The Lord Privy Seal — Hansard

Lords Proceedings 26 November 2025 8 contributions

G20 and Ukraine

My Lords, I thank noble Lords for their strong support for Ukraine. The noble Lord, Lord True, thanked me for repeating the Statement but I did not repeat it because I was sure that noble Lords had read it. Comments from both noble Lords indicate the importance of unity in this House and across Par…

I thank my noble friend for his comments about the Prime Minister’s commitment. I think that, if you ever hear him speak, or see him and President Zelensky together, you know there is a bond there, and also that he feels this emotionally as well as practically in how we support Ukraine. On the issu…

+6 more contributions in this session

Lords Oral Questions 13 November 2025

Palestinian Refugees

My Lords, in light of President Trump’s comments about the removal of Palestinians from Gaza, do the Government believe that the Palestinians should be given the right to return to their homes there, and what action are the Government taking about the forceable removal of Palestinians and displaceme…

Lords Oral Questions 13 November 2025

Jobs Market

Yes, I was going to say the less important one, but I will get in trouble any which way I do this. We are joining up with DfE to invest heavily in skills. We have new qualifications and new apprenticeships coming online and investment in skills strategies. A huge amount is going on—more than I can …

Lords Debate 10 November 2025

Planning and Infrastructure Bill

My Lords, I have it in command from His Majesty the King and His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales to acquaint the House that they, having been informed of the purport of the Planning and Infrastructure Bill, have consented to place their interests, so far as they are affected by the Bill, at the d…

Lords Proceedings 10 November 2025

Clerk of the Parliaments

My Lords, on 24 July, I informed your Lordships’ House of Simon Burton’s intention to retire from the office of Clerk of the Parliaments with effect from 1 April 2026. The recruitment process for his successor has now concluded. The unanimous recommendation of the interview board was that Chloe Kilc…

Lords Proceedings 16 October 2025 14 contributions

Middle East

I am grateful to both noble Lords for their comments. I will briefly make a comment about the Lord Speaker. He is a personal friend, and I first met him in about 1984, because we were both candidates in the 1987 election for the first time. The reasons why he is standing down go to the heart of the …

The noble Baroness is absolutely right on that, and it is important that there is a viable Palestinian state across the West Bank as well. She will be aware, as I mentioned in my answer, of the reconstruction conference taking place at Wilton Park, which will bring all countries together, including …

+12 more contributions in this session

Lords Proceedings 14 October 2025 3 contributions

Business of the House

My Lords, I beg to move the Motion standing in my name on the Order Paper. I would not normally remain on my feet after doing so, but I understand that the party opposite—the Opposition—has tabled an amendment opposing the Motion, so I thought it would be helpful to your Lordships’ House to be clear…

My Lords, I thank the noble Baroness the Leader for the constructive tone in which she spoke. I fear we may not be able to reach agreement at the end, but I appreciate the way she addressed the matter. I want to make one thing clear at the start: we on this side recognise the importance the Governm…

+1 more contribution in this session

Lords Proceedings 24 July 2025

Clerk of the Parliaments

My Lords, I wish to notify the House that I have received the following letter from the Clerk of the Parliaments. It reads: “I want to take the opportunity to write to confirm what we have already discussed. My appointment as Clerk of the Parliaments was for a five-year term, which comes to an end…

Lords Debate 21 July 2025

Renters’ Rights Bill

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 Renters’ Rights Bill, has consented to place his interest, so far as it is affected by the Bill, at the disposal of Parliament for the purposes of the Bill. Cl…

Lords Debate 21 July 2025 6 contributions

House of Lords (Hereditary Peers) Bill

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 House of Lords (Hereditary Peers) Bill, has consented to place his prerogatives and interests, so far as they are affected by the Bill, at the disposal of Parli…

My Lords, I will speak to Amendments 1 to 4 and 6. In Committee and on Report, the House considered amendments tabled by the noble Lord, Lord Ashton of Hyde, regarding the sensitive matter of allowing Peers who lack capacity to be able to retire through a power of attorney. On Report, the noble Lord…

+4 more contributions in this session

Lords Debate 9 July 2025 11 contributions

House of Lords (Hereditary Peers) Bill

The noble Baroness saw me shaking my head. I was doing so only because I always refute that we are a part-time House. We are a full-time House with long hours, but many of our Members do not have to be here full-time.

This is the first time I have been angry in this debate. The noble Lord is casting malign intent on me and others in my party about the Bill. I hope he will retract and rethink what he said.

+9 more contributions in this session

Lords Debate 9 July 2025 16 contributions

House of Lords (Hereditary Peers) Bill

My Lords, I am grateful to the noble Lord, Lord True, for raising this issue again, following the amendment from the noble Lord, Lord Parkinson. It is one of those issues. He and I have discussed it many times, including when he was Leader of the House. I think the principle of paid Ministers is an …

My noble friends agree with me—both paid, I hasten to add; both Foreign Office Ministers and our Defence Ministers are paid Ministers but are still here in the Chamber, recognising the duty and responsibility they have to the House, as well as to their departments and the Government. As I say, the …

+14 more contributions in this session

Lords Proceedings 9 July 2025 3 contributions

Black Rod

My Lords, I have to acquaint the House that His Majesty has appointed Lieutenant General Ed Davis to be Gentleman Usher of the Black Rod, in succession to Sarah Clarke, and that he is at the Door ready to receive your Lordships’ commands.

As we have done previously, the usual channels will make brief tributes to the retiring Black Rod. Sarah Clarke took up her appointment as Black Rod in February 2018, joining us directly from a position as championships director at Wimbledon. Her uniform here was definitely more formal attire, but w…

+1 more contribution in this session

Lords Debate 2 July 2025 16 contributions

House of Lords (Hereditary Peers) Bill

My Lords, I am sorry to interrupt the noble Lord but, just as a matter of accuracy, I think he is talking about the citations that are already in place and were used in the last list to come forward.

