Lords
Oral Questions
11 March 2026
Pension Schemes: Ministerial Powers
My Lords, first, as I have said before, the Government are very clear—and the Bill makes clear—that were the power ever to be used, the Government must commission a report that will look at the state of the market and the impact on savers’ interests, as well as wider impacts, before using the power.…
Lords
Committee Stage
11 March 2026
Secondary International Competitiveness and Growth Objective (FSR Committee Report)
My Lords, I thank my noble friend Lady Noakes for her typically clear and telling introduction as the new chair of the committee, my noble friend Lord Forsyth of Drumlean—now our distinguished Lord Speaker and the masterful previous chair—and other members and the staff of the Financial Services Reg…
Lords
Oral Questions
9 March 2026
Crown Estate: Wales
The Crown Estate and the Government are particularly concerned about ensuring that we have investment in local supply chains, and we are going along with that in whatever we are doing. For example, as I have said, this £50 million is going to be invested in the supply chain accelerator. We are going…
Lords
Debate
5 March 2026
10 contributions
National Insurance Contributions (Employer Pensions Contributions) Bill
My Lords, I thought it might be best to combine standing as a winder and talking for a few moments to the two amendments in this group that are in my name. I start by thanking the noble Baroness, Lady Neville-Rolfe, who made an incredibly powerful speech to introduce the whole series of amendments i…
Let me refer back to the example I gave in Committee. The noble Lord will be aware, on that additional contribution, that the graduates are paying the 8% additional in NICs but, on top of that, because it pulls them into scope of having to make repayments at the margin, the impact is 17%. It has a h…
+8 more contributions in this session
Lords
Committee Stage
24 February 2026
8 contributions
National Insurance Contributions (Employer Pensions Contributions) Bill
My Lords, I made my views on this Bill fairly clear at Second Reading, so I am going to try to observe the discipline of not repeating my Second Reading speech. I am sure that I will not be absolutely 100% on that, but I am going to try.
I want to look first at this group of amendments. Amendments …
My Lords, as with the previous group, the noble Lord, Lord Davies of Brixton, made a comment on what he thought was Lib Dem policy; it might be—I am just not sure. We have discussed simply kicking out all this complexity and having a flat rate of relief on pensions. After listening to the last debat…
+6 more contributions in this session
Lords
Oral Questions
11 February 2026
Electric Vehicles: Transition
It is important to recognise that any decisions about VAT on all these measures will be a matter for the Treasury, which will, obviously, be looking at all the impacts of any policy change as we go forward.
Lords
Debate
4 February 2026
National Insurance Contributions (Employer Pensions Contributions) Bill
I thank the Minister for leading this debate and for his customary courtesy in listening to all the observations of noble Lords. There is a common observation that there is nothing new in tax. Maybe this Bill is a small Bill; the noble Lord, Lord Davies, says it is a trivial matter that does not rea…
Lords
Committee Stage
3 February 2026
2 contributions
Pension Schemes Bill
My Lords, my noble friend Lord Sharkey sends his apologies; he is at a funeral and will read Hansard with great attention. I thank the noble Lord, Lord Vaux, for supporting me on Amendment 167. I think it is the first time in 15 years that I have degrouped an amendment to stand by itself, but I can …
My Lords, it has been such an excellent debate that I will be extremely brief. I am troubled by two things. One is that the Minister does not seem to realise that this is not voluntary action by the pension industry. It is because it sees it as the only way to avoid actual mandation, not because peo…
Lords
Proceedings
29 January 2026
Business Rates
My Lords, I start with perhaps a modicum of welcome because the combined impact of the Budget and the business rates revaluation prior to this announcement, frankly, left the pub industry on the verge of a crisis, with up to 50% of pubs under the threat of closure. Some relief has now been offered f…
Lords
Committee Stage
28 January 2026
2 contributions
Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (Cryptoassets) Regulations 2025
My Lords, as we move forward in an age of rapid technological change, it is right that we legislate to keep pace. This statutory instrument is, in many ways, an example of how Parliament can embrace that change. I thank the Minister for setting out how the regulations will work and for responding to…
That is a very important question about monetary sovereignty. While most stablecoins today are US-denominated—I think about 99%—and issued overseas, this instrument lays the groundwork for a thriving ecosystem, including UK- issued pound-denominated stablecoins. The Government are considering the re…
Lords
Committee Stage
22 January 2026
Pension Schemes Bill
My Lords, I will be exceedingly brief. I may participate on an occasional basis on this Bill, despite the fact that it is very important. However, we have many people with exceptional expertise in the Room, for which I am extraordinarily grateful.
