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My Lords, the Minister is obviously correct that we really do need to step back from this divisive and completely unsubstantiated move away from the consensus on the need to do something about the changes in the climate we are seeing around us day in, day out.
What the Minister said about systemic risk to financial services and long-term risk was reassuring, but I wonder whether I could ask him to have a word with his noble friend, the noble Lord, Lord Stockwood, about the Financial Services and Markets Bill currently going through this House. There are grave concerns that the provisions we put in three years ago to a Bill that the Minister will remember are being watered down when they need to be strengthened.
My Lords, the Minister is obviously correct that we really do need to step back from this divisive and completely unsubstantiated move away from the consensus on the need to do something about the changes in the climate we are seeing around us day in, day out.
What the Minister said about systemic risk to financial services and long-term risk was reassuring, but I wonder whether I could ask him to have a word with his noble friend, the noble Lord, Lord Stockwood, about the Financial Services and Markets Bill currently going through this House. There are grave concerns that the provisions we put in three years ago to a Bill that the Minister will remember are being watered down when they need to be strengthened.
I am grateful to the noble Baroness for her question. She is absolutely right in what she said about climate change. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change—the world’s foremost authority on climate change science—established in its sixth assessment report that climate change is real and is being driven by greenhouse gas emissions. It predicts that if the rate of warming is not limited to 1.5 degrees centigrade above pre-industrial levels, we risk severe and irreversible damage to our planet and our people. Of course, it will be good if we maintain a cross-party consensus on the measures necessary to tackle that.
I heard what the noble Baroness said about financial stability. She will know that the Bank of England’s December 2025 financial stability report set out the committee’s assessment of climate-related risk to UK financial stability: it is low relative to other countries in the shorter term.
My Lords, the Minister is of course right that there are complexities, and the review will have to look at all of those. However, there is the very uncomplex issue of the right of self-employed men to some sort of paternity leave. It would be reassuring to know that the Government recognise that this is an issue of principle that they must deal with, alongside the many other issues.
My Lords, the Minister is of course right that there are complexities, and the review will have to look at all of those. However, there is the very uncomplex issue of the right of self-employed men to some sort of paternity leave. It would be reassuring to know that the Government recognise that this is an issue of principle that they must deal with, alongside the many other issues.
We are clear in the terms of reference for the review that it considers the needs of self-employed parents, including fathers and partners. We agree that more can be done to improve the system. We are taking evidence, looking at international comparisons and looking to build on what we have already done. For example, we are bringing 32,000 parents into scope for paternity leave and around 1.5 million for unpaid parental leave as a consequence of the Employment Rights Act.
My Lords, returning to the debate we had about adaptation to climate change, would the Minister agree with me that, as well as
having the plans in place for how we respond to an immediate emergency, we have to look at the longer term? This has happened already, and it will happen more. Does she agree that we need to design and adapt buildings so that they are comfortable and safe for people during hot weather episodes?
My Lords, returning to the debate we had about adaptation to climate change, would the Minister agree with me that, as well as
having the plans in place for how we respond to an immediate emergency, we have to look at the longer term? This has happened already, and it will happen more. Does she agree that we need to design and adapt buildings so that they are comfortable and safe for people during hot weather episodes?
The noble Baroness is absolutely right: for hot weather and any form of extreme weather, we need to reflect that in design but also in how we look after each other. The national security strategy references climate change 12 times. This is a core part of who we are. As my noble friend referenced, we are seeing an increase in number of wildfires year on year as our climate changes. In preparation for this Question, there was a meeting with the Met Office to talk about the extremes and how we analyse them. It is also about the new modelling that we can do: how we will use AI in addition to traditional modelling so that we can better assess long-term patterns too is important, so that we can make sure that, as a Government, we are working across all sectors, whether building in design or working with our schools and hospitals to make sure they have the right resilience plans in place as and when needed.
My Lords, the noble Baroness, Lady Sherlock, made valiant attempts to provide clarity on the issue of fiduciary duty and systemic risk during the passage of the Pension Schemes Bill. She was defeated by the combined opposition, for reasons I still do not understand, but the Government are now saying, I understand, that they are going to take action in the coming months or years. Will the Minister do her best to make sure that it is months rather than years?
My Lords, the noble Baroness, Lady Sherlock, made valiant attempts to provide clarity on the issue of fiduciary duty and systemic risk during the passage of the Pension Schemes Bill. She was defeated by the combined opposition, for reasons I still do not understand, but the Government are now saying, I understand, that they are going to take action in the coming months or years. Will the Minister do her best to make sure that it is months rather than years?