My Lords, I am grateful to all noble Lords who have contributed to this debate, and to those who tabled amendments. We have had a very thoughtful and helpful discussion. I will pick up on a couple of points, because a range of views has been expressed this evening and questions asked. The point abo…

+14 more contributions in this session

Lords Debate 2 July 2025 18 contributions

House of Lords (Hereditary Peers) Bill

My Lords, I am grateful to the noble Lord, Lord Roberts, for an erudite and entertaining speech. His amendment is similar to one that was tabled by the noble Lord, Lord Strathclyde, in Committee. I think the cries of “Front Bench”, which we do not hear too often, were made in eagerness to hear the c…

That is a valid point. The Earl Marshal has been very clear that he is perfectly content with this. I do not think this amendment is necessary. I assure the House that those postholders are essential. We will not in any way hamper or impede their ability to carry out their functions or their roles.…

+16 more contributions in this session

Lords Proceedings 1 July 2025 9 contributions

G7 and NATO Summits

My Lords, I am grateful to both noble Lords for their comments. I thought the noble Lord, Lord True, although he made an elegant entrance, enjoyed himself too much at my party’s expense. The focus of today, and what people are looking for in the Statement, was about the G7 and NATO. I do not think …

I am grateful to the noble Lord. Certainly, his impressions of the leadership that the Prime Minister has shown chimes with what I have heard from other people at similar conferences. In fact, in our support for Ukraine, the Prime Minister was able to bring European leaders and others into London in…

+7 more contributions in this session

Lords Proceedings 26 June 2025 11 contributions

National Security Strategy

My Lords, with the leave of the House, I shall now repeat a Statement made in another place by my right honourable friend the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster. The Statement is as follows: “Today, the Prime Minister attends the opening day of the NATO summit. That summit is expected to agree a …

My Lords, I am grateful to both the noble Baroness and the noble Lord for their comments. I will do my best to respond to as many as possible in the time available. Both were right to recognise the work of our security services but also of those in our embassies and diplomats overseas. The noble Lo…

+9 more contributions in this session

Lords Proceedings 12 June 2025 15 contributions

Parliamentary Commercial Department

My Lords, I am moving this Motion on behalf of the House of Lords Commission. We are asking the House to support and endorse the report published on 14 May establishing Parliament’s commercial function as a joint department of both Houses. I hope that noble Lords have read the report, which provides…

I welcome the decision to make some changes here, but can the noble Baroness tell the House what the cost of the new front door at the Peers’ Entrance has been? Very senior Members of this House and members of the commission have been told repeatedly that they cannot know the cost of the front door,…

+13 more contributions in this session

Lords Proceedings 2 June 2025 2 contributions

Supplementary Daily Allowance

My Lords, I beg to move the third Motion standing in my name on the Order Paper. This enables a supplementary daily allowance to be claimed by the non-salaried domestic committee chairs of the Conduct Committee, the Finance Committee and the Services Committee. This was agreed by the House of Lords …

Lords Proceedings 2 June 2025

London Accommodation Costs Allowance

That: (1) Members of this House, except any Member who receives a salary under the Ministerial and other Salaries Act 1975 and the Chairman and Principal Deputy Chairman of Committees, should be entitled to an accommodation costs allowance in respect of each day of attendance on or after 1 June 2025…

Lords Proceedings 2 June 2025 4 contributions

Allowances

My Lords, I will speak to the second Motion at the same time, but I will move and speak to the third Motion separately. In April 2024, the noble Lord, Lord True, as Leader of the House, moved a Motion to establish an overnight allowance to recognise the increased cost of staying in London, away fro…

My Lords, I thank the noble Baroness the Lord Privy Seal for making this statement, which I think will be very welcome to the House. She referred to the discussions we had last year when I took the decision to put to the House the reintroduction of the overnight allowance. I was very grateful for he…

+2 more contributions in this session

Lords Proceedings 21 May 2025 14 contributions

UK-EU Summit

My Lords, I will repeat a Statement made by the Prime Minister yesterday. The Statement is as follows: “I will update the House on the three recent trade deals that we have struck in the national interest. First, however, I would like to say something about the horrific situation in Gaza, where th…

My Lords, I am grateful to both noble Lords for their contributions on the situation in Gaza. It is dire; it gets worse by the day. Some will have heard Tom Fletcher from the United Nations on the radio yesterday speaking about his fear of the number of babies who could die in the next 48 hours if a…

+12 more contributions in this session

Lords Oral Questions 13 May 2025 8 contributions

Gaza Humanitarian Foundation

I thank the noble Baroness for her Answer. It is a little disappointing to hear that she does not join me in welcoming this proposal, which should help at least 1.2 million people initially, and then up to 2 million later, to receive humanitarian aid under an independent mechanism. Does she agree th…

My Lords, is my noble friend the Leader of the House in a position to remove the veil from the recently formed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation? It is less than two and a half months since this company was put together. Can she tell us which private contractors are being set up to take the place of the …

+6 more contributions in this session

Lords Proceedings 30 April 2025 6 contributions

Irish Republican Alleged Incitement

My Lords, rightly, there is widespread condemnation of two sets of comments: one on the apparent support for Hamas; and one which appears to be incitement to violence against MPs, which can never, ever be acceptable or allowed to happen. We have seen what has happened in recent years to Members of P…

All these things must be taken into account, and looking at the way forward is crucial. The noble Baroness is a little younger than me, but she will recall that, if you came home from school and people had been name-calling, it was said that, “Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will nev…

+4 more contributions in this session