My Lords, I am humbled to speak for the first time in the House today. I thank all the wonderful staff and noble friends who have, in time-honoured fashion, facilitated the process of settling me in. I want to mention in particular the doorkeepers for all the assistance they have...

My Lords, I am humbled to speak for the first time in the House today. I thank all the wonderful staff and noble friends who have, in time-honoured fashion, facilitated the process of settling me in. I want to mention in particular the doorkeepers for all the assistance they have...

Lords motion to take note of the second report of the Built Environment Committee on The impact of environmental regulations on development (HL 254 2022-23). Agreed to on question.

Lords motion to take note of the second report of the Built Environment Committee on The impact of environmental regulations on development (HL 254 2022-23). Agreed to on question.

My Lords, I begin by offering a few words of thanks to the committee and its current and former members. I am delighted to see so many of them here today contributing to the debate. I also thank the clerk of the committee, Kate Wallis, the researchers, Anna Gillingham and...

My Lords, I begin by offering a few words of thanks to the committee and its current and former members. I am delighted to see so many of them here today contributing to the debate. I also thank the clerk of the committee, Kate Wallis, the researchers, Anna Gillingham and...

My Lords, it gives me great pleasure to follow the noble Lord, Lord Moylan, the chairman of the committee, of which I was a member for the full length of this inquiry. I echo his thanks to the clerk and the specialist adviser.

As the noble Lord has outlined, we had...

My Lords, it gives me great pleasure to follow the noble Lord, Lord Moylan, the chairman of the committee, of which I was a member for the full length of this inquiry. I echo his thanks to the clerk and the specialist adviser.

As the noble Lord has outlined, we had...

My Lords, it is a pleasure to speak on this report today. I was a member of the Built Environment Committee for a short period. I thank the noble Lord, Lord Moylan, for his chairmanship, and I thank the other members of the committee.

This inquiry is important and timely. As...

My Lords, it is a pleasure to speak on this report today. I was a member of the Built Environment Committee for a short period. I thank the noble Lord, Lord Moylan, for his chairmanship, and I thank the other members of the committee.

This inquiry is important and timely. As...

My Lords, I was honoured to serve on the Built Environment Committee for this inquiry, under the distinguished chairmanship of the noble Lord, Lord Moylan. I congratulate him on a brilliant opening speech. I also pay tribute to our brilliant clerk, Kate Wallis, and her team, and to Kelvin MacDonald,...

My Lords, I was honoured to serve on the Built Environment Committee for this inquiry, under the distinguished chairmanship of the noble Lord, Lord Moylan. I congratulate him on a brilliant opening speech. I also pay tribute to our brilliant clerk, Kate Wallis, and her team, and to Kelvin MacDonald,...

My Lords, it is a pleasure to follow the noble Lord, Lord Best, with whom I usually agree, but on this occasion I am afraid that I will come to a point of disagreement. Yes, of course people need homes but they also need healthy homes, which requires those homes...

My Lords, it is a pleasure to follow the noble Lord, Lord Best, with whom I usually agree, but on this occasion I am afraid that I will come to a point of disagreement. Yes, of course people need homes but they also need healthy homes, which requires those homes...

My Lords, I welcome the opportunity to participate in this debate and I congratulate my noble friend Lord Moylan and his committee on this excellent report. I also, of course, congratulate my noble friend Lord Banner, of Barnt Green, on his superb speech. He brings deep knowledge and expertise on...

My Lords, I welcome the opportunity to participate in this debate and I congratulate my noble friend Lord Moylan and his committee on this excellent report. I also, of course, congratulate my noble friend Lord Banner, of Barnt Green, on his superb speech. He brings deep knowledge and expertise on...

My Lords, I will not rehearse in this speech the points made in the committee’s report. They are now in the public domain and are clear and have been set out in this debate. I would, however, like to share a few reflections on the process that we have been...

My Lords, I will not rehearse in this speech the points made in the committee’s report. They are now in the public domain and are clear and have been set out in this debate. I would, however, like to share a few reflections on the process that we have been...

