concerns about the cumulative effect on policyholders, especially those already facing higher premiums due to rising costs in other areas. This adjustment reflects the growing challenges the scheme faces in a world where extreme weather events are becoming more frequent and severe.

His Majesty’s Official Opposition acknowledge the necessity of this adjustment, given the financial pressures on reinsurers, driven by factors such as inflation, global natural catastrophe claims and the need to preserve the scheme’s financial resilience. If the rate and risk of household flooding continue to rise, can the British people reasonably expect these annual increases in insurance premiums to become the norm?

I have several other key questions for the Minister today. First, can she confirm whether the Government have consulted with industry stakeholders about the feasibility of expanding the Flood Re insurance scheme, particularly in high-risk areas and to houses built after 2009?

I am most interested in the Minister’s response to my noble friend’s question regarding farmhouses and buildings. Although these are likely to have been sited in less flood-prone locations, the Government have made significant commitments to building 1.5 million new homes in the coming years, a substantial increase on the recent rate of building completions. As my noble friend Lady McIntosh of Pickering highlights, how does the Minister intend to protect these new homes from flood risk, particularly those in high-risk areas? Will the Government commit to ensuring that all new developments are designed with flood resilience in mind?

Could the Minister confirm and explain the role she sees for nature-based solutions in the management of floods at a catchment level in future? Here, I declare my interest, as set out in the register, as the owner of land in a number of river catchments.

Finally, can the Minister inform us what progress is being made in the transition from Flood Re to risk-reflective pricing for household flood insurance when Flood Re expires in 2039? We are approaching midway in the life of Flood Re and it would be desirable to see some progress.

These are questions that go to the heart of the Government’s approach to flood risk, resilience and insurance. While we understand that the increase in the levy is a pragmatic measure in the light of global challenges, we must not overlook the broader implications of a changing climate and the evolving risks that flood-prone households face. With that, I look forward to hearing the Minister’s response to these questions.

[Baroness Hayman of Ullock (Lab)]

My Lords, I thank noble Lords who have taken part in this debate today. Personally, I was very pleased when Flood Re came in; I thought it was incredibly important legislation. Anyone who has lived in a house that has flooded, like I have, and in communities that flood, will know how very important it was that we had this insurance scheme come into place. I therefore thank noble Lords who have supported this small but extremely important SI today; it is important that the scheme stays viable and continues.

I would like to try to cover most of the questions that have been asked. There has been a desire for government to look at whether the scheme can be extended; that came across clearly from all who took part. Before I go into the particular individual responses and specifics, let me say that although we have no plans to make changes right now, we are continuously keeping all our policies under review, including those relating to flooding insurance. It is important that we discuss, debate and listen to others as we move forward in how we make those decisions around policy changes. If we make any changes to the scheme in future, it would be important that we secure the appropriate reinsurance for that, which would be challenging in the current market. To put it into context, this would mean that the levy we are talking about today would then need to be increased even further.

I know that noble Lords are aware that, currently, leasehold properties with three or fewer units, where the freeholder is living in one of those units, qualify for Flood Re building insurance. The problem with larger blocks not being eligible is that they are considered to be commercial businesses, and that is why they fall outside of the scope of Flood Re.

The Flood Re scheme as it is set up at the moment, and as it will continue to be set up through the statutory instrument in front of us, is funded by the providers of household insurance, not those who underwrite commercial policies. Buildings insurance is the responsibility of the freeholder and kept separate. However, I recognise that there is a problem.

When Main Street in Cockermouth flooded, for the second time in only six years, I held meetings with business insurance companies and high street businesses to look at ways we could move forward, because there are still alternative things that we can do and that the Government can look to support.

Having said all that, and with properties built after 2009 having been referred to—the noble Baroness knows that that is something that I was concerned with—we are planning to explore this further. Minister Hardy, who is the Minister responsible for this area, has asked Flood Re to look into the matter to understand the scale of concern and how industry might respond, to ensure that those living in properties that currently do not come under the scheme could be provided with appropriate insurance cover. Although it is not in front of us today and not something we are actively looking at, we have asked for this to be considered further. In the meantime, contents insurance policies can be applicable, so there is that potential as well.

