Contributions
1,032 recent contributions in Hansard
HANSARDLeasehold ReformMy Lords, I watched all the hustings that have taken place throughout the summer and was reassured by people talking about the need for affordable housing and home ownership as…06 Sept 2022HANSARDHeatwave ResponseMy Lords, first, there was a comment earlier that some noble Lords derided concerns about extreme weather. I actually heard those comments and saw them as balanced and…21 Jul 2022HANSARDLeaseholders: Service ChargesMy Lords, the Minister has said several times that service charges must be governed by law and must not be unreasonable, but they are unreasonable. They are going up exponentially…20 Jul 2022HANSARDSchools Bill [HL]My Lords, I am very supportive of Amendment 64A. Amendments 65, 66, 66A and 94 are also ways of reassuring and protecting home-schoolers in the Bill. The noble Lord, Lord Soley,…18 Jul 2022HANSARDSchools Bill [HL]My Lords, I have also put my name to Amendment 105. I commend the noble Lord, Lord Sandhurst, and the noble Baroness, Lady Morris of Yardley, on their work on this issue, which…18 Jul 2022HANSARDSchools Bill [HL]There we go. I am written off as someone who wants free speech only in order to come out with hate speech. I say this because even something such as free speech is contentious. I…18 Jul 2022HANSARDWomen and Girls: Economic Well-being, Welfare, Safety and OpportunitiesMy Lords, as all of us have said, we really appreciate this debate initiated by the noble Baroness, Lady Gale, in which we get to voice our concerns. Indeed, one way of framing…14 Jul 2022HANSARDSchools Bill [HL]My Lords, I want to raise some quick reservations about Amendments 64, 112 and 113. I apologise that I did not speak on this before: it was always grouped with other things that I…12 Jul 2022HANSARDSchools Bill [HL]My Lords, I am very sympathetic to Amendments 62 and 107. I have spoken several times about mental health and I want to oppose Amendments 63, 114 and 115 on mental health…12 Jul 2022HANSARDCoronavirus: New CasesMy Lords, I confirm that there is anxiety about the rise in Covid cases, but less about the virus itself than a worry that politicians might reintroduce some of the over-the-top…11 Jul 2022HANSARDProcedure and Privileges CommitteeMy Lords, I support the amendment in the name of the noble Lord, Lord Forsyth. I want to clarify that it is not because—as has been implied—I want to fetishize tradition or I am…05 Jul 2022HANSARDProcedure and Privileges CommitteeA number of noble Lords have raised the issue of staff in the House, and I am very sensitive to the inconvenience posed to them when we are working late. If it were the case that…05 Jul 2022HANSARDProcedure and Privileges CommitteeThat was not meant to be the controversial bit; I might have taken a different approach, had I been at home. My point is that I do not want to be made to feel guilty about having…05 Jul 2022HANSARDProcedure and Privileges CommitteeAs it happens, this particular Lady no longer lives in London, so it is not that London-centric. I try to do lots of things wherever I am. The report says: “earlier sitting and…05 Jul 2022HANSARDCrime, Reoffending and RehabilitationMy Lords, it is humbling to follow the noble and learned Lord, Lord Woolf. I welcome this important debate, so I have a special thank you for the noble Lord, Lord Farmer, and for…30 Jun 2022HANSARDCrime, Reoffending and RehabilitationI apologise. There is a link between homelessness and reoffending. I hope the new Minister, whom I welcome heartily, will look at it too.30 Jun 2022HANSARDHigher Education (Freedom of Speech) BillMy Lords, the noble Baroness, Lady Shafik, raises some interesting, detailed points that I hope we can look at in Committee. More broadly, I welcome the Bill—although I do so with…28 Jun 2022HANSARDSchools Bill [HL]My Lords, I want to raise some qualms about this set of amendments. For different reasons, I find myself agreeing with the way the noble Baroness, Lady Morris of Yardley, has just…22 Jun 2022HANSARDSchools Bill [HL]My Lords, I rise briefly to support the tenor of many of the amendments in this group, as explained by the noble Lord, Lord Lucas: they strengthen parents’ hands against any…22 Jun 2022HANSARDSchools Bill [HL]Before the noble Lord sits down, I just want to clarify or ask a question. At the moment, we have a system in which social services or child protection agencies, quite rightly,…22 Jun 2022