I am always trying to make sure that things happen in months rather than years. It is not as easy as I might have thought it was, but we do endeavour to do that. Regulations on governance, pooling and investment will be laid at the end of this month. They are expected to enter into force at the end of June. These will be made using powers under the Pension Schemes Act 2026, which, as we all know, received Royal Assent on 29 April this year. Guidance on governance, investment strategy statements and pooling will be published in advance of the regulations entering into force.
My Lords, I declare an interest as a director of Peers for the Planet. Like others, I welcome the publication of the Warm Homes Plan and the increased target for the initiation of low-carbon heat networks. But I ask the Minister: what plans do the Government have to ensure that we have a trained and efficient workforce able to carry through these plans? We have had many energy-efficiency
and insulation plans in the past that have foundered because we have not had the workforce able to implement them.
My Lords, I declare an interest as a director of Peers for the Planet. Like others, I welcome the publication of the Warm Homes Plan and the increased target for the initiation of low-carbon heat networks. But I ask the Minister: what plans do the Government have to ensure that we have a trained and efficient workforce able to carry through these plans? We have had many energy-efficiency
and insulation plans in the past that have foundered because we have not had the workforce able to implement them.
The noble Baroness makes an excellent point on the need to run the expansion of facilities such as heat networks, and indeed many other green and low-carbon technologies, alongside an assurance that the skills are available to put those into place and the workforce is available to do those things. That is part of the wider government plan to make sure that training and skills are properly matched to the low-carbon future that we have in front of us, rather than training people for, dare I say, obsolete technologies that will have a relatively short life in the future and will be superseded by this widespread series of low-carbon technologies.
My Lords, I declare my interest as a director of Peers for the Planet. Given what the noble Lord, Lord Teverson, said, in asking this Question, about the increased productivity of onshore wind when it is a replacement for existing infrastructure, is it not time that the Government did as he said and got on with it? I remind the Minister that the urgency of coming to conclusions on repowering existing onshore wind was included in the Private Member’s Bill that I introduced in your Lordships’ House some five years ago.
My Lords, I declare my interest as a director of Peers for the Planet. Given what the noble Lord, Lord Teverson, said, in asking this Question, about the increased productivity of onshore wind when it is a replacement for existing infrastructure, is it not time that the Government did as he said and got on with it? I remind the Minister that the urgency of coming to conclusions on repowering existing onshore wind was included in the Private Member’s Bill that I introduced in your Lordships’ House some five years ago.
I pay tribute to the noble Baroness for all her work in this field and for introducing that Bill. As far as getting on with it is concerned, there is nobody who wants to get on with it more than I do. The noble Lord, Lord Teverson, has drawn attention to the fact that we have probably 10.7 gigawatts or more of onshore wind capacity that could retire between 2027 and 2042, and those onshore farms will be completely lost if they retire without any repowering. So repowering is clearly essential, not only to keep those wind farms going on the same sites but because of the tremendous power gain that could come about by using modern turbine methods and modern blades to increase the output by perhaps up to two-thirds when those existing sites are repowered.
My Lords, I am grateful to the Minister for that encouraging reply, and particularly for the reinstatement of the parliamentary donation service. However, as she says, this is a very heavy winter season for the NHS. It is a heavy flu season and a heavy holiday season, which puts pressure on donors. Is she confident that she will fill those extra donor slots and that there will be security of supply for the winter? Is she looking at specific campaigns aimed at those of black heritage and younger people, because it is important to get people early? She might remind Members of this House that you can start being a blood donor in your 60s but, if you start earlier than that, you can go on for a while longer.
My Lords, I am grateful to the Minister for that encouraging reply, and particularly for the reinstatement of the parliamentary donation service. However, as she says, this is a very heavy winter season for the NHS. It is a heavy flu season and a heavy holiday season, which puts pressure on donors. Is she confident that she will fill those extra donor slots and that there will be security of supply for the winter? Is she looking at specific campaigns aimed at those of black heritage and younger people, because it is important to get people early? She might remind Members of this House that you can start being a blood donor in your 60s but, if you start earlier than that, you can go on for a while longer.
I certainly echo the noble Baroness’s comments. It is thanks to the generosity of donors—including the noble Baroness herself, who is I know is approaching her 50th donation—that overall blood stocks are at target levels, but she is right about the extra pressures coming through because of winter. The launch of the national campaign to highlight the constant need for blood in this season and to recruit new donors was set under way last month. We also have targeted media campaigns; for example, in areas of the country with larger black heritage communities to highlight the urgent need for more donors from that group.
