Lords
Debate
1 June 2026
Social Housing Bill [HL]
My Lords, I declare my interest as vice-president of the Local Government Association and of the National Association for Local Councils.
The Social Housing Bill attempts to address an important issue across many local authorities: namely, that we are not building enough social housing. Yet this Bi…
Lords
Proceedings
1 June 2026
Donations to Political Parties
My Lords, while the independent Rycroft review consulted political parties on political donations, the Government have singularly failed to do so. Why did Ministers fail to consult the Parliamentary Parties Panel on these measures?
Lords
Proceedings
20 May 2026
King’s Speech
My Lords, I declare my interest as the vice-president of the Local Government Association and vice-president of the National Association of Local Councils.
Housing appears to have taken a back seat in the Government’s agenda. For all the talk of 1.5 million new homes, we heard no mention of that ta…
Lords
Proceedings
18 May 2026
Miscarriage Care
My Lords, given continued reports from women that they are discharged from services following miscarriage with little psychological support or follow-up care, what assessment have the Government made of whether current NHS pathways are meeting the commitments set out in the women’s health strategy? …
Lords
Debate
28 April 2026
English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill
I am grateful to the noble Lord, Lord Shipley, and the noble Baroness, Lady Scott. This Government’s objective remains clear: to ensure that every part of England can benefit from devolution. The noble Lord, Lord Shipley, spoke about the level of centralisation we have had in this country. It is com…
Lords
Debate
27 April 2026
5 contributions
English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill
My Lords, we have heard and addressed concerns over the role and importance of rural affairs within our devolution framework for England. I already thanked the noble Baroness, Lady Bakewell, but I also thank the noble Baroness, Lady Scott, and the noble Lords, Lord Best and Lord Cameron, for their t…
My Lords, I have already spoken to Motion D, and I beg to move.
+3 more contributions in this session
Lords
Debate
23 April 2026
8 contributions
English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill
My Lords, I wanted to speak to Conservative Motion C1. As I was in the Chamber when that was addressed, I was told I could speak.
My Lords, I rise to support the amendments proposed by the noble Baroness, Lady McIntosh of Pickering, under Motion G1: Amendments 94B and 94C, on the agent of change. I do so with particular reference to music venues. I also thank the Minister for the meeting we had this week.
The principle of the…
+6 more contributions in this session
Lords
Statutory Instrument
21 April 2026
4 contributions
Local Authorities (Changes to Years of Ordinary Elections) (England) (Revocation) Order 2026
My Lords, some time has passed since I tabled this regret Motion, and this House has debated this issue in considering the English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill. I am glad that the Government have responded to our concerns to make sure that we do not find ourselves in this situation agai…
My Lords, very briefly, and perhaps with a little surprise, I agree with the noble Baroness, Lady Scott of Bybrook, on the Conservative Front Bench: we have to regret what happened about these elections. We can also celebrate that eventually democracy won out. I am looking forward to the affected el…
+2 more contributions in this session
Lords
Oral Questions
16 April 2026
Local Resilience Forums
Yes, the noble Baroness is quite right. That is why it is important that, as well as making sure that we look at how this is done in future with the trailblazer programme and understand what can be done better, we make sure we have ongoing resilience throughout the transformation programme. For thos…
Lords
Debate
15 April 2026
2 contributions
English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill
My Lords, I have Amendments 1, 2, 4, 6, 8, 9, 10 and 11 in my name. These are minor and technical amendments, which I understand have been agreed by the Government. I beg to move.
My Lords, I extend the thanks of these Benches to the Minister, all her staff and the Bill office. She was right to point to the amount of work that has gone into getting the Bill to Third Reading. I thank her for her engagement with the Bill; it is of major constitutional importance and therefore h…
Lords
Debate
14 April 2026
Grenfell Tower Memorial (Expenditure) Bill
My Lords, I start by thanking my noble friend the Minister for her words and for the continued commitment, which she is correct to say started with the previous Government. I welcome her comments that this is not a political matter but one of moral duty and the necessity to recognise that a tragedy …
Lords
Oral Questions
14 April 2026
HMT “Empire Windrush”: 80th Anniversary
I know that the grant system that the noble Baroness spoke about has designated around 700 lasting assets, from books and exhibitions to films, educational resources and help for communities to commemorate, learn and come together. I will respond in writing to her question about the Muslim organisat…
Lords
Debate
13 April 2026
10 contributions
English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill
My Lords, I rise to speak to the first group of amendments in my name, which reflect the concerns that we have repeatedly expressed during the passage of this Bill about imposing top-down reorganisation of local government without local consent. Amendments 187 and 194 oppose Clause 57 and Schedule 2…
My Lords, these Benches also align with everything that has been said about the great Lord Beecham. I wrote down a number of things to say, but it has all been said. He was a hero in local government. When I became a new young councillor, his was the one name that I was always a bit scared of, to te…
+8 more contributions in this session
Lords
Debate
26 March 2026
12 contributions
English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill
My Lords, this first group of amendments concerns the Greater London Authority and the London councils. We expressed concern regarding Clause 15 in Committee as we do not see why conferring more powers on the Mayor of London should be such a priority in a Bill supposedly concerned with devolution to…
Before the Minister sits down, could she clarify something? With the new mayors of strategic authorities, I understood that the committees voted using a simple majority. Are we now saying that it is a two-thirds majority, the same as for London, in the new mayoral authorities?
