Queen’s Speech

Lord Stunell Excerpts

Monday 17th May 2021 Lords Chamber

[Lord Stunell (LD) [V]]

My Lords, there have been many excellent contributions to the debate today, including those of the noble Lords, Lord Coaker and Lord Morse. I am sorry to add yet more to the Minister’s workload at the wind-up, but I can at least start by welcoming the announcement that the building safety Bill will come before your Lordships’ House this Session. I urge the Government to give this Bill every priority to achieve that. Can the Minister confirm that it will be published before the fourth anniversary on 14 June of the Grenfell Tower fire? The residents and survivors have waited long enough.

As the right reverend Prelate the Bishop of St Albans reminded us, Ministers gave repeated pledges during the passage of the then Fire Safety Bill that a comprehensive scheme to deliver necessary initial finance for remediation work on defective high-rise residential blocks would be in the new Bill. We on these Benches will be holding the Government to account for those pledges. Will the Minister undertake to publish an early draft of the scheme of remediation and compensation that they propose, and to engage with your Lordships’ House and leaseholder organisations at the earliest practicable moment?

The gracious Speech also highlighted the urgency of climate change and the November COP 26 session, which will be hosted by the United Kingdom. The Government have set what I am sure the Minister would describe as “world-beating” targets for carbon reduction for the UK right the way through to 2050, but the gracious Speech was notably silent about how they plan to hit those targets. One thing is certain: a wholehearted partnership will be needed between central and local government and between Governments of all sorts and industry, as well as civic society, to get anywhere near successful outcomes.

Industry is rightly wary of targets that are boldly announced by this Government. Industry always needs to see hard evidence of long-term planning and investment by the Government before it can take the risk itself of investing time and money in the learning of new skills, and the investment in training and in plant, that is needed to deliver those targets on time. The experience of the green homes grant last year—announced completely without consultation with just three months’ notice and cancelled after six months, leaving 40,000 applicants in the lurch—has undermined whatever appetite industry might have had for running the risk of being left stranded again by yet another government initiative.

To achieve zero-carbon success, the Government will have to take the lead in joining up the dots of both policy and investment. For a start, the long-delayed heat and building strategy and the net-zero strategy must be published. We have to know what the rules will be. The Government must endorse the Construction Leadership Council’s retrofit strategy to upgrade our 20 million existing homes and, alongside that, there must be sustained and substantial government investment in long-term financial support and incentives. Until that happens, business plans, investments and skills training will remain in limbo, and the idea of hitting any targets a mirage. The gracious Speech is silent on all this. Surely if the Government want to exert maximum leverage on their international partners at COP 26, they would surely be wise to get the infamous Whitehall grid of announcements into alignment with that outcome in November.

Finally, will the Minister agree to take back to his department and the Cabinet Office the message from your Lordships’ House, coming from every side in this debate, of our genuine concern that the unique opportunity to build a strong international consensus in Glasgow is being weakened by every day of delay in making public their plans for the future?