Neil Hudson MP: speeches 2025

Speeches

• 20 Mar 2025 · Knife Crime: Children and Young People · Hansard source

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  I congratulate my hon. Friend on securing this important debate and on making an impassioned speech. He is talking about the dangers of social media influencing boys and young men. One of the key aspects of that is their role in society and the lack of clear role models. Will he join me in paying tribute to the former England football manager, Sir Gareth Southgate, who, in his Richard Dimbleby lecture this week, articulated the importance of role models and of boys and young men getting involved in active sports, so that they then become normalised in that setting and are not drawn into this dreadfully violent world?

• 20 Mar 2025 · Flood-prone Communities: Cumbria · Hansard source

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  The Conservative Government protected over 600,000 properties from flooding, introduced the £100 million frequently flooded allowance and committed to a £5.2 billion investment in flood protection. However, we know that the mental health impacts of flooding remain long after the waters subside. Rural communities face unique challenges, including outbreaks of diseases such as avian influenza and foot and mouth—a clear and worrying threat, given the recent cases in Germany and Hungary. Unfortunately, this Labour Government are exacerbating such stresses with their family farm tax and by scrapping the farming resilience fund, which supports mental health. Can the Minister confirm, for the sake of mental health, what support will be offered to rural communities in place of the scrapped fund?

• 19 Mar 2025 · National Insurance Contributions (Secondary Class 1 Contributions) Bill · Hansard source

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  Will the hon. Gentleman give way?

• 19 Mar 2025 · National Insurance Contributions (Secondary Class 1 Contributions) Bill · Hansard source

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  The figures that the Minister is presenting, along with the answer that he gave to the hon. Member for Strangford (Jim Shannon), and similar to the Prime Minister, involve money going into sectors that will not mitigate the national insurance rise. Will he confirm that sectors such as hospices, social care, GPs and pharmacies will have some support, rather than tell us about money that is not going to help people with regard to the jobs tax that is coming in?

• 17 Mar 2025 · Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill · Hansard source

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  When I visit schools across my constituency, I find that many have instituted policies banning mobile phones, or indeed are consulting on doing so. Sometimes there is a small degree of pushback from pupils, and sometimes indeed from parents, but does my hon. Friend agree that if the Government take up this amendment, it will make it clearer and easier for schools to ban these phones and produce a safe and nurturing environment for our pupils in school, and it would be easier to take this forward?

• 26 Feb 2025 · Draft Flood Reinsurance (Amendment) Regulations 2025 · Hansard source

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  I totally agree. There needs to be joined-up thinking at all levels of government, including local authorities. There also needs to be engagement with local emergency resilience groups, many of which are volunteers. When storms and floods hit, can people get the information they need? DEFRA could work with the Environment Agency, local authorities and emergency resilience groups to help people when they are flooded. There needs to be a co-ordinated effort that considers things such as planning, insurance, flood prevention, support and response. I hope that my questions are constructive in helping people when they experience dreadful flooding events. We support helping Flood Re to do its excellent work.

• 26 Feb 2025 · Draft Flood Reinsurance (Amendment) Regulations 2025 · Hansard source

