Queen’s Speech

My Lords, this has been an engaging and wide-ranging debate and it is a formidable challenge to respond in detail to the many very interesting comments that have been made. But it is my pleasant duty first of all to echo other noble Lords in congratulating our two right reverend Prelates on the excellence of their maiden speeches. The right reverend Prelate the Bishop of Blackburn took us on an interesting trip on a tram car in Blackpool with the most reverend Primate the Archbishop of Canterbury. He made the point about the interrelationship between history and opportunity. I thought that there was an implied message to the political parties to get back to Blackpool for our conferences, something that I would like to do. I am tempted to ask the right reverend Prelate whether he discussed, in the tram car, the most reverend Primate’s journey to Rome, but perhaps that is a subject for another day. The right reverend Prelate the Bishop of Lichfield reminded us of the deprivation that is suffered by many people in his diocese, but also of its outstanding beauty. He made an interesting point about young people’s need to learn about farming. I was reminded of my visit to the farm of the noble Lord, Lord Plumb, in Warwickshire, where his son is doing such inspirational work in terms of school visits to the farm. That is an interesting initiative, which we need to support. One theme that has run through today’s debate concerns climate change. I know that in recent days there has been considerable comment about the science. The Government believe that the world’s leading scientists have shown overwhelmingly that the changes that we are experiencing are not down to natural variation. The noble Baroness, Lady Wilcox, made an important contribution in this regard. As Professor Bob Watson, Defra’s Chief Scientific Adviser, has said: ""Evidence for climate change is irrefutable. The world’s leading scientists overwhelmingly agree what we’re experiencing is not down to natural variation"." The noble Lord, Lord Reay, raised the question of the Climate Research Unit at UEA. Work undertaken by that unit has been peer-reviewed by independent scientists over many years. The temperature theories developed by that unit are independent of but almost identical to two similar theories generated independently by NASA and the NOAA in the US. The science behind those analyses is robust in representing global and regional temperature changes over this period. My noble friend Lord Judd is right. We need international agreement to tackle the challenge of climate change. It is a global problem that needs a global solution. An ambitious climate deal is vital to our economic prosperity and national security. The science surely shows what is at stake in poor countries of the world if we do nothing, but projections also show that this country will suffer as well. Whatever the outcome in Copenhagen, and I am optimistic, as are my department and the Secretary of State, there remains the huge challenge of what we have to do in this country to reduce our emissions. My noble friend Lord Giddens posed a number of questions to the three political parties. I noted that neither the noble Lord, Lord Teverson, nor the noble Lord, Lord Taylor, responded to them, but I should do so. I agree that smoking is not the best example to use, given that the first major report to hit the headlines was in 1963 at a conference of the Royal Society of Health, if I remember rightly, and it has taken many years since then. The problem with climate change is that we do not have that time. My noble friend said that the Government rely too much on persuasion, but in the end persuasion is important. Public ownership is important, but legislation has its part. We have legislated in the past two or three years very importantly in this area. As for taxation and such matters, the Government have been open about the fact that there is a cost to our climate change policies and that some of that cost is being met in prices. We will continue to use those levers that are necessary, alongside education and persuasion, to make sure that we reduce emissions in this country. We should not underestimate the impact of carbon budgets on the performance and behaviour of individual government departments, because that will force through the necessary changes in policies. My noble friend Lady Jones of Whitchurch made an important point in relation to waste resource. We must not forget the arguments over sustainability and resource efficiency, which are as important as direct climate change policies and reducing emissions. The noble Baroness, Lady Young, talked about the importance of adaptation. She is right and I thank her for her work on the Adaptation Sub-Committee. Also, we believe that the duty to report by public authorities on their adaptation plans with a parallel duty on local authorities is an important way forward in ensuring that we have the right adaptation strategies. We are building them in now so that in 20 or 30 years’ time we have the right kind of resilience in our infrastructure. That takes us to the Flood and Water Management Bill. I echo the remarks of the noble Baroness, Lady Wilcox. She is right: we have seen that flooding can have terrible consequences. This flood has come on the back of the floods in the summer of 2007, which tragically took 13 lives, affected 55,000 properties and resulted in £3 billion of damage. Sir Michael Pitt’s review made it clear that a changing climate means that we have not just to invest but to modernise and make transparent our systems for managing flood risk, and water management generally, as the noble Lord, Lord Birt, suggested. The Bill is a crucial part of implementing Sir Michael Pitt’s recommendations. I am very grateful to noble Lords for the support that they have intimated today for the general principles of the Bill. I say to the noble Lord, Lord Greaves, that we do not underestimate either the scale of the need for funding or the impact on householders