To ask His Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to ensure the supply of blood and blood products this winter.
To ask His Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to ensure the supply of blood and blood products this winter.
My Lords, NHS Blood and Transplant has expanded donation capacity to meet the nation’s needs, opening three new donor centres and additional mobile sessions, adding 3,900 weekly appointments. However, blood stocks remain fragile, and we urgently need more donors, with 71,000 appointments still to fill over the festive period. I urge everyone, including noble Lords, to donate. Noble Lords will have the opportunity at tomorrow’s dedicated parliamentary session in Portcullis House to help to ensure a resilient and reliable blood supply this winter.
I am grateful to the noble Lord for that Answer and recognise that some limited progress has been made, but it really is too little, and 2030 is too far ahead, given that methane is one of the most damaging, dangerous and fast-acting greenhouse gases. The practice of venting and flaring in non-emergency situations is both wasteful and damaging to the environment. We were very near to achieving a ban in the Bill that was going through Parliament when the general election was called. The Labour Front Bench at that time supported amendments for a ban. Why do we have to wait longer? Would this not be a very good initiative for the Prime Minister to announce when he goes to COP 30 next month?
I am grateful to the noble Lord for that Answer and recognise that some limited progress has been made, but it really is too little, and 2030 is too far ahead, given that methane is one of the most damaging, dangerous and fast-acting greenhouse gases. The practice of venting and flaring in non-emergency situations is both wasteful and damaging to the environment. We were very near to achieving a ban in the Bill that was going through Parliament when the general election was called. The Labour Front Bench at that time supported amendments for a ban. Why do we have to wait longer? Would this not be a very good initiative for the Prime Minister to announce when he goes to COP 30 next month?
I thank the noble Baroness for that question. I just want to point out a few facts on this. As of 2023, methane emissions from upstream oil and gas accounted for less than 2% of all methane emissions. In its emissions monitoring report this year, the North Sea Transition Authority estimates that absolute methane emissions from oil and gas production have fallen by more than 60%, and flaring reduced by 51% between 2018 and 2024. The regulator issues consents for flaring and venting activity, with strict limits, and uses enforcement with fines of more than half a million pounds. The regulator is also taking action to increase transparency and accountability with regular published updates. I think our approach is working.
To ask His Majesty’s Government what plans they have to end routine non-emergency venting and flaring on offshore oil and gas infrastructure.
To ask His Majesty’s Government what plans they have to end routine non-emergency venting and flaring on offshore oil and gas infrastructure.
In 2020 the UK committed to the World Bank zero routine flaring by 2030 initiative to end routine flaring and venting by 2030. The UK’s oil and gas sector has one of the lowest upstream methane emission intensities globally, but the North Sea contains a lot of ageing infrastructure, including much with only a short production life remaining. However, the approach the UK has been taking, with support from government and regulators, means that the industry is on track to meet its ambitious emissions reduction targets.
I am grateful to the noble Lord.
Does the Minister accept that the damage done in individual institutions by cuts in education and skills training is compounded by the effect of the churn going on in the prison population at the moment, meaning that many prisoners are in individual institutions for short periods of time before they are moved to another institution? That is very damaging to the effect, which the Minister was talking about, of having the encouragement to change.
I am grateful to the noble Lord.
Does the Minister accept that the damage done in individual institutions by cuts in education and skills training is compounded by the effect of the churn going on in the prison population at the moment, meaning that many prisoners are in individual institutions for short periods of time before they are moved to another institution? That is very damaging to the effect, which the Minister was talking about, of having the encouragement to change.
I completely agree. Stability is really important. That is one of the things that I am trying to get into the system. The Sentencing Bill that will come to your Lordships’ House has a real focus on stability. The noble Baroness will know from her fantastic work in prisons that you want to be able to work with an individual for a long period of time to help them turn their life around. When I went to Eastwood Park, a women’s prison just north of Bristol, the average number of days a woman is there is 46. That is just not long enough to support them with their often significantly complex needs.
My Lords, I urge the Minister to be not quite so adamant in his rejection of road pricing. My first job in government was as Minister for Roads. A year in, I was due to visit South Korea to look at road pricing and the opportunities that might occur in this country, but I was moved the day before I went. It was to be my first and only trip abroad as Minister for Roads, and I do not believe that anyone went after me. The arguments that have been made by the noble Lords, Lord Young of Cookham and Lord Birt, have become only more pressing in the years that have gone by, but the opportunities for making the system fairer have also increased because of the increase in technologies. I therefore urge the Minister to think a little more broadly on this issue.
