Lords
Oral Questions
25 November 2025
12 contributions
Wales: Further Devolution
I thank the Minister for her Answer. Pursuing the devolution of policing is in Welsh Labour’s programme for government. Just last week, we heard a Statement in this House on the abolition of police and crime commissioners. In England, those powers will be transferred directly to elected mayors, wher…
In opposition, the Labour Party was very clear about the unfairness of the way in which money was given to Wales under the Barnett formula. Why is it that it is still cheating Wales and giving it much less money than any other part of the United Kingdom?
+10 more contributions in this session
Lords
Proceedings
18 November 2025
6 contributions
China Espionage: Government Security Response
My Lords, I shall now repeat a Statement made in another place. The Statement is as follows:
“With your permission, Mr Speaker, I would like to make a Statement on Chinese espionage targeting UK democratic institutions, and the Government’s actions to counter the breadth of threats posed by China a…
My Lords, I thank both noble Lords for their points and questions on this very serious matter, and the tone in which they participated. As noble Lords have rightly acknowledged, matters of espionage, particularly those that relate to Parliament, are of the utmost importance to us in both Houses and …
+4 more contributions in this session
Lords
Debate
14 November 2025
Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill
I thank the noble Baroness. I note that my former tutorial partner from Oxford was intervened on, or interrupted, for speaking for too long beyond 10 minutes. I shall endeavour still to be within 10 minutes despite having been doubly intervened on.
The report noted that the committee had not taken …
Lords
Debate
11 November 2025
5 contributions
Public Authorities (Fraud, Error and Recovery) Bill
My Lords, I beg to move Motion A and will speak also to Motions B and D. I want to start by thanking this House once again for the constructive debates and meticulous scrutiny that the Public Authorities (Fraud, Error and Recovery) Bill has received throughout its passage. It has undoubtedly been st…
My Lords, I thank the Government for listening to some of the points made by the noble Baroness, Lady Finn, myself and others. We are dealing here with Motions A, B and D, so let me deal with Motion A first. The Lords amendment aimed to give more powers to Ministers to take investigatory or enforcem…
+3 more contributions in this session
Lords
Oral Questions
10 November 2025
13 contributions
Office for National Statistics
Does my noble friend the Minister share my concern that the response rate to the Labour Force Survey dropped to just over 14.5% in 2023, down from nearly 48% a decade earlier, and that the gender pay gap has been underreported for the past 20 years? Does she agree that a democratic society cannot fu…
My Lords, when I was attached to the Cabinet Office well over a decade ago, I was told that the Government, locally and nationally, have a very large amount of administrative data which is not shared because of systemic barriers between different departments. I note that this was recommendation 6 in…
+11 more contributions in this session
Lords
Proceedings
5 November 2025
9 contributions
“Soldier F” Trial Verdict
I thank the noble Lord for his work with the noble Lord, Lord Cameron, in response to Bloody Sunday. We need to remember at this point, as at all points, that we are talking about people and their experiences. With regard to the substantive point that he raised, I remind your Lordships’ House that t…
The noble Baroness is absolutely right. We are not bringing forward legislation for the sake of bringing forward legislation—noble Lords discuss legislation to the nth degree. We are bringing it forward so that victims and their families can get the answers that they are still waiting for. The noble…
+7 more contributions in this session
Lords
Proceedings
4 November 2025
4 contributions
Infected Blood Compensation Scheme
My Lords, I am, as ever, very grateful to the noble Baronesses for the thoughtful and productive points raised on this issue. It is very easy for Members of your Lordships’ House to get caught up in the politics of many issues, but on the issue of infected blood this has genuinely been a cross-party…
I put on record my thanks to the noble Baronesses, Lady Finlay and—I think I can call her a noble friend, even though she is not on my Benches—Lady Campbell, who is much missed; I am pleased that she will be returning to us in the new year. As ever, the noble Baroness, Lady Finlay, raises very impor…
+2 more contributions in this session
Lords
Statutory Instrument
30 October 2025
6 contributions
Control of Mercury (Enforcement) (Amendment) Regulations 2025
My Lords, this instrument introduces the mechanisms to enforce the EU mercury regulation in Northern Ireland under the Windsor Framework, which maintains Northern Ireland’s dual market access to the EU single market and the UK internal market. I know that questions of democratic legitimacy and the e…
My Lords, it is nice to see the noble Baroness answering on this statutory instrument, and I thank her for her outline of what it contains. I reassure noble Lords that, while the Whip’s notice says that today’s rising time will probably be about 7 pm, I have no intention—I do not think any of us hav…
+4 more contributions in this session
Lords
Oral Questions
29 October 2025
