Speeches by Olney.

“It is a privilege to be called at this stage in the debate. My principal reason for voting against the Bill on Second Reading was my concern that vulnerable people would be put at risk. I agreed to serve on the Bill Committee to do what I could to allay my concerns about that issue and address some of the issues raised…”

“I will not, if that is okay. We were told that it was not practical to produce such an assessment until after Committee stage, as it would be necessary to assess the impact of amendments made in Committee. The equality impact assessment was finally published five weeks ago. I have to say that I was pretty astounded. It…”

“I welcome that intervention. I spoke extensively about the Bill’s impact on anorexic people, and I am not satisfied that those concerns have been addressed. I am pleased to support amendment 21 tabled by my good friend, colleague and constituency neighbour, my hon. Friend the Member for Twickenham (Munira Wilson), whic…”

“I am sorry, but I will make some progress. In a similar vein, I plan to support the amendments in the name of the right hon. Member for Tonbridge (Tom Tugendhat), which seek to remove all Henry VIII powers from the Bill and from the amendments introduced by the hon. Member for Spen Valley. I will support the right hon.…”

“The Liberal Democrats welcome yesterday’s announcements from the Chancellor on investment in public infrastructure projects. However, the general secretary of the Prospect trade union has warned that the UK lacks the skilled workers required for the new defence and nuclear projects outlined by the Chancellor. Similarly…”

“The Liberal Democrats have long called for a closer trading relationship with Europe after the disastrous negotiations by the previous Conservative Government. We welcomed last month’s new trade agreement, including an agrifood deal establishing a UK-EU sanitary and phytosanitary zone. The EU is our largest agrifood ma…”

“London Members were hoping to hear more about infrastructure investment in the capital today. We are looking for spending on the Bakerloo line extension, and spending to deal with the Croydon bottleneck. I even dared to dream that Hammersmith bridge might one day be fixed, but all we have heard from the Chancellor is h…”

“Good afternoon, panel. The Teddington direct river abstraction is one of the 30 projects referred to in the Report, and it directly impacts my constituency. We know that Thames Water is just about to undergo its statutory public consultation. However, it is obliged to publish a statement of community consultation for t…”

“How confident are you in your estimates of future bill rises? You have said that it is £31 each year for the next five years. Are you confident that in future years it will still be an average of £31, post-inflation?”

“Finally, does Ofwat have standards around transparency when it comes to billing? A lot of my constituents complain that they see these huge bill increases and are not getting much information from Thames Water about why their bills have gone up so much. Obviously, that £31 is part of it, but some of my constituents are…”

“Thank you very much.”

“Dame Tamara, the Environment Agency and Ofwat have different types of obligations towards consumers. For example, the Environment Agency’s statutory duties do not include an explicit duty to protect the interests of consumers, but Ofwat’s do, and the Environment Agency has no obligation to balance environmental outcome…”

“I talked about the affordability of bills earlier. At the moment, for example, there is really no guarantee for consumers that when they pay higher water bill charges, that will necessarily lead to improvements in the environmental picture, because the two are not linked in that way. Dame Tamara Finkelstein: The proces…”

“The sector’s funding is calculated “using benchmarking techniques…based on the company”—among the water companies—“who carries out their work at the third or fourth lowest cost,” with an enhancement expenditure “often set based on the companies who spend the average amount.” To me, it feels as if the funding is benchma…”

“Does that include those differences that the report highlights: “soil type, wages and regional costs of construction”?”

“Mr Black, are you confident that Thames Water is fulfilling its statutory obligations with regard to planning applications of this type?”

“Mr Black, Ofwat estimates that the average bill increase each year for the next five years will be £31. I have heard from a lot of constituents who are experiencing bill increases considerably more than that. I have had one constituent whose charges have tripled, somebody whose charges have gone up 158%, and another on…”

“Let me press you on that. I was going to ask about water meters, because my constituents who have them are still seeing these enormous increases. Is it your expectation that people who are on meters will not see quite such a large increase?”

“Understood.”

“I am going to resist all attempts to involve me in a love-in. However, the Liberal Democrats very much welcome the progress that has been made in the UK-EU reset. We are particularly pleased to see the Prime Minister listen to our long-standing calls on a defence fund, on a veterinary scheme and on youth mobility, or y…”