Lords
Oral Questions
11 February 2026
2 contributions
Renters’ Rights Act: Implementation
We have plenty of time. We will hear from the Lib Dem Benches, then the Labour Benches.
We want to improve all parts of the sector and make sure that home buying is available for young people, as well as making the rental market fairer for them. I had a big round table last week with a group from across the sector —agents, conveyancers, the legal profession, financial services and deve…
Lords
Oral Questions
10 February 2026
Government Website: Registering a Death
The answer to that question is yes. The bit that the Home Office is responsible for has a five-day target, which is being met. There are challenges in the medical examination aspect for a range of reasons, which are not just administrative but related to how, when, where and in what circumstances pe…
Lords
Oral Questions
9 February 2026
Jimmy Lai: Prison Sentence
I think that is right. My noble friend has a great deal of experience. I think he was a Minister at the department previously and at the MoD as well. He knows what he is talking about, and I take his contribution in the manner that he gives it.
Lords
Oral Questions
29 January 2026
Battery Shortage for NHS Hearing Aids
I understand that point. Actually, that is one of the reasons we are encouraging ICBs to move to rechargeable batteries. As my noble friend says, it is about looking to the longer term. As part of the lessons learned, that is one of the things that we will look at to see how we can improve the under…
Lords
Oral Questions
26 January 2026
Grass-roots Music Venues
I hope it is understood. I agree with much of what my noble friend says. He will know that we have provided £2.5 million of funding this year for Arts Council England’s Supporting Grassroots Music Fund, enabling grass-roots music venues, recording studios, promoters and festivals to apply for grants…
Lords
Debate
20 January 2026
Crime and Policing Bill
My Lords, I support the amendments standing in the name of my noble friend Lord Ponsonby and the noble Lord, Lord Marks. I have been arguing for some years in the House of Commons that the DBS scheme has, frankly, run out of control. I can quote from June 2020, when I said to the then Prime Minister…
Lords
Oral Questions
19 January 2026
2 contributions
High Temperature Gas-Cooled Reactors
My Lords—
The short answer is yes. The slightly longer answer is that, as we move towards contract completion with Rolls-Royce for the small modular reactors, we want to ensure that 70% of the supply chain, both onsite and offsite, is through British construction.
Lords
Oral Questions
19 January 2026
2 contributions
Public Inquiries: Costs
My Lords, individual inquiries report their own costs. The Covid inquiry, for example, spent approximately £31 million in the first two quarters of the 2025-26 financial year, whereas the Post Office/Horizon inquiry reported spending of approximately £26 million in the 2024-25 financial year. The Ca…
My noble friend raises some interesting points. It may help him to be aware of two developments that this Government have done in recent months. First, changes to the Ministerial Code have made it clear that, since October last year, any government department that wishes to bring forward a public in…
Lords
Proceedings
15 January 2026
Chinese Embassy
My Lords, can we now come to some degree of reality? Embassies are for relations between states; they do not imply approval of states. Furthermore, spying activities have emanated from embassies right the way back to ambassadors being expelled from this country for being part of plots to assassinate…
Lords
Oral Questions
15 January 2026
Royal Navy: Nuclear Submarines
There have been challenges for the programme over a number of years, and my noble friend has outlined one of them. I reassure him and those who read our proceedings, including our adversaries, that we are investing in it. We have the Vanguard continuous at-sea deterrent at the moment. It will be rep…
Lords
Proceedings
14 January 2026
New Medium Helicopter Contract
My Lords, I hope the Minister will have got the message that he has support from right across the House to get across to the Treasury that a flow of funds is needed to ensure that orders come through. There is great pressure not only on Leonardo—which is, of course, also a major partner in the GCAP …
Lords
Oral Questions
8 January 2026
New Homes: Target
The funding in the £39 billion programme will see a great increase in the building of council homes, as will the ability of councils to use that funding as top-up funding for the 100% of receipts they can now keep from right-to-buy sales. My noble friend makes a good point on modern methods of const…
Lords
Oral Questions
8 January 2026
Net Zero: Civil Society and Faith-based Organisations
As I think my noble friend will be aware, we are in the process of developing a first modular nuclear reactor with Rolls-Royce. Considerable progress has been made in that development but as yet no decisions have been taken about exactly where the components of that new modular reactor will be built…
Lords
Oral Questions
7 January 2026
Computer-generated Child Sexual Abuse Material
Ofcom has the confidence of the legislation that both Houses of Parliament passed, was commenced under the previous Government and is to be implemented in full by this Government. It has cross-party support to take action to ensure that illegal content online is taken down and if companies do not do…
Lords
Oral Questions
18 December 2025
2 contributions
Jobs Market: Wider Economic Implications
My Lords, we will hear from the Lib Dems next, please.
My Lords, those are two important points. The second quite often happens. I know that the social value element of contracts is something important that we in DWP take especially seriously. On the first point, we must all have had that experience of knowing young people and their heartbreaking experi…
Lords
Proceedings
26 November 2025
2 contributions
Ministerial Code
My Lords, has the Minister or the department received any representations from the Opposition—including from their spokesman who just spoke—that Mr David Kogan, with all his experience in sports management, is not an excellent choice? If he is, in fact, eminently well qualified and probably the best…
My Lords, did the Minister note that, in his second intervention, the Opposition spokesman in no way made any criticism of David Kogan in relation to whether he was a fit and proper person to undertake the post? Does that not speak volumes?
Lords
Oral Questions
20 November 2025
South Western Railway
Although it might be possible to agree with my noble friend, on this occasion that is not correct. The old South Western trains have been at the end of their lives for some five years. Indeed, I found when I arrived there an extraordinary plan to spend £25 million trying to resuscitate rusty trains …
Lords
Oral Questions
20 November 2025
Water and Sewerage Companies: Statutory Consultees
Of course our regulatory system is important in helping and supporting the management of the development of the number of new homes we want to deliver. But we have taken a step back to look at the statutory consultees within the planning system—the moratorium was announced by the Chancellor in Janua…
Lords
Oral Questions
11 November 2025
2 contributions
Airport Expansion
My Lords, it is the turn of the Cross Benches.
Well, what can I say to my noble friend, who not only asks this question but gives all the answers as well? I think that will do.
Lords
Oral Questions
15 October 2025
2 contributions
Modular Nuclear Programme
Following a report on procurement based on fairness and transparency, Great British Energy-Nuclear has selected Rolls-Royce SMR as its preferred bidder to partner with and deploy the UK’s first SMRs, subject to final government approvals and contract signature. The Government’s long-term ambition is…
I thank my noble friend for that very important question. Look at Sizewell C, for example, where over 1,500 apprenticeships will be created. Each SMR will have 3,000 jobs at peak construction and hundreds of operational jobs, as he pointed out. The nuclear skills plan has already generated 4,000 ear…
Lords
Proceedings
14 October 2025
Digital ID
My Lords, underpinning any individual ID scheme has to be an individual ID number. Other countries normally seem to base that on date of birth plus a scheme of other numbers. Can the Minister make clear to us whether we have decided what our system will be? How far have they advanced in developing i…
Lords
Oral Questions
14 October 2025
West Papua: Deforestation
As I have already said, the UK respects the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Indonesia, including the region of Papua. The UK is working to agree a strategic partnership with Indonesia, and we hope to make progress on that soon.
Lords
Oral Questions
18 September 2025
Road Pricing
I am grateful to my noble friend for his question. I agree with a great deal of what he said. As I said at the outset, one of the objectives we must keep in mind is that motoring must remain affordable for consumers. As I say, that is why in the last Budget we extended the temporary 5p fuel cut and …