Speeches by Hardy.

“I cannot disagree with my hon. Friend on that, can I? I thank him for his comments. As I said, it means a lot to me to be able to stand here today and say that I have fulfilled in government the commitment that I made in opposition. We need to pass the Bill and the associated secondary legislation before we can take th…”

“I beg to move, That the Bill be now read a Second time. The Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction Bill is a landmark piece of legislation that will implement obligations in the United Nations BBNJ agreement in UK law and enable us to move towards ratification of this historic agreement. I am sure the Bill will be w…”

“I wonder if I could offer some helpful clarity. This debate is on BBNJ—biodiversity beyond national jurisdiction, with the word “beyond” giving a clue to the fact that it does not relate to British waters. The points the hon. Gentleman is raising, about what impact the high seas will have on offshore wind development h…”

“I pay tribute to all the fishermen throughout the United Kingdom who play such a vital role in helping to feed our nation. The Bill also ensures that the UK has the necessary powers to implement decisions adopted at future meetings of the BBNJ conference of the parties, beginning with the marine genetic resource provis…”

“Of course, domestic marine protected areas are not within the remit of the Bill because we are talking about areas beyond national jurisdiction. What I can say is that the UK Government have introduced a consultation looking at banning bottom trawling in 41 of our marine protected areas. That consultation is out now. W…”

“I can offer the hon. Gentleman that reassurance. That is an important point well made. The BBNJ marks an historic breakthrough. It is a multilateral treaty adopted under the United Nations convention on the law of the sea that is designed to ensure the conservation and sustainable use of marine biological diversity in …”

“Let me take that and give it to Minister Creagh because she is responsible for the Circular Economy Taskforce and I would not want to misrepresent her. I will ask her a little about the plastic waste exports and if that is something she is considering with the circular economy, then I can make sure the Committee has a …”

“Sorry, I misunderstood. You are quite right; we need to be able to manage all our water courses effectively. As I say, I am happy to pick up on the specifics in your area that you have mentioned, as I know how awful it was for the people who suffered with the floods last time.”

“Of course.”

“I know my colleague, Minister Creagh, has been doing some work on the particulars around peatland and peatland management. I suppose the issue of wildfires probably comes more into farming, if I am being really honest with you. I talked before to Jenny about the management of water in that area and my vision for how we…”

“Thank you for writing to me about this issue. I just want to recognise that I completely understand the fear people have: once you have been flooded I do not think you ever get over it, so I understand why it is a worry in your constituency. Speaking more generally—rather than about your specific case—I know that the E…”

“I can obviously speak to everything relating to water on your questions. Looking at the horrendous time farmers have with floods, we have the NFU on the Floods Resilience Taskforce looking at water pollution, and I really want farmers to feel like we are doing this with them. I know that there is willingness across the…”

“My role would be looking at how we have a more resilient water system as a whole. As I say, that involves making sure that farmers have the water they need at the time they need it, so that is where I am seeing my role with this. You are right to point out that at the moment it has not been working. I know there are tr…”

“We will respond formally but you take it on the chin and realise you have to work harder and do more, and that is exactly what we are trying to do. We take the report seriously and will respond formally. As I say, since then we have come out with a research plan and are making sure we have it in the 10-year infrastruct…”

“In terms of the Green Book changes, they have happened so people have to go via the Green Book whenever they are doing anything, and they have to make it climate resilient. So that is done. In terms of the research, that was set up in April this year so it is active and working right now. We are also looking at what ot…”

“Of course the roadmap is being led by the farming Minister but we are going to respond formally to the Climate Change Committee’s report. We will give a formal response to all the points that it has made and the work that it is doing. As we have seen and felt this year and have just been talking about with Sarah, a lac…”

“Yes, of course. As I say, a huge focus is on resilience to the changing climate in terms of water, but one of the most meaningful things is the changes around the Green Book. I know the ears of some people who work for local government prick up whenever you mention the Green Book—other people might not be quite as exci…”

“There are no current plans to open the eligibility around Flood Re. But you are right: it is one of those issues that ends up falling between lots of different people’s responsibilities, so I therefore wonder if a better answer would be for myself and the Ministers from the relevant Departments to sit and have a conver…”

“I would have to talk to my farming colleagues about funding opportunities if that is all right?”

“Are you talking about whether there is funding available generally to make the farms more resilient?”