High Seas Treaty

Lord Roborough Excerpts

Monday 10th March 2025 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Hayman of Ullock (Lab)]

The key thing that we are doing around bottom trawling is looking specifically at the areas that are most important and need conserving the most. When we look at making agreements with other countries, that is clearly an important consideration, because there is no point in designating somewhere a marine protected area if we do not look carefully at which parts need protecting the most and ensure that damage does not take place. It is good that we have 60% of our MPAs protected, but, clearly, we need to move forward and do more.

[Lord Roborough]

My Lords, I am sure all noble Lords have seen the potentially tragic news of a serious shipping accident off the Yorkshire coast this morning. I know I speak for all noble Lords in expressing our sympathies and support for the crew, the emergency services and their families. Can the Minister share with the House the nature of the product being carried on the tanker, what risks this poses to the public and the marine environment, and what steps the Government are taking?

[Baroness Hayman of Ullock (Lab)]

I thank the noble Lord for raising this issue. I am sure that we were all extremely shocked and concerned on hearing about the collision that has just taken place in the North Sea. It is an emerging picture; we are still hearing more evidence as to exactly what has happened. I assure the House that we are speaking closely in Defra to the Department for Transport and the Maritime and Coastguard Agency, which are leading on the government response. They are assessing the situation, as it has only just happened. I assure the noble Lord and the House that Defra’s agencies including the Environment Agency are engaging on any clean-up that is needed and assessing any pollution. We are not sure at the moment exactly what the situation is. There has been a fire, which makes it much more difficult to look at the extent of damage and pollution. We will keep the House updated as we hear further information.

Beaver: Reintroduction in England

Lord Roborough Excerpts

Thursday 27th February 2025 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Hayman of Ullock (Lab)]

I completely agree with my noble friend. The Government condemn any illegal release of beavers. They not only are unlawful but, as she said, can lead to damage and conflict, and they undermine legitimate releases. Just to confirm, it is an offence in England under Section 14 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 to release a beaver into an enclosure or the wild, except under the authority of a licence from Natural England. Regarding penalties, doing so without a licence carries a penalty of either an unlimited fine or up to six months in prison.

[Lord Roborough (Con)]

My Lords, I refer the House to my entry in the register of interests, in particular as a host to an illegally released beaver—not by me. As the Minister pointed out, the reintroduction of beavers to the UK may well have a role to play in managing waterways and reducing the risk of flooding. We have discussed nature-based solutions in this House before on the then Water (Special Measures) Bill, and I would be most grateful to the Minister for an update on progress on nature-based solutions within the water sector.

[Baroness Hayman of Ullock (Lab)]

The noble Lord is absolutely right. The Government are very serious about this. Nature-based solutions will be incredibly important if we are to get the outcomes and results that we want. We are continuing to make progress, and I am happy to keep the noble Lord updated as that progress continues.

Water (Special Measures) Bill [HL]

Lord Roborough Excerpts

Consideration of Commons amendments
Tuesday 11th February 2025 Lords Chamber

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Baroness Hayman of Ullock) (Lab)]

My Lords, in moving Motion A, I will also speak to Motion B. Before I speak to the detail of the changes made in the other place, I start by thanking all noble Lords for their continued interest in this important Bill. I give particular thanks to the noble Lord, Lord Cromwell, who is not in his place today, and the noble Lords, Lord Roborough and Lord Blencathra, for their collaboration with my officials and me over the last few weeks. It has been much appreciated.

I am pleased to say that, following constructive engagement with the noble Lord, Lord Cromwell, the Government have tabled amendments that will ensure the public have access to understandable and readily available water company financial data. While it is true that water companies are already required to report annually on their finances, as I have explained during previous debates, the Government agree that more could be done to improve the accessibility of this information. I also understand that the House feels strongly about this being required through legislation, rather than existing non-legislative processes.

The amendments tabled will therefore achieve our shared objective of improving the transparency and accessibility of reporting on key financial metrics. They will insert a new Section 35E into the Water Industry Act 1991, which makes clear that water companies should provide an intelligible overview of their financial position at least once a year. The overview should include a summary of significant changes that have taken place over the last 12 months and will cover key aspects of water companies’ financial positions, such as share capital and debt levels. In addition, this information must be made available in a prominent place on a water company’s website, ensuring accessibility for members of the public. Subsection (4) of new Section 35E also provides Ofwat with the power to determine the information that the water company must publish, as well as the ability to review requirements on financial reporting from time to time. This will ensure that reporting requirements can keep pace with changes in the expectations and needs of bill payers.

