Lords
Oral Questions
26 March 2026
8 contributions
AI Growth Lab
My Lords, the AI growth lab is an excellent intervention. We have a great tradition in this country of sandboxes, and this follows on from there. It will require primary legislation, and it is not alone in that: there is an increasing number of areas where the Government say they want to act in term…
My Lords, any AI growth in this country will depend on trust between tech companies and content rights holders. This will depend on robust transparency requirements being created, and quickly. However, the Government, in their report on AI and copyright last week, said they were going to sit on thei…
+6 more contributions in this session
Lords
Debate
25 March 2026
3 contributions
Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill
My Lords, I add one point to the powerful speeches that have been made in support of the noble Lord, Lord Nash. It is very important that noble Lords understand that the Minister is inviting the House to support Amendments 38A and 38B, neither of which imposes any obligation whatsoever on the Govern…
My Lords, I pick up on one issue that the Minister mentioned in her opening speech. To paraphrase, she said, “If, after consultation, there is a decision to act”. I hope that she is getting the sense tonight that the House is already very much of the opinion that it is not an if; it is a call to act…
+1 more contribution in this session
Lords
Proceedings
23 March 2026
12 contributions
UK Steel Strategy
I thank noble Lords for their rich contributions. They have raised many matters that are covered in the steel strategy and are of vital importance to the future of steel-making and its centrality to the UK’s economic success.
This steel strategy is the first one to be set out. It explains the visio…
My noble friend brings his experience and wisdom to the House. Welsh steel is expected to account for half of future UK steelmaking. As he will be aware, we have also invested £500 million in the electric arc furnace in Port Talbot. In addition to that, the Secretary of State for Wales will convene …
+10 more contributions in this session
Lords
Oral Questions
23 March 2026
9 contributions
Companies: Online AGMs
My Lords, too often directors forget that it is shareholders who own the company. To hold AGMs entirely virtually, barring shareholders’ attendance, is in my view arrogant, unacceptable and sometimes, frankly, cowardly. Institutional shareholders have near-continuous access to boards, but the AGM is…
My Lords, may I suggest that members of the awkward squad are more readily controlled in virtual meetings, and that is thoroughly undesirable? It is much better to have open general meetings, when members of the awkward squad can speak out.
+7 more contributions in this session
Lords
Oral Questions
11 March 2026
6 contributions
EU Digital Services Act and Regulation
I thank the Minister for her response. There would be several economic, regulatory and strategic benefits if the UK were to be part of the EU’s Digital Services Act. Scale matters when it comes to dealing with the powerful global tech companies, and it is quite clear from the US’s AI action plan tha…
My Lords, the EU’s digital governance for online platforms relies on certain basic principles—they should operate transparently, responsibly and in alignment with legal standards. That is a formal basis on which we should operate too. Instead of having new laws that align with the EU, why do we not …
+4 more contributions in this session
Lords
Oral Questions
11 March 2026
9 contributions
UK Space Economy
I thank my noble friend the Minister for that reply. Given that, in the space inquiry we conducted, The Space Economy: Act Now or Lose Out , we identified that the space sector is worth £18.6 billion to the economy, employs 55,000 people and is growing a rate of about 6% a year, can she tell us more…
My Lords, on the Government’s space plan, will they formally adopt a policy of space debris neutrality, requiring all satellites launched from the UK to have what is called a “designed to demise” commitment to prevent further orbital congestion? With an active debris removal procurement worth some £…
+7 more contributions in this session
Lords
Committee Stage
9 March 2026
3 contributions
Employment Rights Act 2025 (Investigatory Powers) (Consequential Amendments) Regulations 2026
My Lords, this instrument makes consequential amendments to the Investigatory Powers Act 2016 following Parliament’s decision in the Employment Rights Act 2025 to create the Fair Work Agency, and brings together the functions of the Gangmasters and Labour Abuse Authority, the Employment Agency Stand…
My Lords, the instrument before us is, on the face of it, a technical one. As the Minister explained, it ensures that enforcement officers of the new Fair Work Agency inherit the same communications data powers, under the Investigatory Powers Act 2016, that officers of the Gangmasters and Labour Abu…
+1 more contribution in this session
Lords
Oral Questions
9 March 2026
9 contributions
British Business Bank
I thank my noble friend for that. The additional funding that has been given to the British Business Bank is welcome, but will it be encouraged to take higher risk stakes in some of our more innovative companies? Can we be assured that it has the expertise to make those critical judgments?
My lords, as has been alluded to, as well as operating on a commercial basis the British Business Bank is expected to fill structural gaps in the capital market. As the sponsor of the British Business Bank, how does the Minister see its role in scaling up the UK defence supply chain? How will the Br…
+7 more contributions in this session
Lords
Proceedings
6 March 2026
2 contributions
International Women’s Day
My Lords, it is a pleasure to open today’s International Women’s Day debate on behalf of the Government. As noble Lords will know, the theme of this year’s International Women’s Day is “Give to gain”. This day is about celebrating the power of solidarity and camaraderie; it is about adhering to the …
My Lords, it is a great honour to open this debate on International Women’s Day on behalf of His Majesty’s loyal Opposition. It is an opportunity both to celebrate the countless contributions of women and to reflect on the work that still lies ahead, here at home, obviously in Wales, and across the …
Lords
Committee Stage
2 March 2026
3 contributions
Bereaved Partner’s Paternity Leave Regulations 2026
My Lords, in moving these regulations, which were laid on 13 January, I will speak also to the Employment Rights Act 1996 (Application of Section 80B to Adoptions from Overseas) (Amendment) Regulations 2026 and the Employment Rights Act 1996 (Application of Section 80B to Parental Order Cases) (Amen…
My Lords, these Benches offer our wholehearted support for these regulations, and I know our colleague, the noble Lord, Lord Palmer of Childs Hill, if he were not involved in the Chamber on the Crime and Policing Bill, would join me in supporting them.
