Lords
Debate
24 March 2026
English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill
My Lords, I support all these amendments, and in particular the speech of the noble Lord, Lord Best. The tiny village where I have a house, 10 miles from Exeter, is not just a rural community but a farming community. For years, Exeter City Council has wanted to take over the area; those of us living…
Lords
Debate
18 March 2026
Crime and Policing Bill
My Lords, I put my name to this amendment, as did the noble and learned Lord, Lord Burnett of Maldon. Not surprisingly, given the time, he has had to leave the House, but he asked me to say that he remains very supportive of this amendment, and noble Lords will perhaps realise that we are talking ab…
Lords
Debate
18 March 2026
2 contributions
Crime and Policing Bill
My Lords, I strongly support the amendment of the noble Baroness, Lady Chakrabarti. It seems to me entirely sensible, for the reasons set out so well by the noble Lord, Lord Pannick, and I agree very much with what he said about the amendments of the noble Lord, Lord Blencathra.
I agree with the no…
My Lords, for the reasons that have been so excellently given already and, in view of the time, I support all the amendments from the noble Baroness, Lady Kidron.
Lords
Oral Questions
18 March 2026
Trail-hunting
I live in a very rural community and always have done, and we have plenty of options for things to do in the winter that do not involve supporting hunts. If it is a particular concern in the area where the noble and learned Baroness lives, again, I encourage her to take part in the consultation.
Lords
Oral Questions
17 March 2026
Plan 2 Student Loans: Repayment Terms
What I will say is that the imperative, for whatever comes in, is that fairness is at the centre of what we do. We have to make sure that the question of being able to afford studying is not something that puts people off. Courses should be available to all young people, regardless of their family b…
Lords
Oral Questions
16 March 2026
UK Domestic Visitor Levy
There is a very simple answer to that question, and it is yes.
Lords
Debate
13 March 2026
Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill
My Lords, I remind the House of the extraordinary common sense of the noble Baroness, Lady Cass, who pointed out that there may well be a lack of suitable doctors of one sort or another, and they may have to put up with what actually is the reality.
Lords
Statutory Instrument
12 March 2026
2 contributions
Greenhouse Gas Emissions Trading Scheme (Amendment) (Extension to Maritime Activities) Order 2026
Does that not also apply to Northern Ireland?
I thank noble Lords for their valued, valuable and very wide-ranging contributions to this debate this afternoon. I am, I think, a fairly plain and straightforward person, but I have at times in the debate failed to get to grips with exactly what it is supposed to be about. It is about the decarboni…
Lords
Debate
11 March 2026
Crime and Policing Bill
In family cases of sexual or physical abuse, someone can be tried and acquitted but then dealt with in the family court on very much the same evidence. That is partly because there is a difference in the standard of proof, which, in a criminal case, is much greater than in civil and family proceedin…
Lords
Debate
9 March 2026
4 contributions
Crime and Policing Bill
Can the noble Lord answer the point made by the noble Lord, Lord Pannick, about Iranians protesting outside the Iranian embassy, scared for their relatives in Iran?
My Lords, I think it is very odd that there should be a distinction made by the Government between a memorial to Florence Nightingale and a memorial to Edith Cavell. That is purely an example that the noble Lord, Lord Parkinson, has given us. If that is so, what on earth is the point of the clause?
+2 more contributions in this session
Lords
Oral Questions
9 March 2026
Independent Commission on Adult Social Care
I assume that the noble and learned Baroness is referring to people who are staying in unsuitable settings, such as hospitals, for too long because an alternative is not available. We are looking at reforming the better care fund, which assists a greater joined-up approach, and we are bringing in ne…
Lords
Debate
6 February 2026
2 contributions
Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill
My Lords, it is usually necessary to have a rather greater capacity to make a will than to get married, which may perhaps be rather surprising. I am concerned about two groups of people: those with intermittent dementia who from time to time appear to be entirely normal and then the next day cannot …
I have a practical question. What, then, is the noble and learned Lord going to offer us?
