"I too did not intend to speak on this group, but it occurs to me that these are such wide-ranging provisions that the charging of one local public authority by another is probably covered, in which case I wish to refer to a matter which was referred to when we …..." Lord Whitty - View Speech
"That is true at present, but we are about to invent a new system of regulation of the total water system, which must have some interface with the planning system that we are referring to in this Bill. It may not be in this clause, but somewhere in the Government’s …..." Lord Whitty - View Speech
"That is true, but it does not require a ballot of individual shareholders. There is a vote once a year, or whenever, so that a donation can be made at the annual general meeting. It is not a ballot...." Lord Whitty - View Speech
"My Lords, like others, I would have preferred renationalisation, but a strengthened and unified regulator was my second choice so I welcome much of this report. However, will the next stage, the White Paper and the later legislation, envisage a situation where there is a system closer to franchising than …..." Lord Whitty - View Speech
"My Lords, I would like to correct, in a sense, the impression given by the noble Lord, Lord Burns, of the activity of his Select Committee at the time. I was a member of that Select Committee, along with my noble friend Lady Drake, representing the interests of the Labour …..." Lord Whitty - View Speech
"My Lords, the concentration during this Question has been on national finance and national taxation, but the real crisis is in the finance of local authorities of all descriptions in all parts of the country, and under all political control. Do the Government intend to look at the basis of …..." Lord Whitty - View Speech
"My Lords, I am glad to follow the noble Baroness. I agreed with the first third of her speech. The latter part, however, I disagreed with. Less than 1% of agricultural land will be taken over by solar farms and similar sites. We need compulsory purchase to deliver some of …..." Lord Whitty - View Speech
"My Lords, I too served on the committee, and I thank the noble Baroness, Lady O’Grady, for her chairmanship and her introduction. I thank all members of the committee who have spoken today—and stolen all my lines—because they have done a great job in pointing out both the analysis of …..." Lord Whitty - View Speech
"My Lords, it is a pleasure to follow my noble friend Lady Lister. I hope the Government, in this Bill or elsewhere, follow up some of those points as a matter of urgency.
I am prone to write my speeches at the last minute. When I noticed I was number …..." Lord Whitty - View Speech
"My Lords, I thank the noble Baroness on the Woolsack for that clarification.
I applaud completely Amendment 8, and am glad that the Government have moved this amendment which reflects the discussion in Committee. However, I am deeply disappointed that they failed to reflect an amendment that I tabled in …..." Lord Whitty - View Speech