Speech in Lords Chamber - Mon 31 Mar 2014 Water Bill
"My Lords, my noble friend Lord Howard moved this amendment in Committee. Unfortunately, he cannot be here today and has asked me to move it again on his behalf.
As a farmer, I pay land drainage rates and, in a past life, I was a member of a Norfolk internal …..." Earl Cathcart - View Speech
"My Lords, I thank the Minister for picking up the baton on this. From what she said, I can see this is not an easy one to take forward, but there seems to be a concern with some of the IDBs and I thank her for continuing to talk to …..." Earl Cathcart - View Speech
"My Lords, I am very nervous about these amendments, probing as they are. Flood Re has one aim: to provide flood insurance for those people who cannot buy it at the moment. The first year or two will be very difficult until it has built up its reserves, provided that …..." Earl Cathcart - View Speech
"My Lords, I congratulate my noble friends Lord Moynihan and Lady Parminter on tabling Amendment 155, as it has given us a good chance to debate flood insurance for businesses, whether in Flood Re or in another mutual set up specifically. We are all under pressure to include small businesses …..." Earl Cathcart - View Speech
"My Lords, I will speak to Amendment 160A. I will be interested to hear the Minister’s response to the question asked by the noble Lord, Lord Shipley, but I shall speak to the amendment as it is written. The Flood Re scheme should be eligible for all houses built and …..." Earl Cathcart - View Speech
"My Lords, I declare that I farm in Norfolk, I live in a band H property, I have a bore hole for domestic use and I have spent about 30 years working and underwriting in the London insurance market.
"My Lords, I congratulate the Government on bringing forward this Bill. We all take water for granted but we should not because it is our most precious resource. Until now, 95% of the water we get goes straight into the sea. I think that everyone welcomes making it a primary …..." Earl Cathcart - View Speech
"My Lords, we pipe and store gas and oil around the country, so why not water? The Roman aqueducts did it 2,000 years ago. The Minister previously cited the difficulty in getting water uphill. Quite so, and no doubt the £30 billion or so cost of establishing a grid is …..." Earl Cathcart - View Speech
"I hope the Government’s response to the pig directive is more robust than their response to the egg directive. As an egg producer, I am appalled that the Government’s answer to the import of eggs produced in illegal battery cages is not to send the lorry back to the country …..." Earl Cathcart - View Speech
"My Lords, I congratulate my noble friend on the timing of this debate. With EU civil servants failing to reach agreement on 28 October, this issue is to be discussed today and tomorrow at the meeting of the EU Ministers. Like my noble friend, my son has a free-range egg …..." Earl Cathcart - View Speech