Lords
Oral Questions
24 March 2026
Reducing Government Spending
We do. As I said already, and as we know, the full economic impact of the conflict will depend on its severity and duration, but this year borrowing falls by almost one percentage point to its lowest level for six years, 4.3%. This is the largest fall in the deficit since 2016. For the first time si…
Lords
Debate
23 March 2026
2 contributions
Pension Schemes Bill
My Lords, my Amendment 157 would require the Secretary of State to conduct and publish a review of unfunded public sector pensions. I am very grateful to my noble friends Lord Moynihan of Chelsea and Lady Noakes for their support. My amendment is the same as the one I moved in Committee but, in the …
My Lords, I thank the Minister for her comments, and all those who have spoken on the wide variety of reviews that have been proposed, some of which I think will be picked up by the Pensions Commission, by action following the Bill and, indeed, by other reviews that may be undertaken in the coming y…
Lords
Debate
19 March 2026
2 contributions
Pension Schemes Bill
My Lords, I support Amendment 105A and the proposed new clause in the name of my noble friend Lady Noakes, to which I added my name. It is essential, in my view, to require the regulations to be pro-innovation and pro-competition rather than over-exclusionary. The £25 billion minimum provided for in…
Before the Minister proceeds, could she tell us whether competition and innovation feature at all in the Bill?
Lords
Debate
18 March 2026
2 contributions
Crime and Policing Bill
My Lords, it is the luck of the draw: I rise again, late in the evening, moving Amendment 438 in my name and those of the noble Earl, Lord Russell, and my noble friend Lord Jackson of Peterborough, which we have adjusted in the light of the discussion in Committee. It would tackle serious sabotage o…
I have to say that I am very grateful, again, for support across the House—even, it seems, on the government Benches. Given the late hour, I shall not detain the House further. But with the noble Earl, Lord Russell, I very much look forward to meeting the Minister and the noble Baroness, Lady Lloyd,…
Lords
Proceedings
17 March 2026
Spring Forecast Statement
My Lords, it is with a mix of sadness and excitement that I address your Lordships’ House this last time. The sadness is because I shall miss participating in debates, particularly on Africa, and especially participating in the Select Committee work of your Lordships’ House and the APPG work. It has…
Lords
Debate
12 March 2026
National Insurance Contributions (Employer Pensions Contributions) Bill
My Lords, this was a very short Bill but, frankly, I do not know how it got through the House of Commons and came to this House without clarity on the fundamental issue of whether we were talking about a cap that was per employee or per employment. I thank the noble Lord, Lord Livermore, for seeking…
Lords
Debate
11 March 2026
2 contributions
Crime and Policing Bill
My Lords, in moving my Amendment 409D, I will speak to the other amendments in my name. I thank my noble friend Lord Jackson for his support on the crucial issues of police force publication of enforcement data, reducing police paperwork and the reform of disclosure to that end. I have discovered in…
I thank the Minister for his courteous reply. The prospect of a meeting is most welcome: I will be able to clarify one or two outstanding points in relation to the material that he has kindly set out. I was glad to hear about the pilot on redaction in the south-east. I hope that, in due course, that…
Lords
Committee Stage
11 March 2026
Secondary International Competitiveness and Growth Objective (FSR Committee Report)
My Lords, I am grateful to the noble Baroness, Lady Noakes, for introducing this report and to the noble Lord, Lord Forsyth, the outgoing chair and now the Lord Speaker. Having been on the receiving end of some of his incisive questions in the Chamber, I can just imagine what he was like as the chai…
Lords
Oral Questions
9 March 2026
Crown Estate: Wales
Just to repeat my response to the previous question, we have to make sure that we are independent of these problems that we are facing. Rather than relying on fossil fuel, the prices of which are set internationally, we need to have home-grown green energy to ensure that we can resist these problems…
Lords
Debate
5 March 2026
7 contributions
National Insurance Contributions (Employer Pensions Contributions) Bill
My Lords, I am pleased to be opening our deliberations on Report by speaking to a powerful group of amendments tabled by not only the Opposition but noble Lords from across the Chamber. This group in many respects shows the scale and breadth of the concerns that are held by noble Lords with respect …
My Lords, I thank all noble Lords who contributed to this debate. I welcome the noble Lord, Lord Freyberg, to the fray and thank the Minister for his responses. He did not respond to the question raised by my noble friend Lord Ashcombe, the noble Lord, Lord de Clifford, the noble Baroness, Lady Altm…
+5 more contributions in this session
Lords
Oral Questions
5 March 2026
Small Businesses: VAT Threshold
In a previous answer, I discussed the issues surrounding changing the threshold. The noble Baroness may know that the Windsor Framework imposes an upper limit of just over £90,000 on the threshold in Northern Ireland. The Windsor Framework is relevant by extension to the Government’s decisions in Gr…
Lords
Debate
4 March 2026
Crime and Policing Bill
My Lords, I support my noble friend Lord Jackson. I was delighted to move the amendment in Committee in his absence and to attract so much cross-party support. We also had the support of the police, of the esteemed former Met Commissioner, the noble Lord, Lord Hogan-Howe, who I am glad to see in his…
Lords
Debate
4 March 2026
Crime and Policing Bill
My Lords, I rise to reiterate the concerns I expressed in Committee about the havoc being created by speeding cyclists, e-cyclists and e-scooters—a Wild West, as I have said before, particularly on London streets. I was nearly run over again this week in the Haymarket, and my next-door neighbour was…
Lords
Oral Questions
2 March 2026
UK Streaming and Cinema Sector
The only thing I am very clear on is that, like noble Lords, we want a copyright regime that values and protects human creativity, can be trusted and unlocks innovation. As I said, I cannot pre-empt the report, but I look forward to future debates on this matter.