Ofwat is also provided with the necessary powers to enforce this new requirement, either through existing water company appointment conditions or through new rules. I would like to be clear, however, that the Government expect this power to be used to ensure that reporting requirements remain relevant, rather than to dilute or diminish the ambition of reporting requirements. Financial reporting will remain underpinned by existing statutory obligations and licence conditions. I am also pleased to confirm that Ofwat’s duty to issue rules relating to financial transparency will commence upon Royal Assent, in line with its duty to issue other rules under Clause 1.

I hope all noble Lords across this House will agree with the other place in its amendments to improve public access to, and understanding of, water companies’ financial information. Beyond this, I know that many noble Lords have expressed concerns around how water companies report on changes in their ownership structures. On this point, I am pleased to confirm that Ofwat will consult to require companies to present information on ownership structure clearly and prominently as part of its upcoming consultation on regulatory accounting guidelines.

I turn now to the changes made in the other place that will require Ofwat to provide a draft of its rules on remuneration and governance to the Secretary of State at least seven days before they are issued. This change was made in response to the changes made at our last debate by the noble Lord, Lord Blencathra. I emphasise that the Government acknowledge the sentiment of the noble Lord’s changes, which were to ensure that there is sufficient oversight of Ofwat’s rules. However, as I have previously outlined, we cannot countenance a provision that would both delay Ofwat’s rules coming into force and compromise the independence of Ofwat. I emphasise that the Bill already includes a requirement for Ofwat to run a statutory consultation on the rules before finalisation. This will guarantee adequate scrutiny of Ofwat’s rules. I also hope noble Lords agree that it would not be appropriate for Ofwat’s rules to be confirmed through affirmative statutory instrument.

On this basis, I hope that noble Lords agree with the other place in its amendment to require Ofwat to provide the rules to the Secretary of State. Again, I thank the noble Lords, Lord Blencathra and Lord Roborough, for working with me constructively to reach an agreed position on how we can ensure proper scrutiny of the rules. I beg to move.

[Lord Roborough (Con)]

My Lords, I begin by thanking the Minister for her constructive engagement with the Official Opposition during the progress of this Bill.

We are delighted that the Government have listened to the clear view of the House that more transparent financial disclosure of the state of water companies’ balance sheets and their capital structuring plans is urgently needed. The Government’s amendment delivers much of what the noble Lord, Lord Cromwell, who is not in his place, asked for, which we supported him in insisting on. We join other Members of the House in congratulating the noble Lord on securing this meaningful improvement to the Bill.

While the Government’s Amendment 2 does not deliver the same level of oversight of Ofwat’s rule-making power that our own amendments would have delivered, I am pleased that they have now tabled a substantive amendment in the other place. We accept this change to the Bill.

We disagree that our amendments requiring a statutory instrument would have led to material delay in the delivery of the Ofwat rules. However, we accept that our amendment was not conducive to a fully independent regulator. Given Ofwat’s clear failures over decades, it is no surprise that this House has supported our amendments on two previous occasions. We on these Benches question the merit of the regulator continuing to have its independence from government treated as sacrosanct. This Government’s intervention to encourage regulators to prioritise growth already demonstrates that this independence is illusory. We look forward to reading the findings of Sir Jon Cunliffe’s review on this matter in due course.

Even though it does not go as far as we wanted, we welcome the Government’s amendment, which will give the Secretary of State a seven-day opportunity to review the draft rules and, presumably, voice any concerns to the regulator prior to their publication. We welcome this additional accountability of the regulator to the Executive, who are, in turn, accountable to Parliament.

I note that, in the other place, members of the party sitting on the Benches to my left appeared to speak in favour of my amendment, and the amendment retabled by my noble friend Lord Blencathra. Had they seen the merits of the amendment earlier and not abstained twice in your Lordships’ House, we may have been able to achieve even more on the accountability of the regulator.

