Lords
Proceedings
8 June 2026
2 contributions
Children’s Social Care: Enduring Relationships Strategy
My Lords, I am sure that we will not hear any objection from your Lordships’ House to the strategy’s aim of putting enduring relationships at the heart of the children’s care system, but there is no mention in the Statement or strategy of the substantial barriers to that. They do not talk about the …
My Lords, since there is time, my question relates to the ongoing monitoring of progress underneath this strategy, particularly whether the Government will be setting up a regular programme of listening to children in the care system and those emerging from it to see how fast progress is being made,…
Lords
Proceedings
1 June 2026
2 contributions
Donations to Political Parties
My Lords—
My Lords, in 2011 the Committee on Standards in Public Life recommended that the amount that any organisation, individual or institution can give in political donations should be limited. It is now 15 years later. A few years ago, the noble Earl, Lord Howe, said from the Front Bench that, hypothetic…
Lords
Committee Stage
18 May 2026
Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing (Amendment) Regulations 2026
My Lords, I thank the Minister for his expansive introduction to this SI. I wish to express concern about two elements of it: the change in the transactions and the change in the rules on trusts.
This all comes at a moment when the OECD and the Financial Action Task Force are pushing every major ju…
Lords
Debate
27 April 2026
English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill
My Lords, I am pleased to see that the Government have conceded, first, to add rural affairs and coastal communities to the list of competences for mayors. I extend my thanks to the noble Baroness, Lady Bakewell of Hardington Mandeville, for pressing ahead with this issue and for getting what she qu…
Lords
Statutory Instrument
27 April 2026
4 contributions
Chemicals (Health and Safety) (Amendment, Consequential and Transitional Provision) Regulations 2026
The noble Baroness, Lady Bennett, is making some very serious points. However, in respect of the responsibilities of the HSE, surely she recognises that it is not just restricted to workplace activities? Section 3 of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act explicitly mandates the HSE to take account …
I thank the noble Baroness for raising what is essentially my next point. Yes, the HSE has these responsibilities included, but its whole raison d’être is workplace safety. There have been many concerns that it does not have the regulatory or conceptual framework to truly consider environmental safe…
+2 more contributions in this session
Lords
Proceedings
23 April 2026
Women’s Health Strategy
My Lords, in responding to the Front-Bench questions, the Minister referred to holding providers’ feet to the financial fire. I believe that she was referring to the part of the strategy that says it will empower women to have a stronger say by asking them to say whether, based on their experience, …
Lords
Proceedings
23 April 2026
Procedure and Privileges Committee
Mr Lords, those were two interesting comments. I would obviously also want to take this opportunity to thank the noble Lord, Lord Watson of Invergowrie, and his committee for undertaking a very key part of our committee work. I say to the noble Lord and the noble Baroness, Lady Bennett of Manor Cast…
Lords
Oral Questions
20 April 2026
Civil Preparedness for War
My Lords, I also thank the noble Baroness, Lady Harris of Richmond, for securing this timely debate.
The United Kingdom faces serious and growing security threats—Russia, Iran, China and North Korea—alongside non-state actors, criminal networks and terrorist organisations. Last year’s strategic def…
Lords
Debate
26 March 2026
2 contributions
English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill
My Lords, in moving Amendment 97, I will speak also to the many others in my name in this group. I apologise for that, although they fall into four distinct subject areas, so that partly explains the number of them. My noble friend Lady Jones of Moulsecoomb moved and spoke to related amendments in C…
My Lords, I thank the Minister for a typically thoughtful and comprehensive response to a very large and complex group of amendments, and I thank all noble Lords who have taken part in debating this group. I also join other noble Lords in celebrating government Amendments 245 and 265. I have been in…
Lords
Debate
24 March 2026
2 contributions
English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill
My Lords, it is a pleasure to take part in the debate on this very important group, having attached my name to Amendment 5 in the name of the noble Baroness, Lady Bakewell, and Amendment 310, which was just very ably introduced by the noble Baroness, Lady Royall.
All these amendments constitute a g…
My Lords, it is a great pleasure to follow the noble Lord, Lord Shipley, having attached my name to this crucial amendment. I declare my position as vice president of the Local Government Association and the National Association of Local Councils.
What we are trying to do here is to save the Govern…
Lords
Proceedings
23 March 2026
2 contributions
UK Steel Strategy
My Lords, the Statement says:
“Britain can recycle more steel. Making better use of scrap steel is fundamental to the sector’s future growth”.
