"My Lords, this order was laid before the House on 14 January 2026. If approved in the House and in the other place, it will implement a proposal submitted by Elmbridge Borough Council, Mole Valley District Council and Surrey County Council for two unitary councils, east Surrey council and west …..." Baroness Taylor of Stevenage - View Speech
"I thank the noble Baroness, Lady Pinnock, and the noble Lord, Lord Jamieson, for their considered contributions today. I recognise that they have a great deal of experience in this area, so they were very thoughtful contributions indeed. I will try to pick up all the points that have been …..." Baroness Taylor of Stevenage - View Speech
"I understand why the noble Lord asked that question. I apologise— I hope that I did not mislead in what I said. The criteria that we set out for this process are very clear. We looked at the criteria right across the board, and they are there to make sure …..." Baroness Taylor of Stevenage - View Speech
"To continue from where we were before the vote, both noble Lords have understandably asked about the Surrey consultation outcome, and I understand why they would ask that question. As the noble Baroness mentioned, we received 5,617 responses: 26 from named consultees and the rest from residents and local organisations, …..." Baroness Taylor of Stevenage - View Speech
"I certainly do not want to be seen to be condoning or commenting on that speculative debt, but we are where we find ourselves, and the important thing is that residents of Surrey must have sustainable councils going forward. It will not help them if the new structure that we …..." Baroness Taylor of Stevenage - View Speech
"I will take the last point first. My understanding is that the usual practice is for legal advice to be reviewed over the course of a legal case going on. That is standard practice and is what happened in this case. I cannot add anything further to that at the …..." Baroness Taylor of Stevenage - View Speech
"I am sorry, I thought I had covered that when I spoke about the detail of the support being provided to Woking. The commissioners are still working there, and we will continue to work with Woking and the other authorities involved in west Surrey, as is necessary...." Baroness Taylor of Stevenage - View Speech
"I had heard about that very interesting concept. We need to make sure that all steps to mitigate flood risk are taken, even in areas that are not subject to traditional flood risk. The increase of surface floodwater is an issue and we need to make sure that, where possible, …..." Baroness Taylor of Stevenage - View Speech