Contributions
529 recent contributions in Hansard
HANSARDTrade UnionsDare I say to the noble Lord that I was in only the 13th minute of my speech; I think that I have 20 minutes. He was being a bit premature if he was asking whether I was going to…18 Jul 2019HANSARDElectricity Capacity (No. 2) Regulations 2019Again, it might be better if I write to the noble Lord on that point. He is aware that the Commission—which we support on this—is not happy with that judgment. It needs to be…17 Jul 2019HANSARDElectricity Capacity (No. 2) Regulations 2019My Lords, the capacity market is a key element of the Government’s strategy for maintaining the security of electricity supplies in Great Britain. This instrument will help…17 Jul 2019HANSARDElectricity Capacity (No. 2) Regulations 2019My Lords, I am grateful to all three noble Lords for their interventions and I will try to deal with as many of the questions as possible. I believe I have a certain amount of…17 Jul 2019HANSARDElectricity Capacity (No. 2) Regulations 2019I might have to write in greater detail, but both T-1 and T-4—the short term and longer term—deal with the point about discrimination. I might be wrong, but I will think about…17 Jul 2019HANSARDElectricity Capacity (No. 2) Regulations 2019That the draft Regulations laid before the House on 5 June be approved. Relevant document: 53rd Report from the Secondary Legislation Scrutiny Committee17 Jul 2019HANSARDSpace Science and TechnologyMy Lords, like virtually all other noble Lords —I exclude the noble Lords, Lord McNicol and Lord Ravensdale—I too can remember the grainy pictures on television 50 years ago of…15 Jul 2019HANSARDEconomic Environment: Growth and JobsMy Lords, I will not follow the noble Lord on that point but I will pick up on his opening remarks, in which, in paying tribute to my noble friend for getting this debate…11 Jul 2019HANSARDCompanies: Parental Leave PracticesMy Lords, this proposal was announced last October. The department has been engaging with business and those representing employees to gather their views on the proposal and how…10 Jul 2019HANSARDCompanies: Parental Leave PracticesMy Lords, again it is fair to say that the noble Lord is right to highlight that there has been a low take-up of shared parental leave. We will want to look at this to make sure…10 Jul 2019HANSARDCompanies: Parental Leave PracticesMy Lords, the noble Baroness makes a very fair point. The purpose of requiring employers to publish parental leave and pay policies is so that applicants can make an informed…10 Jul 2019HANSARDCompanies: Parental Leave PracticesI am more than happy to look at that because there is no point in introducing new measures to assist new employees if the employers, HR departments and others do not know about…10 Jul 2019HANSARDRural Post OfficesMy Lords, in 2017 we committed to safeguarding the Post Office network and protecting rural services. The Government have invested over £2 billion since 2010 to ensure the…09 Jul 2019HANSARDRural Post OfficesMy Lords, I am not aware of that connection with the closure of banks in rural areas causing an increase in crime, but I am aware that there is a decline in bank services in…09 Jul 2019HANSARDRural Post OfficesMy Lords, again, the important point is that our Post Office network is now making a profit and is broadly stable. The Question is about rural sub-post offices, but the noble Lord…09 Jul 2019HANSARDRural Post OfficesMy Lords, I agree with my noble friend about the value that we place on the Post Office, and rural post offices in particular. That is why we made that commitment in the 2017…09 Jul 2019HANSARDRural Post OfficesMy Lords, my noble friend is right to draw attention to the banking framework agreement. We are grateful for the work that the Post Office and the banks have done together. Post…09 Jul 2019HANSARDRural Post OfficesMy Lords, I simply do not agree. The network is broadly stable. We have seen 400 new post offices open in the last couple of years; the coverage is there. The Post Office itself…09 Jul 2019HANSARDRural Post OfficesI regret to say that what the noble Lord says is complete and utter nonsense. The Post Office network is broadly stable, at about 11,500 branches. Obviously, there are occasional…09 Jul 2019HANSARDCarbon BudgetsMy Lords, we have ramped up what we are doing; that is why, last week, we brought forward the order that moved us to a legally binding target of net zero by 2050, in line with the…08 Jul 2019