In conclusion, I thank all Members of the House for their engagement throughout the passage of the Bill. In particular, I thank the noble Lord, Lord Cromwell, my noble friend Lord Blencathra, the Minister’s Bill team and the Opposition Whips’ Office research team. We respect the fact that the Water (Special Measures) Bill was a manifesto commitment, and we are pleased that it will leave this House in a better state than when it arrived. We hope that it will continue to help the cleaning up of our rivers, lakes and beaches—the most important goal of the Bill. We await the publication of Sir Jon Cunliffe’s review and intend to continue to push His Majesty’s Government to do more, without increasing the burden on water consumers.

[Baroness Hayman of Ullock (Lab)]

My Lords, I thank the noble Lord, Lord Roborough, for his support and his kind words as to how we have reached this position. I agree with him that the Bill leaves this House, as most Bills do, in a better shape than when it arrived.

I hope that all noble Lords agree with the other place in its amendments brought forward today, which will strengthen water company reporting requirements while ensuring that Ofwat’s rules are brought forward without delay. These are important changes, which have further strengthened the Bill. I am grateful for the collaboration that took place with noble Lords across the House to arrive at this point.

I also hope that the amendments brought forward by the Government provide reassurance to all noble Lords that, where there has been strong feeling across the House on certain matters, the Government have not only listened but taken meaningful action. On this basis, I hope that all noble Lords can support Commons Amendments 1C, 1D and 2B. I once again thank all noble Lords for their time and interest in this important Bill.

Global Warming

Lord Roborough Excerpts

Thursday 16th January 2025 Lords Chamber

[Lord Roborough (Con)]

My Lords, I refer the House to my interests as set out in the register, in particular as a developer of new, woodland carbon code qualified forests through LR Strategies; as an investor in Cecil, a data platform for nature reporting, and in Circular FX, a trading platform for natural capital; and as a farmer and landowner.

I am most grateful to the noble Lord, Lord Teverson, for bringing this important debate. I always listen with great interest to contributions from the noble Lord, who has unique insights into these issues. Other noble Lords spoke with great authority on many different areas, and they have left me with little more to say on illustrating the extent of the problem.

How we in the UK interact with our landscape and ecosystems will have marginal impacts on global warming or global ecosystems, but it is still critical. As a wealthy and small nation, we are well placed through our actions to create, demonstrate and export best practice. Our actions will also have a massive impact on how we experience global warming and climate change in our country; we must continue to act.

It is also important that we remember the line of the great ice hockey player, Wayne Gretzky:

“Skate to where the puck is going, not where it has been”.


Softwood trees we plant now will mature in 30-plus years in a climate not experienced in this country for 100,000 years. Our mighty oaks planted now will take 75-plus years to mature, and that could be in a climate that this country has not experienced for as much as a million years. Therefore, it is critical that we focus on planning ahead and stewardship rather than preservation, in order to protect and allow adaptation in a thriving, healthy, resilient ecosystem.

There is much anecdotal good news, as many noble Lords have highlighted. I add that Knepp and Nattergal have achieved remarkable things with rewilding, and evolving over time the balance between rewilding and food production. Foresight and Gresham are highly successful in reforesting tens of thousands of acres, with the help of the woodland carbon code. I was also lucky enough to spend a day with BaumInvest at its Finca La Virgen reforestation project in Costa Rica, where sloths, monkeys, frogs, deer and ocelots had all recolonised this 750-acre reforestation project since it was planted only 12 years ago. That project is enabled by the sale of carbon sequestration units under the gold standard.

However, all these achievements are measured in the hundreds, thousands or low tens of thousands of acres. There are 60 million acres in the UK, and we are a tiny country. Thunder Said Energy estimates that 6 billion acres globally have been deforested since 1850, releasing a quarter of all anthropogenic emissions and destroying ecosystems that had been in place since the last ice age and before. It estimates that 3 billion acres could be reforested, allowing decimated ecosystems to recover on a global scale and massive recapture of carbon dioxide. This is less than 20% of available land, and with careful planning can protect global food production.

Although the UK may be a small country, it is climactically advantaged for growing trees and has considerable areas that either are not farmed or could potentially be better used economically and environmentally for growing trees. We also have a strong market for timber, given that we currently produce only 20% of our timber needs. However, the cash flow profile of timber production, with it taking around 40 years until the first meaningful revenue is generated, has made it difficult to persuade land managers to change land use to forestry. Does the Minister propose to revise—I hope upward—our previous Government’s commitments to new forest creation? What more will and can this Government do to help achieve those targets?

