Lords
Proceedings
6 February 2026
Arrangement of Business
My Lords, I will make my usual statement before we start proceedings. As ever, I will try to keep it short so that we can move on to the main business.
First, I thank the Clerk Assistant and the Clerk of Legislation for what I heard was an excellent and informative briefing on the facts of the Parl…
Lords
Proceedings
5 February 2026
4 contributions
US Department of Justice Release of Files
My Lords, we now move on to 20 minutes of Back-Bench questions. The House wants succinct questions, getting in as many noble Lords as possible. The House does not want speeches—this is not the time.
My Lords, we will go to the Labour Benches next.
+2 more contributions in this session
Lords
Oral Questions
5 February 2026
4 contributions
Jobs Market
My Lords, I love the optimism from the Minister. Can he say what distortion there is on the employment figures from jobs which are not real jobs—zero-hour jobs—where people do not know whether they have a job tomorrow, next week or next month? There are so many people who now seem to be counted in t…
Yes, we have.
+2 more contributions in this session
Lords
Oral Questions
5 February 2026
Youth Unemployment
My Lords, I thank the Minister for that information, but can she say what assessment has been made of the impact of poor mental health on young people’s ability to gain work? What is the connection between the Department for Work and Pensions and the NHS in dealing with this problem?
Lords
Oral Questions
4 February 2026
2 contributions
NHS: Corridor Care
We know from evidence that you can avoid hospital admission by improving continuity of care by general practitioners. When will the Minister redress the imbalance whereby GPs are funded from only 8% of the NHS budget yet deliver 70% to 80% of its care?
My Lords, my recent experience in care homes is that there are vacancies—unfilled beds—in private care homes. When are we going to do something about the mismatch of people in corridors, when beds are available? There needs to be some system introduced to get people into them.
Lords
Oral Questions
3 February 2026
Shamima Begum
I declare an interest as a former legal counsel of Shamima Begum—there are many of us in that position. The Minister has repeatedly stated that the existence of legal proceedings in the European Court of Human Rights prevents him answering detailed questions. I am aware of no doctrine of the Europea…
Lords
Debate
2 February 2026
Sustainable Aviation Fuel Bill
That the amendments for the Report stage be marshalled and considered in the following order: Clauses 1 to 11, Schedule, Clauses 12 to 20, Title.
Lords
Oral Questions
2 February 2026
Single-Sex Spaces: EHRC Guidance
The Minister, the noble Baroness, Lady Smith, has said in answering the numerous questions on this topic that the code must be legally robust. In the absence of any significant leaks to the press over the last few weeks, can the Minister clarify what tests are being applied to reach that conclusion …
Lords
Oral Questions
2 February 2026
2 contributions
Prisoners for Palestine: Hunger Strikes
My Lords, the Minister is to be commended for not giving concessions to those who have refused food in this instance. Does he not think that, rather than expressing sympathy for or condoning the behaviour of these individuals, the Government’s sympathy ought to be with the working people who have be…
My Lords, as a non-affiliated Member, I share the deep concerns of my noble friend Lord Hain. I say to the Minister that it is not eulogising to ask for compassion, fairness and justice for people held on charge, on remand, not proven. Therefore, will the Minister meet with those who could perhaps s…
Lords
Proceedings
30 January 2026
7 contributions
Arrangement of Business
My Lords, I will make my usual statement before we start proceedings today. I will keep it short to enable the debate to start as soon as possible. I thank noble Lords again for their kind words and constructive discussions during the past week. I continue to do my best to strive to find ways to ass…
First, I love the House very much and I have been here for 16 years. I have been absolutely privileged to be here every day, both in opposition and in government. We all come here every day to work with the best intentions and in the best interests of the House. The House, over many years, has alway…
+5 more contributions in this session
Lords
Oral Questions
29 January 2026
2 contributions
Public Trust in National Politics
My Lords, talking about truth and the noble Lord, Lord Wallace, looking for proposals, can I propose through the Minister that the Liberal Democrats’ use of fake local newspapers and misinformation to slur political opponents is something she might want to consider?
