Contributions
793 recent contributions in Hansard
HANSARDCovid-19: Economy UpdateMy noble friend raises an important point. This country now has a more devolved structure. We have tried to keep the devolved and mayoral authorities involved in decisions at…27 Oct 2020HANSARDCovid-19: Economy UpdateThe noble Lord asks an important question. I do not speak as a health expert, but a lot of these tests are simply not reliable enough. The worry is that we would create a false…27 Oct 2020HANSARDCovid-19: Economy UpdateI agree with the noble Baroness that tier 3 has a devastating impact on businesses and on people’s lives, but it is how we are trying to control the spread of the virus. We see…27 Oct 2020HANSARDCovid-19: Economy UpdateTo answer the noble Baroness, as I mentioned earlier, a huge range of initiatives has been announced over the last few months, particularly for some of the sectors referred to. On…27 Oct 2020HANSARDCovid-19: Economy UpdateIt is important to differentiate between default and fraud. As the noble Lord will know, there are no repayment requirements on bounce-back loans for a year. The idea that banks…27 Oct 2020HANSARDCovid-19: Economy UpdateI am not aware of an analysis of this kind. We have to be realistic. It is easy for people sitting in a dark room with spreadsheets to say how many deaths we are prepared to…27 Oct 2020HANSARDCovid-19: Economy UpdateI am not aware of the specific figures. It is clearly very worrying that we could lose the creative capacity of our economy and our society. We are in the most unprecedented…27 Oct 2020HANSARDCovid-19: Economy UpdateMy Lords, the Job Support Scheme Open is available to all small businesses experiencing difficulties in this crisis. They are eligible for the figures that I gave earlier to the…27 Oct 2020HANSARDCovid-19: Economy UpdateMy Lords, a great deal of thinking is going on, but this matter might be worth some pragmatism. If landlords collectively behaved in the way suggested by the noble Lord, there…27 Oct 2020HANSARDCovid-19: Economy UpdateThe noble Lord makes an extremely important point. By coincidence, I am the Minister working on the programme to move civil servants out of London, which was recently announced.…27 Oct 2020HANSARDCovid-19: Economy UpdateThe noble Lord’s question is timely, because part of my responsibility is for the procurement reform rules which we are putting into place and will be able to use once we leave…27 Oct 2020HANSARDCovid-19: Economy UpdateI respect my noble friend’s passion for this area and I agree that it is an extremely important part of our society, as I said earlier. We have put forward a cultural recovery…27 Oct 2020HANSARDCovid-19: Economy UpdateMy Lords, I suspect that this is just speculation. I am certainly not aware of any government policy promoting that. As we know, groups of six people, socially distanced, can eat…27 Oct 2020HANSARDCovid-19: Economy UpdateI certainly agree with the noble Lord that this requires a national effort and that we need to avoid tribalism at all costs. What has perhaps taken us all by surprise is the…27 Oct 2020HANSARDCovid-19: Economy UpdateMy Lords, I am aware that those discussions are ongoing but I do not have the figures to hand, so I will write to the noble Baroness about the latest thinking on that.27 Oct 2020HANSARDDebt Respite Scheme (Breathing Space Moratorium and Mental Health Crisis Moratorium) (England and Wales) Regulations 2020That the draft Regulations laid before the House on 9 September be approved.06 Oct 2020HANSARDDebt Respite Scheme (Breathing Space Moratorium and Mental Health Crisis Moratorium) (England and Wales) Regulations 2020My Lords, the regulations before us today will establish a breathing space scheme for individuals who live in England and Wales. This is a temporary period of respite from…06 Oct 2020HANSARDDebt Respite Scheme (Breathing Space Moratorium and Mental Health Crisis Moratorium) (England and Wales) Regulations 2020My Lords, I thank noble Lords for their thoughtful contributions, and I am grateful for the chance to respond to the points that have been raised. I think we can all agree that…06 Oct 2020HANSARDEconomyMy Lords, the Chancellor has consistently said that his interventions have to be macroeconomic. However, we have tried to create safety nets to protect as many people as we can in…28 Sept 2020HANSARDEconomyMy Lords, the Prime Minister is hesitant to address this because it was a very strong manifesto commitment and he is very anxious not to break those. As we know, in politics it is…28 Sept 2020