In government, we established the Woodland Carbon Code, which creates additional incentives for reforestation via the award of carbon sequestration units, which can then be sold to help bridge the cash flows between planting and first harvest. It is unfortunate that recent rule changes appear to have made qualification unnecessarily difficult. Can the Minister say what progress is being made with the E&Y consultation on additionality qualifications, and what progress is being made with the code certification under the Integrity Council for the Voluntary Carbon Market’s core carbon principles? When do the Government intend to announce the results of the consultation on admitting WCC units into the UK Emissions Trading Scheme? Could the Minister update the House on what other initiatives are being pursued to bring private finance into nature restoration and other nature-based solutions?

Within the context of the horrendous changes to APR and BPR for inheritance tax, forestry investment will also be damaged, as forestry previously qualified for 100% business property relief. Given that forests can take from 30 to over 100 years to mature, these are multigenerational assets that lose their appeal if they are subject to inheritance tax, requiring disposals to fund that liability. This will tilt the equation back towards annual crop and animal farming. I urge the Government to rethink this disastrous change in the tax code while there is still time and before permanent damage is done to families and family businesses.

The forestry sector has been disappointed with the Defra biodiversity net gain calculations, which appear unable to capture the full life cycle biodiversity gains from forestry, which are evident to anyone spending time in forests. While new forests may often be predominantly of productive species, all new forestry schemes are required under UK forestry standards to have strong diversity of species planted, which creates vibrant new ecosystems. What progress is being made to improve the BNG calculations so that they work for forestry?

The role of land use change in nature conservation, preservation and enhancement goes far beyond just forestry, as many noble Lords have noted. While this particular land use change may give the most bang for the buck in protecting and enhancing nature, we need other, more incremental land use changes that preserve and enhance our food security, while being kinder to our soils and our native flora and fauna. These include regenerative farming, the rewetting of peatland and highly selective rewilding, in addition to the reforestation I have discussed—lots of “re-” words.

Land use needs to change, but the right choices can preserve our ability to feed ourselves without it being at the cost of carbon emissions, and with massive benefit to ecosystems. With the excellent Environment Act, bequeathed to us by my right honourable friend Michael Gove, the last Government initiated local nature recovery strategies, biodiversity net gain, a general duty to preserve and enhance nature, species conservation strategies, protected site strategies, conservation covenants and the power to ban the import of commodities from forests at risk. That Act is the greatest boost to nature recovery since the original Wildlife and Countryside Act and the creation of the national parks.

I very much amplify the comments of the noble Lord, Lord Curry of Kirkharle, on the terrible impact of predation on our most prized species, as well as his call for a soil action plan. I am most grateful to the noble Baroness, Lady Jones of Moulsecoomb, for her gentle chiding of this Government’s commitment to nature restoration, and to the noble Earl, Lord Devon, for his warnings to this Government on their need to restore trust with farmers and landowners after a disastrous Budget. I urge the Government to pay heed to my noble friend Lord Caithness’s warnings of increased wildfire risk as a result of global warming.

We have the opportunity in this small but productive country to take leadership on land use changes and demonstrate to the world how to develop nature-based financial solutions which can allow us to be a world leader in standards, markets, and advisory and financing solutions. To quote Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa in The Leopard:

“If we want things to stay as they are, things will have to change.”

Foot and Mouth Disease

Lord Roborough Excerpts

Thursday 16th January 2025 Lords Chamber

[Lord Roborough (Con)]

My Lords, I refer the House to my register of interests, including as a dairy farmer who remembers well the terror and isolation experienced by all livestock farmers during the last foot and mouth outbreak. Can the Minister explain to the House what lessons have been learned and what would be done differently, were this dreadful disease to reach our shores, to prevent a repeat of that terror and the awful scenes of burning carcasses that tormented our entire country?

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Baroness Hayman of Ullock) (Lab)]

The noble Lord is right when he says that the mounds of burning carcasses tormented our country. I do not think any of us who were around at the time will ever forget that. He asks about lessons learned. In addition to regularly exercising our disease response capabilities, lessons identified reviews are undertaken at the end of any outbreak in order to identify and evaluate where improvements to disease response capability processes and organisational structures for managing an outbreak of exotic notifiable disease can be made. This is something we always do.

