My Lords, it is a pleasure to follow my friend, the noble Earl, Lord Clancarty, and I congratulate my friend the noble Baroness, Lady Featherstone, on this important Private Member’s Bill, which, as we know, would enable access to creative and cultural education in state-funded schools. I will retur…
My Lords, I am pleased to speak in support of the Bill in the name of the noble Baroness, Lady Bakewell. I congratulate her on her exposition in moving Second Reading and, indeed, in outlining the rights and benefits as well as the problems. I have long taken an interest in this subject, since the d…
My Lords, the only thing that matters in this instance is the right of the child to the best and most appropriate treatment. Therefore, does the Minister agree that puberty blockers are used for a range of conditions and that any approach must therefore be based solely on the recommendations of the …
I thank my noble friend. There has been constant reference to the Government’s position on the protection of women, and we are absolutely committed to ensure that we can absolutely say that violence against women and girls is a thing of the past. We are absolutely determined to end that. Violence ag…
My Lords, this has, I can say without qualification, proven to be one of the most contentious Bills that has come before your Lordships’ House in this Session and perhaps, indeed, in any Session. One of the reasons why it has been so contentious is that it is so important. No one can deny that the B…
My noble friend will understand that I cannot comment on the contents of the draft code, particularly during this current election period, but I understand the sentiment behind the question. I want to reassure noble Lords that this Government are absolutely committed to balancing all rights and ensu…
My Lords, I will speak very briefly, because the one thing I agree on with the previous speaker is that it is late. I was not going to speak, but the amendment directly affects me. It affects the kind of country I want to remain living in. I have to say to your Lordships that I wake up most mornings…
I hear what my noble friend says. I understand his concerns; I do not think it is good practice to have legal challenges. They do not actually resolve anything. What will resolve things is to get the code accurately and robustly reviewed and properly published. The updated code is, as I have said, u…
LordsOral Questions23 February 20262 contributions
My Lords, I will start answering this Question by paying tribute to Lord Etherton—we would not be having Questions such as this were it not for him—and the noble Lords, Lord Cashman and Lord Lexden. We should remind ourselves of the work people do in this House and the progress they make.
The Gover…
We all associate with the remarks my noble friend just made with respect to the shameful way in which people were treated between 1967 and 2001. On the timeliness of the financial recognition scheme and the direct payments, the Government are working hard to ensure that we get to those who are the m…
I spend a lot of my time going around prisons, meeting staff, meeting prisoners and seeing probation areas as well. There are already well-established routes. If prisoners and their families have concerns, the independent monitoring board and the Prisons and Probation Ombudsman are the best routes f…
My Lords, I reiterate the point that there are no safe, legal routes from Iran to reach this country. I urge the Minister to look sympathetically at this. No matter how somebody reaches the safety of the United Kingdom, if they are from Iran—and, I would argue, other countries, but in this instance …
My Lords, as a resident of Tower Hamlets, I point out that the first Chinatown in the UK existed in the East End of London, not far from where the current building is proposed—a building that has been largely disused for approximately eight years. Therefore, does the Minister agree with me that the …
The noble Lord, Lord Gove, asks: how much extra time? The answer surely is that that depends on what progress we make tomorrow and next week. Can I simply say this? There are many difficult issues posed by this Bill, but this Motion is not difficult at all. We are simply being asked to vote that thi…
My Lords, the status quo might not be where we want, but where the Government are moving to causes me some deep concern, not least about integration and the dehumanisation of migrants and people seeking sanctuary. I want to bring to the Minister’s attention some interesting polling by HOPE not hate,…
My Lords, I will speak in support of Amendment 59—to which I have added my name, along with the noble Baroness, Lady Hamwee —which was moved so effectively and powerfully by my noble friend Lord Browne of Ladyton. In Committee, I spoke about the importance of our amendment then, and the amendment be…
I recognise that, as my noble friend says, trans people are concerned about the implications of the recent Supreme Court ruling. As I have said, we are considering both that ruling and its implications carefully. However, we are clear, as was that ruling, that the laws to protect trans people from d…
My Lords, I add my congratulations to the Minister, particularly on her skill in introducing such a wide-ranging Bill. My interest is parochial in the sense that, while there are many subjects here that require appropriate attention and scrutiny, as a previous general secretary of a retail union and…
My noble friend is absolutely right. Of course, we recognise that the application of the Supreme Court ruling is, in some settings, complex, which is why it is important that this code is given full and proper consideration. That is why the independent EHRC code of practice is so important, and we w…
My Lords, anything I say will probably have been said before, so fortuitously I shall not speak for long, which will please the Government Whips.
On both sides there have been some outstanding speeches over both days, and we can all appreciate that this is hugely complex. People very often tend to …
My Lords, I support Amendment 104 and I am proud to follow my noble friend after the passionate and eloquent way he introduced it. He spoke passionately and deeply about the young man, Noah, and the experience that he had in Georgia. Before I speak further in support of this amendment, to which I ha…
My Lords, I hesitate to follow when Sodom and Gomorrah have both been mentioned. However, the noble Baroness, Lady Thornhill, has made a powerful case for her amendment, and I associate myself with everything she has said and with the passionate defence of this amendment by my noble friend Lady List…
I thank the noble Lord for that question. We had a comprehensive review involving Ofgem in December to discuss this issue. We know that too much of the burden of the bill is placed on standing charges. We are committed to lowering the costs of standing charges and have worked constructively with the…
My Lords, I support the noble Baroness, Lady Kidron, and declare my interest as an artist member of DACS.
I have supported the amendments from the noble Baroness because transparency would have unlocked avenues to negotiate licences, bringing mutual benefits to AI companies and rights holders alike…
My Lords, this is the first time I have spoken on this measure, because I had assumed that, after the Bill had gone to the House of Commons, it would accept the arguments that have been adduced in this place in the previous debates and realise that this is not only a wrong Bill but a very harmful on…