10 contributions
Youth Mobility Scheme
My Lords, this Question is a companion piece to the Question last week from the noble Baroness, Lady Coussins, on Erasmus, to which she got an encouraging reply. The only proviso, of course, is that were we in the single market, which most voters now back, a youth mobility scheme would be entirely u…
My Lords, it is very encouraging to hear that the Government are moving forward with what is so important: bringing young people together, particularly around Europe. An event took place in this Parliament this week to support further development of the teaching of languages. Will the Minister there…
+8 more contributions in this session
Lords
Debate
21 October 2025
3 contributions
Public Authorities (Fraud, Error and Recovery) Bill
My Lords, while I appreciate the intention behind these amendments, the reality of their drafting would give Ministers the ability to block politically inconvenient investigations. They would prevent counterfraud enforcement at any kind of scale, and they would expose the identities of civil servant…
My Lords, I now turn to Amendments 34, 36, 37, 38, 39 and 40. This group of amendments addresses some concern we have heard throughout the passage of this Bill—most recently from the noble Baroness, Lady Finn, during Grand Committee—that the enforcement unit being part of the Cabinet Office means th…
+1 more contribution in this session
Lords
Oral Questions
21 October 2025
10 contributions
Erasmus+
I thank the noble Baroness for that encouraging reply and appreciate that she cannot go into negotiating detail. Can she at least clarify that the overall objective is to achieve associate membership by the start of the next funding round, in 2027-28, and that the UK aims to include eligibility for …
My Lords, I declare my interest as a visiting professor at King’s and chairman of FutureLearn. I strongly welcome the Government’s efforts to associate with Erasmus. EU student numbers in the UK have roughly halved over recent years and now face further challenging policy headwinds under this Govern…
+8 more contributions in this session
Lords
Proceedings
20 October 2025
9 contributions
Northern Ireland Troubles
My Lords, I shall now repeat the Statement made by my colleague the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland in the other place. The Statement is as follows:
“With permission, Madam Deputy Speaker, I would like to make a Statement on the legacy of the Troubles, which still hangs heavily over the liv…
My Lords, I have lots of bits of paper in front of me, so please bear with me. I need to start by putting on record my genuine thanks to the noble Lord, Lord Caine, for everything he did, and the previous Government for everything they attempted to do—some of which I agree with, and some I do not. B…
+7 more contributions in this session
Lords
Proceedings
20 October 2025
9 contributions
Official Secret Act Case: Witness Statements
I thank the noble Baroness for her question. It is our third such outing on matters pertaining—well, our second, but the third in a week. To confirm, the meeting on 1 September was a discussion with the National Security Adviser about the management of the court case as it continued. There was no di…
The noble Lord raises a very important point. Our Parliament is at its best when it scrutinises the Government, and I am very pleased that the Joint Committee on the National Security Strategy is now undertaking its inquiry. The Intelligence and Security Committee, led by my noble friend Lord Beamis…
+7 more contributions in this session
Lords
Proceedings
16 October 2025
Middle East
My Lords, there is time for both noble Lords to speak, so we will go to the Liberal Democrats and then to our colleague from the Cross Benches.
Lords
Debate
15 October 2025
12 contributions
Public Authorities (Fraud, Error and Recovery) Bill
My Lords, so we begin Report. I thank all noble Lords for their genuinely constructive engagement on this important Bill, as we seriously engage in efforts to protect taxpayers’ money—something I know every Member of your Lordships’ House cares vehemently about. I especially thank the Opposition Fro…
My Lords, fraud against the public sector takes money away from vital public services, enriches those who seek to attack the Government and damages the integrity of the state. This Bill is part of the Government’s response to this urgent and challenging problem. The Bill gives functions and powers t…
+10 more contributions in this session
Lords
Proceedings
14 October 2025
3 contributions
Security Update: Official Secrets Act Case
My Lords, that is a significant number of questions, which I have written down and now lost—thank you—and I will endeavour to answer all of them. I will also review Hansard and make sure that I correspond on anything that I am unsuccessful in responding to. I thank the noble Baroness, Lady Finn, and…
I thank my noble friend for his work as part of the ISC and his work in these areas for several decades. I would expect full co-operation with the committee in terms of what happens next. We want to be as open to scrutiny as possible but, given the issues, talking within the appropriate processes—th…
+1 more contribution in this session
Lords
Oral Questions
13 October 2025
16 contributions
Chinese Espionage: Parliament
My Lords, I welcome and will look at the action she has recommended and mentioned. I am sorry that the noble Baroness the Leader of the House is not in her place to answer this Question.
