Lords
Committee Stage
16 December 2025
Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction Bill
My Lords, I shall speak to Amendment 19 but very much support the amendments around plastic. When I was in the Pacific, I too found myself on a quite deserted desert island full of old fishing nets and, weirdly, a whole lot of stuff manufactured by Unilever. It is very scary.
On Amendment 19, we ha…
Lords
Oral Questions
16 December 2025
2 contributions
Free School Meals
My Lords, the Government already spend £1.5 billion annually supporting the provision of free and nutritious meals for around 3.4 million children. We have set aside a further £1 billion over the multi-year spending review period to fully fund our significant expansion of free meals to all household…
As I have outlined, we are fully funding the expansion, with £1 billion additional funding over the next spending review period. We provide the funding for free school meals through the national funding formula, and it is within the ability of schools to be able to shift money around in order to fun…
Lords
Debate
9 December 2025
Crime and Policing Bill
My Lords, I support all the amendments in this group, so well put forward by the noble Baronesses, Lady Bertin, Lady Kidron, Lady Kennedy and Lady Benjamin, but I particularly want to say a few words about Amendment 298 in the name of the noble Baroness, Lady Bertin.
I have been really alarmed by t…
Lords
Oral Questions
26 November 2025
Domestic Abuse: Emergency Accommodation
The fact that it does not all happen on one day in Trafalgar Square does not make it any less of an outrage. I think every noble Lord in this House will hear the anger in the noble Baroness’s voice and, I hope, in my own voice. There is a profound commitment from across this Government to halve viol…
Lords
Oral Questions
11 November 2025
2 contributions
Airport Expansion
My Lords—
Heathrow is as congested now as it was before Covid, and it will remain congested unless more capacity is given to it. The previous questions on this subject in a short debate we had a few days ago rightly suggested that not only human traffic but goods and services are important—although we did hav…
Lords
Oral Questions
10 November 2025
River Pollution
The noble Baroness is absolutely right that pollution from chicken farms, particularly in the River Wye, is a huge problem. I have met with people with interests in the River Wye to look at potential solutions to that, and the department is considering how best to deal with it. Planning is an import…
Lords
Oral Questions
5 November 2025
Online Safety Act 2023: Online Hate and Racism
The noble Baroness makes a very important point. Of course, that inherent bias against women was present in society long before the internet was invented. That is something that we must always struggle to combat, whether online or offline. The illegal harms duties under the Online Safety Act regime …
Lords
Oral Questions
28 October 2025
2 contributions
Plant-based Diet
My Lords, we know that a diet based predominantly on fruit, vegetables and higher-fibre starchy foods but also containing some protein, such as beans, pulses, meat, fish or eggs, and dairy or dairy alternatives, as depicted in the UK’s Eatwell Guide , is associated with improved environmental outcom…
I thank the noble Baroness, but I point out that the UK’s dietary guidelines, as depicted in the Eatwell Guide , to which I referred in my Answer, already recommend a diet that is based predominantly on plant foods. Analysis has shown that adherence to that guide does indeed improve both health and …
Lords
Debate
27 October 2025
Planning and Infrastructure Bill
My Lords, I will speak to Amendment 88 in the names of the noble Baroness, Lady Willis, and various other Peers. I also very much support the amendment of the noble Lord, Lord Addington, and my noble friend Lady Grey-Thompson about sports fields. I just wanted to make a few points that somehow often…
Lords
Proceedings
16 October 2025
Middle East
The noble Baroness made a couple of references to the importance of the press. Could she update the House on exactly where negotiations are about letting in companies such as the BBC, the Times and the New York Times ?
Lords
Oral Questions
14 October 2025
West Papua: Deforestation
I thank the noble Baroness for her question. I am afraid that we do not comment on speculation. This Government are taking robust action to boost UK food security and turn the tide of nature’s decline, as well as prepare for the impacts of a changing climate and nature loss. This includes treating b…
Lords
Debate
18 September 2025
Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill
My Lords, I will speak to my Amendment 502P and will give my support to Amendment 502YB, in the name of the noble Baroness, Lady Bennett. If the noble Lord, Lord Young, chooses to put his amendment to a vote later, I will support it; I thought that his introduction to it was very well argued.
