Lord Clement-Jones — Hansard — Westminster Brief

Lords Oral Questions 17 March 2026

The noble Lord mentions procurement. I am sure that the Cabinet Office is looking into whether any changes need to be made, but a live inquiry is happening at this time. We have to follow it through, and its findings will be published in due course.

Lords Committee Stage 17 March 2026 2 contributions

Data (Use and Access) Act 2025 (Consequential Amendments and Transitional Provision) Regulations 2026

My Lords, I too thank the Minister for introducing these regulations. I note that he is having a spectacularly busy day. Clearly, these regulations are essentially technical in nature, as the noble Lord, Lord Clement-Jones, said, but they play an important role in ensuring that the statute book rema…

I said earlier that the appointment process is currently taking place. The current Information Commissioner will be chair, and the current CEO will be interim CEO until the new Information Commission is set up. The composition of the governing board—the executive and non-executive directors—is curre…

Lords Committee Stage 16 March 2026

Media Literacy (Communications and Digital Committee Report)

My Lords, this has been an encouraging debate, although the Government’s response to our report was a little last-minute, as has been said. My noble friend Lord Storey did not even know that we now have a Minister to cover this. That was not his fault: rather, it was a matter of the delivery of the …

Lords Debate 11 March 2026 2 contributions

Crime and Policing Bill

My Lords, I rise to speak on this vital group of amendments tabled by the noble Baroness, Lady Kidron, concerning the investigation of child deaths, to which I have been very pleased to add my name. We all absolutely acknowledge that the noble Baroness has been tireless in her campaign and her suppo…

My Lords, I will speak to this group of amendments tabled by the noble Baroness, Lady Neville-Rolfe. With the finishing post in sight, I will be extremely brief. These amendments correctly identify a crisis at the heart of our police service. There is a consensus that our police are currently drown…

Lords Debate 11 March 2026

Crime and Policing Bill

My Lords, we support in principle Amendments 387C and 387D, the first of which was moved by the noble Baroness, Lady D’Souza, on behalf of the noble Lord, Lord Banner. These amendments address a moral and legal imperative, ensuring that assets confiscated from those who violate our laws, particular…

Lords Oral Questions 11 March 2026

EU Digital Services Act and Regulation

The UK has taken decisive action to strengthen competition and fairness in digital markets. In January 2025, Parliament equipped the CMA with new powers to boost competition and innovation in digital markets. In May, the Government issued a clear steer to the CMA to prioritise this work and align ac…

Lords Oral Questions 11 March 2026

UK Space Economy

The noble Lord raises the important issue of space debris, which creates risks to our critical national infrastructure. We are strengthening UK space surveillance and investing in debris mitigation technologies. We are seen as a leader in space sustainability, including with the international commun…

Lords Debate 9 March 2026

Crime and Policing Bill

My Lords, I rise to speak to Amendment 374, which I have signed, but also to Amendment 430, which I tabled. The use of live facial recognition in our public spaces is an extraordinary expansion of state power that currently exists in a legal vacuum. We are not Luddites on these Benches; we recognis…

Lords Debate 4 March 2026 5 contributions

Crime and Policing Bill

My Lords, Amendment 366 also stands in the name of my noble friend Lady Doocey. I have been a persistent—or is it insistent?—advocate for a specific offence of digital identity theft for many years. There is currently no criminal offence of identity theft in England and Wales—none. A fraudster can h…

My Lords, I thank the Minister for his response. I thank the noble Baroness, Lady Coffey, and very much appreciate what she had to say. In particular, I thought the phrase “precious digital identity” was extremely important, as well as her reference to deepfakes. I also thank the noble Lord, Lord Da…

+3 more contributions in this session

Lords Debate 2 March 2026 5 contributions

Crime and Policing Bill

My Lords, I welcome the Government’s technical amendments. We spent some time in Committee debating the definition of a “thing” used to generate horrific CSA images. I am pleased that the Government have tabled Amendment 201 to clarify that a “thing” explicitly includes a service. Modern AI is not …

My Lords, from these Benches, I strongly support Amendment 209, which was so convincingly spoken to by the noble Baroness, Lady Kidron. I was very pleased to have signed it, alongside the noble Lord, Lord Russell of Liverpool, and the noble Baroness, Lady Morgan of Cotes. This amendment is a vital …

+3 more contributions in this session

Lords Oral Questions 2 March 2026

UK Streaming and Cinema Sector

Our priority is to ensure that the UK is ready for AI-related risks while supporting responsible innovation and long-term growth. We are considering all potential options to deliver on the UK’s ambition. It would be a very foolish and brave Minister to pre-empt a report that has yet to be published,…

Lords Debate 25 February 2026 3 contributions

Crime and Policing Bill

My Lords, I am not sure whether I am in order. I am looking at the noble Lord, Lord Katz, who is nodding, which is good news. I thank him; it is much appreciated. There is nothing worse than writing a speech and being unable to deliver it. I welcome the government amendments in this group, brought …

My Lords, I warmly welcome the Government’s amendments in this group, which deliver on the commitments made by the Minister during our debate in Committee. As I noted at the time, townies such as myself were being educated during the passage of the Bill on what these items were. However, the logic o…

+1 more contribution in this session

Lords Debate 25 February 2026 6 contributions

Crime and Policing Bill

My Lords, I shall speak to the amendments in my noble friend Lady Doocey’s name and mine, which seek to ensure that the Government’s new anti-social behaviour powers are grounded in evidence, proportionality and democratic accountability, as well as to other amendments in this group. On these Bench…

I am afraid that I remain unpersuaded. The Minister keeps mentioning the manifesto commitment, but the manifesto makes no mention of the liability threshold for a respect order, so it is surely perfectly legitimate to question the basis on which the respect order the Government are introducing is ba…