Will the noble Baroness agree that no step must be left unturned to safeguard the integrity of our Parliament fr…
My Lords, the former director-general of the Security Service has warned the country that Chinese espionage has been carried out on an industrial scale, including by seeking influence over Parliament, as well as on industry and education. That is why I and these Benches warned that exempting China f…
+14 more contributions in this session
Lords
Oral Questions
4 September 2025
Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures
My Lords, since we are a member of the CPTPP, can the Minister tell us whether any of the other members of that organisation have raised this problem with us and said there will be any incompatibility? After all, our intention to sign an SPS agreement with the EU is a matter of common knowledge.
Lords
Proceedings
3 September 2025
Arrangement of Business
My Lords, before the noble Lord, Lord Mott, commences proceedings on his QSD, I want to highlight the two-minute Back-Bench advisory time to colleagues participating. I appreciate that this is short, but I ask Members contributing to keep remarks within that limit so that we can ensure time for the …
Lords
Debate
2 September 2025
7 contributions
Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill
My Lords, I thank the noble Lord, Lord Lucas, for stepping in and moving the amendment tabled by the noble Lord, Lord Wei. I thank all noble Lords for their contributions to this short but thoughtful debate. I will not take it personally.
Fundamentally, the Government believe that the department’s …
My Lords, this has been a useful and considered debate. I thank noble Lords for their participation. Local authorities have existing duties under the Education Act 1996 to identify children in their area who are not registered at school and not receiving a suitable education and to intervene in such…
+5 more contributions in this session
Lords
Oral Questions
2 September 2025
8 contributions
Civil Service: Interns
My Lords, both the Constitutional Reform and Governance Act 2010 and the Civil Service Commission’s recruitment principles make it clear that a person’s selection for work in the Civil Service must be on merit, on the basis of fair and open competition. These rules ensure that the Civil Service can …
My Lords, I declare an interest as the First Civil Service Commissioner. It is the Civil Service Commission’s statutory duty to ensure that entry is based on merit and is open and fair. However, as the Minister has outlined, this is an internship that leads to a process of being able to proceed to t…
+6 more contributions in this session
Lords
Debate
2 September 2025
2 contributions
Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill
My Lords, I am sorry, but I do not think this is in order. We have heard from the Minister, and now it is for the person who moved their amendment—
I am advised that it is unusual—very unusual. Could the noble Lord keep his contributions exceptionally brief? Many other noble Lords intervened on the Minister at the pertinent points during her speech. It really is now the time for the noble Lord, Lord Hacking. The noble Lord’s Front Bench is agre…
Lords
Proceedings
24 July 2025
7 contributions
Infected Blood Inquiry: Additional Report
My Lords, I am grateful, as ever, for the contributions of the noble Baronesses, Lady Finn and Lady Brinton. Their responses were, as they have always been in previous debates in this House, measured, reasonable, productive and challenging where we need to be challenged. I truly believe that this de…
The impact on the noble Baroness’s family reminds us every time we hear of it that there is a real human cost. It is very easy for all of us to consider this just to be news and outside of your Lordships’ House. This scandal was in your Lordships’ House, it was in this building, and the noble Barone…
+5 more contributions in this session
Lords
Oral Questions
23 July 2025
7 contributions
Casement Park: Spending Review
My Lords, I thank the noble Baroness for her remarks about Enniskillen and for her Answer. She must realise that back in 2011 football, rugby and Gaelic got similar amounts from the Northern Ireland Executive to develop their stadiums. Football and rugby did theirs, but Gaelic did not. Casement sat …
My Lords, I convey my sympathies to the people of Maguiresbridge in Fermanagh and to the families of the victims this morning. On behalf of the GAA, and on my own behalf, I thank the Government for the £50 million contribution towards the construction of Casement Park. It is long awaited and I hope …
+5 more contributions in this session