Contributions
285 recent contributions in Hansard
HANSARDEconomy: The Growth Plan 2022My Lords, in the 60 years I have spent either participating in or observing British politics, I have never seen such a shocking failure in government policy-making as last month’s…10 Oct 2022HANSARDEnergy: Prices and SupplyMy Lords, does the Minister agree that it would make more sense to incentivise investment in the skills and technologies of the future, rather than in oil and gas companies, which…14 Jul 2022HANSARDNATO Accession: Sweden and FinlandMy Lords, will the Government give more attention, following the accession of Sweden and Finland to NATO, to the department of NATO policies on the Arctic? Both countries border…07 Jul 2022HANSARDBritish BaccalaureateMy Lords, the Minister’s reply was extraordinarily complacent and very disappointing. I cannot understand how the Government can have such a closed mind to a sensible suggestion…21 Jun 2022HANSARDRetrofitting Buildings: National StrategyTo ask Her Majesty’s Government what plans they have (1) to publish the lessons learned from the Green Homes Grant, and (2) to introduce a national strategy for retrofitting…09 Jun 2022HANSARDRetrofitting Buildings: National StrategyMy Lords, I thank the Minister for her reply, but I am sure she will agree that the failure of the green homes grant, which was eventually scrapped, was largely due to the lack of…09 Jun 2022HANSARDEconomy UpdateMy Lords, the Minister has rightly admitted that a large part of the problem that the Government are facing is driven by energy prices. In that case, why are the Government still…26 May 2022HANSARDQueen’s SpeechMy Lords, I will focus on the need for international decarbonisation, and how the UK can have an impact abroad, largely through our overseas development aid and export finance. We…18 May 2022HANSARDHumanist MarriagesMy Lords, nothing the Minister has said so far explains why humanists should be denied the right to a legal marriage while other religious groups have that right. Please could he…25 Apr 2022HANSARDEnergy Security StrategyMy Lords, perhaps I can push the Minister a little further on his reply to the last question. While of course it is vitally important that every conceivable measure to deal with…07 Apr 2022HANSARDCOP 26To ask Her Majesty’s Government what progress they have made towards establishing the processes necessary to implement the ‘side deals’ made at COP26 on (1) coal, (2) methane, (3)…28 Mar 2022HANSARDCOP 26My Lords, I thank the Minister for his reply. A number of pledges for funding were made at COP 26 and, as I am sure he is fully aware, 141 countries signed up to the Glasgow…28 Mar 2022HANSARDSkills and Post-16 Education Bill [HL]My Lords, it is a pleasure to follow the noble Baroness, Lady Wolf, who has fought so hard for the skills agenda. I associate myself with much of that fight and I very much…24 Mar 2022HANSARDSkills and Post-16 Education Bill [HL]I am sorry to interrupt the Minister, but I wonder whether she can give some indication of the proportion of BTEC qualifications that the Government are intent on keeping and the…24 Mar 2022HANSARDGlobal WarmingMy Lords, following the IPCC report, mentioned by the noble Baroness, Lady Sheehan, on the damage to our ecosystem, can the Minister update the House on what further work is being…03 Mar 2022HANSARDHigher Education ReformMy Lords, I admire a great deal of what the Government are trying to do in relation to the future of higher education but I suspect that there is a bit of a muddle going on: the…28 Feb 2022HANSARDFCDO Nutrition PolicyMy Lords, the stark statistics—I am sure the Minister will agree—on the whole question of nutrition show that one 10th of the world’s population are suffering from being…21 Feb 2022HANSARDMedical Abortion PillsMy Lords, I wish to declare my interest as chair of the trustees of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists. Following up on the question from the noble Baroness,…10 Feb 2022HANSARDSchool AbsencesMy Lords, following the answer the Minister has just given, I wonder if she is aware that, unsurprisingly, a survey by Teach First found that teachers in the most disadvantaged…03 Feb 2022HANSARDBBC FundingMy Lords, is the Minister aware of just how much the BBC licence fee payer gets for his or her relatively low outlay on the licence fee? Let me just list the services: 10 TV…25 Jan 2022