Building Safety Bill

Debate between Earl of Courtown and Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle

Lords Hansard - Part 1 & Report stage
Tuesday 29th March 2022 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle (GP)]

My Lords, I want briefly, having just had a signal on those lines, to offer Green support for all the amendments. I will speak only to Amendment 261 in the name of the noble Lord, Lord Foster of Bath. I commend him on his long work in this area.

I am perhaps a little less charitable to the Government than him about where things are now. Just this afternoon, while we were debating the second group of amendments, the Green Alliance put out a new report, Cutting the Cost of Living with a Green Economy. It has some figures that are interesting and helpful for this debate. It points out that the cuts to energy efficiency subsidies and the scrapping of the zero-carbon homes policy over the past decade saw the installation rate of home insulation and energy measures go from 2.3 million in 2012 to 230,000 in 2013—a rate that has continued since.

This addresses the question that the noble Baroness, Lady Neville-Rolfe, just asked about what we can do and whether it is possible to step up again. We have done this in the past; we can do this in future. The noble Baroness expressed concern about a lack of costing for that. The Green Alliance report points out that, if we followed Amendment 261, through insulating 15.3 million homes, it would save them all £511 a year after the April price cap rise. For the country, that is £7.8 billion a year, mostly in fossil fuel.

Looking again at the costing, the Great Homes Upgrade plan, put together by the New Economics Foundation along with 28 organisations, shows that spending £11.7 billion over this Parliament could raise 7 million homes up to this standard by 2025. As the noble Lord, Lord Foster, said, this is very much a health and safety issue. We have set the standard of zero carbon by 2050. That is a target for the environment; this is a target for people’s health. Surely we can have both health and environment targets that so crucially fit together.

[The Earl of Courtown (Con)]

My Lords, taking the time into consideration, I beg to move that we adjourn the debate on this amendment and that consideration on Report be adjourned until after the Urgent Question.

Saudi Arabia: Mass Execution

Debate between Earl of Courtown and Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle

Monday 14th March 2022 Lords Chamber

[The Earl of Courtown (Con)]

Luckily, I am not in his position, but I think I did answer the question asked by the noble Lord, Lord Collins. I said to him that, if such meetings happen in the future—I am sure there will be some in the immediate future—these issues will be raised at the highest level.

[Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle (GP)]

My Lords, will the Government publish a full report on the judicial and security assistance that the UK provides to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and can the Minister assure us now that none of that assistance played any role in the imposition or execution of these death penalties?

[The Earl of Courtown (Con)]

My Lords, the noble Baroness asks a very important question. I do not have any detail relating to that, so I will write to her.

Hong Kong: Political Prisoners

Debate between Earl of Courtown and Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle

Tuesday 22nd February 2022 Lords Chamber

[The Earl of Courtown (Con)]

My Lords, the noble Lord makes a fair point, but these are issues relating to whether there are judges from the United Kingdom serving in Hong Kong. This is under review continually. I do not have any more information on that, but if there is any more, I will write to the noble Lord.

[Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle (GP)]

My Lords, I declare my position on the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Hong Kong. I will understand if the Minister does not know that the Hong Kong Baptist University student newspaper was suppressed in January, but its staff and students suffered. The HKBU said that it could not promise to guarantee student safety if they chose to attribute their resignation to the way they had been treated. In answering the noble Lord, Lord Alton, the Minister said that he sympathised with the situation of young Hong Kongers. Is sympathy really enough for people such as those brave students, who are taking action to try to defend human rights?

[The Earl of Courtown (Con)]

I could not agree more with what the noble Baroness said on the importance of those who have been protesting. It is very clear to all who watch the newsfeed. The Government hope to be in a position to say more this issue in the forth- coming days on, ahead of Report on the Nationality and Borders Bill.