However, I am sure the Minister is aware that, currently, four-fifths of the UK’s scrap steel is exported, primarily to non-OECD countries with far lower e…
My Lords, since there is time, I note that the Statement talks, I am happy to say, about the shift to “greener, decarbonised steel production”. However, will the Minister acknowledge that there is a rather great irony that when the Statement comes to consider the potential markets for this British-m…
Lords
Debate
23 March 2026
2 contributions
Pension Schemes Bill
My Lords, I rise with some trepidation; I am not going to get into that particular discussion, although I entirely agree with the intention of the noble Lord, Lord Hendy, without getting into the legal details.
I rise briefly to express Green support for Amendment 167 from the noble Baroness, Lady …
My Lords, it is a pleasure to join a distinguished cross-party group, signing and speaking to Amendment 170. Like the noble Lord, Lord Sharkey, I want to reflect back to what was said in Committee, when the Minister said that she shared the cross-party concern about pension scheme investment in ther…
Lords
Oral Questions
19 March 2026
2 contributions
UK Energy Sources and Cost of Energy
My Lords—
The first issue is, as the noble Baroness suggests, the efficient use of energy by more intelligent means and planning how that energy is deployed on a highly intelligent basis. That is activity that the Government are advanced on as far as the management of our energy system is concerned. The secon…
Lords
Debate
18 March 2026
3 contributions
Crime and Policing Bill
The noble Baroness refers to 1,000 doctors writing, but is she aware that the British Medical Association has sent briefings to Members in support of the Bill as it now stands and that it alone represents more than 200,000 doctors?
My Lords, even at 1.17 am, noble Lords will notice that I am not the noble Baroness, Lady Jones of Moulsecoomb, but I shall speak on this since my noble friend signed these amendments, so ably introduced by the noble Earl, Lord Russell.
The reality is that the public are sick—they are fed up and th…
+1 more contribution in this session
Lords
Proceedings
18 March 2026
Digital ID: Public Consultation
My Lords, I join the noble Baroness, Lady Kidron, in applauding the Government’s commitment in this Statement to deliberative democracy. That is an innovative step forward, but I am sure the Minister will want this Statement to be accurate, so I point out that it says:
“This will not be a new exper…
Lords
Statutory Instrument
17 March 2026
National Minimum Wage (Amendment) Regulations 2026
My Lords, I declare an interest. My colleague behind me was a member of the Low Pay Commission. I served 11 years on the Low Pay Commission. In fact, I remember its introduction and the howls of despair, sometimes from people who should have known better. Today the Low Pay Commission is in existence…
Lords
Oral Questions
16 March 2026
NHS: In-house Software Capabilities
I would first look at delivery: the federated data platform has enabled nearly 100,000 extra operations, removed over 600,000 patients from waiting lists and reduced unnecessary bed days by 15%, as well as driving a 10% improvement in cancer diagnosis—so people are being diagnosed sooner because the…
Lords
Debate
12 March 2026
Universal Credit (Removal of Two Child Limit) Bill
My Lords, I look forward to hearing the remaining maiden speech, from my fellow newcomer and noble friend Lord Walker of Broxton. I congratulate the noble Baronesses who have delivered excellent maiden speeches already. Before I get to the substance of my contribution, I declare an interest as the e…
Lords
Proceedings
11 March 2026
Middle East: Defence
My Lords, in reflecting on what the Minister and the Statement said, that Iran has lashed out with
“dangerous, indiscriminate and reckless strikes”,
which is clearly an accurate description, I join the Front Benches and others in offering thanks to the British service personnel who are seeking to …
Lords
Committee Stage
11 March 2026
2 contributions
Secondary International Competitiveness and Growth Objective (FSR Committee Report)
As I was saying, only 6.6% of bank lending last year went towards productive industries in the real economy— I am basing this on Positive Money. The group used the Bank of England’s annual money and credit statistics to find that net lending to productive industries increased by just £9 billion last…
I thank the Minister and my noble friend Lady Noakes for hosting this debate. I also thank the committee for the quite long inquiry it has done for us and for its report. The creation of the committee was an important outcome of the Financial Services and Markets Act, and this might be a moment to r…
Lords
Proceedings
9 March 2026
Energy Markets
My Lords, an investigation today by the Guardian finds that a series of government announcements to
“mainline AI into the veins”
of the UK economy are riddled with “phantom investments” and what the Guardian describes as “shaky accounting”. In the light of this Statement on energy markets, is this…