Environmental Protection

Debate between Thérèse Coffey and Greg Clark

Tuesday 18th July 2023 Commons Chamber

[Dr Coffey]

The water industry in Northern Ireland is not covered by the UK Government. It is a separate system, so with the greatest respect I think the hon. Gentleman will need to follow that up with the Northern Ireland Executive when they are reformed, which I hope will be soon. However, I will also ask the permanent secretary to write to him in that regard.

The regulations apply only to England. We invited the Welsh Government to join us in making the regulations, but they felt unable to act at the pace at which we have acted. That is not to say there are not sewage spillages or other environmental breaches in Wales—there are: we know that on average there were 38 spillages from Welsh storm overflows last year, compared with 23 in England.

The new regulations sit alongside the freedom that we have given Ofwat to link water company dividends to environmental performance. As I have referred to, the fines and penalties will be reinvested in local water improvement schemes through our new water restoration fund, while the water company will pay the polluter penalty and will have to fix the problems at no cost to the bill payer.

[Greg Clark (Tunbridge Wells) (Con)]

I welcome my right hon. Friend’s very timely regulations. This Thursday I am meeting the Environment Agency, along with two of my local angling societies, the Royal Tunbridge Wells Angling Society and the Dorset Arms Angling Club. Southern Water regularly pollutes the tributaries of the upper Medway, causing great damage to the natural environment and to those angling societies. Will the fines that are to be levied be available to the angling societies to restore the stocks of fish in which they have invested, which have been destroyed by those breaches by Southern Water?

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Thérèse Coffey and Greg Clark

Tuesday 25th March 2014 Commons Chamber

[Dr Thérèse Coffey (Suffolk Coastal) (Con)]

1. What discussions he has had with the New Anglia local enterprise partnership on devolving powers and responsibilities to that partnership.

[The Minister of State, Cabinet Office (Greg Clark)]

In the last 10 weeks, I have travelled across England to meet with all 39 local enterprise partnerships. As part of those visits, I had a very productive discussion with the New Anglia local enterprise partnership in Ipswich on 25 February, where we discussed its strategic economic plan.

[Dr Thérèse Coffey]

I welcome the positive discussions that my right hon. Friend the Minister had with the New Anglia LEP. May I urge him to make sure that we get the full responsibilities and powers that the New Anglia LEP board is seeking in order to accelerate the economy in East Anglia? Will he also pay tribute to Andy Wood, who is giving up as chairman of the LEP this coming Monday?

[Greg Clark]

I will certainly pay tribute to Andy Wood. He is the chief executive of Adnams, one of the biggest and most prestigious businesses in East Anglia, and he has done a fantastic job, not only in negotiating two city deals but in laying the foundations for what is—having discussed it with him—a very ambitious local growth deal that will build on the success that the economy is experiencing in East Anglia and create many more jobs and apprenticeships.

Core Cities

Debate between Thérèse Coffey and Greg Clark

Thursday 8th December 2011 Commons Chamber

[Greg Clark]

The hon. Member for Nottingham North (Mr Allen) looked somewhat askance at that, but I think that rivalry between cities is healthy. Cities should have an identity, and verve and competitiveness should be encouraged. As I said to the right hon. Member for Leeds Central (Hilary Benn), I will not rule out the inclusion of any cities that can make a good case for taking on some of these powers. I would certainly expect Leicester to be pre-eminent among those cities.

[Dr Thérèse Coffey (Suffolk Coastal) (Con)]

I grew up in the city of Liverpool and I am sure that fellow Scousers will welcome these proposals, but I now represent a seat in Suffolk, which does not have a city but is bigger than most of the cities that my hon. Friend has mentioned. What is stopping the transfer of these powers to shire counties, and why are they being restricted to cities at present?

[Greg Clark]

My hon. Friend knows that our agenda for decentralisation extends across the country to authorities of all types—indeed, the Localism Act enacts those powers—but it is right to recognise that our cities have particular challenges and opportunities. Just as cities around the world have prospered from having a policy focus, it is right that we should consider the challenges of urban Britain and, by transferring powers to cities and encouraging them to realise their potential, we should help our cities to do what cities in other countries do, which is to match or exceed the national average of prosperity. Too often, our cities are below the national average in income, and we want them to improve their position.