Contributions
692 recent contributions in Hansard
HANSARDBirmingham Commonwealth Games Bill [HL]It has been decided.25 Jun 2019HANSARDBirmingham Commonwealth Games Bill [HL]My Lords, I am grateful for all the suggestions and points that have been made by an intimidating mix of former Olympians, Brummies and local residents, politicians and former…25 Jun 2019HANSARDAge VerificationMy Lords, I thank both noble Lords for their sensible comments and repeat our apology. The noble Lord, Lord Stevenson, commented on the memorial service for Lord Heywood and the…20 Jun 2019HANSARDAge VerificationMy Lords, with the leave of the House I will repeat a Statement made by my right honourable friend the Secretary of State for DCMS in the other place earlier today. The Statement…20 Jun 2019HANSARDAge VerificationFirst, this is not an excuse for delaying. The legal advice that the BBFC has received, confirmed by the legal advice that my department has received, is that the guidance needs…20 Jun 2019HANSARDAge VerificationYes, we will take action as soon as possible. As I explained, after the three or four months with the EU in draft are up, we will immediately proceed with laying it before…20 Jun 2019HANSARDOlder Persons: Provision of Public ServicesThe agreement put into law in the Digital Economy Act was the power for the BBC to make the decision, so the BBC has done what it is entitled to do and what we gave it…13 Jun 2019HANSARDOlder Persons: Provision of Public ServicesThe agreement with the BBC, which is in the Digital Economy Act, is what has happened. The BBC has the power and the responsibility to make a decision. It has made a decision and…13 Jun 2019HANSARDOlder Persons: Provision of Public ServicesIf the noble Lord is referring to TV licences, I will come on to them later. I hope that I will answer his question then. Of course, the fundamental difference there is that the…13 Jun 2019HANSARDOlder Persons: Provision of Public ServicesIt was 2016, I am afraid.13 Jun 2019HANSARDOlder Persons: Provision of Public ServicesMy Lords, I start, with slightly less time than I should have, by thanking the noble Lord, Lord Foulkes, for calling this debate and all the contributions. I cannot say that it…13 Jun 2019HANSARDRegulating in a Digital World (Communications Committee Report)I was considering it, we are considering it, and we will consider it further. The worry we have is about speed, and setting up a completely new regulator, and co-ordinating the…12 Jun 2019HANSARDRegulating in a Digital World (Communications Committee Report)My Lords, I am grateful to my noble friend Lord Gilbert for introducing the debate and to the entire Communications Committee for its report. I think that it is clear and well…12 Jun 2019HANSARDFree TV Licences for Over-75sMy Lords, on Thursday this week, there will be a debate in the name of the noble Lord, Lord Foulkes, on this subject and others, such as pensioner poverty and free transport. The…11 Jun 2019HANSARDFree TV Licences for Over-75sMy noble friend is right that when the Government make these giveaways, if you like, they should take the future ramifications into account. This would cost more than £1 billion…11 Jun 2019HANSARDFree TV Licences for Over-75sOf course the noble Lord is right that, before that promise was made, everyone knew that Parliament had agreed that responsibility for the concession fell to the BBC. It was in…11 Jun 2019HANSARDFree TV Licences for Over-75sThe public’s money is what the Government spend. Everything that the Government do is with taxpayers’ money, so I do not really understand the noble Baroness’s point. I should…11 Jun 2019HANSARDFree TV Licences for Over-75sMy Lords, I am very sorry to hear that this might cause marital disharmony in the noble Lord’s household. To be serious, this is not a payout, as he called it. This is taxpayers’…11 Jun 2019HANSARDFree TV Licences for Over-75sMy Lords, with the leave of the House, I shall now repeat in the form of a Statement the Answer to an Urgent Question given by my right honourable friend the Secretary of State…11 Jun 2019HANSARDFree TV Licences for Over-75sI agree that providing content is an extremely important, if not the primary, purpose of the BBC but, as I said, it is not an unsophisticated organisation: it can do many other…11 Jun 2019