Lords
Oral Questions
28 April 2026
National Emergency Plan for Fuel
The noble Lord perhaps refers to the relative cost of supplies into the UK, which is a fairly complicated matter, and the carbon content of those supplies, which is also a further complicated matter. Those supplies are lower in carbon content than LPG coming in but are nevertheless much higher in ca…
Lords
Debate
20 April 2026
Tobacco and Vapes Bill
My Lords, I should be clear that, given this Motion brings forward an amendment that corrects a technical error and the Government have explained their rationale, we will not oppose it.
Lords
Oral Questions
16 March 2026
2 contributions
UK Domestic Visitor Levy
It is the turn of the Labour Benches.
I am sure that my noble friend Lady Merron, who is sitting next to me, will be happy to respond to that question. It is important that people who find themselves in a medical emergency get treated promptly and that that is dealt with as quickly as possible. It is reassuring for tourists who come to …
Lords
Oral Questions
10 March 2026
Student Loan System
Well, I think we can safely say that no decision in this area is simple and straightforward: there are knock-on consequences of every single aspect. The responsible thing is to look at all of the detail, make sure that young people and their needs are kept at the forefront of this, and move forward …
Lords
Debate
3 March 2026
Tobacco and Vapes Bill
My Lords, I thank my noble friend on the Front Bench for asking some very practical questions, to which I hope we will get some practical answers. The only thing I will raise—I do not want to flog a dead horse for the moment—is that there are existing regulations for off-licences, and it would be in…
Lords
Debate
24 February 2026
3 contributions
Tobacco and Vapes Bill
My Lords, I support the 27 amendments in this group, which were so ably spoken to by my noble friend.
Members of the House may not know—there is no reason why they should—that when I came back from working in India and Sri Lanka, both of which are very extensive users of tobacco, I joined an advert…
I have only been here for 50 years.
+1 more contribution in this session
Lords
Oral Questions
11 February 2026
New Homes Target
We have introduced a whole package of support, working with our colleagues in London to make sure that they are supported and helped to get building the homes they need.
In the previous Question, perhaps the noble Lord heard me say that I am working very closely with a whole partnership of people f…
Lords
Proceedings
21 January 2026
Local Elections: Cancellation
My Lords, the Minister will perhaps recall 1968 and the GLC coming into consideration. To the best of my knowledge and memory, those procedures were terminated temporarily, and then local elections went ahead. The key point is accountability of those who have been carrying out services for the publi…
Lords
Oral Questions
19 January 2026
High Temperature Gas-Cooled Reactors
I think public opinion is changing, and it has changed quite a lot in the past few years, but the noble Lord is right that there remain a lot of obstacles to moving fast in this space. That is why the Fingleton report, with its 47 recommendations, is so important. We will be responding fully to that…
Lords
Oral Questions
5 January 2026
Government Communications: X
The noble Lord raises a very important issue. The reality is that, when we undertook the emergency alert last year, 92% of people were reached via social media, meaning that 8% of the population were not touched by social media. So, physical paper—I am a very big fan of the traditional political lea…
Lords
Oral Questions
19 November 2025
Telegraph Media Group
I am not privy to the Secretary of State’s thinking on this matter, but I will pass on the noble Lord’s suggestion.
Lords
Oral Questions
4 November 2025
Energy Market Reforms
As I have just said, the Government’s focus to bring down energy prices is moving away from reliance on fossil fuels, and I am sure the noble Lord is aware that oil is a fossil fuel. Our focus is on moving to a more renewable energy market, to take away that reliance and bring down energy bills thro…
Lords
Committee Stage
3 November 2025
Tobacco and Vapes Bill
My Lords, I have never smoked. Having said that, I was for some 15 years in marketing and advertising. I do not think that the proposal here is at all practical. Cigarettes are very narrow so to read something in six-point type—which is what we are talking about—will be difficult and will have next …
Lords
Committee Stage
27 October 2025
Tobacco and Vapes Bill
My Lords, I shall speak very briefly. I had the privilege, before being an MP, of working as a director of one of the major advertising agencies. We had, as clients, one of the tobacco companies. I have seen the tobacco industry for 50 years and have watched what has been happening where it has been…
Lords
Oral Questions
21 October 2025
Amazon Web Services
My Lords, the departments impacted were HMRC, the Home Office, the DVLA and the DWP. I am not aware that the Ministry of Defence was impacted, but I will write to the noble Lord if it was.
Lords
Oral Questions
13 October 2025
School Fees: VAT
The answer to that is no. VAT applies to private boarding fees as well as private tuition fees. At private schools, boarding is very often included as part of a single overall tuition fee. Not applying VAT to private boarding fees would open up significant risks of value-shifting from school fees to…
Lords
Debate
11 September 2025
Planning and Infrastructure Bill
My Lords, I pay particular tribute to the noble Lord, Lord Addington: he and I have shared a number of sporting events together. I had the privilege of playing rugby, cricket, squash, golf, tennis—I am not quite as fit as I was, I am afraid, coming up to 89.
On the preservation of playing fields, p…
Lords
Debate
24 July 2025
3 contributions
Planning and Infrastructure Bill
My Lords, I support my noble friend Lord Lucas. In another place I represented Northampton, and when I was first elected in February 1974 it had a very active market and abattoir, not on the outskirts but on the fringes, I suppose. That has been gone now for the best part of a quarter of a century, …
My Lords, I support this amendment. We cannot emphasise too strongly the importance of moving forward in this vital area. There has been discussion before, under the previous Government. Some questions have already been raised on the Floor this afternoon. The longer we delay, the more difficult life…
+1 more contribution in this session
Lords
Oral Questions
14 July 2025
2 contributions
Rail Freight
My Lords, it is the turn of the Conservative Benches. Can they please make up their minds on who will ask a question?
My Lords, I bow to the popular will from my Benches—
Lords
Debate
25 June 2025
Planning and Infrastructure Bill
My Lords, I want to say a few words about something that has not been talked about very much. Let me turn this damn phone off first—this happened in my Select Committee yesterday and it was not very good.
I want to talk about planning, because planning comes up a great deal in this Bill—quite right…
Lords
Oral Questions
16 June 2025
3 contributions
Defence Industrial Base
My Lords—
Oh!
+1 more contribution in this session
Lords
Oral Questions
14 May 2025
Telecommunications Fraud: Reimbursement of Victims
I will certainly look at that point. It is not within my direct responsibility, because this Question is about fraud. I live in a semi-rural area in north Wales myself and those issues are important, but they are not directly Home Office responsibilities. If the noble Lord will allow me, I will refe…