Contributions
49 recent contributions in Hansard
HANSARDBanks: Fraud PreventionMy Lords, the country is well aware of the extent to which scams and frauds have been successful in recent years, and it is an acute problem. I accept that the Government and the…20 May 2019HANSARDSpending Review: Intergenerational Fairness and Well-beingMy Lords, the Minister is being somewhat complacent in his answers to the third Question of the day. He must be aware that a large number of young people feel outrage because the…20 May 2019HANSARDMaking Tax Digital for VAT (Economic Affairs Committee Report)My Lords, I welcome the noble Lord, Lord Young. He has a somewhat challenging baptism in replying to this first debate in his new position. We all know his competence and that he…29 Apr 2019HANSARDMaking Tax Digital for VAT (Economic Affairs Committee Report)The answer is categorically yes. In fact, I was going to develop that argument briefly but I do not need to now: in his opening speech, the noble Lord made the main charge against…29 Apr 2019HANSARDEconomy: Purchasing Managers’ IndexMy Lords, this Question started on the manufacturing industry, with a reference to the German motor car industry. Is it surprising that Germany is having some problems with its…11 Apr 2019HANSARDGovernment DebtMy Lords, why does the Minister not confess that the noble Lord, Lord Hunt, got it absolutely right? The only thing is that it is completely contrary to what Conservative…09 Apr 2019HANSARDUK Convergence ProgrammeMy Lords, I was somewhat taken aback by the Minister’s opening statement. I of course recognise that the process we are involved in is a largely technical one with a very short…09 Apr 2019HANSARDRetailers: Business RatesMy Lords, as well as shops being boarded up in high streets, the Minister must be aware that 100,000 jobs have gone in the last three years and that for many retailers the…08 Apr 2019HANSARDAccess to CashMy Lords, times they are a-changing. Tottenham Hotspur is playing its first match on Saturday—tonight, sorry—in its extremely expensive but attractive new stadium, and the stadium…03 Apr 2019HANSARDFemale EntrepreneurshipMy Lords, we are so far behind France, America and Canada in the numbers of women becoming entrepreneurs compared with men. This suggests that there is a rather significant…03 Apr 2019HANSARDTax: Short-term LetsMy Lords, Airbnb, a significant company in this field, is apparently being looked at closely by Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs, but it seems to be engaging in a practice that…01 Apr 2019HANSARDNational Insurance Contributions HolidayMy Lords, the noble Lord will have appreciated the rather derisive laughter that greeted his first comment that he was out to fulfil manifesto commitments. Since the general…27 Mar 2019HANSARDSibling CouplesMy Lords, I agree with a great deal of what the Minister has said. It is right that the Treasury should be concerned about the protection of inheritance tax. After all, avoidance…21 Mar 2019HANSARDSpring StatementMy Lords, this debate is occasioned by an event called the Spring Statement, which has scarcely been a fiscal event. There were no significant changes to the tax system, and only…20 Mar 2019HANSARDSupply and Appropriation (Anticipation and Adjustments) (No. 2) BillMy Lords, it is not customary for the Opposition to make any comments on the appropriations Bill and, in normal circumstances, we would not. There is no question of us seeking to…14 Mar 2019HANSARDBrexit: Economic ImpactMy Lords, is it not amazing, with the Government’s industrial strategy on the point of collapse and our car industry showing the enormous stresses and strains of the way the…20 Feb 2019HANSARDFinance (No. 3) BillMy Lords, this has been an excellent debate, although the participation numbers are a long way below the usual ones. That is a reflection of the exhaustion which Brexit has…07 Feb 2019HANSARDFinancial Services (Implementation of Legislation) Bill [HL]My Lords, I am grateful for that answer, which shows that the Government are on top of the issue—against a background where we must all recognise that time is somewhat short with…06 Feb 2019HANSARDBrexit: Outstanding CommitmentsMy Lords, is it not right for us to assume that the majority of British people who voted to leave the European Union did so because they had a different perspective on the future…06 Feb 2019HANSARDFinancial Services (Implementation of Legislation) Bill [HL]My Lords, the Minister is to be congratulated on the way in which he has handled this Bill. In Committee, we raised several significant issues and pressed him to consider our…29 Jan 2019