Infrastructure Bill [Lords]

Does the Minister recall that we both fought on a Conservative manifesto that said that we should...

My right hon. Friend has made that point to me previously. Let me tell him, with a candour equal ...

rose—

I give way to the hon. Lady. I was going to come to invasive speeches in a moment, but she has pr...

I am grateful to the Minister for giving way; it is good to see that he is on his usual courteous...

As the hon. Lady suggests, the kind of future that I anticipate is very different from the one th...

The broad sunlit uplands that the Minister is describing mean absolutely nothing to people in my ...

The hon. Lady is, of course, right to defend the interests of her constituents and to say that, w...

The right hon. Gentleman knows that I am on the same side as him when it comes to the potential d...

The hon. Gentleman will have the chance to make that case as the Bill makes its passage through t...

My constituency includes the community of Barton Moss, where a six-month exploration for shale ga...

I do not want to be unnecessarily partisan, because that is not my way, but I can say only that t...

The people of Elkesley are going to be a little perplexed. The previous Government got rid of the...

The hon. Gentleman knows that Nottinghamshire is dear to my heart, as it is to his. He says that ...

On the important link to the south-west, did the Government look at the alternative to a tunnel o...

We considered all the options. My right hon. Friend will know that we undertook considerable rese...

rose—

I happily give way, on the issue of edification, to the hon. Gentleman.

Having condemned the Transport Ministers of the last four years for failing to do the Elkesley br...

On the general point, the hon. Gentleman will know that the Government have instructed the Highwa...

May I return to the fundamentals of the Bill? Does the Minister agree that a key issue in the Bil...

My hon. Friend’s insight is matched by his perspicacity; he anticipates the section of my speech—...

Order. I simply note, in passing, that the Minister of State has not offered his hon. Friend the ...

I may have revealed a prejudice in favour of Nottinghamshire and Lincolnshire, which, as you know...

rose—

I will happily give way to the right hon. Gentleman. I will then make a comment about my right ho...

The Minister talks about deemed discharges and refers to the national planning policy framework. ...

That is a fair question, and one which has already been put to me by those in local government. I...

rose—

I give way to the hon. Gentleman, who is such a distinguished member of the Energy and Climate Ch...

Given the Minister’s concern for linguistic exactitude, will he reflect that he is talking about ...

Even if I believed that, such an ugly turn of phrase would fit ill on my lips, and I could not po...

I know very well about the Minister’s literary expertise, but why is he giving small-scale develo...

We are doing it on the grounds of practicality. The hon. Lady and I, during a recent session of t...

Will the Minister give way?

For another frank answer perhaps?

The Minister speaks of striking a balance, but I wonder whether he will help us by saying what as...

The hon. Gentleman will be familiar with the impact assessment. I have a copy here and I would be...

rose—

I give way to the hon. Lady who I know is concerned about this issue. I am keen to hear from her....

I am sure that a number of Members are concerned about it; I am not the only one, although I may ...

The House has had no greater advocate of the interests of communities in respect of shale gas exp...

rose—

Having named my hon. Friend, I feel obliged to give way to him.

The Minister is right to point out that I have been campaigning on shale gas regulation for the l...

I think that the hon. Gentleman and I should share a secret with the House. Not only did I debate...

Will the Minister give way?

I will give way once more. I hesitate to give way to two Liberal Democrats, but I will do so on t...

Is the Minister aware of a new report by Anna Grear of Cardiff law school, which was commissioned...

I have no doubts about the Secretary of State for Transport. I am proud and privileged to serve u...

Will the Minister give way?

I will give way on that issue, because I know that the hon. Gentleman takes a different view.

The Smith commission, which is engaged in a cross-party process in Scotland, has made the case th...

It is a fair question, and the amendment—which was not selected—in the name of various nationalis...

Will the right hon. Gentleman give way?

I am going to make progress. I have been incredibly, and typically, generous, and I want to draw ...

I am most grateful to the right hon. Gentleman for giving way; I think I am the only Member he ha...

With a certain elegance, the hon. Gentleman has conflated three matters and I shall try to deal w...

I thank the Minister for those few brief words of introduction to the Bill, and I look forward to...

Since the hon. Gentleman is critical of this Government for narrowing down the options to two, wi...

I have a feeling that in this debate Conservative hon. Member after Conservative hon. Member will...

Now that the shadow Minister has seen the projected overall levels of capital expenditure laid ou...

As I said in answer to the previous question, we are not in the business of saying that we wish t...

It is nice to hear how much Labour spent on roads, but does the hon. Gentleman agree that it took...

I am sure the hon. Gentleman has been a great advocate for his constituency, as are hon. Members ...

I am confused by Labour’s great love of yet more road building. We had a welcome article from Ed ...

Order. The hon. Lady must refer to the Leader of the Opposition as the Leader of the Opposition o...

I do apologise, Madam Deputy Speaker. The right nomenclature momentarily went from my mind, but I...