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  It is a delight and a privilege to serve under your chairship, Ms Vaz. I thank the Minister for laying these important regulations. I am pleased to say that His Majesty’s most loyal Opposition are happy to support this measure, which will help to ensure that Flood Re can continue to operate effectively. As the Minister articulated, the Flood Re scheme is vital. Since its inception in 2016 under the Conservatives, many people have relied on the scheme. We have sadly seen increasingly frequent extreme weather events in recent months and years, with the number of named storms continually going up, so it is important that people have coverage. When those extreme weather events cause flooding in the United Kingdom, they have brought horror and devastating consequences to many people’s livelihoods and finances. The Minister and I have great mutual respect. We have talked a lot about the severe financial implications when floods hit, and about the human implications—the mental health impacts, the stress and anxiety of people who worry about being flooded and then the trauma when they are. The Flood Re scheme is vital to mitigating, to some degree, the things people go through. Enabling the effective use of Flood Re to support those affected by flooding will not only mean that people receive the financial support they need, but reduce harm to their mental wellbeing, because they know that some support is there when they need it most. With that, and given that not having an effective Flood Re scheme may result in high-risk households being left without flood insurance, it is a clear and common-sense decision to support this statutory instrument. The increase in the levy is therefore a pragmatic decision, which I note takes into account inflation. According to the Government’s assessment, the cost of the increase in the levy, which will most likely be passed on to consumers through the premiums, is estimated to be about £1.60 per policy. Although I welcome reaffirming the importance of Flood Re, I hope to see more ambition from the Government about the scheme’s future expansion—I have talked to the Minister about that before. There is potential to expand the scheme, and we have talked a lot about whether businesses can come under its umbrella. What discussions has the Minister had with businesses about the potential merits of expanding the scheme to include them? Equally, there are people who live above their business, so a composite home and business could be affected by flooding. Again, in the spirit of cross-party consensus, I hope the Government will move forward to help more people when floods hit. Furthermore, the eligibility for Flood Re states that a home must have been built before 1 January 2009. Although I appreciate that regulations have since been strengthened to consider flood resilience, the Minister will be aware that properties continue to be built on at-risk floodplains. In the light of the central, top-down Government targets that are coming for house building, which may mean that more houses are built in at-risk areas, will the Minister ensure that homes built after 2009 have the security of flood insurance? Will she consider expanding the Flood Re scheme to include homes built after 1 January 2009? Labour Back Benchers have also called for that. Helping people who are traumatised by flooding is above party politics. I have been calling for the expansion of the Flood Re scheme for some time. I hope that the Minister, her colleagues and her officials in DEFRA can look at its merits and talk to the Treasury about that too. More broadly, as well as insurance, prevention is key. The last Government protected more than 600,000 properties from flooding between 2010 and 2024, and published a policy statement to make England more resilient, with 40 actions and five ambitious policies stemming from that. Furthermore, in March 2020, it was announced that the flooding budget would be doubled to £5.2 billion over the next six-year spending period to deploy more flood schemes. The Minister has confirmed that the Government will bring forward a flood resilience strategy. When can we expect it to be published, and will it include specific targets? The Government have also launched the floods resilience taskforce. At the last count, we believe it has met only a couple of times recently—if it has met more than that, I stand to be corrected—despite the increase in drastic and devastating flooding. We want it to meet more frequently. Can the Minister assure us that it will meet regularly, and sometimes in advance as these frequent events come down the pipeline? We know flooding will happen in the winter months, so can the taskforce meet more regularly? What has the taskforce done to tackle flooding, especially after the storms that have recently hit the UK? How will it protect residents, farmers and businesses from the next set of storms that we know will come? For properties that are sadly flooded, support is required. The last Government introduced the frequently flooded allowance, which was a ringfenced fund of £100 million to protect areas that had been affected by repeated flooding. The Government have yet to confirm whether that funding will continue and whether it will be ringfenced. Can the Minister enlighten us on the Government’s plans? The support available to handle the aftermath of flooding, such as the Flood Re scheme that we are talking about today, has also included discretionary funding, such as the Bellwin scheme. Again, the Minister and I have had exchanges across the Dispatch Box on this issue. When such events happen, can she assure us that there will be cross-Government talks to make sure these support schemes can be activated on a pragmatic, compassionate and case-by-case basis?

• 26 Feb 2025 · Engagements · Hansard source

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  Q3. I welcome the Prime Minister’s statement committing us to increased defence spending and reaffirming the UK’s support for Ukraine and its democratically elected leader, President Zelensky. He is a wartime leader like Winston Churchill, who also had to delay elections because his country faced an existential threat. As the Prime Minister travels to Washington, with this House and the country willing him to succeed, will he invoke the legacy of Churchill in making the case for the UK to be the key in bridging transatlantic relations, to bring us all together for the sake of freedom and democracy across the world?

