Speeches by Hardy.

“Yes, of course. I am delighted to still be the Minister for Water and Flooding, and I am joined by David Hallam, who is one of the Directors from DEFRA.”

“They started it last year. It is going to be a year’s programme; farmers, environmental groups, non-government organisations, and citizen scientists will be gathering data and testing solutions. I will check in with you and let you know exactly when they expect to complete it.”

“Just on a personal level, I went to Geneva with high hopes myself. I have to say our team—the people from DEFRA going out to represent the United Kingdom—were incredible, and I just want to pay tribute to them. To say that we were all disappointed is probably an understatement: we were incredibly disappointed not to ha…”

“I saw that evidence session and it was incredibly worrying that scientists would feel they were being pressured in any way. When I was over in Geneva I met with Richard just to show the support the United Kingdom has for our independent scientific community that is giving its evidence in good faith and that we 100% sta…”

“I do not want to give you a picture that I am imagining a huge reservoir on farms, more like the examples Jenny has given where they are able to store water more effectively on their farms. I do not want to give the wrong impression.”

“That is a really interesting point. There are definitely things we can do as a country, and of course Minister Creagh is leading on recycling and circular economy. There are also definitely conversations that can be had with some big companies through the Ellen MacArthur Foundation about actions they can take as well. …”

“I am happy to go away and look at the examples of where they have been badly monitored and badly enforced and get back to you on those specifics, if that is okay?”

“You are completely and utterly right, and that is part of being more resilient; if you can hold the rainwater when it falls, that makes you more resilient for the drier summers. I know the EA has been piloting some examples around the country, looking at what more it can do to support farmers in helping with that resil…”

“I love it; that sounds super exciting and a perfect example of where we want to be. It is completely about building resilience and everyone becoming more resilient, is it not? I will have to don my wellies and come and visit you.”

“It is not something I have looked at yet, but on a general basis I am quite open for exploring all the different options we have. As I said, how I like to work as a politician is looking for where we can all join together and achieve the same aim, so I am keen for whatever we can do to reduce plastic pollution. That is…”

“They are doing the research work right now; I will let you know when they are expected to complete it.”

“You are absolutely right and as I say, it underpins everything. I am genuinely pleased to still be here because water is so fundamentally important to absolutely everything, and we only realise its fundamental importance when we have had the driest spring since 1893. Water resilience is one of my top priorities and we …”

“Yes, absolutely. There are some things that we are looking at changing. One is around water efficiency of your white goods and things like that, and how we are using water more efficiently than we have in the past. We need water-efficiency labelling as well so that if customers are going to buy a new washing machine, t…”

“When temporary use bans—hosepipe bans—come in, I am really keen to communicate and explain why to the people who are having to abide by them. I am not sure that is always communicated well enough in terms of the huge impact the drought has had on farmers, livestock, nature, chalk streams, fish and so on. When we ask pe…”

“Obviously I was not here in 2022, so I might ask David—who was the official in 2022—to answer that one for me.”

“You are right, it has been an incredible time: the driest spring in England since 1893 and the hottest June on record. As well as talking about this year, with the way the climate is changing I am making the presumption that this is going to be a more regular thing that happens each summer. In terms of the immediate ac…”

“We have introduced a new era of accountability. We are resetting, reforming and revolutionising the water sector, putting public health and the environment first and delivering the change rightly demanded by the British people. With the most ambitious targets on sewage water pollution in history, we will halve sewage w…”

“I thank the hon. Lady for her important question, and I share her concern about the risks that microplastics may pose to the environment and human health. That is why we are looking at all sources of pollution that enter our rivers, lakes and seas, but there is obviously more work to be done to improve our understandin…”

“The hon. Lady raises a really interesting point—it is perhaps worrying how interested I am getting in what we can do with manure and human waste to provide organic fertiliser in our country. She has given a brilliant example of what can be done, and I will make sure that the Minister who is responsible for the circular…”

“I commend my hon. Friend for his successful championing of this issue on behalf of his constituents. I know how much it means to his community to have such boats removed. It is an important issue, and I am more than happy to follow up with the Canal & River Trust in order to understand if it needs any additional to…”