Lords
Proceedings
17 June 2026
Thames Water
My Lords, when we eventually get to the point where we have a new regulator, what will be done to make sure it is not staffed by the people who already run Ofwat? One of the problems we have had in this whole debacle is that there is a very chummy relationship between people who are very senior in t…
Lords
Proceedings
11 June 2026
Misinformation: Social Market Foundation Report
My Lords, could the Minister tell me what work is being done to protect Black and Afro-Caribbean communities in particular from misinformation online? One of the most egregious examples of this was that, during the Covid period, Black communities were encouraged to believe that we were immune to Cov…
Lords
Proceedings
8 June 2026
Children’s Social Care: Enduring Relationships Strategy
My Lords, can the Minister give us some indication of what is being done to address the culture to make sure that these enduring relationships last? Is anything being done differently in the way the professionals involved are being trained? Is anything being done about the information given to the f…
Lords
Proceedings
2 June 2026
Windrush Compensation Scheme
My Lords, the noble Baroness, Lady Benjamin, commented that people who come with legal representation get higher and better awards. Does the Minister know why this is and, if he does not, can he look into why people with legal representation are getting much better awards? Surely the system should b…
Lords
Proceedings
20 May 2026
King’s Speech
My Lords, it is a pleasure to follow the noble Lord, Lord Winston.
London’s housing crisis is no longer a warning sign; it is a full-blown social failure. The Government and the Mayor of London are failing the people of this city. While politicians issue press releases and make grand announcements,…
Lords
Proceedings
20 May 2026
Youth Justice
My Lords, we welcome the focus on reducing youth crime, but I would like to ask a question. The Minister detailed a 25% reduction in the number of children who are held on remand. Where did this figure come from? If that number is reduced arbitrarily, that pain will be absorbed by the community, bec…
Lords
Oral Questions
20 April 2026
Civil Preparedness for War
My Lords, I share the gratitude already expressed to the noble Baroness, Lady Harris of Richmond, for securing this debate. In the short time available I will make just three brief observations, and I assure the Minister that none of them would lead to much expense.
First, on faith communities, I a…
Lords
Oral Questions
15 April 2026
Masculinity and Misogyny in Schools
The noble Lord makes two important points. On the latter point, it is important that we recognise that the vast majority of boys and young men abhor misogyny as much as anybody else. Supporting them to be strong allies and to challenge their friends where necessary is an important part of the work. …
Lords
Oral Questions
14 April 2026
HMT “Empire Windrush”: 80th Anniversary
The noble Lord is quite right to say that the important thing in all this is that we recognise the contribution of both the Windrush generation and the second generation in designing whatever the legacy of Windrush 80 is going to be. As he rightly suggests, that should include young people who are t…
Lords
Debate
11 March 2026
2 contributions
Crime and Policing Bill
My Lords, before I go into detail on Amendment 408, I thank the Police Federation of England and Wales for its tireless work on this issue.
If we are serious about the police covenant then we must be serious about the well-being of those who serve. We cannot claim to support officers and staff whil…
I thank the Minister for his response and for the nature of his response. I truly believe that the Government are beginning to focus on this long-lasting issue. My slight pushback and challenge are around the embedding of a culture. The organisation is so big and so diverse in its approach to this p…
Lords
Debate
11 March 2026
6 contributions
Crime and Policing Bill
My Lords, my Amendment 386 seeks to enable police officers, after a lawful stop, to ask a member of the public to exit the vehicle. I support the work of the Police Federation of England and Wales, and I have tabled this amendment for four obvious reasons.
