Lords
Proceedings
7 July 2026
Arts Education
My Lords, is the Minister aware of the report by Freedom in the Arts which has exposed a toxic culture of boycotts and hatred in the arts, especially against Jewish-themed performances and artists, including, for example, harassment of the wholly admirable Dame Maureen Lipman, who now needs security…
Lords
Proceedings
6 July 2026
West Bank: Purchase of Settlement Land and Property
My Lords, has the Minister considered the global legal implications of this Question? What about British citizens who holiday or buy a property in illegally occupied north Cyprus? Or is the aim simply to target Jews? If this were implemented, which I am sure it will not be, in what way could it poss…
Lords
Proceedings
2 July 2026
Higher Education: Affordability and Quality
My Lords, I declare an interest as a former Independent Adjudicator for Higher Education and principal of St Anne’s. Let me say at the outset that our universities are a brilliant global asset and, in order to carry out the innovation and research that they do, they must be free to be elite and not …
Lords
Proceedings
1 July 2026
IVF Treatment
My Lords, I declare an interest as a former chair of the HFEA. Does the Minister agree with me that we really must get on with modernising the Act, as more and more gaps are revealed? In the meantime, does she agree with me that the HFEA should collect data by asking clinics to supply it? Then it wo…
Lords
Proceedings
30 June 2026
Women’s Representation in Peace Processes
My Lords, women suffer disproportionately in times of war, and it is odd that the most warmongering countries are usually those that treat women very badly even when there is not a war. A recent example is the systematic use of sexual violence by Hamas. Will the UK support moves at the United Nation…
Lords
Proceedings
29 June 2026
Immigration and Asylum: Appeals
My Lords, there is currently an issue with immigration tribunal judges that will be exacerbated, especially when it comes to public confidence, in that the tribunal judges, and no doubt the adjudicators, are not declaring their interests. We, as parliamentarians, have to declare our financial intere…
Lords
Proceedings
25 June 2026
2 contributions
Puberty Blockers Trial: Consent
My Lords, in begging leave to ask the Question standing in my name on the Order Paper, I declare an interest as former chair of the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority.
My Lords, how can the Minister justify the age of 11 for a puberty blocker trial? A child under 16 cannot consent to sex or to medical treatment if they are not Gillick competent. They cannot join the Army, smoke, take drugs or alcohol, or even watch social media soon. We condemn FGM, but here is so…
Lords
Proceedings
23 June 2026
Social Media: Use of X by Government Departments
My Lords, disinformation and propaganda go back hundreds of years. There are some good things to be said about X, but the antidote is as follows. It is very much to be regretted that young people no longer read newspapers. I call on the Department for Education to fund a selection of newspapers in e…
Lords
Proceedings
16 June 2026
Official Development Assistance: Bilateral Allocations
My Lords, the Government are generously funding the Palestinian Authority. Despite assurances, it is very reliably reported that they are still shipping the money to terrorists who are in prison under their “pay for slay” policy. I suggest that the Government are being deceived over this.
Lords
Proceedings
11 June 2026
Antisemitism
My Lords, have the Government taken the advice of global Jewish scholars, who have concluded that Holocaust education and memorialisation have no effect and can be positively damaging? This is supported in reviews by University College London. Youth education should instead be about Jewish life and …
Lords
Proceedings
10 June 2026
Best Start Family Hubs
My Lords, it is admirable that the Minister wants to lift children out of poverty. Why then has she not enthusiastically accepted the recommendations of the Public Services Committee about reforming the Child Maintenance Service, which is currently letting hundreds of thousands of fathers get away w…
Lords
Proceedings
4 June 2026
Fertility Treatment Regulation
My Lords, I declare an interest as a former chairwoman of the HFEA. When I was approached for the job, I explained that, at my school, we were not even taught what were then called the “facts of life”. It turned out that this did not matter, as the task of the HFEA chairwoman was to explain to the p…
Lords
Proceedings
21 May 2026
Higher Earners: Emigration
My Lords, is not the problem that the people who are fairly paying their tax feel that they unfairly have to support a vast number—maybe just as many—who are living on welfare and benefits, and that the people who work hard have to support those who do not? I sense a growing feeling of unfairness.
Lords
Proceedings
18 May 2026
Miscarriage Care
My Lords, it is widely reported that maternity services are in crisis—in fact, an inquiry is ongoing. Could it be that women suffering from miscarriage get less priority when maternity services are overstretched and as busy as they could possibly be, as we have read? Would it not be better if matern…
Lords
Oral Questions
28 April 2026
RMT Strikes: Impact on Businesses
To relate a small story to the noble Baroness, when I first became an elected councillor, there were proposals to pedestrianise the centre of Leeds, where I am from, and people were predicting that the sky would fall in and there would be queues right back to the M1. It has led to the city absolutel…
Lords
Oral Questions
28 April 2026
Terrorism (Protection of Premises) Act 2025
Well, I have to say to the noble Baroness that I cannot give any assurances on potentially what will happen against any site. What I can say is that those who have a responsibility for the site under this Act have a duty to ensure that they take steps to prevent actions as far as possible. That invo…
Lords
Proceedings
27 April 2026
Antisemitic Attacks
My Lords, I will pick up on the notion that Islamic extremism lies behind this. This means—I hope the Minister agrees—that the Charity Commission should be investigating charities that support extremism and funnel money towards it. But behind that Islamic extremism lies the religion: religious teach…
Lords
Oral Questions
15 April 2026
Masculinity and Misogyny in Schools
The truth is that I do not know whether there is any evidence that supports that contention. The vast majority of children in this country do not go to single-sex schools. We need to ensure that every school, single-sex or not, recognises the need to tackle misogyny and is supported, as this Governm…
Lords
Oral Questions
26 March 2026
2 contributions
Antisemitism in International Human Rights Bodies
My Lords, after the heinous events in north London just a few days ago, we must state once more that antisemitism has no place in our or any society. This Government are committed to stamping it out wherever and however it occurs, both in the UK and around the world. At the UN, OSCE and other multil…
I hear what the noble Baroness is saying and it is true. I agree that Francesca Albanese has a history of making inflammatory comments such as this. Although special rapporteurs do not represent the UN, they are associated with the UN. We understand that they are independent, but it matters, and we …
Lords
Oral Questions
18 March 2026
Strait of Hormuz
I do not accept the premise that the noble Baroness began with, which was about detachment. The positions that we have taken are ones in which we feel there is consistency with international law. Before you involve yourself in a conflict of this nature, history—and history from not even that long ag…
Lords
Oral Questions
17 March 2026
Plan 2 Student Loans: Repayment Terms
I always listen to the noble Baroness’s questions with interest. I do not think it would be right for me to pre-empt the ongoing discussions. I think there is a general recognition that something needs to change, but it has to be done in the spirit of fairness while maintaining access for all studen…
Lords
Oral Questions
16 March 2026
Antisemitism on University Campuses
A Select Committee is not a matter for the Government, of course. The noble Baroness may also be putting me in a different position because I am a member of the Liaison Committee, so I would not want to take a position that may inhibit my ability to make a view on that committee. I totally accept wh…
Lords
Oral Questions
10 March 2026
Student Loan System
I am sure those considerations are being taken into account as we move forward with this. I do not have an answer for the noble Baroness at this moment, but oversight of all the implications of change of policy is critical.