Electricity Transmission (Compensation) Bill

Lord McLoughlin Excerpts

2nd reading
Friday 21st April 2023 Lords Chamber

Moved by

[Lord McLoughlin]

That the Bill be now read a second time.

[Lord McLoughlin (Con)]

My Lords, this Bill comes to your Lordships’ House having completed its stages in the House of Commons. It was taken through the House of Commons by Dr Liam Fox and is based on his experience in his own constituency of what I think is a flaw in the regulations, which I will come on to say a little more about later. It has to be said that this is the second Private Member’s Bill in two years that Dr Fox has managed to steer through the Commons; the other one, the Down Syndrome Act 2022, was also successfully steered through your Lordships’ House. He seems to be having more success in taking legislation through from the Back Benches than he managed when we were both in the Cabinet together; I congratulate him on that.

The purpose of the Bill is to require the Secretary of State to lay before Parliament proposals for the use of the alternative dispute resolution—ADR—process to determine compensation in electric-related land acquisition cases. The intention is that the proposal will encourage and facilitate the use of the ADR process, thereby helping parties in dispute to avoid having to take their case to the Upper Tribunal (Lands Chamber). The Bill provides that there should be proposals for ensuring that any determinations are enforceable so that the outcome is binding on an electricity network operator.

I realise that one concern is that this Bill may somehow lead to delays in certain cases. I do not think that it will. Having to take a case up to the Upper Tribunal is a lengthy and expensive process; it therefore operates against an individual who feels that they have a complaint. Nobody is keener than me to see national infrastructure projects make progress and not be delayed but, when big national infrastructure proposals are coming forward, one must recognise the blight of them and the impact that they may have on individuals. This is a correcting Bill: it will bring in a system that is there for other availabilities. The Bill also requires that there should be proposals for ensuring that the ADR process operates independently and that

“the processes are accessible to landowners without undue difficulty or expense”.

Anybody who reads through the Second Reading debate held in the House of Commons in November will see there some of the cases that have caused Dr Fox and other Members of the Commons great difficulty as far as their constituents are concerned. As I say, this Bill does not seek in any way to delay infrastructure projects, but it puts a duty on the company that is involved to treat the people whom it affects in a fair way. The Bill has vocal support from the NFU because it has seen what it will do for some of its members.

I have some questions. I hope that, in her response to me, my noble friend the Minister will be able to give some indication of what the timescale will be for the creation of a task force; I know that her officials have been looking at what the consequences of the Bill will be. Also, can the Government provide further detail on how and when the composition of that task force will be decided? I realise that those questions possibly anticipate the Bill’s passage into an Act of Parliament. It is right, however, that reassurance on big issues of national infrastructure is given to those people who are directly affected that they will be treated fairly. That is really the main aim of this Bill.

Where electricity transmission takes place, this Bill will provide the same sort of rights that are available in other big national infrastructure projects. For some reason, electricity has been left out because of its national significance. Nobody doubts that— nobody questions the necessity of this infrastructure being taken forward—but people should be treated fairly by operators when they are seeking these acquisitions. I beg to move.

--- Later in debate ---

[Lord McLoughlin (Con)]

I am very grateful to my noble friend for her response on behalf of the Government on the Government’s attitude to the Bill. It is very encouraging. This area was left out as far as the ADR procedure is concerned and it will be very welcome.

I well understand the position that the noble Baroness, Lady Blake, took on not wanting to see delay. We worked very closely, when she was leader of Leeds City Council, on a number of infrastructure issues, and were often frustrated by the amount of time taken to get decisions and see them implemented. I fear that timetable has moved even further from when we were directly involved with some of the big infrastructure issues that affected her city of Leeds. I thank the noble Baroness, Lady Walmsley, as well for saying that, if anything, this could help speed up and not delay, because going to the upper lands tribunal is incredibly complicated and expensive. Big landowners could do it but smaller landowners did not feel that that opportunity was available to them.

I think this is moving in the right direction. It is in nobody’s interest to slow it down. I very much welcome today’s debate and look forward to seeing the Bill get further along the legislative framework.

Bill read a second time and committed to a Committee of the Whole House.

Electricity Transmission (Compensation) Bill

Lord McLoughlin Excerpts

Order of Commitment discharged
Tuesday 9th May 2023 Lords Chamber

Moved by

[Lord McLoughlin]

That the order of commitment be discharged.