affected. The noble Baroness, Lady Knight of Collingtree, was persuasive on that point. I know that there is some disappointment about the size of the Bill but, inevitably in the fifth Session of a Parliament, we have had to scale it down to meet the needs of a short Session. Again, the essential point is to get the Bill through because it contains essential elements of the progress that we need to make. A number of noble Lords mentioned the role of the Environment Agency. I make it clear that we do not see the Bill as centralising power for managing flood risk to the Environment Agency. While the agency is responsible for a full national strategic overview, the Bill explicitly gives local authorities the lead role in handling local flood risk. That is but one example of the confidence that the Government show in local authorities. On the question of building on flood plains, I say to the noble Baroness, Lady Knight, that we do not believe that there should be an outright ban on developing where there is a risk of flooding. There is clear guidance to planning authorities on this matter. It is made clear that planning decisions must be based on a full appreciation of the risks, balanced against other community needs, which may well result in some further development of currently protected areas. However, the planning guidance makes it clear that current and future flood risk has to be taken into account in the planning process. We have had a good debate on transport, particularly the railways. My noble friend has been listening carefully to that. I am delighted that there is such support for electrification and the building of a new high-speed line. My noble friend Lord Berkeley had some interesting points to make about developing High Speed Two—including learning the lessons of the highly successful High Speed One—and the needs of rail freight, which I know my noble friend will consider. I say to the noble Earl, Lord Glasgow, on his point about linking airports, that the Government are, as part of the study, looking at interconnectivity with Heathrow. I also point out the strategic siting of Birmingham International Airport next to the railway system. I say to the noble Lord, Lord Bradshaw, that we are committed to delivering the full 24 trains per hour frequency for Thameslink. The department has set up a £15.9 billion funding package to cover all costs for Crossrail, including contingency and inflation. I listened with great interest to the comments of the noble Earl, Lord Mar and Kellie, particularly about the super-express trains. Of course, he knows that there are many key intercity destinations off the electrified main line, where the low number of services does not justify the capital cost of electrification. That is where a bi-mode train will provide a key off-wire destination with through services, while making use of cheaper, cleaner and greener electric power where available. The right reverend Prelate the Bishop of Blackburn and my noble friend Lord Berkeley made some interesting points about cycling. My noble friend thought that we could go further than the target of 5 per cent. I understand that the current figure is 2 per cent, so reaching 5 per cent would be an achievement. However, if we can go further, that would indeed be a very good thing to do. I see my noble friend beside me. It would be particularly welcome if there could be a few more bike stands at New Street station, given that there has been a problem of overcapacity for many years and the response of the railway managers is to put up notices saying that you cannot park your bike anywhere else. My noble friend Lord Rosser raised an interesting point about flying hours and safety. I congratulate him on his appointment as chair of the Merits Committee; I think that is one answer to the noble Baroness, Lady Byford, who complained about the number of statutory instruments. The Merits Committee has enabled the House to distinguish between routine statutory instruments and those which are very important and need additional scrutiny. I am sure that we wish him very well. On the issue of European safety in aviation, my noble friend is right that we are considering responses to the consultation on a first draft. I understand that those are unlikely to be finalised until 2011, but we are confident that they will ensure the same high level of safety as we have in the current CAA rules. Of course the safety of passengers and crew has to be, and is, our top priority. I know that my noble friend would be happy to speak to my other noble friend on this matter. The question of air quality was raised by the noble Lord, Lord Berkeley. We made an application on PM10 to the Commission in April. We have set out how we think compliance will be achieved in eight UK areas, including London, and how it will be achieved by 2011. We obviously hope to avoid infraction fines, and we depend very much on co-operation with the Mayor of London, who published an air quality strategy in October. Defra will be working with the mayor on the detail of those measures. Perhaps I may turn to energy. It is a familiar refrain from noble Lords opposite and in other parts of the House that the Government have somehow neglected energy policy over the past few years. I stand here to reject that charge, utterly and totally. The Government have been forthright in taking forward their energy policy. I believe that we are in a very good situation in developing the trinity of low-carbon energy: nuclear, renewables, and clean coal. We see in relation to grid and planning reform the introduction of legislation on smart meters, feed-in tariffs and the renewable heat incentive. It is a heady mixture that will give this country the kind of energy policy that does not exist in others. I have heard other noble Lords say that this country is behind other countries, but that is not how those countries see it. In my travels around the globe as Energy Minister, I have frequently come across Energy Ministers in other countries