Lords
Oral Questions
2 September 2025
Gilt Yields
I am grateful to the noble Baroness for her question. As I have said, recent gilt yields have risen in line with global peers, mainly driven by global factors. Recent gilt market moves have been orderly; the gilt market is deep and liquid, with a good track record in responding smoothly to volatilit…
Lords
Debate
24 July 2025
2 contributions
Planning and Infrastructure Bill
My Lords, Amendment 53A is in my name and that of my noble friend Lord Shipley, who is unable to be here today. This Bill is part of the Government’s programme to unleash new infrastructure projects across sectors and in every part of the country. It is a vital part of the strategy for growth. Such …
My Lords, I am obviously not encouraged by the government response. It seems a weakness not to recognise how essential it is that there is transparency in major infrastructure projects, for the sake of everybody involved—but I was very encouraged by the comments across the Floor. I am not precious a…
Lords
Proceedings
23 July 2025
Financial Services Reform
My Lords, I spent two years on the Parliamentary Commission on Banking Standards following the 2008 crash. We were all aware that the financial sector and the City would, over time, work hard to erode the protections that we recommended to prevent a repeat of financial instability, casino-type risk-…
Lords
Debate
23 July 2025
Armed Forces Commissioner Bill
My Lords, I will be so brief that they will not have enough time to put my name on the annunciator.
I welcome the agreement that has been reached and I think that this is a good example of the House improving what is an important Bill, which I hope will succeed in every respect. I pay tribute to al…
Lords
Oral Questions
22 July 2025
2 contributions
Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy: Givinostat
NICE is currently evaluating givinostat for the treatment of Duchenne muscular dystrophy to determine whether it should be funded by the NHS, based on the evidence of its costs and benefits. Its independent appraisal committee met on 10 July, and I understand that NICE will issue draft guidance shor…
The noble Baroness raises a very interesting point. The drug companies will provide the drugs for free, but it is down to individual trusts to pay the administrative costs. She highlights that one boy in one trust is being supported, while another boy is not. It is a difficult situation; I completel…
Lords
Debate
16 July 2025
2 contributions
Employment Rights Bill
My Lords, I will not move Amendment 95, but I take a different position on Amendment 96.
On Monday, the Government published their long-awaited Grant Thornton review of the existing whistleblower framework. Despite its narrow remit, the review is, frankly, jaw-dropping, and the Government have no c…
On this amendment, I wish to test the opinion of the House.
Lords
Oral Questions
15 July 2025
Taxes
The noble Baroness is speculating on a speech that has not been delivered yet, so perhaps we should wait for the Mansion House speech this evening to see what my right honourable friend the Chancellor of Exchequer says in it. Absolutely, though, the Chancellor wants to see a greater rebalancing from…
Lords
Debate
14 July 2025
2 contributions
Employment Rights Bill
My Lords, I will speak to all three amendments in this group, the second two of which are in my name.
I begin by thanking the Government for listening to and acting on the concerns of victims of harassment and discrimination, who have risked so much by speaking out for justice despite being bound b…
My Lords, I am going to speak very briefly, because the noble Baroness, Lady Smith of Llanfaes, has given such an effective speech, which outlines the issue, and the hour is late.
When she first came forward with the proposal for the Health and Safety Executive, I thought, “My goodness, here is a b…
Lords
Oral Questions
14 July 2025
Tax on Imports under £135
We fully recognise all the issues that the noble Baroness has set out, which is exactly why we established a review in April. That review will look at the online marketplace rules to establish whether they can be amended to remove opportunities for businesses to avoid their VAT obligations. All avai…
Lords
Oral Questions
10 July 2025
Tax Increases
The noble Baroness knows that I will not comment on specific financial market movements, but I will write to her on stablecoin if that is okay with her.