• 11 Feb 2025 · Water (Special Measures) Bill [Lords] · Hansard source

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  It is a great pleasure to speak in this final stage of the Bill. Before I start my remarks, I will respond to the pertinent question about levels of borrowing for water companies asked by my friend and former colleague on the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee, the hon. Member for Brent West (Barry Gardiner). The Minister is right that Government amendment (a) is about reporting rather than the levels of borrowing. It is regrettable that the Government chose to reject the Conservative amendment in Committee that would have allowed the Secretary of State to set the amounts of borrowing for water companies. I hope that, as we move towards Cunliffe review, the Government may look at that again so that we can have tighter control on the water companies and their levels of debt. Before I make my remarks on the Lords messages, I will say that getting to the Bill to this stage has been the result of much hard work across this House and the other place. I thank everyone, both front of house and behind the scenes, who has worked hard to get us here. That includes: the Minister for her willingness to listen to those across the House throughout the Bill’s passage; similarly, her counterpart in the other place, Baroness Hayman; those who have worked to draft the Bill and amendments; the Bill Committee; parliamentary staff from the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs; and campaign groups and stakeholders who provided their insights to the Committee to help make the Bill even stronger, not least the Conservative Environment Network, the Angling Trust, and the Wildlife and Countryside Link. Sadly, however, as the Opposition have stressed throughout the Bill’s passage in this House and the other place, this final stage of the Bill risks being yet another missed opportunity to act holistically on this important issue. It is unfortunate that the Government have been unwilling to go much further than their copy-and-paste approach, rebooting measures that the Conservatives took in government to address this issue. We heard in previous stages how the bans on bonuses for water company chief executives and ensuring that 100% of storm overflows are monitored—up from 7% under Labour—were introduced by the previous Conservative Government. None the less, ever the optimist, I came to the Chamber hoping that the Government might be willing to reconsider their position on the issues of the amendments and the reasoning from the other place, which cover familiar ground. We debated these issues in the previous stages, not only in this House but in the other place. At the heart of the Lords amendments is a theme that His Majesty’s most loyal Opposition have emphasised throughout the Bill’s passage: accountability. The previous lack of accountability for water companies created many of the issues that the water industry has faced. The Conservatives in government and now this Government have attempted to try and address that. This is another chance for the Government to go even further and inject some of what is really needed into their approach. I turn to Lords amendment 1B, which reverses the Government’s decision to remove measures from the Bill that would require financial reporting to be collected by Ofwat for its remuneration guidance. We know that one of the most worrying aspects of our water industry has been its financial resilience, as Ofwat’s “Monitoring financial resilience” report back in November made clear, with 10 companies at need of increased monitoring and three in the highest category of risk, with closer monitoring required at a more senior level with Ofwat. We all know, too, the cases involving specific water companies and the real risk that financial mismanagement brings for the survival of those companies and the water provision that their consumers rely on. It is disappointing, therefore, that the Government have been unwilling throughout the Bill’s passage to accept Conservative amendments, or Cross-Bench amendments such as this one by Lord Cromwell, offered in a constructive spirit, which may have gone some way to address the issue. None the less, the Opposition truly want to see better financial resilience. Therefore, on financial reporting in particular, we want the Government to accept this as a reasonable step to regain accountability on financial resilience. The Lords amendment to clause 1 would quite simply mean that, when it comes to financial reporting, there would be nowhere to hide for water companies and the decisions they make in this area. I note that, following the Lords’ rejection of Commons amendment 1, the Government have tabled amendment (a) to Lords amendment 1B, which will go some way to improving the financial transparency of water companies, as a formal concession to Lords amendment 1B. Subsection (4) of Government amendment (a) states that what water companies must publish should be decided “from time to time”. I hope the Minister can see that such vagueness might be a problem moving forward, as “from time to time” could allow the regulator not to review when the need arises, because it had done so a few years prior or even longer ago, and justify that by arguing that it was doing so “from time to time”, as the law outlines. Even if nothing or little would need changing from year to year, or every few years, surely it would be better to require this at least to be reviewed at precise regular intervals so that the most valuable information is provided in the best possible format. That aside, however, His Majesty’s most loyal Opposition acknowledge the Government’s concession on financial transparency, and indeed public access, including characteristics of capital and debt. We are pleased to see that addition to the Bill. In the same spirit, I move on to Lords reason 2A to disagree with Commons amendment 2, which urges this House to consider again the requirement that any rules under clause 1 be brought into force by means of a statutory instrument from the Secretary of State. Again, this amendment is familiar territory that we have debated at many stages, having been a measure consistently called for by His Majesty’s Opposition in the other place and in this House, both in the Chamber and in Committee. We have maintained throughout that accountability is needed to deliver and enforce change in the water industry, but that must include the Government of the day, no matter which party they are. It is odd that, on the one hand, this Government have claimed that they want a tight grip on water companies, while on the other, they consistently oppose a measure that would allow them to do exactly that. It is odd, too, that in Committee, the Liberal Democrats sought to amend the same part of the Bill that would have that effect. Their intentions were to bring in guidance as soon as possible, but there is a distinction between intent and effect. Removing some of the same lines would have had the same exact effect in ridding the Bill of the statutory instrument requirement that this amendment seeks to maintain. The Government have argued—as the Minister has again today—that they fear that Ofwat’s flexibility to adapt their rules as necessary could be impeded in some way. But statutory instruments remain a timely measure to introduce any changes if needed. So once again, the Government’s argument does not stack up. It is only right that we, as parliamentarians elected by the British public to represent their interests with our voices and votes, are able to look at the proposed rules and exercise our ability to voice concerns if they risk falling short of protecting the public’s interests. Why deny the public and Members of this House the ability to uphold accountability of the water industry, which has been missing for too long? As such, once again we have urged the Government to accept what we believe is a reasonable set of amendments in the name of accountability. Now, at the 11th hour, the Government have tabled Government amendment (a) in lieu of Lords reason 2A that disagrees with Commons amendment 2, the amendments tabled and argued for by my Conservative friends in the other place the noble Lord Roborough and Lord Blencathra, and add that the remuneration and governance rules may not be not be enacted until they have been provided in draft to the Secretary of State. There is a move towards some Government accountability, but sadly, not what the Opposition had wanted: a statutory instrument laid by the Secretary of State and approved by both Houses. None the less, I am grateful that the Government have listened to Lord Roborough, me and the other Conservative colleagues who have argued for more accountability, and that they have moved a little towards us with this amendment. However, I am still unclear why the Government appear scared of full accountability. Sadly, I fear that some of these last-minute concessions, which we would like to go further, look like the Government trying to avoid double insistence and the Bill failing. We do not wish the Bill to fail, as we all want the same thing: to see our waters improve and for the Government to continue with the measures that the Conservatives set in train in the last Parliament. In that spirit, we will not stand in the way of the Government’s amendments. There has been many a chance for the Government to grab opportunities to bolster the Bill with both hands. Many chances have been missed throughout its passage, not least by the Government continually rejecting our water restoration fund to ringfence fines to restore local waterways, rather than to balance the Treasury’s books. They did not accept our sensible proposals to go further with nature-based solutions to flood risk. They rejected our proposals for fines on water companies to result in equivalent reductions in customers’ bills, and our sensible proposals to allow the Secretary of State to place limits on the amount that water companies can borrow. They blocked our proposals to protect consumers in different parts of the country from paying for failing water companies that do not supply them. As the Bill progresses and the Cunliffe review begins, I again urge the Government, for the sake of our water, environment, constituents, communities and, indeed, fairness, not to let political pride and dogma stand in the way of doing the right thing and making water legislation the best it can be. We wish the Bill well as it ends its journey in this House.