My Lords, I urge the Minister to be not quite so adamant in his rejection of road pricing. My first job in government was as Minister for Roads. A year in, I was due to visit South Korea to look at road pricing and the opportunities that might occur in this country, but I was moved the day before I went. It was to be my first and only trip abroad as Minister for Roads, and I do not believe that anyone went after me. The arguments that have been made by the noble Lords, Lord Young of Cookham and Lord Birt, have become only more pressing in the years that have gone by, but the opportunities for making the system fairer have also increased because of the increase in technologies. I therefore urge the Minister to think a little more broadly on this issue.
As I say, there is a great deal of expertise across the House on this matter, and the noble Baroness is no exception. She knows a great deal about the topic. I think I have said what I was going to say on this matter: we have no plans to introduce road pricing.
I declare my interest as a director of Peers for the Planet. Should we not be aware, in discussing this Question, that extreme heat affects us in certain ways, but extreme heat overseas can have devastating effects on crops, with drought, famine and population changes and movements, so we should not treat this lightly? Alongside the need for mitigation, resilience measures and everything that the Minister has said, is not the proof of the increased likelihood of these sorts of episodes an absolute clarion call for this country not to withdraw or retreat from our commitment to domestic progress and international leadership on fighting further climate change?
I declare my interest as a director of Peers for the Planet. Should we not be aware, in discussing this Question, that extreme heat affects us in certain ways, but extreme heat overseas can have devastating effects on crops, with drought, famine and population changes and movements, so we should not treat this lightly? Alongside the need for mitigation, resilience measures and everything that the Minister has said, is not the proof of the increased likelihood of these sorts of episodes an absolute clarion call for this country not to withdraw or retreat from our commitment to domestic progress and international leadership on fighting further climate change?
The noble Baroness raises excellent points about why we are having to have these conversations in the first place. It is clear that the chance of 40-degree days in the UK is now 20 times higher than it was in the 1960s, and we have a 50:50 chance of a 40-degree day within the next 12 years. This is changing within the UK, and obviously that has a knock-on effect on climate elsewhere, which is why we need to take this extremely seriously in terms of our impact on the environment and why I was so pleased to see in our industrial strategy, which we published on Monday as part of our plan for change, that we made commitments to green jobs, investment in green energy, embedding net zero and challenges to climate change within our plans for government across every department.
My Lords, like others who have spoken, I too have been supportive and admiring of the courage and commitment that many, whether Palestinians or Israelis, have put into their peacebuilding
organisations, many of them brought together by the Alliance for Middle East Peace. The Minister talks about the two-state solution and how we get there. Does he agree, and are the Government taking steps to ensure, that representatives of ordinary citizens from those communities need to be there to build up that peace process when it eventually comes?
My Lords, like others who have spoken, I too have been supportive and admiring of the courage and commitment that many, whether Palestinians or Israelis, have put into their peacebuilding
organisations, many of them brought together by the Alliance for Middle East Peace. The Minister talks about the two-state solution and how we get there. Does he agree, and are the Government taking steps to ensure, that representatives of ordinary citizens from those communities need to be there to build up that peace process when it eventually comes?
I could not agree more with the noble Baroness. Another important element of this is not only to ensure that a range of communities are properly represented in the future but to focus on our women, peace, and security agenda. Women can play an important role there too, and I am committed to that. We will have plenty of opportunity to address the big picture in our debate on the Statements tonight, but I repeat that, underneath all that, there is a real strong desire on the ground for intercommunity and interfaith organisations, and for economic development to lift people out of the situation they are in.
My Lords, I declare my interest as a director of Peers for the Planet. Does not the conversation that has just gone around the House illustrate clearly that there are a number of serious issues with the cost of electricity that need to be looked at in a comprehensive way? As has been said, we need to look at decoupling it from gas prices, the tariffs and the effect of zonal pricing—if it comes in, and many people have suggested it. When are the Government going to look at all those issues in the round? Is that something the REMA review will do, and when will we hear the results of it?
My Lords, I declare my interest as a director of Peers for the Planet. Does not the conversation that has just gone around the House illustrate clearly that there are a number of serious issues with the cost of electricity that need to be looked at in a comprehensive way? As has been said, we need to look at decoupling it from gas prices, the tariffs and the effect of zonal pricing—if it comes in, and many people have suggested it. When are the Government going to look at all those issues in the round? Is that something the REMA review will do, and when will we hear the results of it?