Lords
Proceedings
8 July 2025
Government Performance against Fiscal Rules
My Lords, the Government have constantly asserted that meeting the fiscal rules is non-negotiable. Will the Minister now reassure the House that protecting the NHS and social care is also non-negotiable, and rule out any cuts to those services as the Government try to balance the books? Will he also…
Lords
Oral Questions
8 July 2025
Companies House: Filing of Annual Accounts by Small Companies
The noble Baroness has obviously read various newspaper reports. I suggest to her, “Don’t believe everything you read from the papers”. As it stands now, most companies have to file abbreviated accounts, which, as the noble Baroness will know, is just a balance sheet. We are asking under this Act fo…
Lords
Oral Questions
7 July 2025
Unpaid Tax
No. I am grateful to the noble Baroness for making me aware of the awareness week. She says that this is the central pillar of our strategy; it is one of them. Most importantly, we are recruiting an additional 5,500 compliance officers, which is the central piece in what we are seeking to achieve. O…
Lords
Proceedings
30 June 2025
UK Modern Industrial Strategy
My Lords, we on these Benches remember how powerfully business welcomed the industrial strategy produced by Vince Cable during the coalition years, and the shock and dismay with which it greeted the Conservative decision, when that party was in government alone, first to weaken it and eventually to …
Lords
Proceedings
24 June 2025
UK Infrastructure: 10-year Strategy
My Lords, like my colleagues in the other place I welcome this strategy, which if well managed can significantly improve the UK’s potential for growth. My colleague, the MP Sarah Olney, who responded to this Statement in the other place, focused very much on the absence of a serious discussion of sk…
Lords
Debate
16 June 2025
3 contributions
Employment Rights Bill
My Lords, Amendments 247, 248 and 250 would introduce further requirements in relation to trade union ballots, particularly concerning the risk of intimidation, the use of workplace locations and the information that unions must provide to members. While the intention to ensure that ballots are cond…
My Lords, I speak to Amendment 251C through to Amendment 252, in the name of the noble Lord, Lord Sharpe. These amendments would introduce a wide range of limitations to the new right not to suffer detriment for participating in protected industrial action. The amendments seek to define and restrict…
+1 more contribution in this session
Lords
Proceedings
12 June 2025
Spending Review 2025
My Lords, I recognise that the Chancellor faces real constraints, and this morning’s GDP figures for April underscore the problem. However, I am not going to use this opportunity to spend a lot of time talking about growth. It is such a big issue that we need some separate debate time set aside for …
Lords
Debate
11 June 2025
2 contributions
Armed Forces Commissioner Bill
My Lords, I understand the point the Minister is making but, in all the years when I have met whistleblowers, I have never met one who came forward intending to speak to somebody and then closed down the issue that they had just raised. Whistleblowers are looking for investigation. But, if he were t…
My Lords, I thank all who have contributed to this debate, not least the Minister, with his impassioned defence of the Government’s position. I shall try to deal with the individual points that have been raised.
The noble and learned Lord, Lord Hardie, asked a simple question: does the whistleblowe…
Lords
Oral Questions
11 June 2025
Economic Growth
I am grateful to the noble Baroness for her question. She mentions the outflows. The outflows in 2024 were less than in any previous year over the last 14 years so, although they are not what we want to see, they are perhaps not as doom-laden as she might want to make out. The Chancellor set out ext…
Lords
Oral Questions
10 June 2025
Corporate Liquidations
My Lords, I assure the noble Baroness that we will publish our industrial strategy very soon, and it will definitely cover SMEs. As I mentioned earlier, compulsory liquidation is not something new. Companies go bust. We have seen big companies fail. Failure is a reality of business. Even major firms…
Lords
Committee Stage
4 June 2025
6 contributions
Public Authorities (Fraud, Error and Recovery) Bill
My Lords, I congratulate the noble Baroness, Lady Anderson. In the eyes of this Committee, coming here today on her honeymoon to lead on the Bill demonstrates that she is a true romantic.
The amendments in this group, both of which are in my name, are probing amendments, and they are designed to cr…
My Lords, I thank the noble Lord, Lord Maude of Horsham, and the noble Viscount, Lord Younger of Leckie, for rowing in on this issue of real significance. I also thank the Minister, who is clearly taking these issues on board, thinking them through and looking for a way to progress. I would love the…
+4 more contributions in this session
Lords
Debate
21 May 2025
2 contributions
Employment Rights Bill
I will just say to the noble Baroness, Lady Fox, that the greatest danger we have is that the Bill passes and yet we have groups of people in the workplace who are not in any way protected, or not sufficiently protected, either from violence or from harassment. I thought the case was brilliantly mad…
My Lords, I would join with anyone who wants to speed up employment tribunals and cut the costs of going to them. I hope that is an agenda the Government will take on rapidly. We heard an unfortunate case of someone who is waiting until 2027; some people are waiting four years. I hope the Government…
Lords
Debate
19 May 2025
2 contributions
Employment Rights Bill
My Lords, I am privileged to speak first on this group of amendments, which is an opportunity I enjoy just by the luck of the numbering. I acknowledge the intense campaigning done by others in this House over many years—many of them will be speaking later in this group of amendments. I also express …
My Lords, I thank the Minister both for the meeting that many of us had before Committee and for her response today. I hope I am not being overoptimistic, but I am reading some positivity in her comments that progress could take place before Report.
Lords
Debate
19 May 2025
Employment Rights Bill
My Lords, I am a signatory to this excellent amendment, but I am also speaking as a winder from these Benches. I shall speak very briefly, because I will touch on many of the issues in a later group, but this is so important. I am so glad that the noble Baroness, Lady Morrissey, brought forward an a…