Author: jonesjb

Members of the House of Lords (Peers) are allowed to table up to 7 Oral Questions – for short debate in the main chamber – per parliamentary session. In this session Jenny has tabled the following Oral Questions :

• September 2020 – Green Investment Fund
• July 2020 – COVID-19: Infection Rate
• May 2020 – COVID-19: NHS Contact Tracing App
• May 2020 – Policing: COVID-19 Guidance and Legislation
• March 2020 – Environmental Programme: COP 26
• February 2020 – Greenhouse Gas Emissions
• January 2020 – Fracking

Questions from previous Sessions

• October 2019 – Frequent Flyer Airmiles Schemes
• September 2019 – Nuclear Power Stations
• July 2019 – Carbon Budgets
• May 2019 – Heathrow Airport
• April 2019 – Protestors’ Rights
• March 2019 – The use of children as covert human intelligence sources (CHIS)
• February 2019 – Carbon emissions and Farming
• January 2019 – Air Pollution
• December 2018 – Agricultural subsidies and buffer zones
• October 2018 – Roundup – pesticide safety
• September 2018 – Children: Covert human intelligence sources
• July 2018 – House of Lords Reform
• March 2018 – Police: Undercover officers
• February 2018 – Recycling – Chinese import ban
• January 2018 – Independent environmental enforcement agency
• December 2017 – Domestic Energy Storage
• November 2017 – Use of pesticides – working with the Pesticides Campaign
• October 2017 – the policing of fracking  protests – following a visit to Preston New Rd
• June 2017 – Fire safety – following the Grenfell Tower fire

Water Industry (Regulation and Renationalisation) Bill – A Bill to make provision about the structure, ownership and regulation of the water industry; to allow, and in specified circumstances require the Secretary of State to bring water assets into public ownership; to provide for the recovery of dividends; to provide for monitoring of water quality; to set a target for the reduction of sewage discharges; to provide for financial penalties in relation to sewage discharges and breaches of monitoring requirements; to require the Secretary of State to publish a strategy for the reduction of sewage discharges from storm overflows, including an economic impact assessment; and for connected purposes.

Clean Air (Human Rights) Bill – A Bill to establish the right to breathe clean air; to require the Secretary of State to achieve and maintain clean air in England and Wales; to involve Public Health England in setting and reviewing pollutants and their limits; to enhance the powers, duties and functions of the Environment Agency, the Committee on Climate Change, local authorities (including port authorities), the Civil Aviation Authority, Highways England, Historic England and Natural England in relation to air pollution; to establish a Citizens’ Commission for Clean Air with powers to institute or intervene in legal proceedings; to require the Secretary of State and the relevant national authorities to apply environmental principles in carrying out their duties under this Act and the clean air enactments; and for connected purposes. Read the Bill here

House of Lords Reform – which would create a second chamber where only peers elected via Proportional Representation would be entitled to vote. This had its second reading on February 3rd 2017 and did not progress further but is a useful contribution to the topic and could be presented again

Natural Environment Bill – A Bill to make provision for the setting of biodiversity and other targets; to establish a Natural Capital Committee; to require local authorities to maintain local ecological network strategies; to identify species threatened with extinction; for access to quality natural green space; and to include education about the natural environment in the curriculum for maintained schools. This bill did not progress beyond first reading but exists as a useful body of work and could be presented again

Land Value Tax Bill – A Bill to require the Secretary of State to commission a programme of research into the merits of replacing the council tax and non-domestic rates in England with an annual levy on the unimproved value of all land, including transitional arrangements; to report to Parliament within 12 months of completion of the research; and for connected purposes. This bill did not progress beyond first reading but exists as a useful body of work and could be presented again