Lords
Proceedings
2 July 2026
8 contributions
Employment Tribunals
My Lords, the Government recognise that there are significant pressures on the employment tribunal. To try to deal with this, we are maximising sitting days and recruiting more employment judges to ensure swifter justice. We have also now expanded remote hearings through a virtual region, which enab…
Will I make myself popular if I simply say yes? I will give a bit more detail than that. The law is absolutely clear that workers should receive the payments to which they are entitled, and we are committed to strengthening enforcement options. At the moment, a claimant can instruct a High Court enf…
+6 more contributions in this session
Lords
Proceedings
2 July 2026
8 contributions
Imprisonment for Public Protection
My Lords, the Deputy Prime Minister recognises the impact that IPP and DPP sentences have on the families of those serving those sentences. My noble friend Lord Timpson meets regularly with families as part of his ministerial responsibilities for these issues, and he values the insight that those di…
My Lords, given his ministerial responsibilities, it is entirely appropriate that my noble friend Lord Timpson leads the engagement in this area. As the noble Lord knows, he holds quarterly IPP round tables with Members of your Lordships’ House to discuss progress and to hear directly from noble Lor…
+6 more contributions in this session
Lords
Proceedings
21 May 2026
9 contributions
Youth Offending
My Lords, the last two decades have seen significant reductions of children in the formal youth justice system and in youth custody, and this is good news. We now have a much smaller but, perhaps unsurprisingly, more complex group of children in the justice system, and we need to adapt to deal with …
It is a great pleasure to be debating the issue of the Youth Justice Board two days running with the noble Lord. The YJB has made valuable contributions to improving outcomes for children, but it has become clear that the youth justice system is now facing a different set of challenges from those th…
+7 more contributions in this session
Lords
Proceedings
20 May 2026
12 contributions
Youth Justice
My Lords, I thank the noble and learned Lord, Lord Keen, and the noble Lord, Lord Marks, for the points they have made on this important issue. I will turn to the specifics of some of them towards the end of this short address.
On Monday, the Deputy Prime Minister set out in the other place a bold …
My Lords, we are taking decisive action to drive up performance in relation to the youth custody estate. The Deputy Prime Minister chairs a newly established performance taskforce to hold the system to account. It seeks very detailed information on what happens to children in custody, which includes…
+10 more contributions in this session
Lords
Proceedings
18 May 2026
Retirement and Participation Committee
My Lords, it is a privilege to open this debate on the Government’s plans for home affairs, the justice system and the union. I express my gratitude to His Majesty for delivering the most gracious Speech.
I want to say at the outset that, in the 15 months since I came into your Lordships’ House, I …
Lords
Proceedings
18 May 2026
King’s Speech
My Lords, it is a privilege to open this debate on the Government’s plans for home affairs, the justice system and the union. I express my gratitude to His Majesty for delivering the most gracious Speech.
I want to say at the outset that, in the 15 months since I came into your Lordships’ House, I …
Lords
Proceedings
18 May 2026
King’s Speech
My Lords, it is a privilege to open this debate on the Government’s plans for home affairs, the justice system and the union. I express my gratitude to His Majesty for delivering the most gracious Speech.
I want to say at the outset that, in the 15 months since I came into your Lordships’ House, I …
Lords
Committee Stage
27 April 2026
4 contributions
First-tier Tribunal (Property Chamber) Fees (Amendment) Order 2026
My Lords, this instrument introduces fees for applications in the residential property division of the Property Chamber that arise from, or are amended by, the Renters’ Rights Act 2025. It is made under the powers provided by Section 42(1)(a) and 42(2) and Section 49(3) of the Tribunals, Courts and …
My Lords, for the first time we start to consider some of the practical effects of this controversial Act. I will make no comments on its merits; the Act has been passed, as was the will of Parliament, and now we have to deal with the consequences.
The schedule of fees here provides for the cost of…
+2 more contributions in this session
Lords
Debate
23 April 2026
3 contributions
Victims and Courts Bill
My Lords, these amendments relate to private prosecutions. I start by expressing my thanks to all noble Lords for their thoughtful contributions to the Bill throughout its passage.
