My Lords, this case seems to boil down to the binary political question: conspiracy or cock-up? The Government vehemently deny conspiracy, so they must believe it is a cock-up. But where and how did this happen, and how will the Government find out this fact? A Joint Select Committee plans to invest…
The noble Lord is absolutely correct. That is currently a significant issue. As I understand it, the ONS is reviewing that data, and that review is ongoing.
It would be inappropriate for me to comment on any live merger case, as I am sure the noble Lord will be aware. Under the Enterprise Act this is a quasi-judicial process, and it is for the DCMS Secretary of State alone to exercise her statutory powers, based on the evidence and following the establi…
LordsCommittee Stage15 October 20252 contributions
My Lords, following on from the noble Lord, Lord Fox, so do we.
As the Minister rightly outlined, this instrument introduces new requirements for large companies to report annually, through their directors’ reports, on their supplier payment practices and performance. Although the content of these …
My Lords, I do not think that I have followed the noble Baroness, Lady Finn, in the past and it is a great pleasure to do so. I am happy to say that there are still one or two things left to say.
This Statement is clearly an attempt to put to rest the issue of these botched prosecutions, or non-pro…
My Lords, the Jaguar Land Rover cyberattack has highlighted the vital need for robust cybersecurity across the UK’s economy, which is why today the Government have written to leading companies with advice on strengthening cyber defences using tools like the Cyber Essentials scheme and the Cyber Gove…
My Lords, may I echo the words of the noble Lord about the late Lord Campbell? On behalf of the Government and this side of the House, I thank the late Lord Campbell for his public service to this country. He will be sorely missed in this House.
The National Cyber Security Centre has been working v…
It is a welcome return for the noble Lord and a pleasure to be asked a question by him again after a somewhat lengthy absence. The answer to his question is no. We heard from the Liberal Democrat Benches strong support for the investment we announced in the spending review. They supported— I think—e…
My Lords, it is a pleasure and a challenge to follow the noble Baroness, Lady Goldie, who has such expertise in this area. We on these Benches also welcome the Government’s announcement of this new defence industrial strategy. We support the objectives of both boosting defence capability and increas…
My Lords, some 40% of companies in the UK reported last year that they had faced some sort of cyberattack. High-profile attacks such as those on JLR, Marks & Spencer and the British Museum are just the tip of the iceberg. In the Commons, the Minister referred to legislation. Can the noble Lord c…
My Lords, we remain committed to our high agriculture and food standards. As the Trade and Agriculture Commission report has confirmed, all food and drink products imported into the UK will still have to meet our existing import, food safety and biosecurity requirements. We have not lowered our stan…
I am delighted that the noble Lord, Lord Fox, is back in his place. It is always a pleasure to be on the receiving end of his wit and repartee. He will be very pleased to know that I am winding up. Also, I am complimenting one of his colleagues—he ought to have waited.
Clause 30, tabled by the nobl…
The Alan Turing Institute is of course an independent institution. In 2023, a quinquennial review determined that it needed significant changes, and those changes have been taking place. They will be ongoing and there is indeed a plan to make sure that the institute is able to deliver AI for mission…
I agree, and I have alluded to that in previous answers. The challenge is a cultural one around workflow. I go back to the MIT report, which shows that, especially in big companies, there are high levels of adoption and low levels of disruption. The challenge is to get high levels of adoption with a…
LordsStatutory Instrument22 July 20254 contributions
My Lords, I must inform the House that if the amendment in the name of the noble Lord, Lord Fox, is agreed to, I will not be able to call the amendment in the name of the noble Baroness, Lady Stowell of Beeston, for reasons of pre-emption. The Question I therefore have to put is that the amendment i…
My Lords, although I take a different position on this from the noble Lord, Lord Fox, I too would like to welcome him back to his place, and I am pleased to see that he is making a good recovery from his accident.
Last year, the House protected and guaranteed press freedom by forcing the Government…
My Lords, this has been an important debate. As the noble Baroness, Lady Goudie, said—I apologise if I have mispronounced her name—most if not all speakers have worked on these two important and connected issues for years. That has been reflected in the quality of the speeches we have heard. It also…
My Lords, this has been an interesting debate. It is difficult to know where to start, so I thought I would do so with a couple of parish notes. To the noble Baroness, Lady Noakes, I say that the young man who was on the other end of her call was required by contract to read out a script. If he had …
Was the noble Lord in the Chamber at the beginning of the debate?
Yes, I absolutely understand the point that the noble Lord, Lord Fox, is making. Last year, the Government recruited 1,000 new probation officers; in the current year, we aim to recruit 1,300 officers and my understanding is that we are on target to achieve that. Of course, it takes two or three yea…
My Lords, as a vice-chair of the All-Party Motor Group, I must say that this agreement was good news for the UK car industry or, perhaps more importantly, it was less bad news—coming in where the noble Lord, Lord Sharpe, left off. In truth, manufacturers will still see a rise from pre-Trump tariffs …
Can the Minister share that response with Front Benches as well, please?
Before the Minister exits the review, it clearly reflects on a number of the issues in the Bill. It would make an awful lot of sense, if the Government are going to do this within the first year—which, by the way, is not very much longer—to be able to present us with the findings of that review so t…
My Lords, I thank all speakers from your Lordships’ House for what has been an excellent debate. It is a genuine pleasure for me to participate, hopefully quite briefly.
The noble Lord, Lord Brennan, gave a moving speech, which was made more moving by the knowledge that Sarah Owen is at the Bar tod…
My Lords, I thank all noble Lords who have spoken in what has been a very interesting debate. I will try to reflect on what I have heard as I speak; that will make my job quite difficult and probably make my speech completely incoherent, but I will do my best.
We closed last week with a couple of d…
It would be very useful if she could share it with the other Front Benches as well.
My Lords, I was a little disappointed that the noble Lord, Lord Moynihan, did not welcome me back as well, but I am coming to terms with that disappointment. To briefly refer back to the first group, the noble Lord, Lord Sharpe, made some comments about the letter from the noble Lord, Lord Leong, an…
I thank the Minister for her partial response, but will she reveal the draft of those regulations while we still have an opportunity to debate them? Secondly, I think she was going to talk about consultation and so I ask what question that consultation will be asking.