• 11 Feb 2025 · Water (Special Measures) Bill [Lords] · Hansard source

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  I am slightly curious as to why, at the eleventh hour, the third party is now changing its position. In the other place, when this amendment was pushed to a vote, the Liberal Democrats abstained on two occasions, but now they are playing political games and actually risking the progress of the Bill. The amendment, as it stated, was to introduce a statutory instrument to increase parliamentary scrutiny and accountability. The Government have moved some way—although not as far as we would like—but the third party is now playing political games, and risks the progress of a Bill that is trying to improve the state of our waters.

• 11 Feb 2025 · Water (Special Measures) Bill [Lords] · Hansard source

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  I am very grateful to the hon. Gentleman for giving way again. He talks about a number of fantastic amendments the third party made in Committee, many of which were so poorly worded that they were not actually worth voting on. His particular amendment about abolishing Ofwat actually contained no suggestion as to what the third party would replace it with, or how much it would cost—

• 11 Feb 2025 · Water (Special Measures) Bill [Lords] · Hansard source

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  It did not. It did not set out how much it would cost or how long it would take. While we want Ofwat to have the teeth to hold water companies to account, the third party proposes getting rid of it. Again, is it the party of protest that is not offering any credible solutions.

• 11 Feb 2025 · Water (Special Measures) Bill [Lords] · Hansard source

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  I am slightly concerned that the Minister is raising questions about my honesty. The water restoration fund exists, but where is it now? What has happened to it? Are the Government going to use it again? That is why we wanted to push, at every stage of the Bill, the point that the water restoration fund needs to be used to ringfence money so that fines on water companies can be ploughed back into restoring local waterways. I will be very happy if the Minister says today that the water restoration fund is carrying on, and then my honesty will be intact.

• 11 Feb 2025 · Water (Special Measures) Bill [Lords] · Hansard source

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  Will the hon. Gentleman give way?