I thank the Opposition Front-Bench team, in particular the noble Lord, Lord Sandhurst, and the noble and learned Lord,…
My Lords, the noble Baroness, Lady Brinton, is taking part remotely. I invite the noble Baroness to speak.
+1 more contribution in this session
Lords
Oral Questions
22 April 2026
8 contributions
Burial Provision in England and Wales
I thank the Minister for the Answer, but, since I tabled this Question, a number of individuals and groups from Birmingham, Dewsbury and Croydon, as well as my home city of Sheffield, have been in touch with me, deeply concerned about the lack of burial provision, often provided by the council but a…
My Lords, there are over a million Hindus and Sikhs living in this country who continue to face significant delays in securing a place at a crematorium, often long after their loved one has died. I have lobbied the previous Government on this issue, and I am pleased that the first ever Hindu cremato…
+6 more contributions in this session
Lords
Debate
16 April 2026
8 contributions
Crime and Policing Bill
I thank the Minister for her response and am assured by it. I beg leave to withdraw Motion G1.
My Lords, in moving Motion N, I will also speak to Motions S, T, U and X. Amendment 311, tabled by the noble Lord, Lord Walney, seeks to introduce a proscription regime for extreme criminal protest groups. I appreciated the opportunity to discuss the amendment with the noble Lord—before Report, duri…
+6 more contributions in this session
Lords
Debate
15 April 2026
13 contributions
Victims and Courts Bill
My Lords, in moving Motion A, I shall speak also to Motions B, B1, C, and C1. This group concerns amendments made in this House relating to access to court transcripts, and homicide abroad. In relation to each, I shall set out why the Government cannot accept these amendments.
I will speak first to…
My Lords, the noble Baroness, Lady Brinton, is taking part remotely. I invite the noble Baroness to speak.
+11 more contributions in this session
Lords
Debate
18 March 2026
5 contributions
Crime and Policing Bill
My Lords, I will be as brief as I can. I shall start, as I did in Committee, by reiterating that the Government maintain a neutral stance on abortion in England and Wales. Many of the amendments in this group are similar or identical to those tabled in Committee. So, save in a very few cases, I shal…
I thank the noble Baroness for her points, which I am sure your Lordships’ House will want to take into account when deciding whether, as a matter of policy, to vote for or against the various amendments. I remind the noble Baroness that these are not government amendments—the Government are neutral…
+3 more contributions in this session
Lords
Debate
17 March 2026
6 contributions
Victims and Courts Bill
My Lords, I will make a short statement on the position regarding legislative consent on this Bill. A legislative consent Motion was received from the Senedd on 24 February 2026. The amendments voted in by your Lordships’ House on Report engage the LCM process. Conversations are ongoing with the dev…
My Lords, I am grateful to all noble Lords for their constructive engagement with this important Bill at every stage of its passage. On behalf of my noble and learned friend Lord Keen, I thank noble Lords for their contributions both in Committee and on Report. Although there were several areas of d…
+4 more contributions in this session
Lords
Oral Questions
16 March 2026
9 contributions
Humanist Weddings
I thank my noble friend for that Answer. I apologise to the House for my repeated appearances on this matter. Can my noble friend the Minister provide further clarity on the timeframe and next steps? It is already early 2026 and the consultation does not appear to be here yet. It is 13 years and cou…
My Lords, in Scotland in 2024, there were more humanist weddings than there were weddings of all religious faiths combined—evidence not only of the substantial demand for humanist marriage but of the accelerating decline of traditional religions. Nine months ago, the noble Lord, Lord Ponsonby, assur…
+7 more contributions in this session
Lords
Debate
13 March 2026
4 contributions
Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill
My Lords, as with the groups on 27 February, I have structured this speech by grouping amendments by theme rather than taking them in order. This is in the interests of dealing with them as quickly as possible. If anything needs a longer explanation then I will take interventions, but it would be a …
I am sure that the House will welcome that clarification from the noble Baroness, but it may be that there is a drafting issue, because the amendment refers to England rather than England and Wales, and there is no such creature as a member of the senior judiciary from England only.
