Contributions
50 recent contributions in Hansard
HANSARDWorking From Home (Home-based Working Committee Report)My Lords, I too thank the noble Baroness, Lady Scott, for her amazing, herculean efforts to pull together such a difficult subject. I start, however, by offering a data point that…10 Jun 2026HANSARDResetting the UK-EU Relationship (European Affairs Committee Report)My Lords, I congratulate the noble Lord, Lord Ricketts, and the European Affairs Committee on their report. Our EU relationship has always concerned trade, regulation and…26 Feb 2026HANSARDSchools and Universities: Language LearningMy Lords, I too thank the noble Baroness, Lady Coussins, for securing this debate, and more importantly for her tireless leadership in this subject. I think that I will have to be…08 Jan 2026HANSARDWheelchair and Community Equipment StrategyMy Lords, it is great honour to listen to the noble Baroness, Lady Gerada, and to have enjoyed a small sample of the immense knowledge that she will bring to this House. It is,…11 Dec 2025HANSARDThink Work First: The Transition from Education to Work for Young Disabled People (Public Services Committee Report)My Lords, I am very pleased to contribute to this debate on an important and extremely thoughtful report from the House of Lords Public Services Committee. I thank the committee…04 Nov 2025HANSARDAI and Creative Technologies (Communications and Digital Committee Report)My Lords, I, too, start by welcoming the noble Lords, Lord Massey and Lord Evans, to this Chamber and congratulating them on their maiden speeches, and by congratulating the noble…13 Jun 2025HANSARDPlanning Reforms: Energy and Housing CostsMy Lords—15 May 2025HANSARDPlanning Reforms: Energy and Housing CostsMy Lords, the Minister herself referred to the sclerotic system. I declare my interest as president of the British Chambers of Commerce. One contributor to that system is the…15 May 2025HANSARDSchools: Mobile PhonesMy Lords, has the Minister had any discussions about the innovation that is going on in mobile phones? I am particularly struck by “smart dumbphones” that do not have access to…06 Mar 2025HANSARDInternational Women’s DayMy Lords, I too thank the noble Baroness, Lady Smith, for her masterful introduction to this important debate, but I have to say that I am angry. I am not a person prone to rage…06 Mar 2025HANSARDEconomic GrowthMy Lords, I thank the noble Lord, Lord Farmer, for instigating this important debate. I want to offer some practical solutions, with three different hats on. The first hat that I…23 Jan 2025HANSARDRules-based International OrderI too thank the noble Baroness, Lady Northover, for her masterful introduction to this debate. I intend to drill down into one of the threats she noted—the one we all face from…16 Jan 2025HANSARDLong-duration Energy Storage (Science and Technology Committee Report)My Lords, I declare my interests as noted in the register, most particularly as president of the British Chambers of Commerce and as a director of Peers for the Planet. Last year,…09 Jan 2025HANSARDPublic Authority Algorithmic and Automated Decision-Making Systems Bill [HL]My Lords, I declare my interests as stated in the register, most particularly as chair of the Government’s digital centre design panel. It is appropriate that we are discussing…13 Dec 2024HANSARDCivil Service: PoliticisationMy Lords, I too thank my noble friend for this important debate. I draw attention to my interests—particularly that I am currently chairing the Government’s advisory board on the…28 Nov 2024HANSARDTransport Infrastructure: North of EnglandMy Lords, as president of the British Chambers of Commerce, I have spent many happy days in Doncaster and can attest to how delighted local businesses are at the reopening of the…12 Nov 2024HANSARDUN Sustainable Development GoalsMy Lords, I also thank the noble Lord, Lord McConnell, for this important debate, in particular for focusing on the human experience at the end of his remarks. I too will tell a…17 Oct 2024HANSARDSkills: Importance for the UK Economy and Quality of LifeMy Lords, I too thank the noble Lord, Lord Aberdare, for this extremely important debate. I am beginning to think that the only place that there is no skills shortage is in this…09 May 2024HANSARDBank of England (Economic Affairs Committee Report)My Lords, I too thank the committee for this extremely effective and wide-ranging report. I shall make a short intervention with three different hats on. The first of those hats…02 May 2024HANSARDPoverty ReductionMy Lords, I too thank the noble Lord, Lord Bird, for his timely debate and his relentless and indefatigable championing of this issue. I declare my interests, most particularly as…22 Feb 2024