who much admire the concerted and cohesive approach that this country is taking on energy. On feed-in tariffs and smart meters, perhaps I may say to the noble Lord, Lord Teverson, that I well understand the frustration that people feel. I know that they sometimes feel that there are too many consultations, but we have to get it right on feed-in tariffs and smart meters. The consultations have closed and I hope that we will be able to announce their outcome fairly shortly. I understand that companies need certainty on future investment decisions. I understand the need for speed. My noble friend Lord Haworth asked about the future of large power plants, and I know that there has been concern about what has been described as an energy supply gap. Although 18 gigawatts of electricity generation capacity is due to close by 2018, there is nearly 22 gigawatts either under construction or with planning consent. We are not at all complacent, and we have been leading in pushing for flexibilities in the industrial emissions directive to help smooth the transition to a low-carbon electricity system and avoid more closures in 2016. On the question of investment issues, raised by the noble Lord, Lord Tombs, I assure him that the Government are not complacent. I recognise the scale of the investment challenge at the moment, particularly going forward over the next 10 years. The noble Lord, Lord Birt, spoke eloquently of the need for investment in national infrastructure. He is surely right: energy will have to be a particular area of focus in the next 10 years. The noble Lord, Lord Broers, referred to the importance of the manufacturing sector. As someone who comes from the West Midlands, I very much share his view of the importance of the manufacturing sector in this country. I do not agree with him that we have lost the race in relation to nuclear. Our decision to turn to nuclear enables us to develop a very strong UK supply chain. I believe that many skilled jobs will be created for people in this country in the years ahead. On renewables, I say to the noble Lord that this country is the leading exponent of offshore wind, and there is also great future potential in wave and tidal. Many opportunities will be available but we need skilled people. I agree with the points made by the noble Baroness, Lady Sharp, on the need to develop skills strategies. The business department takes the lead on that but I take a very close interest in it. I am keen to ensure that we take advantage of the huge opportunities for people in this country afforded by the nuclear and renewables sectors, and to point young people in the direction of the energy sector because it can offer them good jobs for many years to come. On clean coal, I make it clear that the Government are determined to take forward proposals on the up to four scaled-up projects on carbon capture and storage. I say to the noble Lord, Lord Jenkin, that of course it is right that the regulations under the Bill we are bringing forward should be subject to scrutiny in both Houses. I very much agree with him on that. I agree with my noble friend Lord O’Neill that there is great potential for the UK to have a leadership role in carbon capture and storage technology. It is very important that we take advantage of that. I commend my noble friend Lord Haworth for the foresight displayed in his maiden speech with regard to nuclear energy. We are not being slow in this area. We have published our draft national policy statement on energy, including nuclear. We are working very hard on generic design assessment. I am confident that the first new nuclear power station will be ready by Christmas 2017. At this stage I know of no reason why that should not be so. I say to the noble Lord, Lord Jenkin, that I understand that the Lords Procedure Committee has agreed a process with regard to the scrutiny of the national policy statements and that during the current scrutiny period there will be a debate in Grand Committee to which I will have the pleasure of responding. The scrutiny period runs until 6 May next year, so there is ample opportunity for the House to consider these matters in greater detail. The noble Lords, Lord Jenkin and Lord Teverson, referred to carbon pricing. I very much understand the importance of this matter. The ETS cap is due to be tightened from 2013, but essentially we have to come back to Copenhagen. On the assumption that we get a good deal, Europe has to come back to the negotiating table to revisit its 2020 target. That would have a positive effect on the carbon price. The Government have said that they will keep this matter very much under review, and I continue to commit to that. I understand the importance of the matter, particularly as regards certainty in the energy sector and future investment plans. The noble Lord, Lord Reay, is sceptical of wind energy’s potential. I do not think that we will ever agree on that point, but we do not believe that the changes in the planning system are undermining the role of local authorities. Most of the energy planning consent decisions submitted to the IPC arise under existing legislation. It is important to remember that the consultation process which developers have to go through has in essence to be signed off by the local authority, because if it is not satisfied that the local consultation is effective then the IPC can refuse to consider an application. On recovery powers, I say to the noble Lord, Lord Reay, that my understanding is that of the 27,000 appeals made each year, 110 are decided by the Secretary of State. That is an appropriate use of those powers and is justified. Only a small minority of appeals are decided by the Secretary of State, usually because the development is large or controversial and includes proposals of major significance. That power is used in a highly proportionate way. In taking forward our climate change policies it is important that we ensure a fair deal for all customers. My noble friends Lord Whitty and Lord O’Neill made