Lords
Debate
9 September 2026
Financial Services and Markets Bill [HL]
My Lords, we have a lot to cover today, so I will be brief.
We do not believe that imposing additional reporting duties, transition plan requirements and regulatory processes on financial services firms is the right way to address the concerns that have been addressed in these amendments this eveni…
Lords
Debate
7 September 2026
Financial Services and Markets Bill [HL]
My Lords, I am honoured to open our discussions on Report on the Financial Services and Markets Bill, which we support in general but seek to improve. I congratulate the Minister on his new position and thank him for his engagement. I also thank the noble Lord, Lord Stockwood, whom I am glad to see …
Lords
Proceedings
7 September 2026
Rural Businesses: Taxation
My Lords, every day I become more convinced that it is business not government that creates growth. Farming and family businesses in rural areas are under tremendous pressure from a series of high taxes, including IHT. Will the Minister, or her colleague, the Chancellor, meet US economist Arthur Laf…
Lords
Proceedings
7 September 2026
Public/Private Partnerships
My Lords, will public/private partnerships form part of the Burnham Government’s new architecture for growth beyond the health sector, which the Minister has described, and decarbonisation? It is good to see the noble Lord, Lord Brooke, returning to the battle on this matter.
Lords
Committee Stage
2 September 2026
2 contributions
Building Societies Act 1986 (Assimilation to Company Law and Changes to Funding Limit) Order 2026
My Lords, I am very grateful to the Minister for setting out the purpose and effect of the order. We on these Benches welcome it. It is a broadly deregulatory measure, and it should reduce unnecessary constraints on building societies and make their day-to-day operations easier.
Building societies …
That is very helpful and I am grateful to the Minister for answering the questions about likely changes in mortgage and investment. There are a couple of strands I would like to emphasise. One is that I am very concerned that we should help smaller building societies as well as bigger ones, which I …
Lords
Proceedings
1 September 2026
United Kingdom: Business Competitiveness
My Lords, I also very much welcome the Minister to his new role, and I thank the noble Lord, Lord Livermore, for his contribution in one of the more difficult Front-Bench jobs, as the Minister is discovering. I will focus on growth, which was the top priority when Labour was elected with a huge majo…
Lords
Debate
23 July 2026
Electricity Bills: VAT Removal
My Lords, I, too, send my best wishes to the noble Lords, Lord Livermore and Lord Stockwood. I welcome the appointment of the noble Lord, Lord Pitt-Watson, and look forward to the more constructive approach favoured by the new Prime Minister. With 10-year yields above 5%, political and international…
Lords
Statutory Instrument
22 July 2026
2 contributions
National Savings (Remediation Scheme) Regulations 2026
My Lords, this instrument provides National Savings & Investments with the legal powers it needs to establish a compensation scheme and to return money that should have been paid to the estates of deceased customers, in some cases many years ago. That remediation must now proceed as quickly and …
My Lords, I am grateful to the noble Baroness, Lady Kramer, for her support and to the Minister for his helpful response. I do not think he answered my question about when the first signs of this scandal first emerged—for example, in MPs’ correspondence. I recognise that that is a difficult question…
Lords
Proceedings
21 July 2026
2 contributions
Domestic Travel and Holidays: Visitor Levy
My Lords, a visitor levy is a poor prospect, damaging the hospitality sector and its employees, and is no doubt a contributor to today’s ONS unemployment figure of 14.8% for 18 to 24 year-olds. The Prime Minister has made an array of promises: a cut in VAT on electricity, lifting the personal tax al…
No cheering. Can the Minister explain how all these new commitments will be paid for, and whether Parliament will be given the chance to probe the many questions that will arise in the coming days and weeks?
Lords
Proceedings
20 July 2026
EU Technological Sovereignty Package
My Lords, is the Minister concerned about the rising pre-eminence of China in AI, with several world-class developers now there and the rapid adoption of its low-cost models across, for example, emerging economies?
