Contributions
958 recent contributions in Hansard
HANSARDSpending Round 2019My Lords, I am the first of the winding speakers, and I think I recognise a House that is, frankly, exhausted so I will try to limit my comments on this occasion. However, I…25 Sept 2019HANSARDHigh Speed Rail (West Midlands–Crewe) BillMy Lords, I am a strong supporter of HS2. I was before I had the privilege of becoming a Minister in the last 18 months of the coalition Government, when I became the Minister…09 Sept 2019HANSARDHigh Speed Rail (West Midlands–Crewe) BillWould the Minister be willing to meet on one occasion to take up that issue of whistleblowers?09 Sept 2019HANSARDBanking: Standards and ReformMy Lords, I will speak next because there is an error on the speakers list; the noble Lord, Lord Davies, will speak after me. I do not want to confuse anybody. Let me use this…03 Sept 2019HANSARDEconomic Environment: Growth and JobsThe noble Baroness, Lady Neville-Rolfe, is being kind to me in raising the issue of business rates because, as she knows, my party supports a policy of abolishing them—they are…11 Jul 2019HANSARDEconomic Environment: Growth and JobsMy Lords, I begin by picking up the issues raised by the noble Viscount, Lord Chandos, who made it clear that we cannot talk about anything to do with the economy without a real…11 Jul 2019HANSARDMulti-academy TrustsMy Lords, as my noble friend Lord Storey’s initial Question implied, wrongdoing, abuse and mistakes are nearly always exposed by whistleblowers rather than by any official…10 Jul 2019HANSARDNHS Pensions: TaxationMy Lords, the BMA makes it clear that the Defence Medical Services are the most impacted group of medics. Will the Minister confirm that we are today sending medics out to…09 Jul 2019HANSARDSoil HealthMy Lords, forgive me if this is because of my lack of understanding but when the Minister answered my noble friend Lady Parminter, who questioned whether measures would be…08 Jul 2019HANSARDSmall and Medium-sized Enterprises: MistreatmentMy Lords, RBS’s inappropriate handling of its SME customers predates the period examined by Promontory and goes back to at least 2005. We know this because there have been…27 Jun 2019HANSARDNational Insurance Contributions (Termination Awards and Sporting Testimonials) BillMy Lords, I intend to be very brief on the Bill and I certainly will not oppose it, but I want to pick up a couple of issues raised by the noble Lord, Lord Macpherson, from a…26 Jun 2019HANSARDGDP per CapitaMy Lords, the impact of the 2008 financial crash and the economic troubles that followed it was far greater outside London and the south-east than it was in this area. Since we…11 Jun 2019HANSARDNational Health Service: PensionsMy Lords, senior officers in the armed services face the same problem. I raise this because I know that the Minister will follow up on it. One showed me his tax returns: a £5,000…10 Jun 2019HANSARDEmploymentMy Lords, well, follow that speech! I feel unfortunate to stand up at this moment, but fortunate that the noble Lord, Lord Leigh, has achieved this debate. I congratulate him,…06 Jun 2019HANSARDKew Gardens (Leases) (No. 3) Bill [HL]My Lords, I should like to take this opportunity to thank the Minister for the very detailed letter he sent me on the car park, which I think other Members have seen. I had some…05 Jun 2019HANSARDKew Gardens (Leases) (No. 3) Bill [HL]To reassure the Minister, I certainly received a copy of it; I believe my noble friend did as well. I do not know whether other noble Lords did, but it was an extremely reassuring…05 Jun 2019HANSARDBritish SteelMy Lords, can the Minister help me understand the situation so as to better understand the appropriate response? Is he describing a company that in a sense is unlikely to be…22 May 2019HANSARDKew Gardens (Leases) (No. 3) Bill [HL]Perhaps I may just ask the Minister a question purely for clarification. I am not the slightest bit fussed about the seven houses on Kew Green as they are all under conservation…21 May 2019HANSARDKew Gardens (Leases) (No. 3) Bill [HL]My Lords—21 May 2019HANSARDKew Gardens (Leases) (No. 3) Bill [HL]Can the Minister tell us—clearly not now—what the status is of that car park land? It sits outside the wall of Kew Gardens, so I am not sure how far it is covered by any of the…21 May 2019