Contributions
271 recent contributions in Hansard
HANSARDChildren’s Wellbeing and Schools BillThank you very much. I have decided to join the Conservative Party. Can I meet the noble Earl afterwards and fill in the forms? Forgive me, I was only joking. I have never…28 Jan 2026HANSARDChildren’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill28 Jan 2026HANSARDNet Zero: Civil Society and Faith-based OrganisationsDoes the Minister agree that getting rid of poverty would be one of the greatest ways of achieving net zero?08 Jan 2026HANSARDNational Plan to End HomelessnessWith £2.8 billion spent on temporary accommodation in the last year by local authorities, forcing many of them towards bankruptcy, the £2.5 billion the Government have allocated,…16 Dec 2025HANSARDNational Plan to End HomelessnessTo ask His Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of whether new funding allocations to local authorities are sufficient to deliver the prevention commitments in the…16 Dec 2025HANSARDAutumn Budget 2025I am not here to congratulate the Government, nor to commiserate with the Opposition. I am here to talk about what the noble Lord, Lord Saatchi, has called for, which is: not more…04 Dec 2025HANSARDSubscription Contracts: Right to CancelIs the Minister actually asking for reluctant subscribers to stay with a service just because it is a charity? I find that really difficult to understand. We have to think of that…02 Dec 2025HANSARDPublic and Private Sector Productivity TrendsMy Lords, would the Government agree that, because we have a low-wage economy, we also have a low-investment economy? That is shown in the fact that 80% of all the transactions…30 Oct 2025HANSARDHeathrow Airport: Third RunwayWill the Minister say whether it is possible for the Government to buy my ex-wife’s house, which is right near the runway? It is absolutely appalling when you go down there. If…30 Oct 2025HANSARDPolice: Vetting, Training and DisciplineMy Lords, is it not possible to accept that what we have got is a situation, which nobody seems to want to address, where we have a class divide in the police force? We have a…16 Oct 2025HANSARDChildren’s Wellbeing and Schools BillI have never heard of the concept of deep poverty. The noble Baroness, Lady Barran, said that poverty is different if you are in Weston-super-Mare or in Bristol. I was privileged…19 Jun 2025HANSARDChildren’s Wellbeing and Schools BillI agree with the Minister 100%. We should never, ever abandon people who are in an emergency. But, if that is what we are doing, and if that is what most of our efforts go into,…19 Jun 2025HANSARDChildren’s Wellbeing and Schools BillAmendment 163 in my name would place a duty on the Secretary of State to set binding child poverty reduction targets and report on them annually to Parliament. This amendment will…19 Jun 2025HANSARDChildren’s Wellbeing and Schools BillMy Lords, I thank the Minister for her assessment, but I do not agree. It is interesting that, when she outlined how she will tackle poverty, she mentioned school uniforms,…19 Jun 2025HANSARDChildren’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill19 Jun 2025HANSARDChildren’s Wellbeing and Schools BillMy Lords, on Amendment 100, from the noble Lord, Lord Young, I will offer a bit of Big Issue news. We did a survey in the early part of this century in which we surveyed 150 to…12 Jun 2025HANSARDChildren’s Wellbeing and Schools BillI second the amendment of the noble Lord, Lord Young. I am very interested in foster caring, largely because when I was in care as a young child, it was largely because I did not…12 Jun 2025HANSARDChildren’s Wellbeing and Schools BillI just wanted to remind us of a little bit of history. Napoleon said that a battle plan strategy was the most useless thing on earth but that you were lost without it.12 Jun 2025HANSARDRenters’ Rights BillUnfortunately, I was not in a position to sit up last night or the night before because I have a full-time job. Yesterday, I was in Cardiff working with people in the Government…15 May 2025HANSARDRenters’ Rights BillI declare my interests in the register in and around housing and things in that area. I will speak to Amendment 278 and the other amendments in my name—Amendments 282, 286 and…15 May 2025