We will hear from the REMA review in due course. We take this issue very seriously and we will be looking at all the factors the noble Baroness has mentioned. When we have reached a conclusion, we will come back to the House.
My Lords, the last time we discussed this question in your Lordships’ House, I told the House how I had personal experience from a member of my family on this issue, who paid way over the odds to get a timely test. While I welcome the consultation that the Minister described, can he also
say something about what the Government are doing to recruit more driving examiners so that more slots can be made available? The secondary market is thriving because what ought to be a government service that is easily available is not.
My Lords, the last time we discussed this question in your Lordships’ House, I told the House how I had personal experience from a member of my family on this issue, who paid way over the odds to get a timely test. While I welcome the consultation that the Minister described, can he also
say something about what the Government are doing to recruit more driving examiners so that more slots can be made available? The secondary market is thriving because what ought to be a government service that is easily available is not.
I thank the noble Baroness. Of course, it is not right that people should be paying a premium for something that is a public service. Since July 2024, 287 recruits have been taken on board and started a training course, of which 170 have completed training successfully, 74 failed to complete the course and 43 are in training, and a further 178 are either booked for a training start or are in pre-employment checks after accepting an offer. The Government are working hard to increase the number of tests, but, as I said previously, people’s behaviour is changing: because they know that currently it is quite difficult, they are booking the test almost when they start and get a provisional licence. We have to increase the number of tests available through having more driving examiners—and there is more work yet to do to increase the number of people who can train and test prospective driving examiners—but we also have to do things to the booking system to reduce the prevalence of bots being successful.
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Taylor of Stevenage on 15 May (HL7063–7), what plans they have to monitor the amount and types of land that solar panels are installed on in the future.
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Taylor of Stevenage on 15 May (HL7063–7), what plans they have to monitor the amount and types of land that solar panels are installed on in the future.
The Department currently monitors the geographical location of solar developments through the Renewable Energy Planning Database (REPD). We plan to broaden the scope of this database to provide information on the area and types of agricultural land used by existing solar projects and those in the planning pipeline.
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the remarks by Baroness Taylor of Stevenage on 14 May (HL Deb cols 2301), what assessment they have made of the results of the Green Homes Finance Accelerator programme, and what plans they have to take forward and scale up any of its initiatives.
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the remarks by Baroness Taylor of Stevenage on 14 May (HL Deb cols 2301), what assessment they have made of the results of the Green Homes Finance Accelerator programme, and what plans they have to take forward and scale up any of its initiatives.
The Green Home Finance Accelerator programme, supports the development of innovative green finance products and services that help homeowners cover the upfront cost of decarbonising their homes.
Following a competitive process, 26 projects were awarded funding to research and develop their product over a six-month Discovery Phase. 13 projects were successful in securing a share of approximately £16 million to pilot their products with homeowners across the UK until June 2025. The results of the pilot phase for each project will be published later in the year and the Government will use the findings of these to inform future policy development.
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to produce a warm homes plan, as set out in the Labour Party Manifesto 2024; and when they expect to publish it.
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to produce a warm homes plan, as set out in the Labour Party Manifesto 2024; and when they expect to publish it.
The Government will publish a Warm Homes Plan in due course, this will set out how we will help people find ways to save money on energy bills and transform our ageing building stock into comfortable, low-carbon homes that are fit for the future.
As the first step towards the Warm Homes Plan, the Government has committed an initial £3.4 billion over the next 3 years towards heat decarbonisation and household energy efficiency, with £1bn of this allocated to 2025/2026.
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the remarks by Baroness Taylor of Stevenage on 14 May (HL Deb cols 2301), what plans they have to introduce low-interest loans for landlords to install energy efficiency measures, similar to schemes in Scotland.
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the remarks by Baroness Taylor of Stevenage on 14 May (HL Deb cols 2301), what plans they have to introduce low-interest loans for landlords to install energy efficiency measures, similar to schemes in Scotland.
Private finance can play a key role in helping us achieve our decarbonisation ambitions. As part of the Government’s ambitious Warm Homes Plan, officials are exploring the role of incentives and private finance for households to support homeowners, including landlords, with the upfront costs of energy efficiency upgrades and low carbon energy technology. This includes engaging with the finance sector on the potential for low-interest loans.
After the spending review, we will be publishing the Warm Homes Plan which will set out further details.