Contributions
394 recent contributions in Hansard
HANSARDCohabitation Rights Bill [HL]The noble Lord called me “the noble Lord”.17 Jul 2026HANSARDCohabitation Rights Bill [HL]My Lords, it is always a pleasure to speak after the noble Lord, Lord Wolfson. Of course I accept his apology for what was obviously a slip of the tongue. Before I turn to the…17 Jul 2026HANSARDHolding the Line Against Tyranny and Anarchy (Constitution Committee Report)My Lords, I begin, as have so many of your Lordships, by saying a few words about the late Lord Mackay of Clashfern. Many have spoken of his career as having been one of…09 Jul 2026HANSARDLegal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012 (Legal Aid: Anti-social Behaviour and Prevention and Investigation Measures) (Miscellaneous Amendments) Order 2026That the draft Order laid before the House on 1 June be approved. Considered in Grand Committee on 30 June .06 Jul 2026HANSARDImprisonment for Public ProtectionMy Lords, the Deputy Prime Minister recognises the impact that IPP and DPP sentences have on the families of those serving those sentences. My noble friend Lord Timpson meets…02 Jul 2026HANSARDImprisonment for Public ProtectionMy Lords, given his ministerial responsibilities, it is entirely appropriate that my noble friend Lord Timpson leads the engagement in this area. As the noble Lord knows, he holds…02 Jul 2026HANSARDEmployment TribunalsMy Lords, the Government recognise that there are significant pressures on the employment tribunal. To try to deal with this, we are maximising sitting days and recruiting more…02 Jul 2026HANSARDEmployment TribunalsWill I make myself popular if I simply say yes? I will give a bit more detail than that. The law is absolutely clear that workers should receive the payments to which they are…02 Jul 2026HANSARDEmployment TribunalsI pay tribute to the noble Baroness for her work in relation to whistleblowers. It is incredibly important. The delays across the employment tribunal generally are unacceptable as…02 Jul 2026HANSARDEmployment TribunalsI first pay tribute to my noble friend for the work she does as chair of ACAS, and I agree with her about the importance of helping managers resolve issues before they fester.…02 Jul 2026HANSARDImprisonment for Public ProtectionMy Lords, I want to reassure all your Lordships that the Government completely understand and share the concerns about this very troubling cohort of prisoners, but the first duty…02 Jul 2026HANSARDImprisonment for Public ProtectionThere is a persistent myth that people got IPP sentences for rather trivial offences, which is in fact not true. It was always required at the time that it was both a serious…02 Jul 2026HANSARDImprisonment for Public ProtectionI will certainly pass that on to my noble friend—I suspect that he may already know. He regularly meets with the families, because we understand the pressures that are upon them…02 Jul 2026HANSARDImprisonment for Public ProtectionThe noble Lord raises an important point. I am happy to reassure him that we have now reallocated the IPP prisoners. The vast majority—around 95%—are in the appropriate custodial…02 Jul 2026HANSARDImprisonment for Public ProtectionCan I make two things clear? First, recall is not used as a punishment for a minor breach of licence. I am afraid that the noble Baroness is wrong about that. It is a means of…02 Jul 2026HANSARDImprisonment for Public ProtectionI join the noble and learned Lord in his admiration for my noble friend Lord Timpson, but the fact is that we have an independent Parole Board, which makes the decisions—not the…02 Jul 2026HANSARDEmployment TribunalsOf course I accept that the noble and learned Lord is entitled to hold this Government to account, but I am also entitled to remind noble Lords about the record of the previous…02 Jul 2026HANSARDEmployment TribunalsThe noble Lord will understand that I am not going to relitigate the passing of the Employment Act all over again as part of this Question Time. The Government are managing the…02 Jul 2026HANSARDEmployment TribunalsAbsolutely—I do not think anybody who is interested in access to justice, whether it is the employment tribunal or anywhere else, can fail to be concerned by an increase in…02 Jul 2026HANSARDEmployment TribunalsIt is partly the role of ACAS to do that kind of thing, but the Department for Business and Trade and the Ministry of Justice, working together across government, have set up the…02 Jul 2026