Lords
Proceedings
22 June 2026
2 contributions
Grooming Gangs: Independent Inquiry
My Lords—
My Lords, in 2011 or 2012, I asked a Question on behalf of Barnardo’s—and I declare an interest as vice-president—about child sexual exploitation and how children were encouraged by their abusers to delete the evidence on their mobile phones that could lead to prosecution and that the children were …
Lords
Proceedings
16 June 2026
Social Media Ban for Under-16s
My Lords, it has been a long and winding road, but the Government have finally reached the door of common sense and agreed to a social media ban for under-16s—something that I, as well as parents, teachers and children themselves, have long been calling for. I too thank the bereaved parents for play…
Lords
Proceedings
9 June 2026
Digital Safety: Children
My Lords, it is great that the Prime Minister finally met bereaved parents and acted upon some of their concerns, but a social media ban or restriction is entirely meaningless if the regulator lacks statutory teeth, which has been the fatal flaw of previous legislation. We need an enforceable regime…
Lords
Proceedings
2 June 2026
Windrush Compensation Scheme
I thank the Minister for his Answer, butWindrush victims have raised serious ongoing issues around inconsistent decision-making within the compensation scheme, even between siblings, including misinterpretation of evidence, inadequate support and lack of independence. The continued use of the term “…
Lords
Debate
28 April 2026
Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill
My Lords, I will briefly add my thanks and congratulations to my noble friend Lord Nash on what is a substantial achievement, and my thanks to the Minister and the Government for having heard the strong voices in this House. But I will also double-click—if your Lordships will forgive the tech jargon…
Lords
Debate
20 April 2026
Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill
My Lords, when the noble Lord, Lord Nash, tabled his amendment at the first stage, when we were battling with the House of Commons on the drafting of the Bill, I gave him my support and voted against the Government. I voted against the Government not because I was against them but because, as I told…
Lords
Oral Questions
14 April 2026
2 contributions
HMT “Empire Windrush”: 80th Anniversary
My Lords, I am very grateful to the noble Baroness for tabling this Question and for her leadership in championing Windrush recognition. The 80th anniversary of the arrival of the “Empire Windrush” will be a significant national milestone. The Government will work with communities to mark Windrush 8…
The noble Baroness’s energy for this subject is well recognised and welcomed across the House, and I celebrate and support what she does. One of my very closest friends, who has sadly now passed away, was part of the second generation; her family came from Trinidad. I knew this lady from junior scho…
Lords
Debate
25 March 2026
Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill
My Lords, I was going to talk about the consultation, which is fundamentally not fit for purpose, but other noble Lords have covered that well, so I want to make a couple of other points about the way in which the Government are failing to understand the impact of social media on our children, as ex…
Lords
Debate
18 March 2026
Crime and Policing Bill
My Lords, I support all the amendments in the name of the noble Baroness, Lady Kidron. I will speak to Amendment 433. Worryingly, children are increasingly turning to AI chatbots for all facets of their everyday lives. For many, gone are the days of independent, creative or critical thinking. While …
Lords
Debate
2 March 2026
3 contributions
Crime and Policing Bill
My Lords, I support Amendment 209, in the name of the noble Baroness, Lady Kidron. I was at the meeting that the noble Lord, Lord Russell, so graphically described. I wish all noble Lords had been there too. If they had been, they too would support this amendment. It makes me weep to think of the ha…
My Lords, I have put my name to Amendment 239A in the name of the noble Lord, Lord Nash, as I believe we need to protect our children, however and wherever we can, from child sexual abuse material being created and shared. Shockingly, over 70 million images—yes, 70 million—are being circulated aroun…
+1 more contribution in this session
Lords
Debate
3 February 2026
Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill
My Lords, I support Amendment 215 in the name of the noble Baroness, Lady Barran, and Amendment 216 in the name of my noble friend Lord Addington, who has great experience in matters concerning children with special needs, so I fully support his amendment. I shall speak on Amendment 215 on behalf of…
Lords
Debate
28 January 2026
2 contributions
Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill
My Lords, I wish to speak to Amendments 127, 129 and 130 in my name, which are supported by the noble Lord, Lord Parkinson; I thank him for his support, as always.
These amendments are on behalf of young performers in the fast-paced and flourishing entertainment industry. I congratulate all of the …
My Lords, I am overjoyed. I am so happy for the child performers of today and the future, because we are breaking down barriers that might prevent them having an exciting experience in the creative industry. I thank the Minister for partially accepting my amendments; I am most grateful for that.