I have Amendment 167 in a later group on its own, w…
Lords
Proceedings
20 January 2026
Business Rates: Retail, Hospitality and Leisure
My Lords, I will repeat the adage I used formerly: measure twice, cut once. Does the Minister understand that there is real urgency to get response and relief now within the hospitality industry and for pubs, as they face uncertainty? Many, believing that the blows had ended, went ahead and hired or…
Lords
Oral Questions
7 January 2026
Public Sector Productivity
I agree with a great deal of what the noble Baroness said. I noticed the noble Lord, Lord Leigh, who is very interested in this point as well, was on his feet. We have discussed it before in previous debates. We recognise the challenges in measuring public sector productivity, given the diversity of…
Lords
Proceedings
6 January 2026
Agricultural Property Relief and Business Property Relief
My Lords, I recommend a carpenter’s rule to the Government: “Measure twice, cut once”. Can the Government tell us their assessment of the serious harm that was done to our vital family farming sector by the devastating mistake of their original tax policy? I am glad that they have recognised that an…
Lords
Oral Questions
17 December 2025
Employment Gap for Blind and Sight-impaired People
I am not sure we have any published statistics, but my best understanding at the moment is that there are more than 800 disability employment advisers and DEA leaders. The Government’s aim and commitment is that every work coach will have access to a specialist disability employment adviser. The DWP…
Lords
Oral Questions
25 November 2025
Forthcoming Fiscal Changes
The noble Baroness need only wait 22 hours and then she will know for herself.
Lords
Proceedings
18 November 2025
Budget: Press Briefings
My Lords, the country was led up the hill and then marched right back down again. Does the Minister recognise that this sort of kite-flying is really undermining confidence in the comments that anybody now makes from the Treasury Benches? Does he accept that, although bond yields steadied a few days…
Lords
Oral Questions
17 November 2025
Inheritance Tax: Pensions
More importantly, what would I say to the noble Baroness? I would say that she is saying things that are completely misleading. As I have said already, estates will continue to benefit from all the normal nil-rate bands, reliefs and exemptions available, so an estate can pass on up to £1 million wit…
Lords
Oral Questions
17 November 2025
Dyscalculia
I partly accept the noble Baroness’s point, but there is a problem with suggesting that it is not possible for students who have problems with maths to get support unless they have had a diagnosis and have a single name for the issues that are causing challenges. Sometimes it is precisely the waitin…
Lords
Proceedings
13 November 2025
Economic and Taxation Policies: Jobs, Growth and Prosperity
My Lords, I also start by thanking my noble friend Lord Elliott of Mickle Fell for initiating this debate so compellingly and I echo his tribute to Lord Desai.
I agree with so much of what he said about the importance of growth—dismal again today—the disastrous effect of high energy prices, the nee…
Lords
Oral Questions
12 November 2025
Cryptocurrencies: US Regulation
I am grateful to the noble Baroness for her question. She is not correct to say that the regulators are not looking at that; of course they are taking it into account. She is absolutely right that the US is taking forward US-denominated stablecoin. It is very important that the UK does the same. The…
Lords
Oral Questions
12 November 2025
Barnett Formula: Wales
The noble Baroness raises a very important issue, and I hope it is something that the ministerial meeting at the beginning of next year will look at. I like to think that all aspects of the Barnett formula, including the issues that the noble Baroness has raised, will be looked at in the round, beca…
Lords
Oral Questions
10 November 2025
National Insurance: Partnerships
I am grateful to the noble Baroness for her question. I am not quite sure how many more ways I can say this: she is inviting me to comment on tax speculation, and I think I have made it clear that I am not going to do that.
Lords
Oral Questions
3 November 2025
Public/Private Partnerships: Shares
We will look at public/private partnerships in the future. We are looking at them in a limited way for neighbourhood health centres, for example, and public estate decontamination projects, but we need certainty over future funding, which is why we have committed over the next decade at least £725 b…