Lords
Debate
5 February 2026
2 contributions
Crime and Policing Bill
My Lords, I put my name to this amendment and I agree with everything that the noble Baroness, Lady Chakrabarti, has said. This is the third time that I have tried to raise the age of criminal responsibility in this House. I tried first in the Blair Government and lost. I tried the second time in th…
I am very grateful to the noble Lord. Section 44 of the Children Act deals with children who are a danger to themselves and to others. The only difference in the criminal court is that it comes through the family proceedings court, but in fact the local authority would have to deal with it and the c…
Lords
Debate
2 February 2026
3 contributions
Crime and Policing Bill
I am just wondering if the Committee would allow me to speak at my extreme age. I have put my name to the amendment of the noble Viscount, Lord Hailsham, and I do not propose to repeat anything he has said. But there are two aspects I will speak about, particularly those raised by the noble Lords, L…
I have not quite finished.
I understand exactly what the noble Baroness is saying. I was not a criminal judge; I do not think I ever sent a woman to prison, so I am not qualified to speak on those issues. All I am really asking the Committee to reflect on is that we are principally being asked to c…
+1 more contribution in this session
Lords
Debate
30 January 2026
2 contributions
Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill
My Lords, for the reasons given, mainly by the noble Lord, Lord Empey, and despite what the noble Baroness, Lady Gerada, has just said, it seems to me highly desirable that there should be face-to-face contact if such an enormously important decision is being made. I therefore support face-to-face c…
My Lords, I wonder whether it would be possible to get to the next group of amendments.
Lords
Proceedings
30 January 2026
Arrangement of Business
Can I just add this? I have sat through every day in Committee. Last Friday, I did not say a single word.
Lords
Debate
27 January 2026
4 contributions
Crime and Policing Bill
My Lords, the Minister and indeed the Home Office might be forgiven for wondering why Amendment 438EA was necessary. One might have taken it for granted that, on the whole, if any important event was happening, those likely to be involved in it in the community would be consulted. However, I fear th…
My Lords, Amendments 447, 448 and 450 could not be more different, but they seem to show two sides of the same coin.
Dealing first with Amendment 450, I entirely agree with what the noble Baroness, Lady Foster, has said. It is absolutely appalling that people should glorify terrorism in any way. We…
+2 more contributions in this session
Lords
Oral Questions
27 January 2026
Asylum and Immigration: Children
I am grateful to the noble and learned Baroness. She will know that the Government have to deal with issues to do with both illegal migration and managed migration. The proposals we are bringing forward are doing that. We are absolutely, 100% committed to doing that within the framework of our Unite…
Lords
Debate
22 January 2026
Crime and Policing Bill
My Lords, I may be wrong, but I had never understood that until there was a vote anything in a Bill disappeared. Consequently, unless I am wrong, unless we vote on these three clauses, they will remain until Report. Consequently, I do not entirely understand what the noble Earl, Lord Attlee, was tel…
Lords
Oral Questions
21 January 2026
2 contributions
Violence Against Women and Girls Strategy
My Lords—
The Government are aware, and that is why we have taken a whole-system approach in the strategy. A cross-government approach means that the housing needs of such children will be addressed through the strategy, as well as social care, education and any relevant criminal justice needs. The central pl…
Lords
Oral Questions
21 January 2026
Age of Criminal Responsibility
Noble Lords will probably be interested to know, if they are not already aware, that the Code for Crown Prosecutors has the age and maturity of a defendant as a specific public interest factor tending against prosecution. There are a number of other factors in the Crown Prosecution Service’s legal g…
Lords
Debate
20 January 2026
5 contributions
Crime and Policing Bill
My Lords, as someone who regularly jumps out of the way on a pavement from e-bikes, electric scooters and so on, I think this amendment is probably very sensible, but we should listen to the noble Lord, Lord Hogan-Howe, because, as far as I can see, it does not go sufficiently far. We need to add to…
Will the White Paper deal with action rather than consultation?
+3 more contributions in this session
Lords
Debate
16 January 2026
3 contributions
Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill
My Lords, I very strongly support what the noble Lord, Lord Deben, said. I would just like to correct something that the noble and learned Lord, Lord Falconer of Thoroton, said in his email yesterday, I think. I am extremely anxious to get this Bill through to Third Reading, but I profoundly dislike…
I am not at all sure that they are. If Parliament has passed regulations or primary legislation, judges apply it; they certainly do not try to move the goalposts. That is the only point I am making.
The last point I want to make is that as the recipient of a lasting power of attorney, which is in t…
+1 more contribution in this session