Lords
Oral Questions
26 February 2026
Duty Relief Exemption: Small Parcels
The Government are on top of it, perhaps slightly more so than the noble Baroness, given that her question was incorrect. I have already clearly said that these facilitations under the Windsor Framework are unaffected by the EU’s change to its duty relief exemption, and therefore there will be no ne…
Lords
Committee Stage
24 February 2026
12 contributions
National Insurance Contributions (Employer Pensions Contributions) Bill
My Lords, I am delighted to open proceedings with my noble friend Lord Altrincham on our first day in Committee and to be joined in this group by my noble friend Lord Leigh and the noble Baroness, Lady Altmann.
This is not a Bill we welcome. Contributors to research done by HMRC published last year…
My Lords, I am pleased that we have begun Committee by addressing this issue and grateful to all noble Lords who have spoken. I am grateful to my noble friend Lord Leigh of Hurley, who seemed to be saying—I think with support from outside bodies—that the Treasury’s financial estimates were over-opti…
+10 more contributions in this session
Lords
Committee Stage
23 February 2026
2 contributions
Pension Schemes Bill
My Lords, Amendment 217 would require the Secretary of State to conduct and publish a review of public sector pensions. I am very grateful to my noble friend Lady Noakes for her support and am only sorry that she has other commitments this evening.
I have always worried about the cost and sustainab…
My Lords, I am grateful for the support I have received this evening, particularly from my noble friend Lady Stedman-Scott and the noble Baroness, Lady Bowles, who, like me, cares a lot about transparency and favours a review. I listened with care to what the Minister said, and will look carefully a…
Lords
Committee Stage
5 February 2026
3 contributions
Pension Schemes Bill
My Lords, I shall speak to government Amendments 194 to 202. The Government’s letter states that the liabilities of the AWE pension scheme will no longer be pre-funded, that the assets of the scheme will be sold and that scheme members will be protected in line with the approach taken to other pensi…
My Lords, it may be that those are precedents that have been passed in legislation, but I am not clear that they have been put into this sort of Bill. The problem with the amendments is that they are a mixture of the general and the individual. That is what creates hybridity, which is why I ran into…
+1 more contribution in this session
Lords
Debate
4 February 2026
National Insurance Contributions (Employer Pensions Contributions) Bill
My Lords, I accept that this Government, like their predecessor, have little room for manoeuvre if they are to keep within their fiscal rules at a time of sluggish growth, so I am not surprised to see them bearing down on the tax efficiencies of employer pension contributions, which the Treasury bel…
Lords
Oral Questions
4 February 2026
Baby Milk Powder: Cereulide
I am certainly convinced that more than a decent job has been done on this occasion. I know that the FSA, along with the department and the UK Health Security Agency, have, as was said to me, been working non-stop since the incident was notified, and I am genuinely reassured by that. What I would sa…
Lords
Committee Stage
3 February 2026
3 contributions
Pension Schemes Bill
My Lords, it is fair to say that I am not keen on Chapter 4 of the Bill, which appears to allow the state to trample on and prevent the establishment of smaller funds, and, if necessary, requires their assets to be moved, presumably to another fund. “Squashing new entrants” was the telling phrase us…
Before the Minister moves on, entry is essential to innovation. The idea that the big firms or any regulators are going to be able to decide the right path for the innovative future is picking winners, and it does not work in my humble business experience.
+1 more contribution in this session
Lords
Proceedings
29 January 2026
2 contributions
Business Rates
My Lords, here we are again, discussing yet another U-turn when the Government conclude, after public outrage at an announcement that they have made and after some tardy reflection, that perhaps they did not get matters right first time. What is offered here is not merely tardy but inadequate. It fa…
My Lords, the Official Opposition have actually come forward with plans for the high street, which we would be very glad to share with the Minister as he does his high street review. I think we should have not only Lib Dem ideas but Conservative ideas. We have a new Opposition now. We are looking fo…
Lords
Committee Stage
28 January 2026
3 contributions
Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (Cryptoassets) Regulations 2025
I was thanking the Minister for his response to the scrutiny committee’s concerns. I also thank the noble Baroness, Lady Kramer, for her well-informed insights, as usual, and her correct reference to risk. I very much look forward to the Minister’s response on that point.
While the Official Opposit…
My Lords, I thank noble Lords for their contributions. This has been an interesting debate. There are a lot of questions on this and I will do my best to answer them—I have been making notes. I may not get to respond to them all but, if I do not, as before, I will scour through Hansard and respond a…
+1 more contribution in this session
Lords
Debate
27 January 2026
2 contributions
Crime and Policing Bill
My Lords, Amendment 454C seeks to increase the punishment for sabotaging an undersea cable to a 15-year prison sentence and an unlimited fine. This constitutes critical national infrastructure and we need a stronger deterrent, I believe—as do one or two others from the Back Benches who have probably…
My Lords, it is late, but I am grateful for the support of the noble Lord, Lord Cromwell, the noble Earl, Lord Russell, and my noble friend the opposition spokesman Lord Cameron of Lochiel, with his compelling Scottish perspective.
Given the vulnerabilities that have been identified, and identified…