My Lords, what a disaster it is that under this Government we have 1 million young people in Britain who are not in education, employment or training—one in eight who cannot access the life opportunities which we in this Chamber all enjoyed. Will the Minister acknowledge this reality about that gene…
My Lords, I thank the Minister for his update. First, can I take him back to a slightly more fundamental question that we are yet to address in this exchange? Why do the Government feel it is necessary at all to have a consultation, given the visceral public reaction to the proposal to introduce dig…
My Lords, I declare my interest as the director of the Free Speech Union. I congratulate the four new Members on their excellent speeches.
I draw the attention of your Lordships’ House to Section 21 of the Employment Rights Act, which extends the liability of employers for the harassment of their e…
My Lords, I support Amendment 417, from the noble Lord, Lord Banner, to which I have attached my name. I think there is very little I can add to the technical, financial and legal arguments in support that have already been made from all sides of the Committee. I will simply confine myself to a diag…
My Lords, I declare my interest as a freelance journalist and, therefore, somebody who has a very great care for freedom of speech. What a pleasure it is to follow the speech of my noble friend Lord Blencathra, which so brilliantly summarised all the reasons there are to support Amendment 416E in th…
My Lords, I thank the Minister for the update on this important cause. Let us assume that the cap will be busted. If that is the case, and the Treasury’s £45 billion envelope is broken, what assessment have the Government made of the impact on local authorities and businesses that will have to shoul…
My Lords, what are we here for if not to think again? We are wriggling painfully on a hook. In the early days, a lot of people, hearing that the Chagos Islands were to be handed over, understood it to be some kind of restitution to the indigenous Chagossians, whom we all agree were very badly treate…
I thank the Minister for all her valiant efforts on these intractable issues. Specifically on the fallout from the case of Mr el-Fattah, which dominated the agenda for so many days and now seems no longer to do so, the department is reviewing the process around such cases. Can the Minister throw lig…
My Lords, how can I add to the tour d’horizon we have had from the Benches on this side of your Lordships’ House, and indeed all sides, as we consider this group of amendments all about the moral and legal rights of the Chagossian people, who have been ignored, marginalised and set completely out of…
My Lords, I will speak to the amendments in my name in this group, and I support the amendments in the name of my noble friend Lord Hannan, who masterfully adumbrated his litany of development ideas, as well as those in the names of the noble Baroness, Lady Foster, the noble Lords, Lord Weir and Lor…
My Lords, I am more than happy to associate myself with the amendments tabled in the name of my noble friend Baroness Goldie. We started the group by saying that your Lordships’ House would consider it expeditiously, so I will be brief.
My full sympathy is with the experience of the noble Lord, Lor…
My Lords, the Budget is only days away. I believe that the noble Lord, Lord Liddle, may be the only person who can say that he is looking forward to it. Last week, the Chancellor made a paving speech which made it clear that huge tax rises are coming. Most of us expect to see higher income tax—that …
My Lords, many men and their families should be grateful to the noble Lord, Lord Mott, for this debate, which will increase the profile of prostate cancer and illustrates the need for screening.
We have heard moving stories about prostate cancer. I have very strong and close relationships with frie…
My Lords, like the noble Lord, Lord Lebedev, I too consider freedom of speech very close to my heart for personal reasons. My mother was born the day before the Russian Revolution, in February 1917. I can only imagine my grandmother, having just given birth, hearing the chants of over 100,000 women …