• 6 Feb 2025 · Agriculture Sector: Growth · Hansard source

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  To have growth in agriculture we need healthy animals, and for that, farms need biosecurity. Crucial to that is the Animal and Plant Health Agency, which deserves our thanks in these challenging times. With the alarming recent foot and mouth outbreak in Germany, avian influenza again surging, bluetongue still with us and African swine fever at our doorstep, we must act urgently. Please can the Government release the further necessary £1.4 billion to redevelop the APHA headquarters in Weybridge? The programme was started under the Conservatives, with £1.2 billion committed in 2020. For the sake of agriculture, animal health, rural mental health, biosecurity and national security, please will the Minister act now?

• 5 Feb 2025 · Chagos Islands · Hansard source

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  This Labour Government are making choices, claiming that they have no money, from taxing jobs, family businesses and family farms and cutting winter fuel payments for pensioners to delaying much-needed new hospitals such as Whipps Cross and the Princess Alexandra. What does the Minister say to my constituents in Epping Forest who are asking how this Government can now find billions of pounds to pay to give away British sovereign territory and, in so doing, compromise national and global security?

• 5 Feb 2025 · Engagements · Hansard source

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  Sadly, suicide is the biggest killer of young people under 35. Andy Airey, Tim Owen and Mike Palmer are the 3 Dads Walking. They each tragically lost their precious daughters, Sophie, Emily and Beth, to suicide. They have campaigned tirelessly for suicide prevention to be included in the school curriculum in an age-appropriate way. We met the previous Prime Minister in Downing Street and suicide prevention was added to the relationships, sex and health education curriculum guidance for consultation last year. I know that the Prime Minister has met the three dads and supports their campaign, but sadly progress has stalled. Will the Prime Minister please meet me and the three dads so that we can finally get this over the line and ultimately save young lives?

• 5 Feb 2025 · Engagements · Hansard source

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  Q1. If he will list his official engagements for Wednesday 5 February.

• 29 Jan 2025 · Draft Separation of Waste (England) Regulations 2025 · Hansard source

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  It is a great privilege to serve under your chairship, Mrs Furniss, and to be sitting opposite the Minister again, as I have done on various issues. I thank her for bringing these important regulations to the Committee. The principle of improving our recycling is one that I wholeheartedly support. I believe the Conservatives have a strong track record in this area; I thank the Minister for graciously acknowledging the importance of our landmark Environment Act 2021. Between 2010 and 2022, we reduced the amount of waste going to landfill by about 47% and cut the amount of biodegradable waste going to landfill by 46%. We also introduced a simpler recycling collection system to make it easier to recycle, saving people time and stopping confusion, to boost recycling rates. Additionally, our introduction of the single-use plastic bag charge in 2015 led to a remarkable drop in plastic bag usage, significantly reducing plastic waste. I am pleased to see that the Labour Government have drawn on our previous consultations to shape this statutory instrument. In 2021, the Conservative Government conducted an initial consultation on consistency in household and business recycling, followed by an additional targeted consultation in 2023 that focused on exemptions to allow co-collection of recyclable waste streams. The process engaged English waste collection and disposal authorities, the Environment Agency and key stakeholders across the waste sector. These regulations, set to take effect at the end of March this year, introduce mandatory waste separation for businesses and non-domestic premises. Businesses with fewer than 10 employees—microbusinesses—have been given an extended timeline until March 2027 to comply. Under the regulations, businesses will need to separate their waste into three key streams: dry recyclables such as glass, plastic, metal, paper and card, food waste and residual waste. Recycling is important, and we must continually look at ways to increase it and make it easier for councils to carry out their waste management roles. However, I do have a couple of clarification questions for the Minister that I hope she may be able to address. First, can the Minister confirm what specific campaigns or initiatives will be launched to ensure that businesses and non-domestic premises are fully aware of the changes coming down the line? Secondly, what measures are being put in place and what reassurances are being put out there to help businesses—particularly small and microbusinesses—to comply with the regulations without facing financial burdens? This is an important issue; I look forward to seeing how these regulations and this important recycling agenda progress in future.

• 29 Jan 2025 · Growing the UK Economy · Hansard source

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  It has been interesting listening to the statement on growing the UK economy, when everything the Labour Government have done so far is having the exact reverse effect. In Epping Forest, businesses and vital services are talking about job losses and a freeze in recruitment due to the jobs tax, while across the country, family farms and businesses are worried about their futures, with the Government’s heartless inheritance tax policies, children are having to move school and some independent schools are having to close due to the punitive school fees policy. When will this Government admit they have got things wrong and, for the sake of opportunity and growth, reverse their ill-judged policies?

