Speeches by Gelderd.

“Cornwall has a proud history of mining, and this announcement means that we will also lead the way in meeting the UK’s future demand for critical minerals, so I warmly welcome the Minister’s statement. The Government’s plan will create opportunities for businesses in South East Cornwall such as Cornwall Resources—my co…”

“As we mark this season of remembrance, I am honoured, on behalf of the people of South East Cornwall, to pay tribute to the extraordinary men and women of our armed forces—those who made the ultimate sacrifice, and those who continue to serve our country with courage and pride. The tradition of service runs deep in Sou…”

“It is always a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Mrs Harris, and I congratulate the hon. Member for Hamble Valley (Paul Holmes) for securing this important debate. As someone who previously worked for the RNLI and now represents the beautiful rural and coastal constituency of South East Cornwall, I see every day …”

“How do you feel that the incentive structure is working at the moment, Mr Ede? Do you have anything further to say about the enforcement or incentive for dealing with these risks?”

“In my office, nobody gets a biscuit for doing the right thing. They are instructed to do so and I assume that that is what they are doing.”

“You have touched on my final question, and I might come to other members of the panel. Any further thoughts about what enforcement or incentive structures would be most effective in managing the risks of PFAS contamination? Dr Joel, I will come to you.”

“Would it be fair to say that at the moment you do not know how much residual PFOA is in the site? You are currently working on that?”

“That point about incentivising the right practices is a really valid one. Thank you so much for that contribution. Mr Ede, is PFOA currently emitted from your Thornton-Cleveleys site, and has your company taken any steps to address the findings of that contamination around the site of PFOA?”

“I represent a coastal community in south-east Cornwall and residents are very supportive of the polluter pays principle. It is something that constituents across the country find very powerful and are very behind. In short, should manufacturers bear responsibility for cleaning up what they produced?”

“Ms Metzger, should manufacturers bear responsibility for downstream impacts of PFAS once they have entered the environment?”

“Mr Ede, do you have a view on this?”

“Do you have a suggestion of who would be doing that, if it was not the manufacturers?”

“What role should PFAS manufacturers take in remediating legacy PFAS contamination? I will come to you, Dr Joel, to reply first.”

“I welcome the Minister’s statement, and congratulate him on his new role. It is fantastic that Plymouth has been named as the site of one of the defence growth deals; this is very positive for South East Cornwall, given our close ties with the workers who cross the River Tamar daily using Tamar crossings, and the auton…”

“In my constituency, high levels of second home ownership, short-term holiday lets and holiday homes reduce the housing supply for local families and force them away from their important support systems. Does my hon. Friend agree that we need stronger support for generally affordable housing delivery in coastal areas su…”

“That is really helpful. We recently started the inquiry about PFAS and forever chemicals. In my constituency in south-east Cornwall, the A38 had some work done and we were looking at road run-off. I know this is a concern to constituents. It is really good that the Committee is looking at this topic. You have outlined …”

“Would you recommend that it perhaps revisits its design guidance?”

“Thank you to both of you for painting such a clear picture about the problem that we are here to talk about. The National Highways water quality plan focuses on sites identified as most high risk for pollution. What you have said already leads me to think that you are not satisfied, but I do not want to put words in yo…”

“It is incredibly helpful that you have set out the different parts of this process, and within that, the sequence in which things happen. Do you think environmentalists might have more confidence in the Planning and Infrastructure Bill if a land use framework was already in place?”

“That is incredibly helpful. Minister Creagh, do you have any reflections on how the spatial plans—we have heard how they are going to work together—might best serve the needs of the public and the environmental targets?”