Lords
Proceedings
10 June 2026
Best Start Family Hubs
My Lords, I welcome the family hubs, particularly the support for young people aged five to 19, or up to 25 with special educational needs. One of the issues we always have around these initiatives is the consistency of delivery and what is often referred to as a postcode lottery. Can the Minister a…
Lords
Proceedings
10 June 2026
North Belfast: Violent Attack
My Lords, people are conflating those who come here illegally with those who are here legally. Among the people who were firebombed out of their homes last night was an African family who have been here for 20 years. We also saw pictures of a business, potentially started by an Indian family, that h…
Lords
Proceedings
9 June 2026
Further Education Colleges: Recovery of VAT
My Lords, I will return to colleges and the original Question from the noble Lord, Lord Forbes. I want to follow up on the issue that he raised about the amount of VAT that is collected from colleges—about £200 million, if I heard the noble Lord right. What assessment have the Government done of the…
Lords
Proceedings
8 June 2026
Children’s Social Care: Enduring Relationships Strategy
My Lords, I also welcome the Statement. It is important that we in this House send a strong message to young people in care that we are on their side. I know that on many occasions my noble friend Lord Purvis, who has just left his place here, has referred to those young people as having the richest…
Lords
Proceedings
20 May 2026
Unite the Kingdom March
My Lords, I welcome the statement from the Minister, but I have to share with your Lordships’ House the profound anger and hurt that some of the speeches from the stage just outside here caused, not just in London but across the country. I will share my experiences from my own immediate family. One …
Lords
Debate
28 April 2026
Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill
My Lords, I am grateful to all noble Lords who have contributed to this debate today and during the whole of the Bill’s passage. First, on the specifics, as I set out earlier, the Government hope that today we are able to reach an agreement on the Government’s Motion; it represents an effective comp…
Lords
Debate
27 April 2026
2 contributions
Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill
I was intending basically to agree with my noble friend Lord Clement-Jones. I therefore had not intended to speak on issues around social media. However, I have to say that I agree with not only my noble friend but the noble Baronesses, Lady Kidron and Lady Kennedy of The Shaws, and the noble Lord, …
Thank you very much.
Lords
Debate
24 April 2026
Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill
My Lords, as we all know, this is a Private Member’s Bill. There was no manifesto commitment to it, nor was it in the King’s Speech.
Lords
Debate
23 April 2026
English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill
I am making the case that moving backwards and forwards between different models does not serve the public we serve.
Accountability can feel diffuse and unclear, with some councils judging the leader and cabinet model to be more transparent, agile and accountable. With collective decision-making sp…
Lords
Oral Questions
22 April 2026
2 contributions
Burial Provision in England and Wales
My Lords, we are aware of increasing localised pressure on burial spaces in some parts of the country. The Government do not have day-to-day operational responsibility for burial grounds, which are managed locally. At present, there is no statutory duty on local authorities to make provision for bur…
We absolutely recognise the concerns, and I am grateful to the noble Lord for raising the matter. Local authorities’ independence from central government means that they are responsible for managing their resources in line with local priorities, which they are best placed to evaluate. That said, the…
Lords
Debate
20 April 2026
6 contributions
Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill
My Lords, I too welcome the Minister back to her place, and I thank the noble Lord, Lord Mohammed, for his remarks. I will speak to my Motion A2. For anyone who has studied them, the verdicts in the two US cases are clearly game-changers. The evidence from the social media companies themselves is da…
My Lords, during the short time we have been debating a ban on social media for under-16s, several countries have brought in or are discussing such a ban. Even China is due to bring in restrictions on the use of mobile phones and social media. Those who argue that our children will be at a disadvant…
+4 more contributions in this session
Lords
Oral Questions
20 April 2026
Schoolchildren: Swimming
The noble Lord is right that there is a disparity between ethnic groups, in particular, and between more and less disadvantaged children, which is why this is a national entitlement through the national curriculum. Clearly, we need to do more to ensure that every child is getting opportunities, such…
Lords
Oral Questions
15 April 2026
Masculinity and Misogyny in Schools
The noble Lord makes an important point. This needs to be tackled outside school, as well as inside. That is why the DfE has worked jointly with DSIT to design, test and launch a website for parents of all-age children to help them keep their children safe online. We are currently developing misogyn…
Lords
Proceedings
14 April 2026
Middle East
My Lords, I wholeheartedly support the comments of my noble friend Lord Purvis, particularly on the West Bank. To follow up on the point made on Pakistan by the noble Lord, Lord Ahmad, since the Prime Minister’s Statement yesterday there is news now that Donald Trump is hopeful that, potentially in …
Lords
Debate
13 April 2026
2 contributions
English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill
My Lords, I will speak briefly, particularly given my noble friend Lord Shipley’s comments on Sheffield. I found it ironic that in Committee we were talking about not allowing others to have a committee when we in your Lordships’ House have Committee stages.
