Thames Water
Lord Cryer Excerpts(8 months ago)
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Baroness Hayman of Ullock (Lab)
The noble Duke makes an extremely important point. The Cunliffe report is pretty damning on how the regulators have overseen what has happened. Clearly, it has not been good that water companies, particularly Thames, have been allowed to get into so much debt. We will absolutely be considering these matters very seriously.
Lord Cryer (Lab)
My Lords, I was a London MP for 22 years, and I can say with some conviction that Thames Water was one of the worst and most contemptible organisations I have ever dealt with—and that is up against some pretty stiff competition. Can we scotch this myth that has been put out by Thames Water for years that it has not been paying dividends? It has been paying what are, in effect, dividends to the parent company. Technically they may not be dividends but, in effect, they are. When Thames Water makes these claims, we should call it out for what it is doing: telling lies to the British public.
Baroness Hayman of Ullock (Lab)
It is really important that we have clarity and honesty from our water companies, because there are so many problems. If we are genuinely going to sort this out, we need to have a proper understanding, and there should not be little tricks and ways of paying money—whether through dividends or otherwise—that circumvent what we would consider to be best behaviour.
Farming Families
Lord Cryer Excerpts(1 year, 2 months ago)
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Lord Taylor of Holbeach (Con)
My Lords, I congratulate the noble Baroness—my coalition friend—on getting this debate. How topical it is. The industry is in shock; the truth is that nobody expected this, probably including Defra. Farmers are having to cope with lots of other difficulties, in particular the weather. Uncertainty is one thing, but deception is another. I use that word as a third-generation farmer. I do not farm any more, but the business is in the hands of my son and my nephew and I have a grandson reading agriculture at Newcastle at the moment. This is what family businesses are about. The shock is fed by the sense of deception.
At the Lincolnshire Show, during the general election campaign, I challenged the president of the NFU, Tom Bradshaw, about the rumour in the paper. He said, “That’s only Conservative propaganda”. I had no idea, but I expected a better answer or at least an acknowledgement that this might have some bearing on things. On 15 October, I hosted in this House the presentation of the agricultural societies awards. The Secretary of State, Steve Reed, came along and was asked directly whether he believed that inheritance tax alterations were likely; he said that he had no such information and no view that they were likely to occur. I think the anger was based on that deception.
I like and admire the Minister, but what would she say if a progressive farmer asked her advice about investing in a new automated harvesting machine, for example, or whether he should buy the acreage of land up for sale next door? If we want growth in farming—I agree with the Government’s growth agenda—we need progressive farming, investment in farming and farmers prepared to back the Government’s policy.
Lord Cryer (Lab)
I apologise for interrupting the debate, but I gently remind all noble Lords that the speaking limit is three minutes. If noble Lords go well over that, we will eat into the time of the Front Benches and the Minister.