My Lords, I thank the Minister for her response, but 65% of community pharmacies are now operating at a loss; 45% have been forced to rely on personal savings or remortgaging their own homes just to keep their doors open, mainly to vulnerable people with the highest levels of need. What is the Minis…
My Lords, it is a great privilege to open today’s debate on matters that are of such concern to so many people and which lie at the heart of our local communities. As we all know, health services are severely overstretched, whether in a local context or elsewhere. The systems are simply not coping.
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I thank the Minister for her remarks and her explanation. She is obviously very committed to her plan. I think it is fair to say from what we heard during the debate, which had strong contributions from both professional and patient experience, that people in this Chamber are not convinced and that …
My Lords, I thank the Minister for setting out these two draft instruments, which together update the framework governing drug precursor chemicals. On these Benches, we support the objectives of these measures. Drug precursors play a critical role in the illicit manufacture of controlled substances,…
My Lords, I warmly welcome the introduction of the Bill and the opportunity today to comment on it. I congratulate the noble Baroness, Lady Teather, on her truly excellent maiden speech, and I look forward to the maiden contributions of the noble Baroness, Lady Antrobus, and the noble Lord, Lord Wal…
I very much agree with what the noble Baroness says about encouraging people to get engaged with local elections and with their local authorities. We take local people’s views very seriously. Community engagement and neighbourhood empowerment are both part of our criteria for judging the proposals o…
My Lords, Amendment 190 in my name would place an obligation on the Government to introduce devolved fiscal and revenue-raising powers within 12 months of the introduction of the Act. Fiscal devolution is the transfer of financial powers and responsibilities from central government to local authorit…
LordsCommittee Stage5 February 20262 contributions
My Lords, I apologise that I was unable to speak at Second Reading, but I support the amendment spoken to by the noble Lord, Lord Hendy, which I have signed. The amendment seeks to remind the Government of existing obligations under treaties and other international law with regard to measures in the…
I belatedly state my interest: I am a member of the LGPS. I apologise; I should have said that at the beginning of my speech, so I just put it on the record.
LordsCommittee Stage29 January 20263 contributions
My Lords, this amendment would place certain requirements on the Secretary of State in the event of significant local government reorganisation. Before the Secretary of State redraws the local government structures, the amendment simply asks for two things: a realistic assessment of the impact on co…
I thank the Minister for the response, but I feel that the safeguards he has outlined do not address the potential risks in this Bill. The message that seems to be going out at the moment is that the Government are determined to deliver at any cost. Local communities are very mistrustful that they w…
+1 more contribution in this session
LordsCommittee Stage20 January 20262 contributions
My Lords, in echoing my colleague’s comments reflecting on the previous debate, it sounds as though today we are agreeing on uniformity rather than devolution. The Bill gives the Secretary of State sweeping powers to merge, restructure or abolish councils without parliamentary oversight and local co…
I thank the Minister for her comments. I do, however, feel that there is a distinct lack of local input into the proposals in this Bill; that is one of the symptoms of the approach the Government are taking. They seem to be taking the view that they have decided what will be imposed on the country a…
LordsOral Questions13 November 20252 contributions
I thank the noble Baroness for that question. I have already talked about the final status arrangements that we hope for in relation to the Palestinian refugees. She asks about the right of return; the UK supports a just, fair, agreed and realistic settlement for refugees, in line with UN Security C…
It is right that the Government want to bring down net migration, and we are supporting the staff who are affected. I have to say that the staff I have met do a fantastic job and we want to support them as much as we can.
My Lords, the head of the World Health Organization has said that July was the worst month for cases of acute malnutrition in children in Gaza, affecting nearly 12,000 children under the age of five, all as a result of a manmade famine. In the light of this and the further bombardments of Gaza City,…
My Lords, the Israeli Government recently approved 22 new settlements in the illegally occupied West Bank—the largest such expansion in decades. Israeli settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territories are illegal under international law, yet the Government continue to allow trade with these sett…
Will the Government publish the legal advice they have received on their likely complicity with the Israeli Government in the committing of war crimes in Gaza and the Occupied Territories?
My Lords, what is the Government’s response to reports claiming that thousands of items listed under the category “bombs, grenades, torpedoes, mines, missiles and similar munitions of war” were exported from the UK to Israel, as well as four shipments described under customs codes as “tanks and othe…
My Lords, I support my noble friend Lord Tope’s Amendment 251, which I have also signed. We have all spoken of the support we give this Bill because it offers the opportunity to address the problems and injustices suffered by renters in the PRS, which is the most insecure, most expensive and lowest …
My Lords, my Amendment 273 would require, within 12 months of implementation, a report on the impact of the Bill on BME and ethnic groups. I thank Race on the Agenda and Shelter for their briefings.
The private rented sector has the highest number of ethnic minorities relative to other tenures—23% …
My Lords, I rise to speak to Amendment 133 in my name and that of Lady Jones of Moulsecoomb. This amendment would require landlords to grant permission for home adaptations that constitute reasonable adjustments where these have been recommended by local authority assessments.
Disabled individuals …
My Lords, I am very grateful to the Minister, and I look forward to seeing her letter and the various assurances that she has given us today. This amendment stemmed from the fact that refusal by landlords has been a major obstacle in the private sector to disabled people who are trying to get adapta…