Contributions
958 recent contributions in Hansard
HANSARDKew Gardens (Leases) (No. 3) Bill [HL]My Lords, perhaps I may suggest to the Minister a fairly straightforward way out of this. If I understand the House correctly—of course, I may not—and look at my own view, I do…21 May 2019HANSARDBanks: Fraud PreventionMy Lords, it is beyond me why this code remains voluntary, creating an opportunity for banks to opt out of the system if they so wish when it offers only the most basic and…20 May 2019HANSARDCompanies (Directors’ Remuneration Policy and Directors’ Remuneration Report) Regulations 2019My Lords, the content of this statutory instrument is all good stuff, in my view. Greater transparency, enhancement of shareholders’ rights to challenge around remuneration,…08 May 2019HANSARDKew Gardens (Leases) (No. 3) Bill [HL]My Lords, I speak in this debate from the perspective of a member of the community. I was at Kew yesterday and a couple of weeks ago. That was nothing to do with this debate, just…07 May 2019HANSARDFinancial Services (Miscellaneous) (Amendment) (EU Exit) (No. 2) Regulations 2019My Lords, I am so glad I did not have to write the content of this SI; it was hard enough trying to work one’s way through it when simply reading it. It is obviously the result of…07 May 2019HANSARDTrade Agreement between the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the Swiss ConfederationMy Lords, I cannot pretend expertise on trade Bills. We have heard brilliant speeches here today, but I want to raise four issues with the Minister. The first is services. As the…01 May 2019HANSARDLord Mayor’s Show: TaiwanMy Lords, I had the privilege of leading a trade mission to Taiwan and it was evident that the route into the Chinese market for much of our financial services industry was with a…01 May 2019HANSARDMaking Tax Digital for VAT (Economic Affairs Committee Report)Since most of the employers in these cases were local government, they would pay any bill that HMRC thought was appropriate. Central government departments would also pay.…29 Apr 2019HANSARDMaking Tax Digital for VAT (Economic Affairs Committee Report)My Lords, what a brilliant debate. I almost hesitate to speak for fear of diluting what has really been extraordinary. When a unanimous voice comes with passion from so many…29 Apr 2019HANSARDMaking Tax Digital for VAT (Economic Affairs Committee Report)I think that the individual has made HMRC aware and happens to have an email trail, which makes the process rather easier to understand. On many of these occasions, people were…29 Apr 2019HANSARDMaking Tax Digital for VAT (Economic Affairs Committee Report)The Minister is doing his best and because he referred to the Supreme Court, he will be aware that that ruling focused on the culpability of employers. There was no expectation in…29 Apr 2019HANSARDMaking Tax Digital for VAT (Economic Affairs Committee Report)I do not want to keep stressing the issue of suicides, but in the one case that I am personally aware of is the Minister aware that HMRC is now pursuing the heirs for the loan…29 Apr 2019HANSARDEconomy: Purchasing Managers’ IndexMy Lords, I fear that some of your Lordships, and perhaps the Minister, must have missed out some of the sentences in Markit’s report on the PMI. It said that, increasingly,…11 Apr 2019HANSARDUK Convergence ProgrammeMy goodness. I thank the Minister for his statement. I think we can all agree that this is a bit of a paper exercise, as the UK is not a member of the euro. Therefore, no matter…09 Apr 2019HANSARDGovernment DebtMy Lords, do the Government now understand that including borrowing for investment into infrastructure in the deficit number is not only intellectually flawed but has constrained…09 Apr 2019HANSARDRetailers: Business RatesMy Lords, does the Minister accept that taxing just the land value of commercial sites would achieve many of the goals that other questioners have put forward? It would encourage…08 Apr 2019HANSARDAccess to CashMy Lords, nearly 40% of payments are still in cash. Does the Minister recognise that although the payments regulator cites post offices as places where one can get cash, they tend…03 Apr 2019HANSARDEmployment: AutomationMy Lords, only 19% of the digital technology workforce is female, as are only 15% of computing graduates and only 17% of fintech founders. In an age where automation will become…01 Apr 2019HANSARDNational Insurance Contributions HolidayMy Lords, setting aside the irony that this is a unfulfilled manifesto commitment, does the Minister recognise that small businesses, which are often the best place for someone…27 Mar 2019HANSARDFinancial Services (Miscellaneous) (Amendment) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019Will the Minister, if he has the opportunity, look into this? I know that crowdfunders and many others—I have tried to tell the Treasury a million times—use the e-commerce…21 Mar 2019