Lords
Oral Questions
13 November 2025
Learning Disabilities Mortality Review Reports
It bears repeating that it is shocking that people are dying on average up to 20 years earlier. As I have said, that is unacceptable. We work very closely with Mencap and other organisations, but what we are doing already is, for example, to the point that the noble Lord raised, improving identifica…
Lords
Oral Questions
12 November 2025
Telemedical Abortions
I certainly can confirm that, and I am grateful to the noble Lord for emphasising the point. Two doctors have to certify that in their opinion, the abortion meets the grounds of the Abortion Act. For a telemedical abortion, the doctor must also certify that in their opinion the pregnancy has not exc…
Lords
Oral Questions
4 November 2025
Artificial Intelligence: Safeguarding
I certainly agree that this is the way we need to go, and discussions happen regularly with companies, as the noble Lord says. It is probably also worth saying that we have already seen some early signs of improvement in terms of protection for users from online harms, and over 6,000 services are im…
Lords
Committee Stage
3 November 2025
5 contributions
Tobacco and Vapes Bill
My Lords, in some ways this group will follow on from the last; some of the comments I will make now could be applied to the previous group of amendments.
Noble Lords will be aware that, as discussed in the previous group, the licensing regime the Bill sets out is complex. Many of the Bill’s provis…
My Lords, I am grateful to the Minister and to all noble Lords who spoke in the debate on this group of amendments. The intention was always that these would be probing amendments; whether it was three months, as from my noble friend Lord Mott, or six months, as from us, we wanted to get some certai…
+3 more contributions in this session
Lords
Committee Stage
30 October 2025
7 contributions
Tobacco and Vapes Bill
My Lords, I speak to the group of amendments in my name and that of my noble friend Lord Howe, supported by the noble Baroness, Lady Grey-Thompson, to whom I am grateful. Together, these amendments seek to prohibit the manufacture, sale and supply of high-strength oral nicotine products—those contai…
My Lords, I am grateful to all noble Lords who have spoken in this debate; I welcome their thoughtful discussion and the important points that a number of them made. As I said earlier, this was a difficult group for me to put into words, in moving this amendment, because, as many noble Lords will kn…
+5 more contributions in this session
Lords
Oral Questions
28 October 2025
Plant-based Diet
I thank the noble Lord for his question and his observations. Speaking personally, I find that we are eating far more of a varied diet at home, and indeed often plant-based and purely vegan meals. That is generally generated by the desire of my teenage daughters to live a healthier lifestyle, even i…
Lords
Oral Questions
20 October 2025
Healthcare Provision: Inequalities
I agree with the noble Lord about the importance of data. We have discussed this a number of times in respect of racial inequalities. But it is not just about data; it is also about the use of digital services. We must ensure that those in the most deprived areas are not excluded because of their in…
Lords
Oral Questions
20 October 2025
HIV: Testing and Medical Care
I certainly agree that giving people who are attending an emergency department a blood test as part of a routine examination—unless they opt out—has assisted very much in engaging people in care and in identification. We have 79 emergency departments in the programme and they are making a substantia…
Lords
Oral Questions
16 October 2025
Telegraph Media Group: Ownership
The noble Lord’s point is exactly the point that the noble Baroness, Lady Stowell, has been raising with the Government. It will be addressed by the statutory instrument that is intended to be laid by the end of the month.