+10 more contributions in this session
Lords
Debate
24 March 2026
3 contributions
English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill
My Lords, this group of amendments raises important issues concerning accountability and transparency within our evolving system of devolved governance. Amendments 49, 95 and 96 in the name of the noble Lord, Lord Shipley, engage with the central principle that, where power is exercised, it should b…
My Lords, the amendments in this group, all of which are in my name and that of my noble friend Lord Jamieson, relate to Clause 10 and the reporting of allowances within combined county authorities. These amendments are straightforward but they address an important principle: transparency and the us…
+1 more contribution in this session
Lords
Debate
24 March 2026
7 contributions
English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill
My Lords, I am grateful to all noble Lords who contributed to this opening group, and particularly to my noble friend Lord Parkinson for his amendment highlighting the importance of heritage. I also agree with my noble friend that the word “culture” can mean different things to different people, so …
My Lords, I did not know that I had to declare my interest as a vice-president of the Local Government Association and the National Association of Local Councils. I am grateful to all noble Lords who have brought forward important amendments in this group and for the debate highlighting clearly the …
+5 more contributions in this session
Lords
Oral Questions
18 March 2026
2 contributions
High Streets and Towns: Regeneration
My Lords, this Government recognise the very real pressures facing high streets and town centres, from long-term vacancy and rising costs to crime and changes in how people use town centres. That is why we are backing councils with long-term investment through the £5.8 billion Pride in Place program…
I think that might be more due to 14 years of letting high streets sink into decline. However, the places that are subject to Pride in Place funding will also be joined by the new cross-government high street strategy, which will look at all high streets. This will be backed by £150 million of targe…
Lords
Proceedings
16 March 2026
Social Cohesion Action Plan
My Lords, I am grateful for the Minister’s Statement. When it comes to social cohesion, the penny has clearly started to drop in government departments that something must be done.
As has been highlighted by the leader of the Opposition in the other place, there are groups in the United Kingdom who…
Lords
Oral Questions
12 March 2026
Anti-Muslim Hostility: Non-statutory Definition
The definition of anti-Muslim hostility is accompanied by a statement very clearly setting out what the definition does not do. It is not legally binding; it does not override or change the law; it does not affect sentencing or create new crimes, and it does not prevent raising concerns in the publi…
Lords
Committee Stage
5 March 2026
8 contributions
English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill
My Lords, I am grateful to all noble Lords who have spoken on what was—
My Lords, before we were interrupted, I was just saying that we are very grateful to all noble Lords who spoke on 11 February—it was as far away as that, and we have not met since then. If noble Lords think back, it was quite a substantial debate on quite a detailed group. It exposed three central q…
+6 more contributions in this session
Lords
Oral Questions
4 March 2026
Ballot Secrecy Act: Breaches
We are looking to test several ways of making in-person voting more efficient, more convenient and better aligned with the expectations of today’s electors. Two types of flexible voting will be piloted during the local elections in May. The first is centralised voting hubs, as the noble Baroness ind…
Lords
Oral Questions
4 March 2026
Local Government Reorganisation
The Government’s ambition with local government reorganisation is to simplify local government, ending the two-tier system and establishing new, single-tier unitary authorities. Over and again, I have said at this Dispatch Box and in committee on the Bill that we are working on that strong local gov…
Lords
Proceedings
25 February 2026
Local Government Reorganisation
My Lords, the Government have sown confusion and imposed unnecessary costs upon the taxpayer by cancelling local elections, only to reinstate them weeks later and then seek to distance themselves from the consequences. What was presented as a firm and settled judgment has unravelled in short order, …
Lords
Oral Questions
12 February 2026
Donations to Political Parties
My Lords, I am very pleased to respond to this QSD. As many Lords have said, it is timely indeed, as we are pleased to introduce the Representation of the People Bill today; I look forward to many further discussions as that Bill works its way through our House.
I thank my noble friend Lord Sikka f…
Lords
Committee Stage
11 February 2026
6 contributions
English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill
My Lords, I will be brief in closing, but very clear about the position of the Official Opposition on this group. After many hours of debate, one point should now be beyond doubt: devolution cannot be delivered by compulsion. If the Government persist in reserving sweeping powers to direct and impos…
My Lords, I support the principles behind this amendment in the name of my noble friend Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay, which has attracted widespread interest from both within and without your Lordships’ House.
At its heart lies a simple question: how do we ensure that the public continue to have c…
+4 more contributions in this session