Lord Hollick: I thank noble Lords for their contribution today. I think it has been a very good debate. There is clearly a strong appetite to be a good and effective watchdog, or guide dog, and I believe that some of the points that have been made and some of the recommendations from the committee will considerably assist this House to fulfil the duties that it clearly wants. It is hopeful that my noble...
Lord Hollick: My Lords, I am pleased to introduce this debate on the Industry and Regulators Committee report. I thank our committee members and staff for their valuable contribution to the committee’s work, particularly my noble friend Lady Taylor, who has taken over from me as chair of the committee. Over the last three years, the committee examined the regulators of energy, water, higher education,...
Lord Hollick: I thank all the speakers in today’s debate. The Minister can be in no doubt about the anger about what has happened in the water industry and the fury of consumers. He talked about companies not being prepared to reveal what their price increases will be. Well, they have just announced them, and they are going to be between 28% before inflation and, in the case of Thames Water, 61%. I am...
Lord Hollick: My Lords, I am pleased to introduce this debate on the affluent and the effluent. I thank our staff for their valuable contributions to the committee’s work, and the many contributors who gave evidence to the inquiry. In May last year, we launched our inquiry into water and sewage regulation following a public outcry at the discharge of sewage into our waters. We published our report this...
Lord Hollick: I thank all speakers today for their contributions. There is a theme of “Get on with it. Don’t go down the pub”. I think the Government have indicated—the Minister did in his remarks—that after a regrettable delay, we will receive a letter responding to the queries we made. I hope that will be an opportunity to discuss and debate the responses further. The Minister also indicated...
Lord Hollick: My Lords, I am pleased to introduce this debate. I thank our team, Matthew Manning, Holly Woodhead, Dominic Cooper and Itu Osupeng, for their valuable contribution to the work. Our work started 18 months ago and our report was published a year ago, just as Russia invaded Ukraine, sparking an energy bills crisis and showing what can happen when a country chooses to weaponise its energy...
Lord Hollick: My Lords, I congratulate the noble Lord, Lord Forsyth, and his colleagues on their excellent report, which sadly shows that many of the questions raised in our 2015 report remain unanswered. The two reports from the Economic Affairs Committee and an admirable solo contribution from my noble friend Lord Berkeley earlier this month make up an evidently popular box set with common plot lines....
Lord Hollick: To ask Her Majesty's Government what criteria are applied by the Public Works Loan Board when a local authority seeks to borrow to acquire commercial property for investment purposes.
Lord Hollick: To ask Her Majesty's Government what is the extent and nature of the due diligence undertaken by the Public Works Loan Board before extending loans to local authorities to acquire commercial property for investment purposes.
Lord Hollick: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether there is an limit on loans which can be extended by the Public Works Loan Board to a local authority (1) in any one year, and (2) overall.
Lord Hollick: To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps the Public Works Loan Board takes on an ongoing basis to monitor the commercial property investments acquired by local authorities and funded by the Public Works Loan Board.
Lord Hollick: To ask Her Majesty's Government which ten local authorities borrowed the most from the Public Works Loan Board for investment in commercial properties in each of the financial years since and including 2014–15.
Lord Hollick: To ask Her Majesty's Government what was the total amount of funding made available to local authorities to acquire commercial properties for investment purposes in each of the financial years since and including 2014–15 in (1) England, (2) Wales, (3) Scotland, and (4) Northern Ireland.
Lord Hollick: My Lords, I thank the chairman, the clerk, his team and our specialist adviser for helping the committee to navigate the vast landscape of AI. I will focus on three connected parts of that landscape: AI’s possible impact on industrial performance and productivity; its impact on the world of work; and its possible impact on the distribution of income. I emphasise “possible impact”...
Lord Hollick: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the report by Sally Masterton on alleged fraud and misrepresentation at Lloyds Banking Group; and what steps they intend to take to address the concerns raised in that report.
Lord Hollick: My Lords, successive Governments have energetically committed themselves to boost growth by improving industrial performance. After all, growth secures and improves the public finances and promotes a feeling of well-being and confidence—two sentiments which have been notably in short supply since the 2008 financial crisis. In the 1960s, Harold Macmillan created the National Economic...
Lord Hollick: As the Minister has said, the hour is late but before the lights go out, to coin a phrase, I thank all noble Lords for their interesting, passionate, well-informed and forensic contributions. As the Minister acknowledged, many questions have been asked, of which some have been answered and some will be answered in future publications. However, it would be helpful if the Minister could send a...