I am …
Lords
Oral Questions
11 September 2025
Global Plastic Pollution Treaty
The noble Baroness is right: microplastics and forever chemicals are of increasing concern. One thing we pushed for in the treaty was the inclusion of microplastics to reduce and prevent microplastic pollution from all different sources. One thing we did at INC-5.2, working with Chile, was to put fo…
Lords
Debate
10 September 2025
Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill
My Lords, I will speak to Amendment 502X, to which I have added my name and which was tabled by the noble Baroness, Lady Bennett. This is what the noble Baroness, Lady Fox, just described as a hobby-horse. I suspect that, into that description, she would put the amendment tabled by the noble Barones…
Lords
Debate
4 September 2025
Planning and Infrastructure Bill
My Lords, it is a delight to follow the noble Lord, Lord Moynihan, on his amendment. I entirely agree with everything he says. Not that long ago, a lido not far from where my daughter lives in east London was ripped down and turned into, of all things, a car park, which seems an ultimately depressin…
Lords
Debate
1 September 2025
Planning and Infrastructure Bill
My Lords, I am very pleased to support the amendment in the name of the noble Lord, Lord Teverson. There is widespread concern about the sustainable sourcing of all Drax wood pellets, and it is incredibly important that we ensure there are safeguards in place around the potential for the wrongful us…
Lords
Oral Questions
21 July 2025
Weight Loss Medication
There is no doubt that, when these injections are working alongside other weight management approaches, including education around diet generally as well as exercise, the chances of success on all the issues that the noble Baroness raises are far greater. We need to understand the longer-term impact…
Lords
Proceedings
7 July 2025
Giving Every Child the Best Start in Life
My Lords, I very much welcome this Statement; I think it is fantastic. Like the noble Viscount, I have become a grandparent reasonably recently, but I am very struck by the difference from when I had my daughter, which is now 41 years ago. First, I got three nights in hospital, and, secondly, the mo…
Lords
Debate
3 July 2025
2 contributions
Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill
My Lords, I put my name to Amendment 202A in the names of the noble Baronesses, Lady Parminter and Lady Bennett. This is a fantastically important amendment, and I will be very distressed if the Government do not seize the moment as the knowledge comes into view about what these kinds of chemicals i…
My Lords, when the Minister said that we are working across government, what actually is happening? Is there a review? Is there something specific about school uniforms? Is it just about PFAS? Can we get some details so that we who are concerned can keep an eye on it?
Lords
Oral Questions
1 July 2025
Plastic Pollution
The noble Baroness makes an extremely good point. We were probably all quite shocked recently at the figures showing how endemic these tiny pieces of plastic are in our drinking water and, indeed, in ourselves. It is extremely worrying, and it is incredibly important that research is carried out. I …
Lords
Oral Questions
30 June 2025
Deep Sea Mining in International Waters
I will not repeat my answer about the BBNJ. I was at the UN General Assembly where we signed our commitment to ratify it. The noble Baroness has made a really important point, because in my consultation on the Africa approach we have been absolutely clear about how we work in partnership with Africa…
Lords
Debate
19 June 2025
2 contributions
Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill
I shall be brief, because the noble Baroness, Lady Walmsley, has set out comprehensively so much about the amendments that I support, Amendments 175 and 194. Amendment 175 echoes what the noble Baroness, Lady Bennett, said about the need for “holiday hunger” to be sorted out in this country. For a p…
Thank you—I acknowledge that more money is going in and absolutely acknowledge that there is an expansion of free school meals. I am only worried about the evidence that we have seen. Yesterday, we had a whole-day meeting of Feeding Britain, and I am afraid that a lot of the information that we hear…
Lords
Oral Questions
19 June 2025
English Marine Protected Areas: Bottom Trawling and Dredging
My Lords, the Government support the fishing industry and recognise its key role in food supply, which is why we are also launching the fishing and coastal growth fund, which is investing £360 million over the next 12 years to support the next generation of fishermen and breathe new life into our co…