Lords
Debate
17 November 2025
2 contributions
Crime and Policing Bill
My Lords, I rise with pleasure to join the three other proposers of Amendment 49. I apologise for not taking part at Second Reading. As my noble friend Lady Jones of Moulsecoomb said then, there are two specific issues that we will be dealing with, and this is one of them. The case for the amendment…
I thank the noble Lord for giving way. He speaks about so-called judicial overreach, but building on what the noble Baroness, Lady Whitaker, said, in a consultation in 2018, 75% of police said they did not want these extra powers and 85% said that they did not support the criminalisation of unauthor…
Lords
Committee Stage
17 November 2025
5 contributions
Tobacco and Vapes Bill
My Lords, I will speak against all the amendments in this group. They all, in various ways, could restrict or delay action by the Government—action that is urgently needed.
On vaping, I know that the Advertising Standards Authority has expressed concern about product placement on websites such as T…
My Lords, I was saying that, if noble Lords travel home on the Tube tonight, they will see at the side of pretty much every escalator at least one advert for nicotine pouches. Theoretically, these are stop smoking aids, but what does the advert say? It is along the lines of “Make your journey more p…
+3 more contributions in this session
Lords
Proceedings
13 November 2025
Prisoner Releases in Error
The Minister referred to the importance of having experienced prison officers, yet prison officer unions point out that 2,600 prison staff face deportation because the Home Office has raised the salary threshold to £41,700. Is the Minister talking to the Home Office about this situation and seeking …
Lords
Oral Questions
13 November 2025
Covid-19 Pandemic: Commemoration
Ensuring that the UK is prepared for a future pandemic is absolutely a top priority for the Government. We are embedding lessons from the Covid-19 pandemic, including the inquiry’s recommendations, within our pandemic preparedness. Like other noble Lords, we are hugely grateful to the noble and lear…
Lords
Oral Questions
12 November 2025
2 contributions
Barnett Formula: Wales
My Lords—
To repeat what I have said before, Wales and the other devolved authorities have done really well out of the Barnett formula this time around. It is the biggest increase in their funding from the Barnett formula since 1998. The money is there and it is up to the elected Assembly to decide how it is …
Lords
Committee Stage
11 November 2025
Tobacco and Vapes Bill
My Lords, I have attached my name to Amendment 81 in the name of the noble Baroness, Lady Walmsley, from whom we have not yet heard—but that is the way the order works. I declare my position as a vice-president of the Local Government Association.
I am slightly torn because the noble Lord, Lord Lan…
Lords
Committee Stage
10 November 2025
Environmental Protection (Wet Wipes Containing Plastic) (England) Regulations 2025
My Lords, I thank the Minister for her positive introduction to this important SI. Plastic and microplastic pollution is a scourge of the modern age that did not exist when I was a child, and which must be tackled effectively if we are to save countless species. Unlike many previous SIs I have spoke…
Lords
Debate
3 November 2025
2 contributions
Planning and Infrastructure Bill
My Lords, I follow the noble Baroness, Lady Young, with pleasure and particularly agree with her point about judicial reviews. I have visited more local communities than I can count, where they have desperately been trying to bake cakes and to collect pence and pounds here and there, struggling to s…
My Lords, I will speak very briefly at this late hour, having attached my name to Amendments 247 and 248, so ably and clearly introduced by the noble Lord, Lord Crisp. I will make two brief points.
The first point is about the proposed duty to promote health improvement. The UK has a terrible state…
Lords
Committee Stage
3 November 2025
3 contributions
Tobacco and Vapes Bill
My Lords, in moving Amendment 33 in my name, I will also speak to the related amendments in this group.
Amendment 33 has a very simple aim: to ban filters on cigarettes. I must start by saying that this is healthwashing. Filters on cigarettes have no health benefits. They were developed by the toba…
I thank the noble Baroness for giving way. By way of correction, in case I was not clear, 75% of smokers do not know that filters do not have any health benefits; the stat is the other way round.
+1 more contribution in this session
Lords
Proceedings
31 October 2025
Ukraine
My Lords, I congratulate the noble Lord, Lord Barrow, on his maiden speech and look forward to many more of his speeches to come. I also congratulate and thank the noble Lord, Lord Coaker, for such a powerful opening, particularly in the light, perhaps, of some of the recent speeches in this debate.…
Lords
Statutory Instrument
30 October 2025
3 contributions
Control of Mercury (Enforcement) (Amendment) Regulations 2025
My Lords, I, too, thank the Minister for her very clear presentation. I take the opportunity to wish the noble Baroness, Lady Hayman, a speedy recovery. If she is watching this debate today, she should know that we are all thinking of her. I thank the noble Baroness, Lady Hoey, for the opportunity t…
I am grateful to the Minister. This is not a specific Northern Ireland point, but we heard a fairly powerful speech from the noble Baroness, Lady Bennett of Manor Castle, who said that Germany has introduced an alternative that it is only marginally more expensive than mercury amalgam. My noble frie…
+1 more contribution in this session
Lords
Debate
29 October 2025
2 contributions
Planning and Infrastructure Bill
My Lords, my noble friend Lady Jones of Moulsecoomb attached her name to this amendment in the name of the noble Baroness, Lady McIntosh. It is a great pleasure to follow the noble Baroness, who waited with such patience to present this terribly important group of amendments. It is disappointing tha…
My Lords, having also attached my name to this amendment, for reasons I shall get to in a second, let me say that it is a great pleasure to follow the noble Baroness, Lady Grender —and the noble Baroness, Lady Young, in particular, as she has been our champion in this space.
