Changing Weather Patterns and Floods

Earl of Kinnoull Excerpts

Thursday 12th February 2026 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Hayman of Ullock (Lab)]

I am sure my noble friend is aware that the Government are keen to stop any inappropriate payments to senior members of water companies where they have been seen to pollute indiscriminately.

[The Earl of Kinnoull (CB)]

My Lords, Flood Re is a temporary system that will run out in 2039 and is aimed only at domestic dwellings, which is a great disadvantage to owners of microbusinesses and small businesses in affected areas. It would be hugely helpful if Flood Re could be extended to those things. Could the Minister tell us what the prospects are for that?

[Baroness Hayman of Ullock (Lab)]

The noble Earl is right. Flood Re has been very successful regarding residential properties but there has always been an issue around the fact that it does not extend to businesses or to multiple-occupancy dwellings over a certain number. I have in the past spent some time working with insurance representatives on what can be done to better support businesses. It would be complex to extend Flood Re to businesses, but that does not mean there is not a problem. As someone who lives in Cockermouth, where we regularly have problems like this, I am aware that we need to do more to consider how best to support businesses through flooding. I do not think Flood Re is the answer, but we need to explore what else is out there.

Construction Industry: Timber

Earl of Kinnoull Excerpts

Thursday 5th February 2026 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Hayman of Ullock (Lab)]

I am very happy to congratulate Fera. It does excellent work. When I went to Forest Research, I saw some of the wood that had, shall we say, unpleasant visitors in it, so I know that both Fera and Forest Research do important work and help biosecurity in this country. I know the noble Baroness is keen for me to visit Fera and I will of course consider that.

[The Earl of Kinnoull (CB)]

My Lords, the level of afforestation in Great Britain is about 13% and the average in the EU is mid-30%, so it is good to hear about planning for the planting of more trees. The biggest danger to tree-planting remains the grey squirrel. Recently, there was the welcome publication, at last, of the Grey Squirrel Policy Statement, which is the new name for the action plan. Can the Minister give the House some edited highlights of what the Government are doing about the grey squirrel problem?

[Baroness Hayman of Ullock (Lab)]

The noble Earl is always very quick to talk about the grey squirrel, and rightly so. As he says, we have recently published our plan on grey squirrel management—if any Members are interested, they can find it on the Defra website. At the moment, the main way people manage populations is through culling as best they can. We would prefer to have more humane ways of managing pests. As the noble Earl knows, we are now investing in the scientific research on contraceptives that is taking place. If we can crack that, it would make a huge difference, but I urge noble Lords to read the document.

River Pollution

Earl of Kinnoull Excerpts

Monday 10th November 2025 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Hayman of Ullock (Lab)]

The noble Baroness is aware that the Cunliffe review made a number of recommendations, and we are acting very quickly on nine of them. She will also be aware that it is our intention to bring forward a second water Bill in order to tackle properly so many of the issues that we still see in our water industry that are simply not acceptable.

[The Earl of Kinnoull (CB)]

My Lords, the Inter-Ministerial Group for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs last met in June this year; it was very high level and all the top Ministers from the various nations were there. An extensive communiqué was issued in September, but it made no mention of this important topic. Can the Minister assure us that, the next time that the interministerial group meets, this topic will be on the agenda? Can she tell us—directionally, at least—when it will meet again?

[Baroness Hayman of Ullock (Lab)]

I am afraid that I do not have any information on when it will meet again. However, I am more than happy to pass on the noble Earl’s suggestion and concerns to the new Secretary of State in Defra, who I am sure will want to take the best action possible at the next meeting.

Forest Risk Commodities

Earl of Kinnoull Excerpts

Tuesday 8th July 2025 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Hayman of Ullock (Lab)]

The noble Lord asked me quite a few specific questions as to exactly what the legislation is going to look like when the Government bring it forward. I am afraid I am not in a position to give the detail of what that legislation would look like at the moment, but I can only reiterate that we want to see it coming forward as soon as practically possible. We are looking at a number of different options of how we can do that, because it is important that, when we bring this forward, it is going to work for smallholders, for example, and small businesses, and that it will be effective and genuinely tackle the issue.

[The Earl of Kinnoull (CB)]

Of course the biggest threat to forestry in this country, and particularly to our native broadleaf trees, is the grey squirrel. Can the Minister tell us when the England grey squirrel action plan will surface?

[Baroness Hayman of Ullock (Lab)]

The noble Earl takes every opportunity to talk about squirrels. The important thing is that the action plan is well under way. I spent quite some time on it myself, because, again, it is important that we make such pieces of guidance effective so that they will make the difference. We know that there are issues with grey squirrels damaging trees, as well as the impact on red squirrel populations. As I said before, I am very pleased that we have red squirrels in our garden, so I want to see them protected. I have very much appreciated the work that the noble Earl has done on the grey squirrel action plan, and I appreciate the conversations and discussions that we have had and the work that he and his colleagues have done. I look forward to continuing those discussions as we publish the plan.

Storm Bert: National Preparedness

Earl of Kinnoull Excerpts

Thursday 28th November 2024 Lords Chamber

[The Earl of Kinnoull (CB)]

My Lords, will Flood Re, which the Minister knows all about, be included in the review? Quite a lot of claims must have been made to Flood Re following recent events, and certainly some risks were not covered by Flood Re because of its rules. Considering the Flood Re rules again in the light of this disaster may well be a good thing.

[Baroness Hayman of Ullock (Lab)]

Flood Re has been running for a number of years, and I am sure the noble Earl and other noble Lords are aware of the exceptions to what can be put forward to it—for example, multiple-occupation buildings. My understanding is that it is being reviewed, because it is available only up to a certain date and we have reached the stage where it will be looked at. The other issue is that businesses are not covered either. It is important that we continue to monitor and review its effectiveness, while also looking at how we support the people who are not supported by what is a very important insurance back-up.