Following both the 2001 and 2007 foot and mouth outbreaks, extensive inquiries and reviews were undertaken. That led to some critical changes coming in, including, for example, the introduction of a ban on swill feeding, standstill periods for cattle, sheep and goats of six days and 20 days for pigs, and improvements in livestock traceability. These were all implemented in response to the recommendations of those lessons identified reviews and they are critical in order to prevent infection—in the case of swill feeding bans, for example—because we need to minimise any implications of the disease coming to this country again.

Water Bills

Lord Roborough Excerpts

Thursday 9th January 2025 Lords Chamber

Asked by

[Lord Roborough]

To ask His Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to ensure that water bills are affordable for consumers.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Baroness Hayman of Ullock) (Lab)]

My Lords, nobody wants to see bills rise, so the Government are committed to tackling water poverty and holding the water sector accountable for its commitment to end water poverty by 2030. That is why we are pushing companies to have sufficient support available for customers who are struggling to pay their bills while at the same time challenging Ofwat to ensure that all company investments are affordable and that customers do not pay twice for upgrades.

[Lord Roborough (Con)]

My Lords, higher government borrowing costs are being imposed by markets questioning the Government’s Budget assumptions, as I discussed in this Chamber on 19 December. Higher financing costs are likely to be passed on to UK domestic companies, including in the water industry. Does the Minister agree that this makes SAOs more likely? Having rejected our amendments to protect consumers from increased charges in that event in the Water (Special Measures) Bill, is the Minister willing to commit that extra charges will not be levied on consumers in SAOs?

Flooding

Lord Roborough Excerpts

Tuesday 7th January 2025 Lords Chamber

[Lord Roborough (Con)]

My Lords, I am grateful to the Minister in the other place for this Oral Statement. I start by paying tribute to the emergency services, local authorities and the Environment Agency for their efforts over the Christmas and new year period supporting those who have been affected by extreme weather. Our services sacrifice so much to help communities and businesses in challenging weather, and we are all most grateful for their work and commitment.

The recent extreme weather has caused flooding, road closures, school closures and widespread transport disruption on our railways and at our airports. As a result of the extreme weather, Leicestershire Fire and Rescue Service has declared a major incident across Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland. I know that noble Lords from across the House will join me when I say that our thoughts are with all those whose homes and businesses have been damaged, and with all those who continue to be affected.

As I said when we discussed the Government’s response to Storm Bert last year, those affected by this extreme weather need support now, as well as reassurance that they will not be left to pick up the pieces alone, as they work to put right the damage caused by flooding. One of the key issues that people affected by flooding often face is the time taken for insurance claims to be processed. Can the Minister set out the engagement that the Government have had with the insurance sector to ensure that families affected by flooding can get on with rebuilding their lives as soon as possible?

In addition, the Minister in the other place said yesterday that the Government do not currently have plans to expand the scope of the flood reinsurance scheme that our previous Government introduced. We believe that this is something that the Government should look at, especially on the age of building eligibility and including businesses. Can the Minister say why the Government are not considering expanding the scope of the Flood Re scheme?

On school closures, the Government were asked yesterday in the other place about the steps they are taking to get schools open again. Can the Minister give us an update on the progress the Government are making on this to ensure that pupils do not suffer unnecessary disruptions to their studies?

As we have discussed in this House before, the previous Conservative Government established the farming recovery fund to support farmers recovering from uninsurable damage. Can the Minister give us an update on the progress that the Government are making to provide support to those farmers who have been affected by both the recent extreme weather and the storms we saw late last year? At a time when farmers feel that this Government are interested only in making farming more difficult, effective support for those farms that have been affected by flooding is the very least that the Government can do. I draw the House’s attention to my register of interests; in particular, as a dairy farmer in Devon—fortunately, not affected by this flooding.

We have discussed flood resilience at length in this House already in this Session, not least during the passage of the recent Water (Special Measures) Bill. Can the Minister tell the House whether the Environment Agency will allow the dredging of more clogged waterways to prevent future flooding?

Finally, the Secretary of State has set up the Floods Resilience Taskforce to improve flood preparedness. It has met only once. Can the Minister tell the House what work the task force did ahead of the latest bad weather? Does she feel that there is a case for it to meet more regularly?