My Lords, I declare my interest as a vice-president of the Local Government Association. I welcome the noble Lord, Lord Banner, and thank him very much for his contribution. I know that we all look forward to hearing much more from him. I also thank my noble friend Lord Moylan...

My Lords, I declare my interest as a vice-president of the Local Government Association. I welcome the noble Lord, Lord Banner, and thank him very much for his contribution. I know that we all look forward to hearing much more from him. I also thank my noble friend Lord Moylan...

My Lords, I very much welcome the opportunity to debate this hugely important subject. I declare an interest as a resident in the part of Sussex affected by water neutrality. I am also a supporter of the local group Save Rural Southwater—SRS—which focuses on excessive residential development in contravention of...

My Lords, I very much welcome the opportunity to debate this hugely important subject. I declare an interest as a resident in the part of Sussex affected by water neutrality. I am also a supporter of the local group Save Rural Southwater—SRS—which focuses on excessive residential development in contravention of...

I too welcome the noble Lord, Lord Banner, to our Chamber; I appreciated his extremely pertinent contribution. Likewise, I echo my thanks to my committee members and to Kate and Kelvin, who kept the herd of cats focused. I am no longer a member of the committee, but I really...

I too welcome the noble Lord, Lord Banner, to our Chamber; I appreciated his extremely pertinent contribution. Likewise, I echo my thanks to my committee members and to Kate and Kelvin, who kept the herd of cats focused. I am no longer a member of the committee, but I really...

My Lords, I congratulate the noble Lord, Lord Banner, on his excellent maiden speech. I was very interested to hear his comments on Ukraine; from our side of the House, I reassure him again of our support for government actions on Ukraine to support the brave heroes there. I was...

My Lords, I congratulate the noble Lord, Lord Banner, on his excellent maiden speech. I was very interested to hear his comments on Ukraine; from our side of the House, I reassure him again of our support for government actions on Ukraine to support the brave heroes there. I was...

As ever, I am grateful to noble Lords for their considered views on this important topic. Given the number of recommendations in the report and the number of topics raised today, I will try to do justice in responding to them.

I begin by reiterating this Government’s commitment to delivering the...

As ever, I am grateful to noble Lords for their considered views on this important topic. Given the number of recommendations in the report and the number of topics raised today, I will try to do justice in responding to them.

I begin by reiterating this Government’s commitment to delivering the...

My Lords, I thank all noble Lords who contributed to this debate. I add my particular congratulations and thanks to my noble friend Lord Banner on his maiden speech. Given the time constraints, I hope that the noble Lords who spoke will forgive me if I do not respond individually...

My Lords, I thank all noble Lords who contributed to this debate. I add my particular congratulations and thanks to my noble friend Lord Banner on his maiden speech. Given the time constraints, I hope that the noble Lords who spoke will forgive me if I do not respond individually...

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the efficacy of current planning legislation in limiting light pollution of the night skies in England.

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the efficacy of current planning legislation in limiting light pollution of the night skies in England.

To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs on the responsibility of local authorities to work with water companies on polluted surface water outfalls caused by misconnections to sewers.

To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs on the responsibility of local authorities to work with water companies on polluted surface water outfalls caused by misconnections to sewers.

To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what steps he is taking with local authorities to help reduce light pollution in new housing developments.

To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what steps he is taking with local authorities to help reduce light pollution in new housing developments.

To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what guidance his Department has issued to local authorities on taking light pollution into account when considering applications for new housing developments.

To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what guidance his Department has issued to local authorities on taking light pollution into account when considering applications for new housing developments.

My Lords, Amendments 247YYE and 288B, in the name of the noble Lord, Lord Foster, and spoken to by the noble Lord, Lord Shipley, bring us to the often sensitive issue of second homes. We recognise that large volumes of second homes or short-term lets can become an issue when...

My Lords, Amendments 247YYE and 288B, in the name of the noble Lord, Lord Foster, and spoken to by the noble Lord, Lord Shipley, bring us to the often sensitive issue of second homes. We recognise that large volumes of second homes or short-term lets can become an issue when...