My Lords, is not a key element of trust in politics that elections are run fairly and independently? Therefore, I hope that the Minister might commit to restoring the full independence of the Electoral Commission and repealing the power for a Government of any political persuasion to set the policy …
Lords
Oral Questions
29 January 2026
Erasmus+ Eligibility: Asylum Seekers
My Lords, I think we all know what I do for a living. I welcome our rejoining of Erasmus+ but, to follow on from the question asked by the noble Lord, Lord Mohammed of Tinsley, it is vital that state schools and people who do not have the opportunity to go on holiday abroad can join the Erasmus sche…
Lords
Oral Questions
28 January 2026
2 contributions
National Police Service
My Lords, I support the White Paper. I think it is the right broad direction and it is decisive. As the noble Lord, Lord McCabe, indicated, it has been tried before and we did not get very far. There are a lot of questions on the detail, of course. On the commission that has been set up to recommend…
I draw my noble friend’s attention to the appalling state of forensic science in this country, ever since the abolition of the Forensic Science Service a decade ago. Is he aware that the Science and Technology Committee of your Lordships’ House, of which I have been a member, is about to produce a r…
Lords
Oral Questions
28 January 2026
Yorkshire: Sustainable Water Management Solutions
My Lords, does the Minister agree that Yorkshire Water, and others, are effectively exploiting loopholes in the Water (Special Measures) Act? How will they urgently be prevented from rewarding themselves for a polluting and failing service—whether it is called a bonus, a retention payment or, in the…
Lords
Oral Questions
28 January 2026
UK Start-up Companies
My Lords, I am a member of the expert advisory council of the Government’s Help to Grow: Management scheme set up by Rishi Sunak when he was Chancellor, which this Government have happily continued. Some 10,000 businesses have graduated from this, but is the Minister aware that only businesses with …
Lords
Oral Questions
27 January 2026
2 contributions
Hospitality Businesses
My Lords, hospitality businesses across the south-west of England, particularly those in our coastal and rural areas beloved of tourists, suffer from an inability to attract staff in specialist roles. A major cause of this is a chronic lack of suitable housing, particularly due to planning restricti…
I am grateful to my noble friend. I listened very carefully to the Minister, but he did not answer the question about hotels, particularly family-run hotels. Their rates bills are going to rise by even more than pubs’ and there is no help coming for them. What are they to do? They run fantastic busi…
Lords
Oral Questions
26 January 2026
2 contributions
Superintelligent AI
My Lords, I declare an interest as a consultant to DLA Piper on AI regulation and policy. In their manifesto, the Government promised
“binding regulation on … companies developing the most powerful AI models”,
yet, 18 months later, even in light of the harmful activities of stand-alone AI bots, we…
My Lords, I am and always have been a faithful. With tighter regulation in the future confidently anticipated, is it not often the case that its absence in the present can impede innovation rather than foster it? Given that many of those responsible for the development of AI—and, in some cases, the …
Lords
Oral Questions
26 January 2026
Uniformed youth groups: Promoting Skills and Resilience in Young People
My Lords, I declare my interest as the chair of the cadet health check team. The value of the uniformed services to our young people throughout the country is beyond doubt, particularly in the poorest communities in the country. The real challenge now is adult volunteers. The entire service is based…
Lords
Oral Questions
26 January 2026
Grass-roots Music Venues
My Lords, given that the Music Producers Guild reports that 50% of recording studios are considering closure within the year, with rateable value increases of up to 100%, will the Minister commit to urgently reviewing their exclusion from the retail, hospitality and leisure multiplier, and their mis…
Lords
Proceedings
23 January 2026
2 contributions
Arrangement of Business
My Lords, I will make a few remarks before Committee. I thank all noble Lords for the constructive discussions and kind words this week. I understand and empathise with the concerns that have been raised about the suggestion that the House would sit beyond 3 pm. I am striving to find an approach to …
I have huge respect for the noble Lord and thank him very much for the kind way in which he dealt with our discussion this week. That is why I said last week that colleagues could leave earlier if they had to travel back home. I fully accept the noble Lord’s point that when someone moves their amend…
Lords
Oral Questions
22 January 2026
3 contributions
Creative Industries: Freelance Champion
Please could my noble friend the Minister update us on the progress of implementing the creative industries sector plan? How is DCMS addressing problems of social mobility as part of the “arts for everyone, everywhere” vision?
My Lords, is one of the problems not that, in spite of the creative industries enjoying vast subsidies recently and throughout Covid—the Government were very generous—there are scant employment rights? The noble Baroness asked about freelancers, but the industry is rife with people who are nepotisti…
+1 more contribution in this session
Lords
Oral Questions
21 January 2026
Violence Against Women and Girls Strategy
I heard of a case of a four year-old boy in a refuge hitting a three year-old girl because that is what daddy did to mummy at home. Is the Minister aware of how early children need to be supported on this?
Lords
Oral Questions
21 January 2026
Great Western Railway: Infrastructure
My Lords, I am confident that the noble Lord, Lord Davies of Gower, will join with me in praising the care of the GWR staff. Nevertheless, both he and I suffer on our journeys, often together, from Swansea, because of the delays. Can my noble friend the Minister say where the GWR stands in the compa…
Lords
Debate
20 January 2026
Crown Estate (Wales) Bill [HL]
My Lords, I have it in command from His Majesty the King to acquaint the House that His Majesty, having been informed of the purport of the Crown Estate (Wales) Bill, has consented to place his prerogative and interest, so far as they are affected by the Bill, at the disposal of Parliament for the p…