Speeches by Olney.

“London Members were hoping to hear more about infrastructure investment in the capital today. We are looking for spending on the Bakerloo line extension, and spending to deal with the Croydon bottleneck. I even dared to dream that Hammersmith bridge might one day be fixed, but all we have heard from the Chancellor is h…”

“Does that include those differences that the report highlights: “soil type, wages and regional costs of construction”?”

“How confident are you in your estimates of future bill rises? You have said that it is £31 each year for the next five years. Are you confident that in future years it will still be an average of £31, post-inflation?”

“Good afternoon, panel. The Teddington direct river abstraction is one of the 30 projects referred to in the Report, and it directly impacts my constituency. We know that Thames Water is just about to undergo its statutory public consultation. However, it is obliged to publish a statement of community consultation for t…”

“Mr Black, are you confident that Thames Water is fulfilling its statutory obligations with regard to planning applications of this type?”

“Mr Black, Ofwat estimates that the average bill increase each year for the next five years will be £31. I have heard from a lot of constituents who are experiencing bill increases considerably more than that. I have had one constituent whose charges have tripled, somebody whose charges have gone up 158%, and another on…”

“Let me press you on that. I was going to ask about water meters, because my constituents who have them are still seeing these enormous increases. Is it your expectation that people who are on meters will not see quite such a large increase?”

“Understood.”

“Finally, does Ofwat have standards around transparency when it comes to billing? A lot of my constituents complain that they see these huge bill increases and are not getting much information from Thames Water about why their bills have gone up so much. Obviously, that £31 is part of it, but some of my constituents are…”

“Thank you very much.”

“Dame Tamara, the Environment Agency and Ofwat have different types of obligations towards consumers. For example, the Environment Agency’s statutory duties do not include an explicit duty to protect the interests of consumers, but Ofwat’s do, and the Environment Agency has no obligation to balance environmental outcome…”

“I talked about the affordability of bills earlier. At the moment, for example, there is really no guarantee for consumers that when they pay higher water bill charges, that will necessarily lead to improvements in the environmental picture, because the two are not linked in that way. Dame Tamara Finkelstein: The proces…”

“The sector’s funding is calculated “using benchmarking techniques…based on the company”—among the water companies—“who carries out their work at the third or fourth lowest cost,” with an enhancement expenditure “often set based on the companies who spend the average amount.” To me, it feels as if the funding is benchma…”

“It has been a pleasure to be part of the debate. I thank the hon. Member for Blyth and Ashington (Ian Lavery) and the right hon. Member for Tatton (Esther McVey) for bringing it forward. It would normally be customary, with so many contributors, to say that there has been a wide range of views, but I do not actually th…”

“Fellow right hon. and hon. Members will have noticed that some political parties have begun accepting cryptocurrency donations—far be it from me to suggest that this might be an attempt to dodge the transparency requirements for donations. Does the Minister join me in welcoming the Electoral Commission’s clear guidance…”

“I am going to resist all attempts to involve me in a love-in. However, the Liberal Democrats very much welcome the progress that has been made in the UK-EU reset. We are particularly pleased to see the Prime Minister listen to our long-standing calls on a defence fund, on a veterinary scheme and on youth mobility, or y…”

“It is outrageous, yes. Similar situations have been seen with popular household items such as Coco Pops, butter and crisps. We were glad to see that, while the Bill was in the other Chamber, the Government accepted a Liberal Democrat amendment, preventing changes to the pint as a recognised measurement for beer, cider …”

“I thank the hon. Gentleman for that further information about the ceramics industry, which I now feel so much better informed about. He makes a valuable point. When we talk about things being “made in the UK”, what exactly does that mean? How can we use that valuable designation to best support our domestic industries?…”

“Following that hymn of praise to metrology, I will now turn to the amendments. The Liberal Democrats welcome many of the measures proposed in the Bill. The legislation seeks to balance consumer safety, economic growth, and regulatory flexibility, ensuring that UK laws can keep pace with technological advancements. We s…”

“It is a real pleasure to take part in this debate on product regulation and metrology, not least because it gives me the opportunity to highlight the work done by my former colleagues at the National Physical Laboratory in Teddington, which is the UK’s home of metrology. I would like to set the mind of the hon. Member …”