Climate Change Bill [HL]

My Lords, when we last addressed these issues I spoke of my experience as chairman of the National Rivers Authority for more than eight years, dealing with flood protection and flood emergencies. I followed immediately on from the noble Baroness, Lady Young of Old Scone, chief executive of the Environment Agency. She spoke of her experience and of her responsibilities in exactly the same field in recent months and years. I suggested to the Government that, in the light of the absolutely united views of her people, who have been responsible for those bodies over many years, they should take very seriously what was being said to them. In a debate on a previous amendment, the Minister said that we are starting now. But, as the noble Lord, Lord Teverson, rightly pointed out, the government amendment on this issue hardly involves starting now: it tells us that in 12 months’ time the Government will report on how they intend to exercise the powers of giving direction. Yet, if the noble Baroness, Lady Young of Old Scone, were here—I understand that she is attending a board meeting today—she would point out that this is a matter of great urgency. We are dealing with these emergency situations now. We are likely to be dealing with them in the near future. However, a number of the organisations which are most involved and where it is most likely that urgent action needs to be taken are not showing many signs of urgency at present. My noble friend Lord Taylor referred to the new local government performance framework. My information is that the results so far show that only about a third of local authorities have adopted the climate change adaptation performance measures as important for them. It does not suggest that they are showing great urgency. We have heard from the Environment Agency that a number of the key players in this game, such as the water supply and sewerage services, are not showing great signs of giving these issues the priority that is needed. We heard the excuse provided by the Minister on a previous occasion that if we had a wide-ranging requirement, there might be as many as 25,000 bodies receiving instruction. However this amendment deliberately bases the duty on the category 1 and category 2 organisations defined in the Civil Contingencies Act. They are the emergency services, National Health Service providers, utilities, local authorities and the Environment Agency. Surely there can be no question that those organisations should be getting on with it as a matter of urgency. The Government should be making it clear to those organisations now, or as soon as the Bill is enacted, that they will want to know how those clear duties are being addressed. It is no good putting this off. The Government will look foolish if, while the Secretary of State is considering what report he should lay before Parliament about what action he may take at some date in the future, there is a major emergency such as a flood disaster or another east coast flood of the kind that we have experienced in the past. If we find that the electricity utilities, for example, have not taken effective action or that other bodies which might be disastrously hit in such a flood have not taken preliminary measures, the Government will rightly be blamed for not giving this priority and for a lack of urgency. All we are urging the Government to do is take this issue as seriously as it needs to be taken, not to delay and to get on with it. I therefore strongly support these amendments and urge the Government to take them more seriously than they appear to have done so far.