I am going to speak abo…
Lords
Proceedings
29 October 2025
Prisoner Release Checks
My Lords, I note that the Statement directly addresses strengthening prison release checks, but I put to the Minister that it is important to look at this in the broader context of the Home Office. I note that on Radio 4 this morning there was a list of schemes and programmes within the Home Office …
Lords
Debate
29 October 2025
Planning and Infrastructure Bill
My Lords, it is a pleasure to follow the noble Lord, Lord Randall, and indeed everyone who has spoken in this group.
I will be very brief, starting with Amendment 246, to which, as the noble Baroness, Lady Freeman, said, I have attached my name. I heard some expressions of shock around me when the …
Lords
Debate
29 October 2025
4 contributions
Planning and Infrastructure Bill
My Lords, I have attached my name to Amendment 115, so ably introduced by the noble Baroness, Lady Willis, and addressed by the noble Baroness, Lady Young of Old Scone, who is of course our total champion on the land use framework. I share her desire to see progress in that area as soon as possible.…
My Lords, I shall speak solely to Amendment 117 in the name of the noble Lord, Lord Foster of Bath, to which I have attached my name. The noble Lord has already introduced it eloquently and powerfully, but I want to add a bit of context and a little more information to what he said.
The context is …
+2 more contributions in this session
Lords
Oral Questions
28 October 2025
Offshore Oil and Gas: Venting and Flaring
I thank the noble Baroness for that question. The COP meeting is in Brazil next month. We are advising the Brazilian Government on how to control zero routine flaring going forward, and we are not just doing it there—we are also doing it with the central Asian republics and Finland. We have a good r…
Lords
Debate
27 October 2025
Planning and Infrastructure Bill
My Lords, I rise to follow two of your Lordships’ House’s leaders in the culture and heritage space and I find myself in a position I am quite often—modestly backing up the excellent work of the noble Earl, Lord Clancarty, and the noble Lord, Lord Freyberg.
The noble Earl, Lord Clancarty, has alrea…
Lords
Proceedings
27 October 2025
Heathrow: National Airports Review
My Lords, I am aware that the Minister is not responsible for the detail of this Statement. None the less, in the first substantive paragraph there is a statement that I suggest requires correction:
“Britain wants to fly”.
A report published in June from the New Economics Foundation states that in…
Lords
Debate
27 October 2025
Planning and Infrastructure Bill
My Lords, I will speak chiefly to Amendment 121E in my name. It has not been addressed yet, but it is very much a package with two amendments that have already been widely addressed: Amendment 107 on playing fields, from the noble Lord, Lord Addington, and Amendment 88 on blue and green spaces, from…
Lords
Debate
22 October 2025
2 contributions
Planning and Infrastructure Bill
My Lords, it is a pleasure to follow the two noble Baronesses who have just spoken, demonstrating the breadth of support for this set of amendments around the House. As the noble Baroness, Lady Willis, said, to paraphrase, this is a common-sense set of measures which are not big-P “political” at all…
My Lords, I apologise for gazumping the noble Lord, Lord Young of Cookham. For the record, I am always happy to take my name off amendments in a case where we can demonstrate political breadth, but I was very happy to sign Amendment 72 in the name of the noble Lord, Lord Best.
I will give one examp…
Lords
Proceedings
22 October 2025
Post-16 Education and Skills Strategy
My Lords, on the reality of student debt, for the cohort that started to be liable for paying off debt in April 2025, the average debt was £53,000. In the government stats for students starting in 2024-25, it is expected that about 56% of full-time undergraduates will repay in full, which of course …
Lords
Debate
22 October 2025
3 contributions
Planning and Infrastructure Bill
My Lords, it is a pleasure to follow the noble Lord, Lord Freyberg, who is one of the House’s great champions of the arts and cultural life. Briefly, I will express the Green group’s support for Amendment 87D in the name of the noble Baroness, Lady Coffey. This would ensure that assets of community …
My Lords, briefly, I have a simple question about government Amendment 67, which would allow an extension of time to implement a planning permission or a listed building consent where there has been a legal challenge. This returns to the ecological surveys which got such a discussion in the group be…
+1 more contribution in this session
Lords
Debate
22 October 2025
3 contributions
Planning and Infrastructure Bill
My Lords, it is a pleasure to follow the noble Lord, Lord Hampton, who so ably introduced Amendment 62 in the name of the noble Baroness, Lady Boycott. I do not need to say very much, but I will just add a couple of extra perspectives. This amendment would ensure that there is training for members o…
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+1 more contribution in this session
Lords
Committee Stage
21 October 2025
2 contributions
Financial Services and Markets Act 2023 (Mutual Recognition Agreement) (Switzerland) Regulations 2025
My Lords, this statutory instrument gives legal effect to the mutual recognition agreement between the UK and Switzerland known as the Bern financial services agreement. As the Minister has so clearly outlined, the agreement enables the UK and Swiss financial firms to provide services to each other’…
Obviously, I will write with further detail but, as I said, the regulators will be held to account for what they do. This requires transparency—that is one of our stipulations—but I can write to the noble Baroness with further detail about that.