Contributions
2,217 recent contributions in Hansard
HANSARDAmbulance Response TimesMy Lords, I thank noble Lords for their warm welcome; it is great to be back. I also thank the noble Baroness, Lady Barker, for securing a debate on such an important topic, as my…01 Feb 2022HANSARDSkills and Post-16 Education Bill [HL]My Lords, this group of amendments broadly seeks to enable individuals studying at level 3 and below to claim universal credit. It may be helpful to noble Lords if I set out the…21 Jul 2021HANSARDSkills and Post-16 Education Bill [HL]The noble Lord has set out his amendment clearly to the Committee. As he said, the measures in Clause 22 strengthen existing intervention powers under the Further and Higher…21 Jul 2021HANSARDSkills and Post-16 Education Bill [HL]I thank the right reverend Prelate the Bishop of Durham for tabling his amendment. Based on the substance of the debate we just had, I am not sure that there is much disagreement…21 Jul 2021HANSARDSkills and Post-16 Education Bill [HL]My Lords, the Government appreciate the importance of all forms of education in improving life chances, both through employment and through meeting broader social goals. For…21 Jul 2021HANSARDSkills and Post-16 Education Bill [HL]My Lords, I will have to undertake to get more detail for the noble Lord on that specific point. I can confirm two things: the current consultation on the skills fund does not…19 Jul 2021HANSARDCash InfrastructureMy Lords, I understand that a number of industry-led pilots are already under way which are taking forward the kinds of initiative that the noble Baroness is talking about, and…19 Jul 2021HANSARDCash InfrastructureMy Lords, the Government are committed to ensuring that all individuals have access to financial products, including a bank account, but the DWP recognises that some customers may…19 Jul 2021HANSARDCash InfrastructureMy Lords, analysis has been done by the Bank of England which showed that 40% of people had visited a store that did not accept cash in the six months prior to January 2021. That…19 Jul 2021HANSARDCash InfrastructureMy Lords, the Government believe that we need to make digital payments as accessible as possible, but we also acknowledge the continuing role of access to cash, particularly among…19 Jul 2021HANSARDCash InfrastructureMy Lords, I think I join noble Lords across this House in being shocked at the outcome of these cases and the ongoing issue. The Post Office has an incredibly important part to…19 Jul 2021HANSARDCash InfrastructureMy Lords, designation of the United Kingdom’s critical national infrastructure is sensitive and, as such, not made public. However, the Government have committed to legislating to…19 Jul 2021HANSARDCash InfrastructureI absolutely agree with my noble friend. In fact, cash remains the second-most used payment form in this country. That is exactly why we have made this commitment to legislate and…19 Jul 2021HANSARDCash InfrastructureMy Lords, industry is best placed to develop the most efficient and sustainable solutions for access to cash. However, the legislation is proposed to set out geographic…19 Jul 2021HANSARDCash InfrastructureMy Lords, as I said in my initial Answer, designation of the UK’s critical national infrastructure is sensitive. However, financial services more broadly are an area of…19 Jul 2021HANSARDSkills and Post-16 Education Bill [HL]My Lords, I thank my noble friend Lord Willetts for tabling this amendment. Like my noble friend, the Department for Education is fully committed to facilitating external research…19 Jul 2021HANSARDCash InfrastructureMy Lords, the Government propose that the FCA is the lead regulator for the provision of cash withdrawal and depositing facilities. There are other regulators that have a role to…19 Jul 2021HANSARDSkills and Post-16 Education Bill [HL]My Lords, the Kickstart scheme was created and deployed rapidly to provide urgent jobs for young people to support their long-term work prospects. Kickstart will help to reduce…19 Jul 2021HANSARDSkills and Post-16 Education Bill [HL]My Lords, I thank noble Lords for the opportunity for this important debate on the provision of skills to those who may not have got them earlier in their lives or who are seeking…19 Jul 2021HANSARDCash InfrastructureMy Lords, the Government have committed to financial inclusion in all its forms. As I said, we are taking forward this action on access to cash. We also want to look at more…19 Jul 2021