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Vol. 729 Monday No. 185 18 July 2011 PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES (HANSARD) HOUSE OF LORDS OFFICIAL REPORT ORDER OF BUSINESS Election of Lord Speaker Announcement Message from the Queen Questions Thames Tunnel Democratic Republic of Congo Finance: Off-exchange Trading Venues Dyslexia Privacy and Injunctions Committee Membership Motion Five Statutory Instruments Motion to Refer to Grand Committee Fixed-term Parliaments Bill Consideration of CommonsReason Metropolitan Police Service Statement Defence Transformation Statement Local Government Finance Statement Supply and Appropriation (Main Estimates) Bill Second Reading and Remaining Stages Finance (No. 3) Bill Second Reading and Remaining Stages Finance Bill 2011: EAC Report Motion to Take Note Grand Committee Education Bill Committee (7th Day) Written Statements Written Answers For column numbers see back page £3·50 Lords wishing to be supplied with these Daily Reports should give notice to this effect to the Printed Paper Office. 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All prices are inclusive of postage. © Parliamentary Copyright House of Lords 2011, this publication may be reproduced under the terms of the Parliamentary Click-Use Licence, available online through The National Archives website at www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/information-management/our-services/parliamentary-licence-information.htm Enquiries to The National Archives, Kew, Richmond, Surrey, TW9 4DU; email: [email protected] 1063 Election of Lord Speaker[18 JULY 2011] Thames Tunnel 1064 The Lord Speaker (Baroness Hayman): My Lords, I House of Lords intend to follow the example of others and not be present for first business on 5 September. Therefore, I Monday, 18 July 2011. trespass on the patience of the House for a single moment to add my congratulations to the noble Baroness, 2.30 pm Lady D’Souza. She has been an effective and distinguished Convenor of the Cross-Bench Peers and I am certain Prayers—read by the Lord Bishop of Lichfield. that she will be an effective and distinguished Lord Speaker. I wish her well in those responsibilities. I express my deepest gratitude to the House for the Election of Lord Speaker honour that it gave to me in entrusting me with the Announcement responsibility of being first Lord Speaker for the past five years. It has been an extraordinary experience and I owe a debt of gratitude to many people in the House 2.36 pm for their support during that time. The Clerk of the Parliaments announced the result of the election for the office of Lord Speaker. Details of Thames Tunnel the votes cast are being made available in the Printed Question Paper Office. The successful candidate was Baroness D’Souza. 2.39 pm Asked By Lord Berkeley Message from the Queen To ask Her Majesty’s Government what are the environmental benefits of the proposed Thames 2.36 pm Tunnel. The Lord Chamberlain (Earl Peel): My Lords, I have the honour to notify your Lordships that Her The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department Majesty the Queen, having been informed that your for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Lord Henley): Lordships have elected the Baroness D’Souza to be My Lords, the Thames Tunnel proposed by Thames Lord Speaker, has pleasure in confirming your Lordships’ Water would reduce the frequency of spills of untreated choice of her as your Speaker. waste water into the Thames from the current average of once a week during rainfall to three or four times a year, and reduce spill volumes from 39 million cubic Election of Lord Speaker metres annually to around 2.3 million cubic metres. This would meet the dissolved oxygen standards identified 2.37 pm by the Thames Tideway Strategic Study and protect local ecology. The Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster (Lord Strathclyde): My Lords, I am sure the whole House Lord Berkeley: I am grateful to the Minister for that will join me in congratulating the noble Baroness on Answer. I agree with him that the tunnel will help to becoming our next Speaker. I am sure that everybody clean up the Thames but in the process it could make a will wish to join in supporting her and encouraging serious mess of London. One of Thames Water’s her not just in this transition period but throughout proposals is to concrete over most of Barn Elms her term of office. Playing Fields and other greenfield sites and to remove My purpose in rising now is to inform the House spoil by road, involving some 500 trucks passing through that there will be an opportunity to pay tribute to the London every day. Will the Government insist that noble Baroness, Lady Hayman, the Lord Speaker, for Thames Water takes the majority of the spoil out by her distinguished work as Speaker of this House and water down the river, because the line goes under the for being the first holder of the office of Lord Speaker. river? Secondly, will the Government safeguard the That occasion will take place at the start of business necessary brownfield sites, such as the Battersea power on Monday 5 September. station site, to avoid the need to use greenfield sites in the construction? Baroness Royall of Blaisdon: My Lords, I rise briefly as I realise that now is not the time for tributes. Lord Henley: My Lords, I am grateful to the noble However, as Leader of Her Majesty’s Opposition in Lord for stressing the importance of the fact that it this House, I just want to convey the very warm will clean up the Thames. That is very important, both congratulations of our Benches to the noble Baroness, in itself and in order to avoid infraction proceedings Lady D’Souza. This is another step in the evolution of under the urban waste water directive. I note the noble our House. We have had another successful election Lord’s other points, which are really matters relating for a Lord Speaker. It is extraordinary that we have to planning issues. Thames Water will be consulting had two women. I know that the noble Baroness will later this year on the route and where to put the have the confidence of the whole House and that she various access points for the tunnels. After that, these will do a splendid job for the Lords, inside and outside are matters that should be left to the planning process Parliament, and for Parliament as a whole. rather than to Government. 1065 Thames Tunnel[LORDS] Thames Tunnel 1066 Baroness Gardner of Parkes: My Lords, is the Minister consider talking to Thames Water to make sure that aware that the London Group had the benefit of a environmental vandalism to sites such as Barn Elms presentation on this project? It said that one of the does not take place? important features was to allow drainage in London, as the water level is now rising so high that it is Lord Henley: Obviously, we would want to encourage becoming a problem, particularly with the development the use of brownfield sites, where possible, rather than of more basements and sub-basements. greenfield sites. However, I do think that this should be a matter for the planning authorities and the planning Lord Henley: My Lords, my noble friend is absolutely process rather than for a diktat from Defra itself. correct in talking about problems of drainage. We have seen, since Bazalgette built the original sewers Lord Knight of Weymouth: My Lords, Defra is some 150 years ago, a vast expansion of London, a currently consulting on these sorts of projects becoming vast increase in the number of people here, and a vast national infrastructure projects and at that point the increase in the number of impermeable surfaces which Minister would have the leverage that he currently tells allow water to drain off far quicker than it did in the us he does not have. I understand the point that he is past, creating serious environmental problems. As part making. However, should he not take a lead, for of this process we need to look at all of those factors example, from the Mayor of London, who is very and all appropriate solutions. happy to interfere and to pass comment wherever he sees fit? Should he not use his influence in this case Lord Aberdare: My Lords, in view of the fact that and listen to what noble Lords have said about the major projects such as the Thames Tideway Tunnel importance of using the river to transport spoil in often fall short in delivering the environmental and order to protect our greenfield sites and to preserve community benefits expected, will the Minister consider the brownfield sites? A meeting would be fairly encouraging Thames Water to establish an independent straightforward and I am sure that Thames Water trust to provide a vehicle for ensuring that those would want to listen to what the noble Lord has to say.