Contributions
3,240 recent contributions in Hansard
HANSARDBBC: TV Licence EvasionI shall quote my right honourable friend the Prime Minister in describing the BBC as a cherished national institution, which I guess is not far from a national treasure. The World…05 Feb 2020HANSARDBBC: TV Licence EvasionThe noble Lord makes fair points regarding enforcement. That is clearly part of the process of consultation. One of the principles set out in the consultation document is about…05 Feb 2020HANSARDBBC: TV Licence EvasionThe last thing that this Government want to do is weaken or abandon an asset as strong and important as the BBC. My noble friend the Secretary of State set out the process earlier…05 Feb 2020HANSARDPublic LibrariesThe noble Lord is ahead of me if he is confident that 10% of the fund will be allocated to libraries; my understanding is that the split between museums and libraries has not yet…03 Feb 2020HANSARDBirmingham Commonwealth Games Bill [HL]I will be happy to raise that with my honourable friend the Minister for Sport in the other place and make sure that he is aware of that suggestion. In fact, he is meeting…03 Feb 2020HANSARDBirmingham Commonwealth Games Bill [HL]I shall write to the noble Baroness with the detail on that, but I absolutely hear what she is saying. Although I am not familiar with what was done for Glasgow, I know that in a…03 Feb 2020HANSARDBirmingham Commonwealth Games Bill [HL]My Lords, I thank your Lordships for your valuable contributions to the debate today. I will try to address some of the points raised during the debate but if I am unable to…03 Feb 2020HANSARDBirmingham Commonwealth Games Bill [HL]That the Bill be now read a second time.03 Feb 2020HANSARDBirmingham Commonwealth Games Bill [HL]My Lords, when this Bill was introduced in this House in the last Session by my noble friend Lord Ashton of Hyde, he began by setting out his hope that it would be welcomed across…03 Feb 2020HANSARDPublic LibrariesMy Lords, the Government are committed to supporting a sustainable, long-term future for libraries in England. We want libraries to be resilient and equipped to meet local…03 Feb 2020HANSARDPublic LibrariesI start by thanking the noble Lord for the work he does in this area and for his beautiful blue report, which I have a copy of with me and which makes good reading. He makes a…03 Feb 2020HANSARDPublic LibrariesThe noble Lord is absolutely right that these are invaluable institutions, which often represent a real anchor within communities and are often used by the young, those not in…03 Feb 2020HANSARDPublic LibrariesI do not want to guess at the Dispatch Box, as ministerial careers get cut short if one makes a habit of that, but it is clear that there is massive divergence between the…03 Feb 2020HANSARDBBC Charter ReviewThis feels like a very popular suggestion to your Lordships. Sadly, I have to disappoint my noble friend. While I might agree personally, there are no current plans to show…22 Jan 2020HANSARDBBC Charter ReviewMy Lords, the royal charter maintains the licence fee funding model until the end of the charter in 2027. However, the Prime Minister has indicated that the Government will…22 Jan 2020HANSARDBBC Charter ReviewMy Lords, I am delighted to join the noble Lord in thanking the noble Lord, Lord Hall, who I do not think is in his place. I echo the words of my noble friend the Secretary of…22 Jan 2020HANSARDBBC Charter ReviewIt is clearly and widely agreed that there is a longer-term challenge in working out the business model for the BBC. We have time to do that ahead of the 2027 charter review.…22 Jan 2020HANSARDBBC Charter ReviewObviously, I cannot comment on the briefing, but I am happy to confirm the noble Lord’s last remarks.22 Jan 2020HANSARDBBC Charter ReviewMy Lords, the Government have said that we will review whether or not non-payment of a TV licence fee should be decriminalised. We will set out the steps on how we will approach…22 Jan 2020HANSARDFootball: RacismI thank the noble Lord for his question. He raises important points about diversity across all levels and all roles within the game. For the benefit of Chelsea fans, yesterday I…16 Jan 2020