[Lord McLoughlin (Con)]

My Lords, I understand that no amendments have been set down to this Bill and that no noble Lord has indicated a wish to move a manuscript amendment or to speak in Committee. Unless, therefore, any noble Lord objects, I beg to move that the order of commitment be discharged.

Motion agreed.

Electricity Transmission (Compensation) Bill

Lord McLoughlin Excerpts

3rd reading
Friday 19th May 2023 Lords Chamber

Moved by

[Lord McLoughlin]

That the Bill do now pass.

[Lord McLoughlin (Con)]

My Lords, it has been a privilege to sponsor this particular piece of legislation through your Lordships’ House. It started life in the House of Commons, led by Dr Liam Fox, Member of Parliament for North Somerset. In fact, it is the second Private Member’s Bill that Dr Fox has piloted through the House, the previous one being last year’s Down Syndrome Bill, now Act.

This Electricity Transmission (Compensation) Bill comes on the back of very personal experience that he has had within his own constituency with major infrastructure projects—in particular, Hinkley Point—and the problems caused to landowners when transmission cables are necessarily laid over their land. The Bill sets out an alternative dispute resolution—ADR—procedure. ADR is currently available but is not a legal requirement, and it should become a legal requirement. This is a small piece of legislation that rights a wrong. I thank Members of your Lordships’ House for their support and also thank the National Farmers’ Union.

[Baroness Blake of Leeds (Lab)]

My Lords, I will speak briefly to thank the noble Lord, Lord McLoughlin, for his explanation of the Bill. We completely agree with the need to improve the UK’s electricity infrastructure; we need to be able to expand the grid to enable new energy sources to come online. However, we emphasise the need for the correct balance to be found between the rights of landowners and infrastructure development.

As I laid out at Second Reading, we remain to be convinced that the Bill is necessary. Our concern here, if we have one, is that the Bill may hinder the Government’s plans to expand electricity network infrastructure. We do not want to see unintended consequences that could generate uncertainty among the business community.

However, with those comments, I commend the noble Lord, Lord McLoughlin, and Dr Liam Fox, the Bill’s sponsor in the other place, for raising this very important issue so that we can consider and debate it.

[Baroness Bloomfield of Hinton Waldrist (Con)]

My Lords, I thank my noble friend Lord McLoughlin for taking the Electricity Transmission (Compensation) Bill through this House. I also thank noble Lords from across the House, including the noble Baronesses, Lady Blake and Lady Walmsley, for their valuable contributions on this Bill through its passage.

The Government are pleased to support this important Bill. The measures in it will help ensure that landowners have access to alternative dispute resolution in cases where their land, or rights to access their land, have been acquired for the build of network infrastructure. This will help landowners avoid having to take a case to the Upper Tribunal, which can be an expensive and lengthy process. While I acknowledge the concerns that the noble Baroness, Lady Blake, just raised in terms of unintended consequences, the intention of the Bill is to help speed up resolution where there is dispute. It will help to ensure that we strike the right balance between protecting the rights of landowners and the urgent need for network infrastructure build in this country.

To implement the measures in this Bill, the Government have committed to establishing an alternative dispute resolution task force in 2023. The task force will be responsible for developing proposals and making recommendations to government. The Government will continue to engage with a broad set of stakeholders, including network operators, representatives of landowners and experts in acquisition of land and alternative dispute resolution to ensure that the task force has the appropriate membership.

To conclude, bringing forward this new Bill will ensure that landowners have access to a clear, fair, affordable and enforceable system for dispute resolution. The Government are pleased to support these new measures and we have been glad to see the level of support for them across both Houses through the passage of this Bill. I again thank my noble friend Lord McLoughlin for his sponsorship of the Bill as it has moved through this House. I also thank my right honourable friend Dr Liam Fox for his sponsorship of the Bill in the other place and his hard work on the matter.

[Lord McLoughlin (Con)]

My Lords, I thank my noble friend for her remarks and for a better and more forceful summary of the Bill than mine. I completely understand the point that was made by the noble Baroness, Lady Blake. I am one of the last people in the House who would ever want to see major infrastructure projects held up, but I do think it is essential and right that people have a fair opportunity to make their case and have a simpler way of seeing a resolution to a dispute, which I believe this could lead to.

I end by thanking my noble friend the Minister for all her help and support and the tremendous work that she has done on the Front Bench for us.

Bill passed.