Speeches by Hardy.

“I am a big fan of Build Back Better. In my first week as Minister, or my second week maybe, we had an insurance roundtable and brought together all of the insurance companies, where I said that we want every insurance company to offer Build Back Better, so it has increased. I think that 72% of the home insurance market…”

“It is not enough, I can say that. When you look at the numbers of properties flooded in the last year and the numbers of properties that have used Build Back Better, it is nowhere near enough. I am really keen to drive that forward, which is why we are doing another insurance roundtable. From talking to people on the g…”

“They are really keen. As you can understand, the people involved in offering mortgages want to see that homes are resilient to flooding. It is important for them as well. We have the insurance companies on board, through the ABI and Flood Re, sitting on the taskforce. It is doing some work looking at this as well. The …”

“Yes, the taskforce is the big strategic bringing together of everybody involved in looking at flooding. It has met three times. The first meeting was about how prepared we were going into winter. It brought together everybody to address the question about are we ready, talking to the councils, the different agencies, e…”

“Yes. As I say, because you are convening such a large number of people and it is looking at it as a whole, I think that the number of times that it has met is right to bring together that many people. There is the action group on warning and informing, the action group looking at insurance and problems on insurance and…”

“I completely agree that it is incredibly unpleasant. As always, it is only a minority of people who fail to take away their dog’s poo. I am grateful to my hon. Friend the Member for Glasgow East (John Grady) for the tip on visiting the beautiful print art in Glasgow. I hope that his father-in-law is impressed by his su…”

“I hate to give my hon. Friend the parliamentary answer “in due course”, but he will have to forgive me. As illustrated by the two Bills we have taken through the House this morning and the actions we have taken in our first year, we are very committed to animal welfare, which is of huge importance to the country. As we…”

“It is a privilege to speak on Third Reading. I express my gratitude to the hon. Member for Chester South and Eddisbury (Aphra Brandreth) for taking the Bill through the House. I really was not going to get party political on this day of unity when we were all in so much agreement. However, the shadow Minister, the hon.…”

“I am delighted to join my hon. Friend in congratulating Trees for Congleton. Thirty thousand trees is an incredible achievement, and let us hope it keeps going. The number of livestock kept in the UK has nearly doubled since the Dogs (Protection of Livestock) Act 1953 was passed, and there has been a large increase in …”

“I congratulate the hon. Member for Winchester (Dr Chambers) on championing this Bill and guiding its passage through the House. I have welcomed the expertise he has lent to this debate, as well as his information and the way in which he used it in Committee. I was really fascinated to learn about the “Cut the Crop” cam…”

“I of course join my hon. Friend in thanking everyone involved. It is horrific to think that somebody would wish to attack a veterinary building where they know animals receive treatment and where they live. I hope that whoever has done that will be quickly and firmly brought to justice. As the number of pet owners has …”

“I beg to move, That the Committee has considered the draft Sheep Carcase (Classification and Price Reporting) (England) Regulations 2025. It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Sir Jeremy. The draft regulations were laid before the House on 2 June 2025. I draw the Committee’s attention to a correction slip …”

“Who would have thought that today there would be such unity in the House of Commons? I thank everyone for their support. The draft instrument is an essential tool in our efforts to increase the fairness of the supply chain. It establishes a much-needed scheme that will result in a more open, fair and transparent sheep …”

“I can also give you an update, Mr Stuart, but I would like to give my hon. Friend an update, too. The EA recently completed the project to refurbish a section of the floodwall on the River Rother that was damaged during Storm Babet, and £75,000 of DEFRA flood defence funding has been allocated to the avenue for the sto…”

“It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Stuart. My hon. Friend the Member for Chesterfield (Mr Perkins) is right to highlight the mental health impacts that flooding has on communities and individuals; he was also right to say that once someone has been flooded, they are always a flood victim. He discusse…”

“I thank the hon. Gentleman. I do not recognise that report. The money from the restoration fund is being used now to fund projects up and down the country. As I have mentioned, the future money from fines will be ringfenced for environmental projects up and down the country as well.”

“The hon. Gentleman is quite right to say how important volunteers are in supporting our natural environment up and down the country. He will be aware that the decision to reduce the funding for the Canal & River Trust was taken by the previous Government, and that was extended under this Government. There will be a…”

“I thank my hon. Friend for raising this important issue. The Government are, of course, strongly committed to ensuring a high level of protection for human health and the environment. I am aware that the Environment Agency is investigating this matter, so I would be happy to meet my hon. Friend to discuss it in detail.”

“This Labour Government have launched the largest ever crackdown against poorly behaving water companies. As part of this operation, Ofwat has hit Thames Water with a £100 million fine, which is the biggest in British history. I am delighted to confirm today that fines collected by regulators will be directly invested i…”

“My hon. Friend is quite right: chalk streams are a source of beauty and national pride. Just a few weeks ago, I had the privilege of visiting a chalk stream restoration project with Charles Rangeley-Wilson, who is a passionate campaigner for chalk streams. Under this Labour Government, water companies will spend more t…”