Environment Bill

If the Government are really serious about air quality, surely it is time for them to adopt a 100...

It is a shame that funding for CCS was stopped some years ago. If that had not happened, we might...

This weekend the River Ouse flooded yet again, and, four years after the floods that devastated t...

As I am sure my hon. Friend knows, flooding is an issue that is close to my heart as well, and we...

Will my hon. Friend give way?

Will the hon. Lady give way?

Like me, the hon. Lady will have seen many plans for housing developments in her constituency fea...

I agree that our planning and development should be much better in terms of environmental impact,...

Labour-run St Helens Council is the leading English local authority investing in new technology, ...

My hon. Friend has made an excellent point.

My hon. Friend is making a powerful speech. Does she agree that we could cut out much of our wast...

My hon. Friend gives an excellent example, and I thank him for that.

Does my hon. Friend agree that we need 100% responsibility from the producers themselves, from th...

That is right. It is important that we look at it right across the piece, from manufacturing down...

Order. There is an immediate time limit of four minutes on Back-Bench speeches.

7.51 pm

I am very pleased that the Government have introduced this Bill; the Environment, Food and Rural ...

I will be brief as many Members want to speak.

I have been out and seen one of the high-lev...

My hon. Friend makes a good point, because one thing we can do with the new stewardship schemes a...

I am afraid that I see this Bill as, at very best, representing a failure of ambition. I suspect ...

My hon. Friend is making a good point about the MOD and its responsibilities. I remember doing a ...

I absolutely agree with my hon. Friend. It is utterly inexcusable that one Department that has so...

I always think that we get listened to better in this House if we can find something in what we s...

It is a pleasure to follow the right hon. Member for Newbury (Richard Benyon). I share some of hi...

Many of the excellent farmers in my constituency of Brecon and Radnorshire are keen to do whateve...

I wholeheartedly agree with the hon. Lady, and I pay tribute to the farmers in her constituency. ...

Will the hon. Lady give way?

I will not give way, because I want to make some progress. Farmers face tariffs and checks on the...

It is a great pleasure to follow the hon. Member for Wakefield (Mary Creagh), on whose Environmen...

I agree with my right hon. Friend’s point. Does he agree that we could help to improve standards ...

Indeed. We now have the freedom to do that.

The hon. Member for Cardiff South and Penarth (...

I, too, hope that I will be able to serve on the Bill Committee.

I welcome the direction of...

I support this Bill. It is ambitious in its scope and its aims, and it starts, quite rightly, fro...

rose—

If my hon. Friend will forgive me, I will not give way because of the number of speakers.

I...

At a time when we needed a strong environmental Bill, this one regrettably goes backwards, not fo...

I do not like to totally contradict the hon. Member for Brighton, Pavilion (Caroline Lucas), but ...

Our environment is the most important resource that we have—no amount of money or social capital ...

I join colleagues—at least those on the Government Benches—in welcoming this groundbreaking Bill....

I welcome this legislation, which is long overdue, but of course it is only necessary because thi...

I very much support this ambitious, landmark Environment Bill.

In the short time I have ava...

It is good to be able to participate in this crucial debate tonight.

We need everyone in th...

The hon. Lady is talking about targets. Unfortunately, in Scotland we have missed the landfill ta...

I thank the hon. Gentleman for making that excellent point, which I hope the Government will take...

Mr Deputy Speaker, I am not sure what your plans are in the next few weeks—you may be busy—but I ...

Order.

8.58 pm

Constituents of all ages tell me of their concerns about the environment, climate change, plastic...

Order. Because of the problems with the clock, I call Derek Thomas for another two minutes. I wan...

Thank you, Mr Deputy Speaker—and I thank the hon. Member for Brentford and Isleworth (Ruth Cadbur...

That is really good of you. Thank you.

9.3 pm

It gives me great pleasure to complete a trio of Ruths on the Opposition Benches.

My consti...

There is no doubt that the UK is leading the world when it comes to tackling climate change. This...

One reason for the poor air quality levels in my hon. Friend’s constituency could well be the A27...

I completely agree. There are huge blockages in traffic flow on the A27 and at the junction on th...

We only have one planet, and we must leave it in a better shape than we found it. We all know wha...

It is a pleasure to speak on a subject that I hope transcends party politics, to some extent, and...

I welcome this groundbreaking Bill on environmental issues. It takes us very many good steps forw...

It is a great honour to speak in this debate, and I echo the comments of my hon. Friend the Membe...

I rise—and I think that virtually all Members on both sides of the House have risen—to support th...

Order. Time is up.

9.30 pm

It is always sad to see my hon. Friend the Member for Hitchin and Harpenden (Bim Afolami) cut off...

Order. May I suggest three minutes each for the next two speakers?

9.34 pm

Thank you, Mr Deputy Speaker; I shall be as brief as I can.

I welcome the provisions in the...

I welcome the Bill and will briefly home in on three issues. The first is the Office for Environm...

Members have made many excellent speeches. Unfortunately, time has been far too short for everybo...

It is not over-egging the pudding to say that I am genuinely honoured to be closing this debate o...

rose—

I will not give way because I have so little time.

I am delighted that so many stakeholders...

rose—

I said I was not going to take any interventions because there are just so many comments to get t...

rose—

rose—

rose—

I will very quickly give way to my hon. Friend.

I thank my hon. Friend for giving way on the really important issue of plastics recycling. Does s...

That is absolutely right. There are many measures to encourage the use of more recycled plastic i...

rose—

rose—

I am going to conclude now.

The substance of this debate is the greatest issue of our time....