Finally in this…
+2 more contributions in this session
Lords
Debate
11 March 2026
3 contributions
Crime and Policing Bill
My Lords, this group of amendments illustrates exactly how sensitive and difficult these cases are, does it not? In some of the amendments, noble Lords are saying that firearms officers should be held to a different standard than the rest of the population, but, in the others, it is being argued tha…
My Lords, again, that is a fundamental misunderstanding. If the CPS had got it wrong, the judge would have withdrawn it at half-time. It would never have got as far as a jury. The two things —one of them being the fact that the jury has acquitted—simply do not correlate.
The noble Lord’s amendment …
+1 more contribution in this session
Lords
Debate
10 March 2026
9 contributions
Victims and Courts Bill
My Lords, the Government appreciate that this group of amendments is driven by a desire to safeguard the children who are, quite rightly, at the centre of these difficult and sensitive cases. As I said in Committee, this aim is one I share.
Amendment 2, in the names of the noble Lords, Lord Meston …
My Lords, I thank the noble Baroness, Lady Brinton, the noble and learned Lord, Lord Keen, and the noble Lord, Lord Sandhurst, for their constructive engagement on the subject of court transcripts over recent weeks.
As the noble and learned Lord said, there is nothing between us on the principle of…
+7 more contributions in this session
Lords
Debate
4 March 2026
2 contributions
Crime and Policing Bill
My Lords, Amendment 338 responds directly to what we have learnt from the domestic abuse protection order—DAPO—pilot, which is currently rolled out across Greater Manchester, Cleveland, North Wales and the London boroughs of Croydon, Bromley and Sutton.
We know that positive requirements such as be…
I genuinely thank the noble Baronesses, Lady Brinton and Lady Doocey, who is not in her place, for Amendment 361A. As I find is so often the case with the noble Baronesses, there is very little between us on the principles involved. The Government agree that it is vital that police officers understa…
Lords
Oral Questions
3 March 2026
10 contributions
Assisted Dying Legislation: Isle of Man and Jersey
My Lords, I am grateful to the Minister for her reply. We are in an odd position—are we not?—on the assisted dying Bill. The Isle of Man has legislation in place, the Welsh Assembly has just approved a legislative consent Motion, the States Assembly of Jersey has agreed a Bill and the Scottish Parli…
My Lords, before Royal Assent has even been granted to Jersey’s Bill, a Deputy has tabled a Motion calling for assisted dying to be extended to non-terminally ill people with unbearable suffering. In reply, the Health Minister has said “Now is not the time, but it would be appropriate to consider ex…
+8 more contributions in this session
Lords
Debate
2 March 2026
7 contributions
Crime and Policing Bill
My Lords, I am pleased to put on record that this Government completely accept and agree with the intention that underlies this amendment. That is why, as I said earlier, the Government will introduce a legal duty for tech platforms to take down reported non-consensual intimate image abuse within 48…
Yes.
+5 more contributions in this session
Lords
Debate
2 March 2026
17 contributions
Crime and Policing Bill
My Lords, I will speak to government Amendments 234, 235, 237, 249, 250, 448 and 467, which will give effect to recommendation 1 of the National Audit on Group-based Child Sexual Exploitation and Abuse by the noble Baroness, Lady Casey. She recommended that the law should be changed so that an adult…
My Lords, I am very grateful for the acknowledgement by the noble Lord, Lord Cameron of Lochiel, that, in essence, Amendment 236 covers the same ground as the government amendments. I commend the noble Lords for bringing forward their amendment and making sure that it is on everybody’s radar. As the…
+15 more contributions in this session
Lords
Debate
2 March 2026
Victims and Courts Bill
That the amendments for the Report stage be marshalled and considered in the following order: Clauses 1 to 3, Schedule 1, Clauses 4 to 7, Schedule 2, Clauses 8 to 18, Title.