I conclude, as I began, by thanking all those who have stepped up in the face of extreme weather, many of whom put themselves in danger to do so, and by wishing all those affected the very best as they put right the damage caused by this weather.

[Baroness Humphreys (LD)]

My Lords, I begin by adding my thanks to fire and rescue workers for their invaluable help over these last few days. Their commitment and expertise have been exemplary. I add to that list the council workers and volunteers throughout the country who have helped in these emergencies, and in particular the Environment Agency and Natural Resources Wales for their invaluable expertise.

Yesterday morning, as a result of a rapid thaw of lying snow and extremely heavy rain overnight, the Environment Agency in England had 167 flood warnings in place, where flooding was expected, and 312 flood alerts, where flooding was possible. Trains were cancelled and roads closed. Behind these facts are stories of people: people struggling to protect their homes and defend their businesses—all in the knowledge that their lives would be affected, sometimes for years—and people struggling to get to work. My commiserations go to them too.

I come from a valley that has always flooded, and I well know the misery that such events bring. In 2009, my area was badly flooded and a flood alleviation scheme was put in place by the Welsh Assembly Government, as it was then. My town now has demountable defences, flood walls and lowered spillways on the riverbanks. It is a massive scheme and our town is protected, but sometimes the floodwaters now travel down the valley and other places are badly affected. On New Year’s Day, although my town was fine, the A470 north to Llandudno was closed because of floods. This area had never flooded before, so we know what people are going through.

However, I welcome the Statement and in particular the extra £60 million for farmers in recognition of the battle that they have with flooding on their land. I also welcome the extra funds for internal drainage boards and the opportunity to review how flood relief money is distributed.

Plenty of notice was given of severe weather so that people could be prepared but, of course, some people were not. One could argue that, where storm and flood defences were overrun, a lack of funding over the past few years for maintenance or new defences contributed to some of the problems. The Chancellor has committed to £2.4 billion of funding for flood defences over 2024-25 and 2025-26 in the Autumn Budget. This is also to be welcomed, but experience has taught us that curing one problem can create another downriver: it is a never-ending battle against flood water. What plans do the Government have to commit substantial funding for flood defences past 2025-26?

Rural Economy

Lord Roborough Excerpts

Thursday 19th December 2024 Lords Chamber

[Lord Roborough (Con)]

My Lords, this has been a well-informed and wide-ranging debate at a time when the core of the rural community, the farmers, are feeling betrayed by the reduction in inheritance tax relief, putting the long-term survival of up to 75% of working farms at risk. The right reverend Prelate the Bishop of St Albans, to whom we are all most grateful for securing this debate, addressed the importance of growing the rural economy and made many excellent suggestions, alongside other noble Lords. Before I address the rural economy, I will start with the wider economy.

The overall UK economy is challenged by this Labour Government, so how can the rural economy grow? It is deeply depressing that we in government had finally got the economy on an upward trajectory, with inflation falling, GDP growing and real wages expanding after the disasters of Covid and the Russian invasion of the Ukraine. This Government were elected with a commitment to kick-start economic growth, with the explicit statement:

“A new partnership with business to boost growth everywhere”.


Since winning the election, the Labour Government have talked down the economy, leading to two months of GDP shrinking, and then delivered a Budget that disincentivises investment in family businesses and employment. The S&P Global flash UK purchasing managers’ employment index now highlights shrinking employment and was the worst reading since 2009, excluding Covid, when Labour was last in power.

The Government plan to increase spending funded by tax increases, but also underpinned by economic growth assumptions that now look flawed. The UK 10-year gilt has sold off to 4.6%. The last time the yield was so high was also under the previous Labour Government in 2008. Given that we brought inflation down from its highs, this can only be as a result of reducing confidence in the Government’s economic management increasing the Government’s borrowing costs, putting further pressure on the Budget.

Economic growth has been undermined by this Government, whose spending plans look increasingly unfunded by available resources. The Chancellor of the Exchequer recently went on the record saying that there would not be further tax increases in the spring and that, if her fiscal rules are broken, she will cut spending to meet them. From the evidence we have seen of above-inflation public sector pay increases and increased spending, that would seem to be wishful thinking. I ask the Government: what spending will be cut to balance the books? Can the Minister reassure us that this will not impact on Defra budgets and existing spending commitments?

