Speeches by Gardiner.

“Can I ask for some rapid fire recommendations that we could make. I am trying to summarise some of the things that I have heard you say. First, would you like this Committee to make a recommendation on the way in which we are informing and educating people about standards?”

“I just want to put it on the record, so we have it there when we come to make our report. Should the Thames Estuary plan be a statutory one? Is that another recommendation you would like to see?”

“Thinking ahead to land banking now for the 2120 barrier that we are going to have to make a decision on in 2040?”

“I want to refer to the residential and business split, because you spoke about where is the balance from money—the cost-benefit balance from money—and at the moment, in looking at some of the flood mitigation schemes, we are not taking into account the business cost, the commercial properties in the same way as we are …”

“That has been picked up now, though, hasn’t it?”

“The latest figures are about £200 million or more coming in.”

“Let me drill down because we are pressed for time, and I want to push this as much as I can. When you are looking at the values, if you have a flat in London, close to the Thames, where some idiot has burrowed down into what was a basement, which was meant for flooding, and created a kitchen and bedroom down there and …”

“Good. Tell me why.”

“Thank you. Finally, we know that 59% of grade 1 agriculture land is at high risk from flooding, so I want to ask you this, about when you are putting your full hat on as Chair of the Adaptation Committee and were thinking of adaptation in terms of food security. We need to have some wider metrics here about biodiversit…”

“If we were making a recommendation from this Committee, it would be about setting out metrics with clarity. Could you perhaps write to the Committee to suggest what some of those metrics might best be?”

“Professor Naylor, I think many of us will have been struck by what you said about seeing into the future. Earlier today, my colleague Anna Gelderd and I had a briefing with representatives of the Marine Environmental Data and Information Network, MEDIN. They were talking about precisely what you said about the importan…”

“Can we bring Dr Sayers in on that? He indicated he wanted to come in.”

“The Minister has been most generous in giving way to Members. She mentioned that the scheme will apply to plastic and metal drinks containers. What discussions has she had, or what information have her officials gathered, about the potential for manufacturers to switch their containers to glass and the impact that migh…”

“I commend the previous Government for much of the work they did. I commend the fact that they put in place the Environment Act 2021. I do so because it is really important that we adopt a bipartisan approach to these matters. When we are talking about the environment and climate change, yes in this Chamber we can have …”

“I am slightly puzzled. In the Conservative Government’s response to the previous Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee report, they committed to putting these measures in place by 2025. Why have the Conservatives changed their minds so dramatically? Given that it appears that the hon. Gentleman would reject the…”

“Will the hon. Gentleman give way?”

“I applaud any movement in the right direction. The hon. Gentleman compares local authorities, but does he accept that many Labour local authorities have high-rise and tenement buildings, where collection is infinitely more difficult than in leafy suburbs with individual detached houses?”

“Will the hon. Gentleman give way?”

“I am grateful to my hon. Friend for giving way, and commend the excellent work that she did on this subject as Chair of the Environmental Audit Committee. I think another Select Committee then looked at this subject in 2022, and the Government at that stage said that they would implement a deposit return scheme. Does m…”

“Will the Foreign Secretary confirm that the Government will not lift the limited ban on arms sales to Israel until he or another Minister has come back to this House and explained why the danger of those arms being abused has receded?”