As we heard from the noble Baroness, Lad…
Not my noble friend Lord Scriven; it was the leader at the time. They basically rammed through decisions to fell healthy street trees. It took thousands upon thousands of signatures for an inquiry to ultimately find that they went wrong.
It was said that there was scrutiny, but the problem was, as …
Lords
Debate
27 March 2026
Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill
On a point of clarity, having sat and listened and wondered whether I should intervene, the noble Baroness mentioned a number of faiths and the fact that people from those faiths do not believe in assisted dying. But people from those faiths also do not believe in childbirth before marriage. Is ther…
Lords
Oral Questions
26 March 2026
Former Prime Minister Imran Khan
My Lords, I thank my noble friend Lady Alexander of Cleveden for securing this important debate. I never had the honour of meeting Imran Khan but, like millions of other cricket fans, I am grateful for the pleasure that he has given us over so many years.
Ever since independence, Pakistan has sough…
Lords
Debate
25 March 2026
4 contributions
Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill
My Lords, I will speak briefly to Motion K1 in the name of the noble Baroness, Lady Barran. I thank the Bill team and the Minister for our very useful meeting yesterday, and, as ever, I must declare my interest as a state school teacher.
When we talked to the Bill team yesterday, I thought that the…
My Lords, my noble friend has already spoken to Motion J. I beg to move.
+2 more contributions in this session
Lords
Oral Questions
25 March 2026
Equality: Break Down Barriers to Opportunity Mission
I will get back to the noble Lord with that detail. A lot of local authorities are repurposing existing provision. Some local authorities did better at keeping previous Sure Start centres than others, so the introduction will be a bit patchy. However, the ambition is clear, and we are determined to …
Lords
Proceedings
23 March 2026
2 contributions
UK Steel Strategy
My Lords, I add my voice to the comments that were made by the right reverend Prelate, the former Bishop of Sheffield—I remember him well and his commitment to the city—particularly on the issues around the Company of Cutlers. Its members are a tough bunch but they are fair—sometimes they speak trut…
My Lords, given the extra time, can I just pose another question? Given that defence supply chains already receive special treatment in procurement and export controls, I wonder whether the Government would consider also extending that to energy policy.
I will give some examples: the right reverend…
Lords
Proceedings
19 March 2026
Middle East
My Lords, I echo the words of the noble Lord, Lord Purvis, particularly around how conflicts abroad should not result in hate on our streets. I fully back his call for a cross-party meeting of senior Members of your Lordships’ House to look at how we can work together to ensure that antisemitism and…
Lords
Oral Questions
19 March 2026
UK Energy Sources and Cost of Energy
The Government are open to all eventualities as far as this crisis is concerned and are keeping the position under review on a very regular basis. The noble Lord will know that immediate support has been for heating oil, particularly for those customers who are off grid in the UK. The Government rec…
Lords
Oral Questions
18 March 2026
2 contributions
Strait of Hormuz
We will hear from the Liberal Democrats.
They are very close allies and partners, and they played no role in instigating what has happened. They have found themselves directly under attack, and we have all seen the impact that that is having. The Foreign Secretary, the Prime Minister and I have spoken to our counterparts to express our sup…
Lords
Oral Questions
17 March 2026
Plan 2 Student Loans: Repayment Terms
The noble Lord refers to a complex situation, and it would be completely wrong of me to make any suggestion about changing interest rates or methods of repayment. But of course, all these matters are under consideration in such an important subject.