Lord Haworth: My Lords, I very much welcome the commitment in the Queen’s Speech to introduce an energy security Bill. This measure is designed to implement the provisions of the policy paper, British Energy Security Strategy, which was published as recently as the beginning of April. It has taken a war in Ukraine to finally convince the Government to actually take action to drive our energy policy,...
Lord Haworth: My Lords, yesterday’s debate in this House on the role of women in public life was a remarkable occasion, and one in which many Members recalled their early political experiences and influences and what brought them into political life. It made me think, too. Fifty years ago, in 1968, I came to London as a student and was immediately caught up in the spirit of the times. In 1968, revolution...
Lord Haworth: My Lords, I welcome the Bill and I thank the noble Lord, Lord Blencathra, for his opening speech, which was a veritable tour de force. I have no wish to repeat the catalogue of facts and figures which he evinced—the case is compelling, and I think that was the view of your Lordships’ House in response to the noble Lord’s opening speech. When I was preparing for the debate, I of course...
Lord Haworth: My Lords, it is exactly 10 years this week since I joined your Lordships’ House but this is the first time that I have spoken in a debate on this subject. Throughout all that time, assisted dying has remained one of the most vexed and divisive unresolved issues, but I believe that public opinion is changing. I do not personally have a religious or principled objection to assisted dying or...
Lord Haworth: My Lords, I warmly thank the noble Lord, Lord Greaves, for initiating this debate today and for the opportunity it gives to emphasise the benefits of outdoor activities to the health and well-being of the nation in so many important regards. It comes just a few days after the publication of a new report by the Mental Health Foundation to mark Mental Health Awareness Week and therefore it is...
Lord Haworth: My Lords, Georgia is a sovereign, democratic and proud country, but is it not the case that recent events are staining its reputation for democratic development? Is not the Georgian Dream becoming the Georgian nightmare? Will the Minister comment on the cancellation of Prime Minister Ivanishvili's visit to Washington? Some reports say that while his party is busy arresting and harassing...
Lord Haworth: My Lords, I also start by thanking the noble Baroness, Lady Doocey, for initiating this debate, which allows us to return to the important issue of the legacy of the 2012 Olympic Games. When I last joined in a debate of this sort, back in 2008, I focused my remarks on the physical legacy of the Games as someone who lived for many years in the Lower Lea Valley and who appreciated the enormous...
Lord Haworth: My Lords, Georgia is a small, faraway country about which we tend to know very little, although today we now know a little more. The question raised by the noble and right reverend Lord, Lord Harries of Pentregarth, about the way in which Georgia has developed one-stop shops is extremely important. I was with him on the visit to the facility in Rustavi and I was also issued a passport by the...
Lord Haworth: My Lords, this is the first time that I have spoken in the debate on the Bill-it may be the only time that I choose to speak-but I support my noble friend Lord Snape on Amendment 68 and what he said about the importance of the county boundaries within the overall process. My first and only experience of making representations to the Boundary Commission took place many years ago in respect of...
Lord Haworth: My Lords, I thank the Government for staging this debate today; it is certainly timely. Last week I had the privilege of attending a very interesting seminar in London, organised by the Westminster Energy, Environment and Transport Forum, with the title "Nuclear Energy: Moving Closer to New Build". We may be moving closer but the rate of progress seems glacially slow. Indeed, one might say...
Lord Haworth: My Lords, since I want to speak about energy issues, I should first declare my non-financial interest in a renewable energy company, Water Power Enterprises. This small company, of which I am chairman, seeks to develop low-head hydro schemes to harness the power of our rivers, particularly in the north of England, and to do so on a not-for-profit, community interest basis. Given the amount of...
Lord Haworth: My Lords, I am grateful to the noble Lord, Lord Mawson, for allowing me the opportunity to speak in this debate about the regeneration of what he rightly described as the fragmented and desolate river valley that the Lower Lea Valley is. My only qualification for speaking is that I lived for more than 20 years in the Lower Lea Valley in Old Ford. I may be one of the very few Members of your...
Lord Haworth: My Lords, I, too, add my support to the amendment in the name of the noble Baroness, Lady Byford. We are now down to a small point about which of the two dates is the most acceptable. We are talking about a decision that impacts on how much damage will be done to the footpath network. I have evidence that the difference between 19 May 2005 and the amendment's suggestion of 9 December 2003...
Lord Haworth: My Lords, before the noble Lord does so, will he help me on one small point? I think I am right in saying that there are well developed plans to have a national park covering the South Downs. The South Downs are closely adjacent to Gatwick airport. A national park that covered the South Downs—of which I am strongly in favour as it would afford protection to that very valuable area—would...
Lord Haworth: moved Amendment No. 320: Page 25, line 43, leave out subsection (4).
Lord Haworth: In moving the amendment, I shall speak also to Amendment No. 329. This has taken me mildly by surprise. I seem to have been waiting weeks to introduce my brief amendment to this Bill, and suddenly it comes when I was daydreaming. I will not detain the Committee for long in explaining the purposes of the new clause which I wish to see inserted into the Bill. We have had lengthy debates on the...
Lord Haworth: I am grateful to my noble friend for his kind offer to give this issue further detailedconsideration. Although the Government might not be able to accept the amendments at this stage, which I understand, they might look favourably on the possible device of accepting at the Report stage a way forward by perhaps introducing a further clause to give the Government powers by order to take these...
Lord Haworth: I beg leave to withdraw the amendment.
Lord Haworth: My Lords, I greatly welcome the Bill. I am sure that the independent integrated agency, Natural England, bringing together, as it does, the functions of English Nature and some of the functions of the Countryside Agency and the Rural Development Service, will be better placed than the previous bodies to have care for conserving, enhancing and managing England's natural environment for the...
Lord Haworth: My Lords, I join in the congratulations to the noble Baroness, Lady O'Cathain, on initiating this important debate. I extend my congratulations to the two maiden speakers, the noble Lord, Lord Goodlad, and my noble friend Lord O'Neill of Clackmannan, who made one of the most robust and interesting maiden speeches that I have heard in my short time in this House. In preparing for this debate,...