On the rural economy, I declare my interest as a dairy farmer, an owner of rural property and businesses, and an investor in a number of businesses that provide goods and services to farmers and land managers. I also declare my residential and industrial building interests and renewable development interests. The rural economy is reliant on farming and family businesses, where the reduction in IHT reliefs will reduce investment, as the noble Lord, Lord Carrington, amply demonstrated. Without needing to repeat the many arguments against this tax, I will just highlight that CBI Economics estimates that it will reduce economic output by nearly £10 billion, cost 125,000 jobs and lead to a net reduction in tax receipts of over £1.2 billion. I put it to the noble Lord, Lord Livermore—the Minister in the debate brought by the noble Earl, Lord Leicester—that, given the destructive impact of this tax and the misery it brings, it is either ideology or a mistake. I hope it is a mistake and that the Government are big enough to concede that and reverse or heavily revise it.

We left an unspent surplus in the Defra budget in the 2023-24 fiscal year, as farmers were slow in their take-up of ELMS and capital grants. That should have allowed the increased application rate for ELMS and capital grants to be easily accommodated in this year’s budget. However, the Government have now stopped applications for new capital grants in the current year and delayed applications for the Countryside Stewardship higher tier until the middle of next year. The farming community does not believe that this Government really are interested in championing British farmers, no matter that the Minister sitting opposite me is clearly understanding, sympathetic and supportive.

As I have discussed in previous debates, the rural economy has a significant growth opportunity in being part of the solution to climate change and nature restoration. Changes in land management over decades, centuries and millennia are blamed for up to 30% of anthropomorphic carbon emissions in the pursuit of cheaper food. The process of cutting those emissions, restoring nature and turning land back into a carbon sink requires funding. ELMS is an important segue into introducing private capital into these markets, to which this Government have previously restated their commitment. On this point, I thank the Minister once again for listening to my noble friend Lord Gascoigne and other noble Lords and for including greater incentives for nature-based solutions in the Water (Special Measures) Bill. I hope this will be a catalyst for more private sector investment in natural capital.

Private capital will need high-integrity standards to govern its investment in carbon sequestration and nature restoration. Can the Minister update us on the likely timing of the woodland carbon code and peatland carbon code accreditation into the Integrity Council for the Voluntary Carbon Market’s core carbon principles? Further to that, has there been any progress in the consultation around the entry of woodland carbon code units into the UK emissions trading scheme? Encouraging the development of these activities creates significant employment and new business opportunities. The right reverend Prelate mentioned the Groundswell festival and my noble friend Lord Gascoigne mentioned Nattergal, but I also highlight many other businesses developing in this area, such as Forest Carbon and Agricarbon, in which I disclose a shareholding, as well as many others.

Joined-up thinking and policy delivery between the various parts of government, departments and local authorities will be critical for stimulating the rural economy. This was highlighted by the right reverend Prelate the Bishop of St Albans, my noble friend Lord Harlech and the noble Lord, Lord de Clifford. Defra does not have the power to address all the areas that have been mentioned in today’s speeches, but it does seem as though responsibility has been devolved to it from other departments that do have the power. In that light, it is depressing that the over £100 million rural services delivery grant has been repurposed away from rural areas in the draft local government finance settlement, published today.

It is also concerning that the planning statements appear to dramatically increase the rate of housebuilding in rural areas, with urban centres under much less pressure. It seems in vain to ask the Minister how she can reassure the House that the rural economy will be given the support that it needs, when it seems that policies and funding are targeted at towns and urban centres—but I ask anyway.

The House continues to eagerly await the land use framework. Can the Minister update us on timing? The Government’s various commitments will require more rural land to be developed for renewable energy, housing and infrastructure projects. Can the Minister reassure the House that the land use framework is not intended to be prescriptive but to be guidance for changes of land use that will streamline the planning process and help land managers to make good decisions with their land?

When we take together the reduction in IHT relief for family business, delayed capital grants, delayed Countryside Stewardship higher-tier schemes, repurposing the rural services delivery grant and dramatically increased rural housing targets, as well as the cuts in the nature-friendly farming budget, mentioned by my noble friend Lord Harlech, it is hard to dispute the claim of my noble friend Lord Fuller that this Government would appear to be at war with the countryside.