• 28 Jan 2025 · Water (Special Measures) Bill [Lords] · Hansard source

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  I appreciate the opportunity to discuss this vital issue of water quality once again. As His Majesty’s most loyal Opposition have maintained through the passage of the Bill, it is just an attempt to copy and paste some of the work done by the previous Conservative Government and the measures taken to identify the problem. We will not shy away from the fact that the Conservative Government were the first to identify the scale of the sewage problem and actually to start to address it. As my right hon. Friend the Member for Beverley and Holderness (Graham Stuart) just said, when Labour left office in 2010, only 7% of storm overflows were monitored. When we Conservatives left office last year, 100% were monitored and our landmark Environment Act 2021 paved the way to improving the quality of our precious waters. However, we are under no illusions: there is always more that can be done, and we have always said that we will seek to work constructively to make the Bill as effective as possible. In that spirit, I thank the Minister for her willingness to discuss matters of the Bill with me and with colleagues across the House; the Minister in the other place, Baroness Hayman, showed an equal willingness to listen to suggestions from colleagues. I also thank members of the Bill Committee for their constructive approach and all the Bill team, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs and parliamentary staff supporting this legislation and our scrutiny of it. As a result of that dialogue, the Bill now includes welcome improvements in several areas, such as company requirements to produce implementation reports to outline how they envision their commitments on improving water quality happening, as well as consideration of nature-based solutions in licensing activities. However, in that same constructive spirit, the Opposition today ask the Government to go even further. We want the Government to back our new clause 16 mandating the water restoration fund, which had cross-party support in Committee. I thank the good folk of the Conservative Environment Network and Wildlife and Countryside Link for their support and campaigning on the new clause, as well as the Angling Trust for its discussions. I also thank the former MP for Ludlow and former Chair of the Environmental Audit Committee Philip Dunne for his assiduous efforts to see the fund introduced.