+4 more contributions in this session

Lords Oral Questions 25 February 2026

AI: Labour Market Changes

The noble Lord knows that we work globally with our international partners, as I said when I responded to his question a few weeks ago. The Future of Work Unit serves as a government centre of expertise on how AI is changing jobs and work. The unit works with businesses, academics and social philoso…

Lords Debate 23 February 2026 3 contributions

Medical Training (Prioritisation) Bill

My Lords, we ought to thank the noble Lord, Lord Patel, for having stimulated such an interesting and important conversation about how terrible our workforce planning in the NHS has been to date, and we have had some very wise words around the House on that subject. It is clearly not fit for purpose…

My Lords, I offer my strongest support to Amendments 3 and 7 in the name of my noble friend Lord Mohammed of Tinsley. These amendments address the single biggest injustice in the Bill: the decision to implement major changes mid-cycle for 2026 using the blunt instrument of indefinite leave to remain…

+1 more contribution in this session

Lords Debate 12 February 2026 10 contributions

Medical Training (Prioritisation) Bill

My Lords, it has been many years since I last spoke in a health debate. There is a sense of déjà vu in seeing the noble Earl, Lord Howe, on the Opposition Front Bench. It is also an absolute pleasure to hear from the noble Lord, Lord Darzi, and to hear the arguments he has made, which are very consi…

My Lords, I offer our strong support for Amendments 9, 11, 24 and 25 in the name of the noble Lord, Lord Stevens of Birmingham, and Amendments 5 and 10 in the name of my noble friend Lord Mohammed. I thank the noble Earl, Lord Howe, for his Amendment 4, because it, in essence, sets the theme of this…

+8 more contributions in this session

Lords Committee Stage 10 February 2026 2 contributions

Non-Domestic Rating (Definition of Qualifying Retail, Hospitality or Leisure Hereditament) Regulations 2025

It is probably illegitimate to talk for more than a couple of minutes after that debate, but I want to thank everybody, particularly the noble Baroness, Lady Neville-Rolfe, who neatly incorporated some recording studio references into her broader remarks. I thank her for that. I suppose the depress…

It is probably illegitimate to talk for more than a couple of minutes after that debate, but I want to thank everybody, particularly the noble Baroness, Lady Neville-Rolfe, who neatly incorporated some recording studio references into her broader remarks. I thank her for that. I suppose the depressi…

Lords Committee Stage 10 February 2026 2 contributions

Local Government Finance Act 1988 (Prescription of Non-Domestic Rating Multipliers) (England) Regulations 2026

It might be helpful to the Committee if I explain that we are considering only the first Motion on the agenda at this time. I shall call the noble Lord, Lord Clement-Jones, to move his Motion when we have concluded this debate. We are debating them both, but we can take only one at a time. The one t…

My Lords, I rise to speak to these two closely related sets of regulations, which together established the new tiered system of business rates for the 2026 financial year. One determines which hereditaments fall into each multiplier band, and the other fixes the resulting liabilities for larger prem…

Lords Debate 5 February 2026 2 contributions

Crime and Policing Bill

My Lords, in moving Amendment 464 I will speak to Amendments 467, 468 and 503, in my name. These amendments collectively address the governance of Clauses 192 to 194, which grant the Secretary of State broad powers to make regulations giving effect to international law enforcement information-sharin…

My Lords, I thank the Minister for his detailed reply. It was very cheerful, which I find quite extraordinary in the circumstances. It is almost as though he has been reading Voltaire’s Candide : everything is for the best in all possible worlds. I will read carefully what he said, but there was an …

Lords Debate 4 February 2026 2 contributions

Medical Training (Prioritisation) Bill

My Lords, I declare my recent observer role with the Medical Schools Council, and as a pro-chancellor at Cardiff University, which, of course, has a medical school. The Bill aims to address a problem that has been brewing for years—but some medical graduates will unintentionally suffer, and we must …

I am coming on to this, but the agreement in respect of Malta that I would refer to is a reciprocal health agreement. It does not apply in this area. It is about the reciprocal provision of healthcare. I will turn to Malta, however, after saying a brief word about overseas campuses generally. Just …

Lords Oral Questions 3 February 2026

AI Superintelligence

My Lords, AI risks do not respect national borders and require sustained international leadership. I am pleased that the United Kingdom remains at the forefront, convening global partners to build shared understanding of frontier risks and mitigation. We work with the G7, the G20, the OECD, the Unit…

Lords Oral Questions 29 January 2026

Superintelligent AI

I too thank the noble Lord, Lord Hunt, for bringing this serious issue in front of us today. Like others, I wish we had more time, but I think this shows the Lords at its best. We have had technology know-how, regulatory expertise, philosophy, religious wisdom—we have even learned that it is a good …

Lords Debate 27 January 2026

Crime and Policing Bill

My Lords, these Benches support Amendments 474, 475, 438ED and 438EE, which all stand in the name of the noble Baroness, Lady Kidron, and to which I am pleased and privileged to have added my name alongside the noble Baronesses, Lady Morgan of Cotes and Lady Barran. I pay tribute to the relentless c…

Lords Oral Questions 27 January 2026

TikTok: Bereaved British Parents

The noble Lord will be aware of the Statement that the Technology Secretary made last week to initiate a short consultation looking at further measures that could be taken, which responds to some of the questions that underlie his question about the nature of social media use and actions that could …

Lords Oral Questions 26 January 2026 2 contributions

Superintelligent AI

My Lords—

As I mentioned earlier, most AI systems are regulated by our existing expert regulators, and they are already acting. The ICO has released guidance on AI and data protection and the MHRA is taking action to allow a sandbox for AI as a medical device product. We are working with regulators to boost t…