Lords
Proceedings
2 July 2026
Live Music
My Lords, I congratulate the noble Lord, Lord Brennan, on his epically superb speech. I declare my interest as a trustee of the KOKO Foundation. As all noble Lords know, KOKO is a fantastically cool music venue in Camden. In fact, it was made live music venue of the year.
Stemming from my involveme…
Lords
Proceedings
16 June 2026
Artificial Intelligence: National Security Implications
My Lords, my understanding is that the US Government took urgent action because of security flaws found in the AI model in question. They used the legislation that was available to them. There was no sinister or hidden agenda in their decision to cut it off, and it has been cut off from use by all A…
Lords
Proceedings
10 June 2026
Mindanao Earthquake
My Lords, I am chair of the UK-ASEAN Business Council, and the Minister will be aware that the Philippines is currently the president of ASEAN and, indeed, the whole region works very closely with the UK on climate change and green technologies. Could the Minister update the House on the engagement …
Lords
Proceedings
20 May 2026
2026 FIFA World Cup: Replica Kit Pricing
My Lords, as a Chelsea fan, I take this opportunity to congratulate Arsenal on winning the Premier League and to commiserate with Spurs on their imminent relegation.
I have to say that I am confused by these exchanges— a retailer inviting government interference on prices, a Conservative doing the …
Lords
Proceedings
28 April 2026
UK Biobank Data
My Lords, I will ask the Minister a couple of questions. This breach has had a silver lining: to remind us that the UK Biobank is a remarkable project and an act of British soft power—and, indeed, altruism—which has been used by 22,000 researchers in 60 countries and produced 18,000 research papers.…
Lords
Oral Questions
27 April 2026
Online Challenger Banks
I fully recognise and understand many of the things the noble Lord says. I understand that being a politically exposed person means enhanced scrutiny and administrative burdens and has impacted many noble Lords. Banks and other regulated firms must apply additional checks to customers who meet the d…
Lords
Oral Questions
13 April 2026
Artificial Intelligence: Impact on Employment
We take the security implications of frontier AI seriously. Through our AI Security Institute, we have world-leading expertise in this area and maintain continuous engagement with global technology leaders. For obvious reasons, I am not going to comment on the specifics of all those engagements, but…
Lords
Oral Questions
26 March 2026
AI Growth Lab
In our AI opportunities action plan we have indeed set out a plethora. That is because this is a technology that provides great potential benefits, and adoption is absolutely key. We need all areas of the economy to be thinking about the implications. We are a heavily service-based economy and it is…
Lords
Oral Questions
24 March 2026
Parking (Code of Practice) Act 2019
I understand the frustrations that people feel, but if you are parking the bike where you are supposed to park it, you should be able to log out of the system. It is absolutely unacceptable for bikes to be left in some of the places that I see them being left, and it causes a great obstruction, part…
Lords
Oral Questions
12 February 2026
Flour Milling Sector
My Lords, I thank the noble Lord, Lord Rooker, for tabling this Question for Short Debate. It is of particular interest to me as one of my acquaintances in Oxfordshire mills heritage and ancient grains, and I understand the huge benefits of a strong and stable UK flour milling sector. As my noble fr…
Lords
Oral Questions
5 February 2026
Construction Industry: Timber
The noble Lord asks a very interesting question. Those of us who have been involved in working with the construction industry will be aware that there is a quite a large lobby for the use of hemp in this country—I am sure the noble Lord is aware of it. As we move forward with more sustainable buildi…
Lords
Oral Questions
29 January 2026
Battery Shortage for NHS Hearing Aids
I hope I share the noble Lord’s definition. I am enthusiastic about our new approach through the community diagnostic centres that noble Lords will have seen come on stream and be established all around the country. I agree totally about the age range, which is why we promote the fact that free hear…
Lords
Oral Questions
26 January 2026
2 contributions
Grass-roots Music Venues
My Lords—