The hon. Lady is absolutely right on this point: protecting our planet and our environment has to...

Does my hon. Friend think it would be helpful for the hon. Member for Brighton, Pavilion (Carolin...

My hon. Friend is right on that point. As well as being a shadow Minister with responsibility for...

I agree with both the hon. Gentleman’s last two points on integration and road safety more genera...

I am grateful to the Minister. I am sure we can pursue and discuss the matter in Committee if the...

Is my hon. Friend aware that in constituencies such as mine people are concerned not only that th...

My hon. Friend makes an important point that will be repeated in the other place and if the Bill ...

The planning process for shale gas was changed on the first day of the recess last year—a day aft...

Order. I call the Minister.

rose—

I beg your pardon. I mean Richard Burden.

I am grateful Madam Deputy Speaker. Let us give it another five months.

It is difficult on ...

The Minister ignored what happened in the other place, although I understood it to be part of the...

My hon. Friend is absolutely spot on and the answer is yes.

As I said earlier, over the weekend the Labour Government in Wales said that they wanted powers o...

The important thing in relation to these provisions is that regulation is robust and effective an...

I think that a pragmatic approach is the correct one. My personal opinion, on the point the hon. ...

My hon. Friend is right that the most effective place for planning needs to be the place where th...

I am listening carefully to the hon. Gentleman. I understand what he says about tighter regulatio...

I must say that I am a little confused by the hon. Gentleman’s point. As I understand it, the cur...

Before the hon. Gentleman moves on from shale gas, and leaving aside the issue of where power is ...

I am grateful for the Minister’s comments.

As the Committee on Climate Change has said, wit...

Am I to take it that the hon. Gentleman is moving amendment (b)?

My mistake, Madam Deputy Speaker. I can let you into a secret: I received a note from my colleagu...

I thank the hon. Gentleman for his belated but sincere moving of the amendment. I call Professor ...

Thank you, Madam Deputy Speaker. In case the House thinks that you have mis-titled me as you did ...

When the hon. Gentleman was Energy Minister, he and I had some interesting conversations about th...

We can certainly get into some of the specifics, and the hon. Gentleman may well have a good poin...

Does the hon. Gentleman not accept that the fact that such extraction will take place on land in ...

We need to satisfy the public, but the principle remains the same: the best way to deliver the to...

I want to make a point about open spaces. We have been through that issue in my constituency; the...

I hope that those issues are entirely legitimate to raise within the planning process. Those matt...

For the record, I confirm that. I should also let my hon. Friend know that I said precisely the s...

My right hon. Friend took the agenda forward on this matter and I hope that he will have a sympat...

The hon. Gentleman is being extremely generous in giving way and is making an exceptional speech....

The hon. Gentleman is absolutely correct. The head of the British Ceramic Confederation, Laura Co...

My hon. Friend and I have battled on the same side on this issue for a number of years. In fact, ...

I seek, on most issues, to be on the same side as my hon. Friend; we do not always manage that, b...

I draw the attention of the House to my interests as declared in the Register of Members’ Financi...

rose—

I give way to the right hon. Gentleman, who was a Minister in the responsible Department.

The right hon. Gentleman and I have had opportunities to disagree about things, but on this matte...

I could not agree more with the right hon. Gentleman, and I hope he can exercise some influence o...

Unlike the last speaker and the official Opposition, I welcome the Bill and its focus on the impo...

My constituents are very excited about the idea of localism—local decisions made by democraticall...

I strongly agree with my hon. Friend, and I share his concern. While all four of the district cou...

Does my right hon. Friend suspect that the planning inspectors are overriding local plans because...

I suspect that there is something in what my hon. Friend says, and that the purpose of pursuing a...

Is the right hon. Gentleman not aware that the Secretary of State and the Government changed the ...

Opposition Members are calling for much more local housing as well. What we are discussing is the...

I am grateful to the right hon. Gentleman for his generosity in giving way. Will he be opposing l...

I shall deal with precisely that issue in a second. Let me say first, however, that if the Bill i...

I, too, thank the right hon. Gentleman for his generosity. Are councillors in his constituency st...

Local authorities are clearly nervous. They fear that if they do not give planning permission in ...

rose—

I will give way in a moment

On the specific proposal for subterranean drilling, there is a ...

rose—

I have been generous in giving way to a number of hon. Members.

There is one aspect of infr...

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Order. The right hon. Gentleman was indeed generous in giving way—I make no criticism of him what...

The longer this debate goes on, the more interesting it gets. The contributions so far demonstrat...

I hope that the hon. Member for Stoke-on-Trent North (Joan Walley) will forgive me if I do not pu...

rose—

I shall give way in a moment, when I have developed the point.

It is important that there i...

Does my hon. Friend not agree that the argument he is putting forward strengthens the case for sa...

rose—

Order. Before the hon. Gentleman resumes his comments, may I say that it was pointed out by the C...

I had almost finished, Madam Deputy Speaker. I simply observe, out of courtesy, that my right hon...