On…
Lords
Debate
27 January 2026
Crime and Policing Bill
My Lords, I fully support these amendments and congratulate the noble Baroness, Lady Kidron, on her fight to highlight these issues over many years and on her opening remarks. I also pay respect to the bereaved parents who have been campaigning tirelessly and look to us to achieve change.
It is com…
Lords
Debate
21 January 2026
Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill
My Lords, I agree with my noble friend Lady Kidron and the right reverend Prelate. We have a choice to make today, and I hope that we will make the right choice.
I support the amendment from the noble Baroness, Lady Penn, which is really important. Early years matter—they matter so much that we mus…
Lords
Debate
14 January 2026
Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill
My Lords, I support Amendment 28 in the name of my noble friend Lady Tyler, which I hope the Government will support. I should like to speak on Amendment 97 in the name of the noble Baroness, Lady Finlay, on the legal defence of reasonable punishment. I declare an interest as vice-president of Barna…
Lords
Debate
16 December 2025
Victims and Courts Bill
My Lords, this Bill aims to enhance the rights of victims within the criminal justice system, introducing measures to ensure that their voices are heard and offenders are held accountable. As we have heard, it is a brief Bill at only 18 clauses long. As we have also heard in today’s debate, in a num…
Lords
Debate
9 December 2025
Crime and Policing Bill
My Lords, I have put my name to Amendments 290, 291 and 314. I also support Amendments 292 and 298 in this group, all in the name of the noble Baroness, Lady Bertin, whom I hold in high esteem.
Before I set out some remarks in support of these amendments, it is difficult to comprehend why we are ba…
Lords
Proceedings
12 November 2025
BBC Leadership
My Lords, the children’s BBC—especially CBeebies—is highly trusted. Parents feel safe and confident for their children to watch it. The content is mostly homegrown and culturally relevant, so that our children grow up understanding their world. We need to do everything in our power to protect this l…
Lords
Oral Questions
29 October 2025
Jamaica: Hurricane Melissa
The noble Baroness puts it incredibly powerfully, as I would expect her to. It really matters that people in Jamaica are not expected to live in the hardship that she describes for any longer than is necessary. Of course, we will stand with the Government of Jamaica as they respond initially, but al…
Lords
Debate
16 October 2025
Crime and Policing Bill
My Lords, it is almost absurdly challenging to try to speak on a Bill of 427 pages, 203 clauses and 21 schedules in four minutes. The Bill is extremely wide. It ranges across multiple offences, creating multiple new criminal offences, and we will need to determine inter alia whether they have suffic…
Lords
Oral Questions
14 July 2025
Advertising Restrictions on Less Healthy Food
The noble Baroness is right, and I have alluded to this in my previous answers. The issue of tackling obesity is multilayered and complex. We have the evidence based on experience that working with families and creating excitement around healthy food is incredibly important. One of the most importan…
Lords
Debate
4 July 2025
3 contributions
Still-Birth (Definition) Bill [HL]
My Lords, I am overjoyed to introduce this important Bill to your Lordships’ House. I thank the Government Chief Whip, the noble Lord, Lord Kennedy, for ensuring that there was time for the debate today; I am most grateful to him. I also thank the noble Baroness, Lady Merron, for her support and com…
My Lords, I will speak in support of the principles of this Bill, and I am very grateful to the noble Baroness, Lady Benjamin, for having brought it to the House. One of the best traits in human nature is using the difficult experiences that we ourselves encounter to speak up for others facing simil…
+1 more contribution in this session
Lords
Debate
19 June 2025
2 contributions
Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill
My Lords, I support Amendment 152 from the noble Baroness, Lady Lister, to which I have put my name. I declare an interest as vice-president of the children’s charity, Barnardo’s.
Currently, nearly one in 10 children in care is an unaccompanied asylum seeker. While their immigration status remains …
My Lords, Amendments 168, 228, 376 and 377 concern child performances and sporting activities. I declare my interest as per the register.
On Amendment 168, there is no system in place to safeguard and protect children’s earnings from financial abuse when they are engaged in performances, paid sport…
Lords
Debate
12 June 2025
2 contributions
Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill
My Lords, I support the right reverend Prelate the Bishop of Manchester’s Amendment 164 to introduce a national offer for child care leavers. This is strongly recommended by Barnardo’s because this amendment would end the postcode lottery of support for care leavers and help remove barriers to oppor…
My Lords, I support two amendments in this group, in the names of the noble Baroness, Lady Bennett, Amendment 99, and the noble Lord, Lord Young of Cookham, Amendment 100, both of which I have put my name to.
With more than 80,000 children in care, the highest figure on record, this Bill represents…