"My Lords, rather like the noble Lord, Lord Strathclyde, when I came to your Lordships’ House, I was well under the average age—in fact, 30 years under. Sadly, I am now over the average age, and under these proposals I will retire from your Lordships’ House in 2033. But I …..." Lord Hunt of Kings Heath - View Speech
"My Lords, once upon a time we owned the water industry: local authorities used to run water services very well up to 1974. Will my noble friend look, alongside security issues and the White Paper work that has been undertaken, at how these bodies can be made more publicly accountable …..." Lord Hunt of Kings Heath - View Speech
"Thank you. As I was saying, we know that infrastructure development in this country is more expensive than in many other developed countries and takes longer, mainly due to our planning system and the way that regulators in this country are risk-averse and often work in silos. Can my noble …..." Lord Hunt of Kings Heath - View Speech
"My Lords, I wonder whether my noble friend would confirm that under the Conservatives, production in the North Sea reduced by half between 2010 and 2024—which is no surprise because it is a super-mature basin—and that giving consent to these two oilfields, which I know my noble friend cannot comment …..." Lord Hunt of Kings Heath - View Speech
"My Lords, does my noble friend accept that where some PFI projects went wrong it was usually because the people negotiating the contract at the local level on behalf of the public sector did not have the expertise to do so effectively? However, as a result of public/private partnerships between …..." Lord Hunt of Kings Heath - View Speech
"My Lords, I think I have about one and a half minutes to respond. I thank all noble Lords who have taken part in this debate. It has been good-natured, and I am grateful for that.
"My Lords, I want to start this debate by paying tribute to Sir Keir Starmer for his immense services to the country. He took Labour to a landslide general election victory. He inherited a country reeling from 14 years of Conservative rule resulting in a weak economy, failing public services …..." Lord Hunt of Kings Heath - View Speech
"My Lords, I will briefly follow the noble Lord, Lord Markham, and the noble Baroness, Lady Ludford, in supporting this amendment. The noble Lord, Lord Alton, who is the architect of the amendment—indeed, of many amendments relating to China and human rights—unfortunately cannot be here, but both the noble Lord, …..." Lord Hunt of Kings Heath - View Speech