First, the amendment seeks to close a clea…
I thank the Minister for his answer. I am partially sated by what he said about the consultation that is coming along, but we all know that consultations can take for ever, and we may not get the outcome that I am seeking. I want to make the point that we have already had officers in London and in E…
+4 more contributions in this session
Lords
Oral Questions
9 March 2026
2 contributions
Stamp Duty: Periodic Tenancies
My Lords, the Government are aware that the Renters’ Rights Act 2025, which abolishes fixed-term tenancies, may in some very rare circumstances bring more tenancies into the stamp duty land tax regime. We are working closely with His Majesty’s Treasury and HMRC to ensure that no tenant is brought in…
I want to reassure tenants and landlords that very few tenants will be affected by this in the first year. A tenancy must have extremely high rents or have been running for a very long time under the previous system to even approach the stamp duty threshold in the first year. HMRC’s assessment is th…
Lords
Debate
25 February 2026
Crime and Policing Bill
My Lords, I shall speak to the amendment tabled in my name. As noble Lords know, I am terrible with the billion rules that we have in this place, so bear with me. This amendment would make a small change that would make a big difference to many residents around the country.
I shall try not to rehea…
Lords
Debate
11 February 2026
Victims and Courts Bill
I rise in support of Amendment 62, tabled by the noble Baroness, Lady Chakrabarti. Perhaps I can help the Minister with some of the intricacies of this. We have heard from Members who have a legal background. I have a youth work background, and I would like to say this: much of the music that is bei…
Lords
Debate
5 February 2026
Crime and Policing Bill
My Lords, I support this amendment. The noble Baroness, Lady Chakrabarti, has brought me to this point after watching the deliberations on this. I was someone who, through multiple decades of youth work in particular and community work, was reluctant to do this, but I feel that it is the right thing…
Lords
Debate
2 February 2026
3 contributions
Crime and Policing Bill
My Lords, I am speaking to my amendment—
My Lords, please excuse my enthusiasm but the Committee can see that, every time I blinked, somebody else jumped in.
I will speak in support of my Amendment 461B, which is focused on protecting underage girls. Before I do that, I will pose a few questions to the Minister on the back of the debate w…
+1 more contribution in this session
Lords
Oral Questions
26 January 2026
2 contributions
Uniformed youth groups: Promoting Skills and Resilience in Young People
My Lords—
I agree with the points the noble Lord raised around the value of uniformed youth groups. One of the things our new funding arrangements will do is support the development of volunteers. I will be very happy to share some examples and discuss that further with him.
Lords
Debate
20 January 2026
Crime and Policing Bill
My Lords, I support these amendments. As is my way, I must sound a note of caution for one group of people. I know that many noble Lords have a problem with our very low age of criminal responsibility, but it affords a level of protection to young children being groomed for gangs. We need to bear th…
Lords
Debate
20 January 2026
Crime and Policing Bill
Section 60 in and of itself is a special circumstance, so whether it is suspicionless needs to be looked at in that context, and I would just like to offer the noble Baroness this context. There is no such thing as non-serious violence. Let us be very clear, when we are talking about the impact of k…
Lords
Oral Questions
20 January 2026
Youth Unemployment
The training courses that will be provided as part of the youth guarantee will not be charged for, and neither will the improved training that we will provide post-16 or apprenticeships, where young people will be earning at the same time as they are learning. If the noble Lord is making a point abo…
Lords
Oral Questions
13 January 2026
Youth Guarantee Scheme: Evaluation
It will certainly be the case that in the evaluation we will want to track how many young people are able to move into permanent employment. I agree with the noble Lord about that. Evaluations of job support schemes in the past have suggested that there is a positive movement into long-term employme…
Lords
Proceedings
8 January 2026
Broadcasting: Recent Developments
My Lords, I will focus on the BBC from a commercial and international perspective, and should declare an interest up front. In my years as a journalist and foreign correspondent in Latin America and the Middle East, and then as a CEO of a British online information service on emerging markets, I mus…
Lords
Oral Questions
8 January 2026
New Homes: Target
We have a target to eliminate the use of bed-and-breakfast accommodation for families by the end of this Parliament, except in emergencies. I recognise the problems that it causes for families. We have funding of £969 million for temporary accommodation over the next three years and £950 million for…