Speeches by Hinchliff.

“Thank you. Finally, Mr Henderson and Ms Robinson, you will both be aware of the reports from last year that sludge fertiliser being sold to farmers by water companies contained a banned type of PFAS at levels in excess of those considered safe by emerging science. Should water companies be required to check for PFAS in…”

“Mr Henderson, you have waste treatment techniques, as I understand it, that concentrate and remove PFAS from water. How can we deal with the waste that comes from those processes in a way that does not re-release the chemicals into the environment? How are you dealing with that? Is there anything further that we could …”

“Very briefly, before I turn to my final question: you mentioned the gap in the evidence to inform our understanding of the risks in relation to sewage sludge. Who do you think should be filling that evidence gap? How can we fill that evidence gap?”

“That would be very helpful, thank you. Ms Robinson, another issue that many of my constituents write to me about is that of sewage sludge being spread on our farmland, although admittedly that often has more to do with the smell than with the chemicals within it. You have already referred to the scale at which that is …”

“Dr Megson, the industry will go where the science leads. Do you have any views on what the regulatory limit should be in our drinking water?”

“Mr Henderson, as I am sure you will recall, in January this year there were reports in the press that analysis of sampling data showed contamination from PFAS of drinking water across the country. Water sources used by Affinity Water in my constituency at Letchworth and Baldock showed particularly high concentrations o…”

“Is that happening sufficiently across the board? Is there anything that we should be recommending to ensure that that happens?”

“To clarify, perhaps as a recommendation for the Committee to consider in relation to that regulatory limit, would you suggest that we look at broadening it rather than lowering the nanograms per litre?”

“Briefly, may I encourage the Minister to come to my constituency and see the incredible work being done by the RevIvel campaign, which is trying to restore the Ivel chalk stream? It has a brilliant proposal for a chalk stream-first approach that would restore not just that chalk stream but the whole chalk aquifer and h…”

“It is an honour to serve with you in the Chair, Mr Stuart. I begin by recognising that the Minister takes these issues very seriously, and congratulating the hon. Member for Horsham (John Milne) on securing this important debate. I agree with him that one would think it would take true organising genius to arrange for …”

“Secretary of State, you mentioned future generations, and I hope you will forgive me for reflecting that my generation will be living with the impacts of climate change for somewhat longer than yours.”

“My hon. Friend is making a powerful speech, as usual. Does he agree, from the clear argument across the Chamber, that constituents are overwhelmingly unconvinced by the proposed benefits of this scheme and overwhelmingly concerned by the disbenefits; and that therefore the Minister should commit today to ensuring that …”

“I am not certain whether I or the Minister will be more relieved at the conclusion of debates on this legislation. I welcome the fact that the Minister has tabled an amendment to the remaining proposal from the other place; I support Government amendment (a), and welcome the additional parliamentary scrutiny it brings.…”

“I believe that earlier you said the trend is clear in relation to the energy transition. I agree that we do not want to be defeatist, nor would I say that we want to be under any illusions. In the last year, global CO₂ emissions from energy rose to a new record, total fossil fuel use grew to a new record, and global de…”

“Last year, against a target of restoring 5,000 hectares of ancient woodland in England, we managed a grand total of zero. It is little surprise, then, that Government analysis published this week shows that we continue to see wildlife decline across the board, yet certain commentators continue to peddle spurious narrat…”

“Ms Dykta, I just need a two-sentence answer, if that is okay. You made an interesting point about a contingency framework potentially undermining the certainty of the direction of travel that we want to go in by suggesting that we might need to go down an alternative path. How would you respond to someone who would say…”

“Thank you, that is really helpful. There was a lot of useful detail in there. It sounds like there are a lot of big question marks, so my next question is again to you, Ms Whitehouse, and also to you, Ms Dykta. The CCC has called for a contingency framework in case we do not deliver some of these technologies at the sc…”

“Mr Huhne, how can the critical independencies between biomass availability, bioenergy and land use be managed while ensuring that emissions are not offshored?”

““Greater visibility” is slightly euphemistic; can you explain in clearer detail what you mean by that?”

“Ms Whitehouse, to return to some of the conversations we had earlier, it often feels that we assume we will have the technologies like CCUS and hydrogen at the necessary scale on time, simply because we must. Could you set out some of the biggest risks and challenges that we face for delivering those technologies on th…”