Reservoirs and Water Supplies
Debate between Lord Teverson and Lord Katz(3 days, 4 hours ago)
Lords ChamberRead Full debate Read Hansard Text Read Debate Ministerial Extracts
Lord Katz (Lab)
We have to reform the sector, as the Government set out in response to the Cunliffe report. We need more streamlined, efficient regulation to ensure that water companies do the job that we have been talking about this afternoon—reducing leakage—as well as longer-term investment and promotion of better and wiser water usage by everybody, be they businesses, such as data centres, or households. That is why we are committed to setting up new, innovative responses, such as regional water councils, to ensure that water companies perform for the public and for businesses and not just for themselves.
Lord Teverson (LD)
My Lords, to come back to my noble friend’s question about leakage, the fact is that we lose 20% of the volume of water—some 2.6 billion litres a day—but that has not gone down. That percentage has stayed the same, so we are not going in the right direction. Will the Government get tough with the water companies to make sure they take the targets that we set seriously? At the moment, there is no action.
Lord Katz (Lab)
In 2024-25, the Government saw a 12% reduction in the total leakage reported by water companies. To sustain and build on this trajectory, we are investing £720 million through the current Ofwat price review period in smart technology, including meters, which will help to identify and reduce leakage. We are enabling increased rollout of smart meters via the smart water meter delivery group. We continue to hold water companies to account to ensure that they are delivering on their leakage reduction targets, rolling out more things such as smart metering and levying financial penalties if companies fail to meet these targets.
Rivers and Estuaries: Derelict Boats
Debate between Lord Teverson and Lord Katz
Lord Teverson
To ask His Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the environmental and navigational risks posed by derelict boats abandoned on rivers and estuaries, and what steps they are taking to ensure their removal.
Lord in Waiting/Government Whip (Lord Katz) (Lab)
My Lords, no assessment has been made by the Government, as responsibility for operational matters on inland waterways rests with the relevant navigation authority. This includes dealing with derelict or sunken boats and their removal, and any risk to the environment or to navigation. Navigation authorities have statutory powers to remove such boats when they deem it necessary and appropriate, but have statutory duties to do so only in certain circumstances.
Lord Teverson (LD)
My Lords, the abandonment of vessels is a growing problem on our estuaries and rivers; it is effectively a form of marine fly-tipping. Can the Minister note that there is no real way of tracing the owners of most recreational vessels? This means that the cost of removal often ends up as a cost for landowners, local authorities and harbourmasters. Should there not be at least some form of registration system for all recreational vessels so that the owners are rightly held liable for getting rid of this environmental problem on our rivers and in navigation?
Lord Katz (Lab)
My Lords, the Canal & River Trust and the Environment Agency, the two principal navigation authorities, publish guidance on licensing and registration, and ownership is traced via these licensing and registration systems. Navigation authorities work hard to ensure that licence evasion rates are as low as possible and, although the Government do not get involved in operational matters, we encourage navigation authorities to work together to resolve these issues, including in conversations with Defra where relevant.
Public Transport: Expansion and Electrification
Debate between Lord Teverson and Lord Katz
Lord Teverson
To ask His Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to enable the expansion and electrification of public transport networks to meet their net-zero emissions target.
Lord in Waiting/Government Whip (Lord Katz) (Lab)
My Lords, the Government are committed to decarbonising transport in support of our national missions to kick-start economic growth and make Britain a clean energy superpower, and public transport must of course play its part. The Department for Transport is overhauling public transport services and supporting active travel so that lower-carbon options are attractive choices. Through the electrification of public transport, we will reduce carbon emissions from the fleet, improving passenger services and creating more sustainable journeys.
Lord Teverson (LD)
As the Minister will know, surface transport emissions are our largest proportion of emissions in the UK at the moment—about a quarter. The Government have done a fair bit on the buses side, which I welcome, but will they commit to 2030 being the first year when we ban new diesel buses from our roads? Will they continue the current level of funding of the zero-emission bus grant after the present funding runs out later this year?
Lord Katz (Lab)
I thank the noble Lord for his question. As he will be aware, the previous Government consulted on an end date for the sale of diesel buses back in spring 2022. As he referred to, we are currently legislating in the Bus Services (No. 2) Bill to accelerate bus decarbonisation. We will be placing a requirement on operators not to use new non-zero-emission buses from a date in the future that is not earlier than 2030. This allows the sector to plan for a smooth transition to a zero-emission future.