• 28 Jan 2025 · Water (Special Measures) Bill [Lords] · Hansard source

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  I thank my right hon. Friend for that intervention. I will come on to an amendment we have also tabled to ensure that if fines are levied on water companies, customers’ bills go down accordingly, so that taxpayers and bill payers are not penalised for water companies doing the wrong thing. The Government have made ejections in this House and in the other place to the principle of ringfencing the funding and have stated the need for the Treasury to have flexibility on how it spends that money, but in this specific case, their argument still does not stack up. Where money comes from taxation, ringfencing is not always the most reliable way to ensure that the Treasury can have the spending power it needs to deliver that spending, but here we are talking about something very different. Fines are much more uncertain and provide less of a guarantee regarding the amount of money they will bring in. To rely on those funds for day-to-day Treasury spending does not make sense. Ringfencing those penalties for our water restoration fund is a sensible measure that enables Governments to guarantee they can meet a specific need. Water companies pay the fines for the damage they have done, and the local communities affected are empowered to have their local waterways restored. It is worth repeating the finer detail of our amendment; it should not go ignored that this will also improve chalk streams. It was incredibly disappointing that over Christmas, the Government revealed that they had abandoned plans by the Conservatives to recover our chalk streams. Given that England is home to 80% of the world’s chalk streams, a failure to act on this issue neglects a vital duty to protect a key part of our environment. In light of this, we believe that the Government need to think again about rejecting our important amendment, which is a matter of principle, a matter of justice in righting wrongs, and a fundamental commitment to water quality. When it comes to improving our waters, it is supporting those who are most affected when water companies fail to abide by their duties that are at the heart of the Opposition’s concerns —the British public, as individual consumers, bill payers and members of local communities. Customers must not pay the price for water companies’ failure to do their duties, whether financial, environmental or otherwise. As such, the Opposition have tabled new clause 19, which would require the DEFRA Secretary of State to provide that where a water company has faced financial penalties for failure to comply with the law, a financial amount equal to those penalties must be removed from the bills of that water company’s consumers. This is very important, as a toxic cocktail of poor behaviour by water companies and rising bill prices has led to many people feeling that they are receiving poor value for money and not getting the quality water services that they deserve. A concomitant reduction in customer bills that people will see directly on their statements will be a real and tangible sign that poor behaviour is not going unchecked. The Government have previously rejected the proposal, but we urge them to think again about this simple yet effective amendment that would do so much to underpin all the work that is being done and protect bill payers. I turn to some of our further amendments. Our concerns about the water industry and finances extend to what is in the Bill as it stands—in particular, the provisions for special administration orders in clauses 12 and 13, which the Opposition have raised in the other place and in Committee. Those clauses would give the Government the power to recover any losses they make through placing a company in special administration by raising consumer bills. My Conservative colleagues in the other place sounded the alarm on this issue, and I put on record again my thanks to them for doing so. If water companies require the Government to place them in special administration through their own failure, why should consumers foot the bill for failures they have had no influence on or responsibility for? That is particularly the case if a customer’s bills will rise as a result of mismanagement by a company whose services they do not even rely on. This proposal runs contrary to the nature of all the action taken in recent years to improve water quality, whereby companies that are responsible for failing to get their affairs in order must take responsibility. We have all been starkly aware of concerns surrounding the financial resilience of Thames Water, and as many will know, Ofwat’s “Monitoring financial resilience” report in November identified 10 companies that needed an increased level of monitoring and/or engagement concerning financial resilience. We acknowledge that the Government believe that they expect to use special administration orders as a last resort and in limited circumstances. However, it is the Opposition’s firm belief that an injustice remains, with people having to pay for companies that they have no connection to. We have therefore tabled amendments 26 and 27, which would explicitly forbid the raising of prices for consumers who do not use the services of the water company that is in special administration. We believe this is a fair and reasonable compromise that the Government should accept, so that we can work to improve the water industry’s financial practices. We have also tabled new clause 17, which would amend the Water Industry Act 1991 to insert new rules regarding limits on the amount of money that can be borrowed by a water company. Regrettably, the Government rejected this sensible measure in Committee, so we have tabled it again to ensure that water companies do not excessively borrow money, which is ultimately bad for bill payers. When we talk about financial resilience, the heart of the issue is concern about borrowing, and the resultant over-leveraging in the industry. We will be pushing that new clause to a Division. We will also be supporting the measures on nature recovery that we tabled in Committee. We will be looking very closely at some of the amendments from the Liberal Democrats. New clause 2, which they tabled in Committee, would abolish Ofwat. At that stage, we pointed out that the new clause was not explicit about what it would transition to, so we do not believe that is a sensible way forward. New clause 18 would grant the Government a power to create a unified scheme of charging arrangements for customers in need of support regardless of the specific supplier, and introduce a consultation for that purpose. Although the Opposition welcome looking at that, can the Government please ensure that others consumers do not face rising bills as a result? It will be interesting to see what the Government do with that.

• 28 Jan 2025 · Water (Special Measures) Bill [Lords] · Hansard source

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  It has been a wide-ranging debate, although shorter than we had hoped for. I thank Members for participating today. I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Beaconsfield (Joy Morrissey) for her passion for enhancing the accountability of water companies and protecting watersports, which we are all passionate about, and my hon. Friend the Member for Bridgwater (Sir Ashley Fox) for passionately advocating for the water restoration fund. New clause 16 would establish the water restoration fund, to ringfence money from fines to restore local waterways, not to balance the Treasury’s books. This was a Conservative fund, and the Labour Government must not let ideology stand in the way of evidence-based policymaking. They must take the baton forward and ringfence this money, so that waterways can be restored locally.

• 28 Jan 2025 · Water (Special Measures) Bill [Lords] · Hansard source

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  No, I have no time. New clause 19 is designed to ensure that fines on water companies result in equivalent reductions in customers’ bills. That is only fair, and we urge the Government to take forward the new clause. New clause 17 seeks to strengthen the financial resilience of water companies by enabling the Secretary of State to stipulate the limits of borrowing, so that these companies do not leverage too much debt. That is an important new clause that needs to go forward. Through amendments 26 and 27, we want to protect customers in different parts of the country so that they do not have to pay for the misdemeanours of water companies that do not serve them. We urge the Government to take forward our amendments and make this Bill stronger, so that we can improve our precious waterways.

• 28 Jan 2025 · Water (Special Measures) Bill [Lords] · Hansard source

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  I am grateful to the Minister for giving way. I suspect that the Government do not agree with our water restoration fund, but if the Cunliffe review says that the water restoration fund should be reinstated, will the Minister commit to doing so?