The noble Baroness is making a magnificent case in her speech. The Blue Belt of marine protected areas is one of the greatest conservation stories in any of our lifetimes—something the UK has been so proud of for so many years. For the reasons the noble Baroness has described, it is a tragedy to see us go backwards when the appetite among the public, particularly after the recent...
I have a very brief question for the Minister. Am I not right in thinking that the building regulations have been used as a vehicle in relation to the Climate Change Act as well as in relation to the Environment Act, and therefore they go beyond the remit of simply safeguarding the well-being and health of individual occupants?
My Lords, I thank my noble friend for his guidance on this amendment in recent weeks. I shall speak in support of Amendment 245 and be brief, because I do not have to dwell on arguments that have been made repeatedly in both Houses and which are fundamentally very simple, as is the mechanism itself that is being pushed via this amendment. I shall briefly recap on why this matters so much. As...
My Lords, it is a great pleasure to follow the noble Baroness, Lady Bakewell. The Bill is trying to do what is needed to boost housebuilding. I do not think there is anyone who disputes the simple fact that the gap between demand and supply continues to widen. We know, as many noble Lords have said, that this is at least in part the consequence of a planning system that is unbelievably...
I rise to intervene, but I have been caught by the House with a nut in my mouth, which is terrible timing—if I could have thought of some medical excuse, I would have done so. I thank the Minister very much for his passionate call for harmonisation of trade and nature. He is right; there should be no separation between the two. I was pleased by his commitment that the diligence legislation...
I rise to speak to the proposed new clause “Review: forest risk commodities”, which is in my name and the names of the noble Baroness, Lady Boycott, and the noble Lords, Lord Davies and Lord McNicol. The noble Lord, Lord Davies, has spoken and I thank him for his support. I also appreciated the words of the noble Baroness, Lady Bakewell, when she spoke earlier, and I strongly agree with...
My Lords, before making a point about the amendment, I acknowledge that my noble friend on the Front Bench rightly feels a little blindsided by it. I apologise to her for that. I am a newbie on the Back Benches and I clearly have much to learn about the process here. In my defence, I shared my plans and the wording of the amendment with my friend the Secretary of State who, I am pleased to...
As I said, I am a newbie on the Back Benches and that is yet another rule I have learned. I will cease referring to the person in the Gallery. But 110,000 signatures were collected by the person in the Gallery. I think that is pretty impressive, given the subject matter we are talking about. National legislation is necessary because of the urgency of the situation. We have debated the issue...
More of Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park's speeches and debates
To ask His Majesty's Government what is the current status of the proposed Free Trade Agreement with the Maldives.
To ask His Majesty's Government what safeguards for the marine environment they plan to include in the Free Trade Agreement with the Maldives.
To ask His Majesty's Government whether the Free Trade Agreement with the Maldives will include specific provisions that prioritise the trade of tuna caught by low-impact methods over industrially-caught tuna.
To ask His Majesty's Government what commitments they have had from the government of Mauritius since July 2024 in relation to the conservation of the marine environment of the Chagos Islands marine protected area.
To ask His Majesty's Government what reassurance they have had from the government of Mauritius in relation to its capabilities to prevent illegal fishing in the Chagos Islands marine protected area since July 2024.
To ask His Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with the government of Mauritius in relation to the conservation of the environment of the Chagos Islands since July 2024.
To ask His Majesty's Government what discussions they had with conservation groups that have financially supported the Chagos marine reserve during negotiations with the government of Mauritius about the future protection of the environment on and around the islands.
To ask His Majesty's Government what communication, if any, they have had with the government of New Zealand concerning reports in October 2024 that officials at its Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade advised the government of that country that plans to repeal a ban on the exploration of offshore oil and gas sources would potentially be inconsistent with its obligations under the UK–New...
