Chris Grayling: Given that the Minister accepted in the debate on the Environment Bill—I am grateful for that—that the current legislative framework is really no longer fit for purpose in today’s world, would it not be better to set aside the quinquennial review and just get on with replacing the system? Carrying on with what we have at the moment will just cause confusion and uncertainty. It would be...
Chris Grayling: It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Twigg. I follow a fellow parliamentary species champion, the hon. Member for Kingston upon Hull West and Hessle (Emma Hardy), but I am perhaps the most topical species champion today, because I am the species champion for the hedgehog. Indeed, as the Minister knows, because she is committed to these issues, I have been, probably not...
Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether the installation by a local authority of warning signs in the road indicating that (a) toads and (b) ducks may be crossing is required to be approved by his Department.
Chris Grayling: With a few seconds left, I thank the Minister for her remarks and colleagues on all sides for joining in this debate. We need to keep the pressure up. The simple message for the Minister to take back to the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office is that this is urgent, it is accelerating, we cannot afford it to carry on, and we have to use every tool at our disposal, whether small or...
Chris Grayling: All the Minister has described is part of a great step forward in the policies of the UK Government, and I commend them. However, the reality is the urgency of what is happening in the Amazon is serious. I encourage the Minister, and her colleagues in the Foreign Office and diplomatic service, to step up the pressure. Does she agree that we cannot afford to wait to stop the deforestation in...
Chris Grayling: I beg to move, That this House has considered deforestation in the Amazon. I called this debate because of what I see as a mounting crisis in the battle to protect the Amazon rainforest, which is one of the world’s most important biomes, if not the most important. The Amazon is thought to be home to 10% of known species on earth, including 16,000 species of tree, 3,000 species of fish and...
Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether he plans to issue guidance or other forms of support to local authorities to help them facilitate events to mark the Queen's Platinum jubilee.
Chris Grayling: What steps he is taking with Cabinet colleagues to secure an agreement with the EU on financial services.
Chris Grayling: My hon. Friend knows of my concern about the protectionist attitude towards financial services that the European Union has shown over the past few months, and the risks to the City that result from it. We have President Macron hosting people from Wall Street next week, and we have the unlocking of travel in the European Union, which will help the financial services sector there. I hope that...
Chris Grayling: My right hon. Friend knows my concern about the impact of deforestation around the world. At the moment I am particularly concerned about what is happening in Brazil, where, far from giving greater protection to the Amazon rainforest, the Brazilian Government appear to be moving in a direction that will allow greater deforestation. Please will he take every step possible to put pressure on...
Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many new GPs have entered primary care in the last two years.
Chris Grayling: I listened carefully to the Under-Secretary of State for Transport, my hon. Friend the Member for Witney (Robert Courts). He is a good man and a good minister. I know he does not share the Government’s universal view, but today we need him, and his colleagues in the Department and elsewhere across Government, really to step up the pressure on the places where the problems really are....
Chris Grayling: Will the hon. Gentleman give way?
Chris Grayling: My hon. Friend mentioned that the Government plan two or three further checkpoints during the summer. Is he actually saying, as he talks about consumers and recovery, that if a destination is not placed on the green list or the amber list by 31 July, it cannot be reopened to travel before 31 October?
Chris Grayling: What steps he is taking through COP26 to help ensure that increased biodiversity is part of the international strategy to combat climate change.
Chris Grayling: I am grateful to my right hon. Friend for what he is doing. May I ask him to step up his work on ensuring that protecting ecosystems is part of the agreement that we hope will be reached at COP? I know that we have the summit in China, but the protection of habitats and ecosystems around the world is such an important part of dealing with climate change that I hope it will be part of the deal...
Chris Grayling: My right hon. Friend should take great credit, as should his team, for the progress of the vaccination programme, and I congratulate him on it. Is it true that the Joint Biosecurity Centre said that Malta could be put on the green list?
Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, if he will change covid-19 guidance to allow amateur choirs to rehearse together.
Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, for what reason Oman and the UAE are on the red list for travel with lower levels of covid-19 infection than European and North American countries on the amber list.