Lords
Oral Questions
15 October 2025
Unpaid Carers
The noble Lord highlights a crucial point. We are saying all the way through that there needs to be greater coming together at a local level. NHS England is taking this exceptionally seriously, working with local authorities, GPs and ICBs, for example, to make sure that they come together. One of th…
Lords
Debate
19 September 2025
Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill
I thank the noble Baroness for her intervention. As I understand it, it is within the gift of the Select Committee to determine who will be called for evidence. I have sought to set out the key people, but of course there will be many other suggestions. Obviously, conscious of the tight timetable, w…
Lords
Oral Questions
18 September 2025
Genome Screening: Newborn Infants
As I mentioned to the noble Lord, Lord Kakkar, the matter of ethics is crucial in this development. It might help if I restated— I absolutely understand the noble Lord’s point—that that is why the Generation Study, which is directed at newborns, is for treatable conditions that may develop in the fi…
Lords
Oral Questions
17 September 2025
Independent Commission on Adult Social Care
The noble Lord has made me aware of Purple Shoots on other occasions and, to broaden things out slightly, this links to the NHS 10-year plan in terms of shifting more resources into the communities so that organisations can thrive and benefit and reach people who need them. I am absolutely happy to …
Lords
Oral Questions
16 September 2025
National Health Service Regulations
The noble Lord makes an important point. There is absolutely no intention that people will be disadvantaged in any way. This is about equalising access, which means keeping all forms of access open. That may be online, but it will also be possible to deal with things in person and on the phone. Obvi…
Lords
Oral Questions
15 September 2025
Plastic Pollution
Our ambition at the moment is to try to get the global treaty that we have been pressing for. We believe that the more countries that we can bring into that treaty, including those that produce the plastics and the materials for them, the more likely we are to have a larger global impact. But we are…
Lords
Debate
12 September 2025
Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill
My Lords, although I am the first Liberal Democrat to speak in this debate, I am not speaking on behalf of all Liberal Democrat Peers because, as in all the other groupings in your Lordships’ House, there is a divergence of views on these issues. The divergence is not just between Members; it is oft…
Lords
Oral Questions
11 September 2025
Merck Research Site
I have indeed tried to continue the brilliant work of the noble Lord on bringing together parts of government in this area; I met people from many different departments about this as recently as yesterday. We are joining up the life sciences sector right the way across government. On the point about…
Lords
Oral Questions
9 September 2025
Respiratory Syncytial Virus: Vaccination Programme
My Lords, I am sure we are all in agreement in our thanks to my noble friend Lady Ritchie for securing this important debate and for her very thorough and considered introduction. Acknowledgement has also rightly been paid to my noble friend for her campaigning and her raising of awareness of this i…
Lords
Oral Questions
8 September 2025
Suicide Reduction
The noble Lord is right that there is disparity, which is often linked to priority risk factors, including, for example, financial difficulty, physical health, alcohol and drug abuse, harmful gambling, domestic abuse, social isolation and loneliness. Those priority risk factors are, sadly, more at p…
Lords
Oral Questions
3 September 2025
Prostate Cancer
My Lords, this has been an extremely valuable debate on what is a very important matter. I find much to commend in the points noble Lords have made. I am very grateful to the noble Lord, Lord Mott, for bringing this debate forward, for his work in raising awareness of prostate cancer and for his con…
Lords
Oral Questions
24 July 2025
Minimally Invasive Cancer Therapies
The noble Lord has identified an unexpected spin-off of being a Minister or shadow Minister in this place.
The noble Lord makes a very important point. The fundamental basis of the 10-year plan is how we move to earlier diagnosis, with the three shifts, including moving treatment into the community…
Lords
Oral Questions
22 July 2025
Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy: Givinostat
I cannot comment on this case as the decision has not been made public yet; that would be completely inappropriate. If NICE does give its approval, the Secretary of State has committed to bringing it in. We are looking at ways in which we can get the medicines for rare diseases to which NICE gives i…
Lords
Oral Questions
22 July 2025
Independent Commission on Adult Social Care
I thank the noble Lord for making reference to the work of our noble friend Lord Lipsey, who will be greatly missed on all sides. I cannot pre-empt what the noble Baroness, Lady Casey, will say—I have made that point repeatedly; it is absolutely right. The noble Lord raised an interesting point of v…
Lords
Oral Questions
21 July 2025
NHS England: Staff Costs
There is an absolute commitment running throughout this that front-line services will not be affected by the work that continues. The decision was taken to move swiftly, and impact assessments will be done as we go through the journey. The Government have also committed that this will be as transpar…