some very important points about fuel poverty—that we should ensure that the impact of climate change policies does not fall disproportionately on poorer people. We share that view and their view that the measures in the Bill that are important to the social tariff are taken forward. Of course, we will continue to redouble our efforts to make sure that prices now and in the future are fair. I should say to the noble Lord, Lord Plumb, that the absence of comment on farming in the Queen’s Speech does not mean that we underestimate the importance of the farming sector. The noble Lord, Lord Haskins, made some important points about population growth and food production. The Government have taken forward the Food 2030 initiative, which is looking very much at issues around food security and sustainability and it will make an important contribution to the work needed in this area. The noble Lord, Lord Inglewood, mentioned CAP reform, which we are very keen to see. The CAP health-check agreement in January set a timetable for a managed phase-out of quotas by 2015. We want a profitable and internationally competitive farming sector which is not dependent on public subsidy. At the same time, the uplands entry-level stewardship scheme will help fund upland farmers. I understand the points raised by the noble Lord and the noble Baroness, Lady Byford, about the challenges faced by upland farmers. The single payments scheme and the Rural Payments Agency is a well-tried area of debate. Perhaps we should not dwell on this too much. [Laughter] Indeed, I am sure that we should not dwell on it too much. However, the Government and Ministers have apologised for the problems that the scheme has caused to farmers affected. I have to say that progress has been made. Customer satisfaction ratings have risen, and for 2009 payments, the agency expects at least to match its performance of last year, when nearly £1 billion was paid to some 70,000 in December. A review of the RPA is continuing. I take on board the comments about efficiency and we will seek very much to learn the lessons. On animal health and welfare, we intend to publish a draft Bill in the new year. Country-of-origin food labelling, raised by the noble Baroness, Lady Byford, and the noble Lord, Lord Plumb, is a very important issue. The long-term solution lies with the proposed EU food information regulation, which will not be adopted before 2013. However, we will continue to work hard in this area. I turn now to the noble Lord, Lord Bates, who, in a highly entertaining but somewhat provocative speech, seemed to be concerned that the Government were too interested in targets. I understand some of his concerns, but most of my ministerial experience has been in the health department, in which we had targets. I do not think that we would have achieved the progress that we have made on getting rid of waiting times without those targets. I remind the noble Lord of the record of the previous Conservative Government. I do not recall that they were shy of centralisation tendencies when it came to local government. I recall the imposition of caps on expenditure and other draconian methods. He and other noble Lords who have spoken—the noble Lords, Lord Greaves and Lord Tope, and the noble Baroness, Lady Scott—rather glossed over the reform of the local government framework that has reduced the number of national indicators and encouraged local authorities to focus on outcomes. I did not understand the point raised by the noble Lords, Lord Taylor and Lord Greaves, about the demands on local authorities in relation to governance. Surely they are consulted on so many issues, and other local agencies look to local government, because of local government’s leadership role. Local government should welcome the status and authority that it has been given. The noble Lord, Lord Tope, referred to the centralised state. Some noble Lords will know that my father-in-law is Professor John Stewart, and the point is not unfamiliar to me—it has been raised over many Sunday lunches. It was he who proposed the "power of general competence" and we continue to discuss this. I repeat that what is not in doubt is the leadership role of local authorities, which has been very much enhanced. My experience as a Minister is that very few people come to me and say, "Please, central government, give back powers to local government". Most interactions that we have, particularly with stakeholders and national pressure groups, are about centralisation. There is a wider argument here that we in society should have. I understand the concerns about a centralising trend, but my experience, certainly in the health service, is that people dislike postcode prescribing. There is a genuine tension between the Government’s desire to establish national strategy and policy and how that fits with local determination and democratisation. Collectively, we have not yet found a way through. The noble Lord, Lord Roberts of Conwy, talked about Welsh devolution. The report has just been delivered and the Secretary of State for Wales is considering it. He will make his views known in due course. The noble Lord, as ever, made a very interesting comment. The noble Lord, Lord Rogan, talked about daylight saving. I am not without sympathy for his comments. While there is no national consensus yet, I would welcome more debate on the matter. The noble Lord, Lord Shutt, produced a remarkable tour de force that enabled us to discuss St Helena airport in the guise of a debate on transport policy in the United Kingdom. I shall communicate his passionate championship to the appropriate government department. I will speak finally and briefly on housing. We have not heard much about housing today, but I was glad that the noble Baroness, Lady Byford, raised the issue. She was right to do so. We are committed to a step change in housing supply to address long-term needs. The noble Baroness asked specific and detailed questions. I am afraid that I will have to duck them and write to her.