I do not think so. I shall repeat what my right honourable friend Ian Murray, the Culture Minister, said on the industry levy:
“My ambition is to see the voluntary levy in place for as many concerts as possible and, as a milestone in that progress, for at least 50% of tickets on sale for stadium an…
Lords
Proceedings
8 January 2026
Broadcasting: Recent Developments
My Lords, I add my thanks to those who have given theirs to the noble Lord, Lord Fowler, for securing this debate. He has been a seasoned journalist, a campaigner on issues such as AIDS and has now taken up the cudgels on behalf of the really important issue of broadcasting. I am also delighted to f…
Lords
Oral Questions
9 December 2025
Mobile Phone and Broadband Prices
The noble Lord is right to stress the importance of investing in our digital infrastructure, both in the mobile network and, I would also say, in the fibre network through Project Gigabit. The shared rural network continues to operate this year, bringing more availability to areas that are not cover…
Lords
Proceedings
12 November 2025
BBC Leadership
My Lords, I declare my interest as the presenter of a yet-to-be award-winning radio show on Times Radio. My noble friend Lord Parkinson asked the Minister whether it is still the case that one can be director-general and editor-in-chief of the BBC. Is it not time now to consider a fundamental struct…
Lords
Oral Questions
12 November 2025
Cryptocurrencies: US Regulation
I am grateful to the noble Lord for his question and pay tribute to his considerable expertise in this matter. I agree with what he said. Crypto assets have the potential to play a significant role in the financial services sector, and the economy more broadly, including through greater transparency…
Lords
Debate
16 October 2025
Crime and Policing Bill
My Lords, there are a great many aspects of the Bill with which I agree, and my understanding of it has been greatly enhanced by today’s debate. However, I am uncomfortable with Clause 191. Decriminalising abortion up to birth for women clearly marks a significant shift in the law on abortion in the…
Lords
Oral Questions
16 October 2025
Stablecoin Ownership
I am grateful to the noble Lord for his question. I am sure that, as chair of that group, he could help educate very many of us in this House. As I have said, the Government recognise that facilitating stablecoin innovation is important for UK competitiveness, but it is a matter for the Bank of Engl…
Lords
Oral Questions
16 October 2025
Music and Dance Schools: Affordable Access
My Lords, at this moment in the Government’s lifetime it feels important to make, or at least re-emphasise, some basic points. The arts, as opposed to the wider creative industries, are themselves an engine of growth. The more financial support there is from the Government, the more jobs are created…
Lords
Oral Questions
15 September 2025
2 contributions
Plastic Pollution
My Lords—
Yes, me. Not you!
Lords
Oral Questions
15 September 2025
2 contributions
Online Safety Act 2023: Virtual Private Networks
My Lords, I declare my interest as the head of the Free Speech Union. As I am sure the—
My Lords, online safety regulation is a priority not only for this Government but for Governments around the world. A number of democratic nations are introducing legislation to better protect users from serious online harm, including child sexual abuse, terrorist content and misinformation. The UK’…
Lords
Oral Questions
11 September 2025
UK and EU Trade: Arts and Creative Industries
I agree that they are an important part of soft power. I revert to the noble Lord on specifics around the UK Soft Power Council, which he has managed successfully to segue to from a quite specific Question. I will write to the noble Lord in due course.
Lords
Oral Questions
16 July 2025
Parthenon Sculptures: Return
The noble Lord will be aware that the British Museum operates independently of the Government, and so decisions relating to its collections are, within the law, a matter for its board of trustees. I know that the British Museum recognises the strength of feelings on this issue, and the museum is act…
Lords
Oral Questions
14 July 2025
Advertising Restrictions on Less Healthy Food
I thank the noble Lord for that question. The whole impact of this is closely monitored. There are all sorts of complexities that we have to bring in, including the impact on broadcasters and online advertising and how we deal with the fact that so many people watch on catch-up. All these issues are…