The sort of circumstances we are speaking of c…
+1 more contribution in this session
Lords
Oral Questions
29 January 2026
Superintelligent AI
My Lords, I thank my noble friend Lord Hunt for initiating this important debate on an important topic, and all noble Lords from around the House for their contributions today. This Government believe that advanced AI has transformative potential for the UK: from scientific innovation and public ser…
Lords
Oral Questions
28 January 2026
8 contributions
UK Start-up Companies
I thank the Minister for her response, but I think it is fair to say that key data on our start-ups is missing in action. Since the enterprise investment scheme was introduced 30 years ago, I have calculated that £40 billion has been invested in EIS start-ups, triggering £12 billion in tax credits. …
My Lords, I too have been very much involved in start ups, including chairing a fintech. At the moment, the real issue for start-ups is scalability. I wonder what the Government can do to assist companies and the brilliant entrepreneurs that we produce in this country in scaling up their businesses.
+6 more contributions in this session
Lords
Oral Questions
27 January 2026
10 contributions
TikTok: Bereaved British Parents
My Lords, I thank my noble friend for her reply. Ellen Roome is one of a number of bereaved British parents who are suing TikTok. Ellen had been fighting for four years to get access to her son Jools’s social media account after he died performing a TikTok challenge. Digital data that should be pres…
My Lords, the litigation alleges that TikTok’s algorithm deliberately promoted harmful content to children. That is exactly what we originally thought the Online Safety Act was going to help protect our children from, but that appears to be wrong. Will the Government, given their statement of strate…
+8 more contributions in this session
Lords
Oral Questions
26 January 2026
7 contributions
Superintelligent AI
My Lords, I am grateful to my noble friend for that considered Answer. Clearly, AI has great potential; the UK is third in the global league of AI investment. I understand the Government’s response, which is essentially a nuanced approach to encourage both proper regulation and investment.
However,…
My Lords—
+5 more contributions in this session
Lords
Proceedings
14 January 2026
12 contributions
Social Media: Non-consensual Sexual Deepfakes
I thank both noble Lords for their contributions to the debate. We all agree that the circulation of these vile, non-consensual deepfakes has been shocking. Sexually manipulating images of women and children is despicable and abhorrent. The law is clear: sharing or threatening to share a deepfake in…
My noble friend is right to raise the extremely important point about victim support and the impact that this has on people. We have seen testimonies and reports of how devastating, degrading and humiliating this experience can be. The Revenge Porn Helpline is doing fantastic work in providing speci…
+10 more contributions in this session
Lords
Debate
16 December 2025
4 contributions
Employment Rights Bill
My Lords, in moving this Motion, I will also speak to Motion A1. Throughout the passage of this Bill, which arrived in your Lordships’ House nine months ago yesterday, we have scrutinised, deliberated and debated all areas. Once again, I thank noble Lords for fulfilling their scrutiny role and, in t…
My Lords, as the Minister has just said, yesterday a letter was sent to Members of the House by six major business organisations, setting out precisely what many of us said in the Chamber last week. That letter makes one thing abundantly clear: the Government did misrepresent when they claimed that …
+2 more contributions in this session
Lords
Oral Questions
15 December 2025
9 contributions
Technology Adoption Review
My Lords, among its many findings, the review identified that there is a proliferation of different business support schemes designed to improve technology adoption and productivity. Many of these are short lived, their impact is variable and they are hard for SMEs to navigate. What consideration is…
My Lords, it is really encouraging to hear in the report about AI adoption hubs set regionally around the country. I would like to ask the Minister about AI literacy, which is also referred to in the review. Is she happy that we are doing enough to bring about that literacy? That seems to be one of …
+7 more contributions in this session
Lords
Debate
10 December 2025
10 contributions
Employment Rights Bill
My Lords, I shall speak also to Motions A1 to E1. Given the developments that have taken place since the Bill was last debated by the House, I would like to take some time to set out the context of those changes. I therefore must ask for the indulgence of the House with regards to the length of my s…
My Lords, similarly to the Minister, I beg the House’s indulgence because, if this speech is longer than a speech would normally be for round three of ping-pong, it is because, as she pointed out, there have been developments since we last debated the Bill.
My Motion A1 addresses a major issue that…
+8 more contributions in this session
Lords
Oral Questions
10 December 2025
9 contributions
Children: Social Media
My Lords, our children and young people are living through an experiment imposed on them by platforms that are profiting off their stress, their lack of sleep and their diminished self-worth. I welcome the Australian Government taking action to address the urgency and gravity of this issue. I listen…
My Lords, the Minister thinks that 16 year-olds should not have certain access. The noble Baroness, Lady Berger, if I understand her, thinks that they should be banned from social media. Can I take it as read that both noble Baronesses will oppose 16 year-olds having the vote?
+7 more contributions in this session
Lords
Oral Questions
9 December 2025
11 contributions
Mobile Phone and Broadband Prices
My Lords, I thank the Minister for her Answer. Phone and broadband companies such as O2 have violated Ofcom’s voluntary code and imposed unjustified mid-contract price hikes on customers. The old and vulnerable are hit hard, as they are less likely to shop around. Inflation and poverty are baked int…
My Lords, given that many telecom contracts include mid-contract price rises linked to inflation plus an additional percentage, what steps are the Government taking to protect low-income customers from these above-inflation increases?
+9 more contributions in this session