Contributions
2,184 recent contributions in Hansard
HANSARDLocal Authorities (Changes to Years of Ordinary Elections) (England) (Revocation) Order 2026The postponement was done at the request of the councils concerned, which had concerns about capacity. I think some of them may still have those concerns, but we are supporting…21 Apr 2026HANSARDLocal Authorities (Changes to Years of Ordinary Elections) (England) (Revocation) Order 2026I was coming to the legal advice and I will do so. I hope the noble Lord will be patient for a moment while I get to that part. Looking beyond the delivery of the current local…21 Apr 2026HANSARDLocal Authorities (Changes to Years of Ordinary Elections) (England) (Revocation) Order 2026I feel that the noble Lord is pushing me to do what I have just said I cannot do, which is to disclose the legal advice—I am going to stick to that line. The decision was, as he…21 Apr 2026HANSARDLocal Authorities (Changes to Years of Ordinary Elections) (England) (Revocation) Order 2026I cannot answer the specific question of whether it has already gone out, but we have notified local authorities of what will be coming to them. When we spoke to them about the…21 Apr 2026HANSARDLocal Authorities (Changes to Years of Ordinary Elections) (England) (Revocation) Order 2026My Lords, I am pleased to respond to this regret Motion for the Government. Before turning to the order itself, I think it is worth setting out the wider context for the local…21 Apr 2026HANSARDBusiness Improvement District Ballots: Digital VotingI agree with my noble friend that everybody should be paid a proper wage for the job they do. She is quite right that money earned in local areas is often spent locally by those…20 Apr 2026HANSARDBusiness Improvement District Ballots: Digital VotingThe decline in our town centres—I speak from personal experience—started long before this Government came to power. Our Government are delivering on their manifesto commitment to…20 Apr 2026HANSARDBuilding Safety (Responsible Actors Scheme and Prohibitions) (Amendment) Regulations 2026That the draft Regulations laid before the House on 10 and 25 February be approved. Relevant document: 54th Report from the Secondary Legislation Scrutiny Committee. Considered in…20 Apr 2026HANSARDBusiness Improvement District Ballots: Digital VotingMy Lords, the Government recognise the very important role that BIDs can play in regenerating their local areas and I thank my noble friend for his work across BIDs in London. In…20 Apr 2026HANSARDBusiness Improvement District Ballots: Digital VotingWe have heard that the postal voting system does not always work as effectively as it should for BID ballots and we want to make sure that BID ballots are as efficient and as…20 Apr 2026HANSARDBusiness Improvement District Ballots: Digital VotingWe absolutely understand the interest in online voting but, when it comes to electing representatives, the integrity and security of the process must come first. At present,…20 Apr 2026HANSARDBusiness Improvement District Ballots: Digital VotingI agree with the noble Lord that BIDs bring very significant investment in the areas they operate in. There are now more than 340 BIDs in the UK; cumulatively, they invest more…20 Apr 2026HANSARDBusiness Improvement District Ballots: Digital VotingI am grateful to my noble friend, particularly as she reminds me of the days when I was doing election monitoring in Moldova and Georgia, which was a fascinating experience. I…20 Apr 2026HANSARDLocal Resilience ForumsMy Lords, I thank my noble friend for all the work he does as chair of the National Preparedness Commission and for what he is now doing in respect of policing. It is crucial to…16 Apr 2026HANSARDLocal Resilience ForumsWe are very happy to take all suggestions as we refresh the guidance, so I am happy to speak to the right reverend Prelate outside the Chamber to clarify what he wants in there.16 Apr 2026HANSARDLocal Resilience ForumsYes, the noble Baroness is quite right. That is why it is important that, as well as making sure that we look at how this is done in future with the trailblazer programme and…16 Apr 2026HANSARDLocal Resilience ForumsI absolutely agree with my noble friend that one size does not fit all in this respect. He may be aware that my fellow Minister, my noble friend Lady Twycross, and myself have…16 Apr 2026HANSARDLocal Resilience ForumsThe noble Lord raises a very interesting question. I do not have a direct answer for him but, having been through the process of being the leader of a local authority during the…16 Apr 2026HANSARDLocal Resilience ForumsMy noble friend Lord Hanson, who has the next Question, may be better placed to answer that question. I agree that there was a real error made in decriminalising shoplifting. We…16 Apr 2026HANSARDLocal Resilience ForumsThe noble Baroness puts her finger on a critical point as we go through this: making sure that the resilience is effective throughout the period of reorganisation and then into…16 Apr 2026