My Lords, while I completely agree with the analysis that the Minister has just given of the importance of maintaining the course to homegrown renewable energy, can she tell me what the Government are going to do? We need considerable investment in grid infrastructure and in the work of the national grid so that we have the connectivity to make use of the energy that we are producing naturally.

My Lords, while I completely agree with the analysis that the Minister has just given of the importance of maintaining the course to homegrown renewable energy, can she tell me what the Government are going to do? We need considerable investment in grid infrastructure and in the work of the national grid so that we have the connectivity to make use of the energy that we are producing naturally.

My Lords, it is a pleasure to follow the noble Baroness, Lady Parminter. I will not repeat what she said, except to say how well chaired we were as a committee and to give my congratulations to the noble Baroness, Lady Taylor of Bolton. I thank Judith Brooke and her...

My Lords, it is a pleasure to follow the noble Baroness, Lady Parminter. I will not repeat what she said, except to say how well chaired we were as a committee and to give my congratulations to the noble Baroness, Lady Taylor of Bolton. I thank Judith Brooke and her...

My Lords, I am extremely grateful to the Minister for the clarity with which he has introduced these amendments. I am even more grateful to him for the very great care and attention that he and his team of officials gave to the concerns that were raised across the House...

My Lords, I am extremely grateful to the Minister for the clarity with which he has introduced these amendments. I am even more grateful to him for the very great care and attention that he and his team of officials gave to the concerns that were raised across the House...

My Lords, I am pleased to follow the noble Baroness, Lady Northover, and will speak to her amendments and my own on this subject in a moment. But first I express my gratitude for the time and effort that the Minister, his colleagues and all the Bill team have put...

My Lords, I am pleased to follow the noble Baroness, Lady Northover, and will speak to her amendments and my own on this subject in a moment. But first I express my gratitude for the time and effort that the Minister, his colleagues and all the Bill team have put...

My Lords, I welcome the noble Baroness back to her position on the Front Bench. Does she agree that a major issue underlying the decisions—which I know she cannot talk about—is the widespread concern about the cost of energy in this country? Does she further agree that the important thing...

My Lords, I welcome the noble Baroness back to her position on the Front Bench. Does she agree that a major issue underlying the decisions—which I know she cannot talk about—is the widespread concern about the cost of energy in this country? Does she further agree that the important thing...

My Lords, I welcome the Statement, and I very much agree with the noble Earl, Lord Russell, on much of what he said about the issues that face us. We have some enormously difficult issues to face. We have seen some of the immediate ones in in our hospitals, schools...

My Lords, I welcome the Statement, and I very much agree with the noble Earl, Lord Russell, on much of what he said about the issues that face us. We have some enormously difficult issues to face. We have seen some of the immediate ones in in our hospitals, schools...

I am going to ask a question in just a minute or two. We have some very difficult decisions to make on issues such as the North Sea, employment, how we get the new skills in, how we get the modular reactors in, what the pace of change is and...

I am going to ask a question in just a minute or two. We have some very difficult decisions to make on issues such as the North Sea, employment, how we get the new skills in, how we get the modular reactors in, what the pace of change is and...

My question to the Minister is this: does he share my concern that, instead of pooling our joint knowledge and energy into solving those problems when faced with a global crisis, we seem to be creating a more and more polarised and unproductive debate on all these issues?

My question to the Minister is this: does he share my concern that, instead of pooling our joint knowledge and energy into solving those problems when faced with a global crisis, we seem to be creating a more and more polarised and unproductive debate on all these issues?

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.

My Lords, it is a pleasure to follow the noble Lord, Lord Teverson. I agree very much with the final point that he made. I find many things depressing at the moment in reactions to issues of climate change, but one of them is the lack of enthusiasm about British...

My Lords, it is a pleasure to follow the noble Lord, Lord Teverson. I agree very much with the final point that he made. I find many things depressing at the moment in reactions to issues of climate change, but one of them is the lack of enthusiasm about British...

My Lords, it is a pleasure to follow the noble Baroness, Lady Bennett, and to say that I broadly support the action that she is suggesting in Amendment 83B. Organised environmental crime, including illegal deforestation and wildlife crime, is increasingly acknowledged as a major source of illicit finance and money...

My Lords, it is a pleasure to follow the noble Baroness, Lady Bennett, and to say that I broadly support the action that she is suggesting in Amendment 83B. Organised environmental crime, including illegal deforestation and wildlife crime, is increasingly acknowledged as a major source of illicit finance and money...

I hear what the noble Lord says, but that terrible leaden phrase “in due course” was used. He says that there is a way of looking at this in the context of many other issues. Can he give me a little bit of comfort? We are one year into the...

I hear what the noble Lord says, but that terrible leaden phrase “in due course” was used. He says that there is a way of looking at this in the context of many other issues. Can he give me a little bit of comfort? We are one year into the...

My Lords, unlike many noble Lords who will contribute to today’s debate, I have no direct experience of working in the financial services sector, although I suspect I might even apply for associate membership of the club of Members of your Lordships’ House who take part in this legislation that...

My Lords, unlike many noble Lords who will contribute to today’s debate, I have no direct experience of working in the financial services sector, although I suspect I might even apply for associate membership of the club of Members of your Lordships’ House who take part in this legislation that...

My Lords—

My Lords—

I give way to the noble Lord, Lord Grocott.

I give way to the noble Lord, Lord Grocott.

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.

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?

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?

My Lords, it is an absolute privilege to follow the very moving and focused speech of the noble and learned Baroness, Lady Prentis. Perhaps the one good thing about the last year that has been a real revelation, and something that I respect enormously, is the number of people who...

My Lords, it is an absolute privilege to follow the very moving and focused speech of the noble and learned Baroness, Lady Prentis. Perhaps the one good thing about the last year that has been a real revelation, and something that I respect enormously, is the number of people who...

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.