Contributions
1,483 recent contributions in Hansard
HANSARDAnimal Welfare (Sentience) Bill [HL]I understand the question and apologise for missing it first time. No, I cannot give my noble friend that assurance, because the work programme and what the committee would look…20 Jul 2021HANSARDAnimal Welfare (Sentience) Bill [HL]If my noble friend is referring to the article that I read at the weekend, it was full of inaccuracies and hyperbole, which is not what this Bill is about. At a later stage in…20 Jul 2021HANSARDAnimal Welfare (Sentience) Bill [HL]I entirely agree: this has been a really interesting discussion. I thank the noble Baroness, Lady Jones of Moulsecoomb, for her Amendment 20, which would place a legal duty to…20 Jul 2021HANSARDAnimal Welfare (Sentience) Bill [HL]Quite a lot actually.20 Jul 2021HANSARDAnimal Welfare (Sentience) Bill [HL]I will explain why. My noble friend was—as the previous Speaker used to say—a great denizen of the House of Commons for many years, as he rightly reminds us. But, sadly, he was…20 Jul 2021HANSARDAnimal Welfare (Sentience) Bill [HL]I am grateful to my noble friend, and I hope to be able to reassure him. The job of the animal sentience committee will not be to walk into Holyrood and instruct our friends in…20 Jul 2021HANSARDAnimal Welfare (Sentience) Bill [HL]I thank my noble friend Lord Moylan for his Amendments 28 and 42. Members of the animal sentience committee will be appointed through a rigorous procedure of fair and open…20 Jul 2021HANSARDAnimal Welfare (Sentience) Bill [HL]I thank the noble Baroness for her question. It would not be our intention to edit the committee’s membership by their eating habits or by any other habits or disciplines. We want…20 Jul 2021HANSARDAnimal Welfare (Sentience) Bill [HL]I thank my noble friend Lord Caithness for his Amendment 35A, which seeks to ensure that the animal sentience committee’s recommendations are not detrimental to conservation,…20 Jul 2021HANSARDAnimal Welfare (Sentience) Bill [HL]I would be going down a very dangerous path if I moved on to cats and how many songbirds they account for, and would probably find this getting out of hand, but my noble friend is…20 Jul 2021HANSARDAnimal Welfare (Sentience) Bill [HL]I am very worried about my noble friend. He appears to have a very jaundiced view of human nature. There are a great many people with those skills whom we meet every day, whether…20 Jul 2021HANSARDAnimal Welfare (Sentience) Bill [HL]I am not an expert, and that is why I want an animal sentience committee that will advise me and my successors on the rights and wrongs of dispatching species of all kinds. I…20 Jul 2021HANSARDAnimal Welfare (Sentience) Bill [HL]The noble Baroness very eloquently makes the point I was going to make. I have clearly had representations from a lot of parliamentarians and different interest groups, saying…06 Jul 2021HANSARDAnimal Welfare (Sentience) Bill [HL]My noble friend takes me down a rabbit hole. I do not think I can add to what I already said. The serious point is that we want people with real expertise and knowledge, and the…06 Jul 2021HANSARDAnimal Welfare (Sentience) Bill [HL]I thank my noble friend Lady McIntosh for her amendments concerning term-lengths for members of the animal sentience committee. I can confirm that the Government are committed to…06 Jul 2021HANSARDAnimal Welfare (Sentience) Bill [HL]An overused phrase in corporate-speak and in government is that my door is always open, but in this case it is true. I am always open to suggestions. If we can be more explicit on…06 Jul 2021HANSARDAnimal Welfare (Sentience) Bill [HL]The noble Earl refers to the LSE report on decapods and cephalopods, I assume.06 Jul 2021HANSARDAnimal Welfare (Sentience) Bill [HL]I said, with what I thought was clear reasoning, which has been backed up by others, why these two committees are different. The Animal Welfare Committee advises Defra and is not…06 Jul 2021HANSARDAnimal Welfare (Sentience) Bill [HL]I am very grateful to my noble friend for his sympathy, though I wish my noble friends would stop sympathising with me. If they are confused, this is my I-am-enjoying-myself face.…06 Jul 2021HANSARDAnimal Welfare (Sentience) Bill [HL]I am grateful to my noble friend and absolutely defer to him as someone with long experience of legislation, good and bad. I am sorry if saying “Nothing to fear” caused him fear.…06 Jul 2021