Queen’s Speech

Baroness Parminter Excerpts

Wednesday 25th May 2016 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Parminter (LD)]

My Lords, I am obliged to welcome much that is in the Queen’s Speech, but it is with sincere regret that I note that for the second year running, the word “environment” does not feature in it at all. There are no measures to protect or enhance our natural environment and no measures to deliver the Conservative manifesto commitment to protect our public forests and woodlands for the good of the country. As the noble Earl, Lord Caithness, has just said, there is no wildlife Bill, and yet we have had the recommendations from the Law Commission since last December. We need to ensure that the competing demands of farmers, environmentalists and those who enjoy the countryside are provided for through a legal framework that makes provision for wildlife. We urgently need a new Bill.

There is also no new Bill on the crucial issue of water abstraction. Our water abstraction laws are now 40 years out of date. Levels of sustainable abstraction are way beyond what they should be, and we are running out of time. By 2019 the new provisions set out in the Water Act 2014 will come into force so that more trading in water will be allowed, and significant volumes of water for which licences are already held but are not presently being traded will be allowed to be traded. We therefore need a water abstraction regime soon.

As I say, for the second year running we have no mention of the environment, so we on these Benches will do what we can to bring forward in other Bills environmental measures, in much the way we did in the Housing and Planning Bill in the last Session. I am sure that the neighbourhood planning and infrastructure Bill will offer us similar opportunities. However, we need to look to other jurisdictions if we want to protect our environment, and in that regard I point out that the gracious Speech does refer to the forthcoming referendum on European Union membership.

Since 1970 the European Union has been the core framework in most areas of environmental policy. It has undoubtedly the most developed and significant body of environmental law and policy on the global stage, and for a very good reason. It is at that level that, as members, we can have the most leverage and influence on environmental matters of global significance, the most important of which is climate change, as was mentioned by the noble Baronesses, Lady Jones of Whitchurch and Lady Featherstone. It was under the coalition Government that significant progress was made to ensure that in the run-up to Paris, through our membership of the European Union, we would be able to encourage other countries such as the United States and China to bring forward provisions that would allow us to secure the Paris agreement. We still hope that this Government will now deliver on that agreement in their forthcoming programme.

It is not only environmental issues like climate change that need global solutions; there are also the issues with cross-border implications.

Travelling around looking at our beaches today brings me great joy because, thanks to EU legislation that has been in place since 1970, they are now in good condition, and otters can be found in rivers in every single county. Similarly, we have the birds directive to thank for the fact that migratory bird species are protected. I have a question for the Minister to which he can respond in his summing up, or perhaps in a letter at a later date. The birds directive is fundamental legislation that protects our birds, particularly endangered species. During the policy formulation process some two years ago, more than 100,000 people in the UK wrote to the Commission supporting the fitness review of the birds directive and the need to keep it in place. We had the outline draft findings last November, and a commitment was given that we would have the findings by early June. What pressure are the Government applying to ensure that this fundamental legislation and the expected review are delivered?

Of course, European legislation is not perfect. Back in the 1970s and 1980s, the common fisheries policy was no friend to either fishermen or the fish. But I am delighted that, under the coalition Government, the common fisheries policy revisions resulted in the end to discard, the introduction of maximum sustainable yields, and fishing policy being decided at regional level. Those things are already bearing fruit, and it is my contention that we need to be in Europe, working with our partners to protect the environment. That is the way forward for us.

In conclusion, I want to acknowledge the work of all those on these Benches—indeed, on all Benches—and those outside the House, who, through groups such as Environment for Europe, are supporting the case for staying in Europe and showing that, by being in Europe, we can best protect our environment.