Lords
Proceedings
15 July 2026
Mini-tender Offers: Protection for Shareholders
My Lords, I agree with the Minister on the importance of financial literacy, as he knows, but we must ensure that the UK remains a global hub for private investment and capital. Can he confirm that the new Prime Minister will create a climate that helps and keeps businesses in Britain, encourages pe…
Lords
Debate
14 July 2026
Taxation (Energy and Vehicles) Bill
My Lords, this Bill is presented by the Government as a series of targeted measures designed to address a specific issue: the war in the Middle East. I thank the Minister for his full explanation. However, the truth is that what we are discussing is a series of sticking-plaster measures designed to …
Lords
Proceedings
13 July 2026
Climate Change: Housing Insurability, Mortgage Lending and Financial Resilience
My Lords, London is the world’s leading international centre for commercial insurance and reinsurance, which is a subject of this Question. Does the Minister agree that insurance companies, with their considerable long-term expertise, are best placed to determine how the effect of climate change is …
Lords
Committee Stage
8 July 2026
Financial Services and Markets Bill [HL]
My Lords, our amendments in this group concern the future of the bank ring-fencing regime. I will start by setting out clearly the position that we have reached as the Official Opposition. Through our diagnostic work, we have found a consensus that the bank ring-fencing regime is no longer fit for p…
Lords
Committee Stage
1 July 2026
3 contributions
Financial Services and Markets Bill [HL]
My Lords, for me, the group speaks to the essential balance which underpins the purpose and function of effective financial regulation. Of course regulation must promote safety, stability and confidence in the system, but regulation must also support growth, competitiveness and innovation. It must h…
My Lords, I rise enthusiastically—we have to get going for the football—to move Amendment 105, in my name and the name of my noble friend Lord Altrincham. I will also speak to the other amendments in the group.
I am grateful to my noble friend Lord Holmes for his amendments, which seek to achieve b…
+1 more contribution in this session
Lords
Proceedings
30 June 2026
Pension Access Rules: Impact on Terminally Ill
My Lords, The Pensions Review, along with a whole body of work done by organisations such as the Institute for Fiscal Studies, raises serious concerns about pension adequacy and retirement saving. What steps is the Minister taking to improve financial education and public understanding of the need t…
Lords
Proceedings
29 June 2026
Covid Fraud
My Lords, I think we need to stand back and take a broad view of the problems. We all know that Covid was a challenge right across government and that fraud was an issue. However, the important thing is to do better next time, which is why we set up the Public Sector Fraud Authority in 2022 and intr…
Lords
Committee Stage
22 June 2026
Financial Services and Markets Bill [HL]
My Lords, it is a pleasure to open our deliberations on the Financial Services and Markets Bill. I thank the Minister for his constructive engagement so far and I thank noble Lords across the House who have shared their initial views with us. These conversations have been very helpful and have under…
Lords
Proceedings
9 June 2026
Further Education Colleges: Recovery of VAT
My Lords, as noble Lords know, I am huge supporter of vocational education, so I welcome this Question. Does the Minister agree with the noble Lord, Lord Forbes, that it would cost the Exchequer £200 million to extend the scheme in the way proposed? More generally, do the Government consider that th…
Lords
Debate
8 June 2026
Financial Services and Markets Bill [HL]
My Lords, it is a pleasure to follow the Minister as we begin our deliberations on the Financial Services and Markets Bill. Like him, we believe that the financial services sector is one of Britain’s great success stories. It accounts for around 12% of GDP, supports 2.5 million jobs and contributes …
Lords
Proceedings
1 June 2026
Middle East: Economic Response
My Lords, it is a pleasure to return to the House after such a sunny break and to be able to review calmly the Chancellor’s Statement of 21 May.
It was not a major package. It was a collection of small measures, welcomed by some people as far as it went. As far as I know, the Chancellor did not ann…
Lords
Proceedings
21 May 2026
Higher Earners: Emigration
My Lords, we should encourage rich people to reside and stay in the UK, as, for example, the top 1% of those paying income tax contribute 29% of receipts. Unfortunately, government policies not only on non-doms but on inheritance tax and other taxes have encouraged them to leave in large numbers—you…
Lords
Proceedings
19 May 2026
Defence, Security and Resilience Bank
My Lords, the recent noise around Labour’s leadership meltdown has drowned out the fact that the Government have still not announced a date for the publication of what has become the “defence invisibility plan”. Does the Minister agree that the proposed defence, security and resilience bank is a dis…
Lords
Proceedings
19 May 2026
El Niño: Impact
My Lords, the weather is, of course, borderless. What contingent planning have His Majesty’s Government undertaken to mitigate the combined impact of potential shortages of essential supplies—including fertiliser, which is so important to British farmers—that might arise from the conflict in the Gul…