Environmental Targets (Public Authorities) Bill [HL]

Debate between Baroness Young of Old Scone and Viscount Trenchard

Committee stage
Friday 13th June 2025 Lords Chamber

[Viscount Trenchard (Con)]

My Lords, I support my noble friend Lord Evans of Rainow’s amendment, which is not inconsistent with my previous amendment seeking to exempt a particular public body from the list affected by the Bill brought forward by the noble Lord, Lord Krebs. I also support my noble friend’s desire to include another public body. But the conditions of the two public bodies are inherently different. Great British Energy-Nuclear is in a hugely different and uniquely difficult position, whereas I agree entirely with my noble friend that it is regrettable that the Canal & River Trust has removed bins.

Our towpaths, river communities and waterways are an essential part of our community. Think of a family who are out for a walk along a canal with three or four children eating bags of crisps and ice creams. Where can they put all the litter? It is not realistic to expect all of them to carry it all home in huge bags. The removal of the litterbins by the Canal & River Trust is hugely regrettable. For that reason and the others put forward by my noble friend, I support his amendment.

[Baroness Young of Old Scone (Lab)]

My Lords, I hesitate to speak because I am very conscious that the next debate is waiting to begin. I thank the noble Lord, Lord Evans, for his amendment, and mainly for the degree of clarity it gave me on the status of the Canal & River Trust. According to the ONS, it is a public non-financial corporation as well as a charity, an interesting status that I have never come across before.

There is huge scope for debate about what goes on and comes off the list, although I would prefer it to be mostly about what goes on it. I will give another example to that of the noble Baroness, Lady Coffey, who rightly pointed out that mayoral authorities should be on the list. I will make the case for one particularly important body, for which I should have tabled an amendment. If the Bill proceeds further, I will table an amendment to bring the newly created National Infrastructure and Service Transformation Authority—NISTA—on to the list. It has been set up to implement the 10-year national infrastructure strategy. It will have a key influence on land use and development, and their impact on climate and environment targets.

Under its memorandum of understanding, I believe that it has inherited—although it is very difficult to track this down—the climate change duties from one of its predecessor bodies, but it is not clear whether it has any duties towards the environmental and biodiversity targets. It is very important that this hugely impactful infrastructure role be brought on to the list. I do not believe that the Government can achieve both the climate change and the biodiversity and other environmental targets if bodies such as NISTA are not tasked with pulling their weight on this when exercising their powers and delivering their primary objectives. I believe that bodies can walk, talk and chew gum and that the future of this planet, this nation and this economy depends on all public bodies learning to do that. It is possible.