Contributions
1,032 recent contributions in Hansard
HANSARDOfcom: Appointment of ChairWill the Minister note that one specific issue that the new Ofcom chair needs to urgently address is an egregious example of compromised media impartiality due to the powerful…26 Oct 2021HANSARDCoronavirus Act 2020My Lords, I want first to register that the no-vote on the Coronavirus Act in the other House last week, with the seemingly glib statement that the House was not in the mood to…26 Oct 2021HANSARDPolice, Crime, Sentencing and Courts BillMy Lords, I am very minded to support this series of amendments. As the noble Baroness, Lady Brinton, and the noble Lord, Lord Patel, explained, doctor-patient confidentiality is…25 Oct 2021HANSARDAssisted Dying Bill [HL]My Lords, the supporters of the Motion emphasise the technical and modest parameters of the proposed laws. However, since I have been in this House, I have endlessly been told…22 Oct 2021HANSARDPolice, Crime, Sentencing and Courts BillMy Lords, I am a bit too squeamish to discuss Amendment 9 but I wanted to reflect on Amendments 10 and 11 and to follow on from some of the comments just made about the deterrence…20 Oct 2021HANSARDCovid-19: Plan BOne of the reasons why there is a health crisis at the moment seems to be that it is a non-Covid crisis. Would the Minister comment on the fact that the backlog, the collateral…20 Oct 2021HANSARDUK Journalism (Communications and Digital Committee Report)My Lords, this report is packed full of useful insights into the challenges facing contemporary journalism. I am especially pleased to see that at last—if rather belatedly—the…13 Oct 2021HANSARDLeasehold: Building and Fire SafetyMy Lords, I want to issue a trigger warning: the demonstration by thousands of leaseholders from all over the country at 1 pm today is likely to be very noisy. Luckily, they…16 Sept 2021HANSARDGovernment: Leadership TrainingMy Lords, I have never been a Minister, MP or civil servant, so the noble Lord, Lord Norton, will have to forgive me if I make my remarks as an erstwhile civilian. But I have…16 Sept 2021HANSARDPolice, Crime, Sentencing and Courts BillMy Lords, in this mammoth omnibus Bill, there is an uncomfortable shift in the balance of power away from citizens and towards the state and the police. It feels like a lockdown…14 Sept 2021HANSARDResidential Social Care: StaffMy Lords, as the shortage of HGV drivers has led to a hike in their wages, does the inevitable increased staff crisis in care homes—effectively 40,000 to 60,000 workers will be…06 Sept 2021HANSARDCovid-19 (Public Services Committee Report)My Lords, since coming here 10 months ago, I have read a lot of legislation and reports and to be honest, it has all been a bit of a chore. However, this report sparkled. I know…22 Jul 2021HANSARDCovid-19 (Public Services Committee Report)I am sorry. I hope that we can mobilise the public in the future. I thank the committee for the report, and I apologise to the House.22 Jul 2021HANSARDCovid-19 (Public Services Committee Report)Sorry, have I gone on?22 Jul 2021HANSARDCovid-19Following on from the noble Lord, Lord Scriven, I want to ask specifically about the surprise in the Statement: the need for vaccination passports in nightclubs and other venues…21 Jul 2021HANSARDHealth and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) (Amendment) (Coronavirus) Regulations 2021My Lords, there have been some excellent speeches in this debate. I speak the day after the rather misnamed “freedom day” was used by the Prime Minister to herald a “show your…20 Jul 2021HANSARDSkills and Post-16 Education Bill [HL]My Lords, I broadly support Amendment 87, although I will probe rather more on what we could get out of Kickstart moving forward and what some of the issues are. I started off as…19 Jul 2021HANSARDEducation (Environment and Sustainable Citizenship) Bill [HL]My Lords, I have a number of concerns about this Bill. I always worry about using the school curriculum for political ends. We are increasingly seeing the challenge of educating…16 Jul 2021HANSARDCovid-19My Lords, I have listened carefully, and the mask obsession here seems to mask a certain reluctance to ever allow normal to return, even if it means a terrible toll on jobs,…15 Jul 2021HANSARDEnvironment BillMy Lords, I was actually disappointed—but perhaps not surprised—to see this amendment tabled by the noble Baroness, Lady Bennett of Manor Castle. For some time, I have been…14 Jul 2021