My Lords, it is a privilege to follow the noble Lord, Lord Stevens, who gave a pretty good summary of many of the arguments against this group of amendments. I join him in all that he said. My fundamental motive is twofold. First, I would like to see the eradication of smoking in this country. That …
Noble Lords have, perfectly reasonably, rebutted me on that. But my point is that the modern retail experience does not rely on retailers squinting to try to judge the difference between 21 and 22 year-olds. It is mandatory for almost everyone to produce ID when they are purchasing any restricted pr…
My Lords, I echo the praise of other noble Lords for the report. Professor Peter Johnson has done an enormously worthwhile job, and there is so much richness and so many good things in the report.
I will put a spotlight on the unfortunate framing that catching cancer is, largely speaking and for th…
My Lords, I pay tribute to the noble Lord, Lord Addington, for a very moving speech there, but I will address his point directly.
This amendment does not object to a child having a basic phone for safety. My plucky 11 year-old son travels to and from school every day with a big rucksack and a violi…
My Lords, it is such a pleasure to follow the noble Baroness, Lady Kidron. She is absolutely right. We have a choice today on whether we will send an amendment to the Commons to put pressure on the Government to act or whether we are going to flunk this opportunity. I support her conclusion that thi…
My Lords, I thank my noble friend Lady Ritchie for arranging for us to have this debate today. It could not be at a more important time for us.
Vaccines are one of the clearest examples that we have of prevention working well. They stop illness before it starts, they reduce pressure on the National…
My Lords, I remind the Committee of my previous declarations of interest: my wife is a non-executive director of both Tesco and Diageo; and I am an alumni member of the Lockeridge Cigar Smoking Society, to which the noble Lord, Lord Johnson, referred.
I am a huge and passionate supporter of this Bi…
LordsCommittee Stage27 October 20253 contributions
My Lords, first, I declare that my wife is a non-executive director of Tesco. Secondly, I spent 10 years working at the Ministry of Sound in south London, where I came face to face with the illicit cigarette trade on a weekly basis. Christopher Upton was the name of the burly character who delivered…
My Lords, my amendment is grouped with Amendment 199, in the names of the noble Baronesses, Lady Northover and Lady Walmsley, and Amendment 193, in the name of my noble friend Lord Young of Cookham. I repeat my declaration of interest that my wife is a non-executive director of Tesco. I will speak t…
The noble Lord is right to identify what are exciting developments in this area. We are investing in dementia research across all areas. That includes causes and diagnosis, as well as prevention, treatment, care and support, including for carers—I think it is important to identify the wide range. In…
I do not think the noble Lord’s comments about the planning Bill would stand up to a moment’s scrutiny in the outside world. In answer to his specific question, GDP per capita is forecast by the OBR to rise by 5.6% over the course of this Parliament.
My Lords, the noble and learned Lord, Lord Falconer, suggested that the effect of the Bill on palliative care would be to improve it. That is not the view of my sister, an NHS nurse who has spent much of her career working in palliative care. It is her reservations about the Bill that I want to shar…
My Lords, as a doctor, I have witnessed many men living with prostate cancer and cared for them. It has been heartening over the last 30 years to see the dramatic improvement in survival—good survival—of prostate cancer. My own husband was treated successfully for an aggressive prostate tumour 17 ye…
My Lords, I warmly congratulate my old friend, the noble Lord, Lord Robertson, on his excellent review, but, as he is well aware, the economic and social challenges, as well as the military ones, are immense. A brief comparison with the 1930s may help to bring these into focus. Ninety years ago, we …
My Lords, it is a great privilege to speak after the noble Baroness, Lady Morris. I think she spoke for many of us on the challenge of edtech: how our hopes that this would be a transformational technology have now changed emphatically, and how we now find ourselves in a place we really did not inte…
My Lords, I fear that what the noble Lord, Lord Knight, has suggested is indeed happening: private schools, grammar schools and schools in wealthy areas are doubling down on their success by pursuing smartphone bans. Schools in areas of deprivation, where family and community ties are the weakest, a…