"My Lords, on food security, as everyone in this House knows, there are severe floods across Somerset, Dorset, Northamptonshire, Oxfordshire and lots of growing areas. Compounding that, there are floods in Spain as well as Sicily. These are all areas where we get our fresh vegetables from, and these floods …..." Baroness Boycott - View Speech
"I have two questions. One is about new-build housing. As I understand it from the Planning Act, we have not enforced that new-build housing—especially that being built on flood plains, which is happening—must have flood defences. Responsibility for this is being handed back to the homeowner, and it is expensive: …..." Baroness Boycott - View Speech
"My Lords, I will speak to Amendment 239. I support all the amendments that have just been talked about—it is vital that communities can buy land. However, I am, in a way, offering up a “get out of jail free” card to the Government with this amendment.
"I just want to intervene on what the noble Baroness was saying about the importance of councils being able to take it up, by just making a quick reference to one of our most innovative gardens, which was on the new King’s Cross site. It was in skips. Every time …..." Baroness Boycott - View Speech
"I thank the Minister, but half of the amendment is not about allotments. Having run this scheme in London, I know that allotments are almost impossible to get. It is also about the right to grow on meanwhile lease bases within communities and councils. Meanwhile leases are available online. It …..." Baroness Boycott - View Speech
"My Lords, I am very pleased to follow the noble Baroness, Lady Freeman. What I have to add is that my Amendments 160, 161, 163, 164, 165 and 169 would bring a more climate change-related and environmental aspect to the asks of the Government. As the noble Baronesses, Lady Freeman …..." Baroness Boycott - View Speech
"My Lords, my Amendment 243 deals with climate mitigation and adaptation. It would make statutory existing government guidance that new school buildings must be both net zero in operation and adapted to 2 degrees of warming, and would require the Government to produce a safe and resilient schools plan, laying …..." Baroness Boycott - View Speech
"I very much support all the amendments around trying to make uniforms more affordable, but I want to speak about a health time bomb that we are sitting on, much in the way that we spoke about smoking some years ago, or ultra-processed food. It is the whole question about …..." Baroness Boycott - View Speech
"My Lords, flood defences in Monmouth were built in 2020, survived a storm in 2022 and fell down in 2025. It seems that a lot of the concrete stuff that is built is not actually resistant in the long term. What are the Government doing to look at more nature-based …..." Baroness Boycott - View Speech
"My Lords, I support both amendments from the noble Baroness, Lady Walmsley, in particular Amendment 113 on the school food improvement scheme. I am incredibly glad to see how many steps the Government are taking, but there are still things we need to work on. The noble Baroness referred to …..." Baroness Boycott - View Speech