This Infrastructure Bill is perhaps best described as infrastructure bits and pieces; it contains...

rose—

No, I will not give way just now.

The Bill contains nothing on energy efficiency. Again, th...

I will be brief, because I am meant to be in the High Speed Rail (London-West Midlands) Bill Comm...

This Bill covers a wide range of topics, some of which do not affect Scotland, but those that rel...

I am pleased to hear the hon. Gentleman say that he agrees with the Smith commission’s proposals,...

My simple answer is no. If the hon. Lady had listened, she would have heard me say that nuclear i...

I get two kinds of letters about infrastructure. The first kind says: “The infrastructure in this...

The right hon. Gentleman observes that lateral drilling and fracking for gas takes place a mile u...

Well, 300 metres is 10 times as deep as the London underground. The Bill states that deep-level l...

It’s the right to roam.

Indeed. Why on earth is it a sin to drill a hole a mile from where we live and separated from us ...

It is a pleasure to follow the right hon. Member for Hitchin and Harpenden (Mr Lilley), who I thi...

The hon. Gentleman, whose constituency neighbours mine, is speaking eloquently, but he must reali...

I am speaking about the application in my community currently, which is leading to large-scale de...

The hon. Gentleman makes a powerful point about monitoring on behalf of his constituents. Does he...

I entirely agree with that important suggestion.

I would also like to see a much clearer pr...

I support every part of this Bill. Like many Members, I want to focus on part 5 and talk about en...

Unlike the hon. Member for Castle Point (Rebecca Harris), I do not rise to support every single p...

I am more optimistic about the Bill than some colleagues who have already spoken. It is common se...

Hon. Members’ comments have illustrated the very wide-ranging nature of the Bill. Mine will conce...

It is a pleasure to follow the hon. Member for Liverpool, Riverside (Mrs Ellman). I, too, will sp...

I shall speak briefly, because I am having some difficulties with my voice. I want to raise two o...

I commend the hon. Member for Stretford and Urmston (Kate Green) for her brevity and much of the ...

I am grateful for the opportunity to speak in this important debate. Upgrading the UK’s infrastru...

I am very pleased to be able to contribute to the debate. The Bill is wide-ranging with many good...

I agree with every word that the right hon. Member for Hazel Grove (Sir Andrew Stunell) has just ...

I am reluctant to interrupt the hon. Gentleman but I want to make it perfectly clear that the Gov...

The Minister has not spoiled the party because I have no confidence or trust that this Government...

I will not detain the House for long, so that remaining Members get a chance to speak. I have jus...

I hope I can persuade my hon. Friend to support the Bill on this basis: as a result of the argume...

I am grateful to the Minister, but with great respect—I have great respect for him as a Minister—...

I welcome the Bill because I believe infrastructure is the key to our economy and recovery. I man...

Order. There seems to be some kind of noise. Is it the hon. Gentleman’s phone or is something els...

Thank you, Mr Deputy Speaker.

I welcome the Bill’s sentiments, which allow for long-term fu...

It is a great pleasure to be called to finish the Back-Bench contributions to the debate. I wish ...

My hon. Friend knows, as you do, Mr Deputy Speaker, that I eat reluctant bureaucrats for breakfas...

I thank my right hon. Friend for that assurance.

As the hon. Member for Birmingham, Northfi...

We have had a really good debate, with interesting contributions from Members on both sides of th...

One of the things missing from the Bill is an emphasis on park and ride. To take people out of ve...

The hon. Gentleman makes a very good point. I am tempted to add park and ride to the long list of...

The hon. Lady is taking a glass half-empty rather than a glass half-full approach. The Government...

The hon. Gentleman will have to wait to hear what I will say about the range of provisions in the...

Just to be absolutely clear, the feasibility studies that we carried out on the major road scheme...

I take the point Minister’s point, but I still think we are lacking a structure that will effecti...

Are not the days of largesse being distributed by central Government for transport and infrastruc...

My hon. Friend makes a good point. That is why I spoke of the importance of devolving powers to l...

This has been a wide-ranging debate, which is entirely appropriate for a very wide-ranging Bill t...

Many of us remember the Government saying that they had no intention of raising VAT either. Would...

I can give a cast-iron guarantee that, during the remaining three or four months of the coalition...

When Brunel was building his bridge, there was no planning and no local inquiry system. If we are...

One of its aims is indeed to streamline decision making to make sure that national infrastructure...

The Minister said—I hope I quote him correctly—that where it is possible to achieve the zero-carb...

I am coming on to the proposed exemption for small sites. One sad aspect of the housing crash—whe...

My hon. Friend referred to small builders, although the consultation document refers to small sit...

We will develop the proposals after we have received the results of the consultation. We want thi...

Will the Minister give way?

I have limited time left.

Both coalition parties know that this is an issue of great sensit...

I thank the Minister for giving way; time is indeed short. In listening to all those concerns, wi...

I assure my hon. Friend that we will take all evidence into account in Committee, as is now the n...