Contributions
612 recent contributions in Hansard
HANSARDNational Minimum WageI thank my noble friend for that. The cost to business is a consideration that we must consider. The cost of this particular increase will be £3 billion over six years and I…21 Feb 2024HANSARDNational Minimum WageI think everyone on all sides of the House agrees with the noble Baroness that we owe a great deal of gratitude to those who work in the social care sector. It is a fact that a…21 Feb 2024HANSARDNational Minimum WageI thank the noble Lord for that. I think I have already addressed that question. We have to set the national minimum wage as high as possible for young people without damaging…21 Feb 2024HANSARDNational Minimum WageI thank the noble Baroness for that. The ambition that we should all share is for everyone to have rising wages as they improve their skill levels and for our young people to get…21 Feb 2024HANSARDPost Office Governance and Horizon Compensation SchemesThere is a lot to unpack there. I will take it in three pieces, if your Lordships do not mind. I will start with the Henry Staunton spat; then we will talk a little bit about the…21 Feb 2024HANSARDPost Office Horizon Scandal: Compensation PaymentsI am rather relieved to say that I have no idea, so I shall write to the noble Lord.19 Feb 2024HANSARDPost Office Horizon Scandal: Compensation PaymentsA company’s culture is set by the board and the management. There has not been a prosecution since 2015, and no one on the board of the Post Office today was involved in the…19 Feb 2024HANSARDPost Office Horizon Scandal: Compensation PaymentsI am not aware that that has happened formally, but the law of common sense says that it must be the case.19 Feb 2024HANSARDPost Office Horizon Scandal: Compensation PaymentsThe issue here is that the sub-postmasters and sub-postmistresses who run these shops know their accounts back to front—that is the whole point. They know to a penny what they are…19 Feb 2024HANSARDPost Office Horizon Scandal: Compensation PaymentsThe government advice is that each individual claimant must submit his or her claim, and money is available to them to take legal and medical advice. That is part of the reason…19 Feb 2024HANSARDPost Office Horizon Scandal: Compensation PaymentsThat is absolutely the case, and my colleague in the other place, Minister Hollinrake, has made it very clear that we will pursue Fujitsu for its share of the compensation. It is…19 Feb 2024HANSARDPost Office Horizon Scandal: RacismI thank the noble Lord. He is referring to the historical document that was released under the Freedom of Information Act in 2023. It has clearly been identified to have offensive…19 Feb 2024HANSARDPost Office Horizon Scandal: Compensation PaymentsThe Government are a shareholder, and there is only one shareholder in this company, if you can call it a company—I have never come across a company that has only one. Therefore,…19 Feb 2024HANSARDPost Office Horizon Scandal: RacismI thank my noble friend. We both come at this from the same point of view: the private sector board. The board currently in place is not the board that prosecuted any of these…19 Feb 2024HANSARDPost Office Horizon Scandal: RacismI share the noble Lord’s frustration with this process. There was indeed offensive language used in the official documentation, which had not been updated since the 1980s and for…19 Feb 2024HANSARDPost Office Horizon Scandal: RacismI thank the noble Lord. We are all deeply distressed by the events that have happened during this 25-year sorry saga. The noble Lord refers to one of the documents that was used…19 Feb 2024HANSARDPost Office Horizon Scandal: RacismI thank the noble Lord for his Question. Some of the evidence that has been brought to light through Sir Wyn Williams’s inquiry has been appalling and regrettable. The Government…19 Feb 2024HANSARDPost Office Horizon Scandal: Compensation PaymentsThe reality is that the Government are not dragging their feet—quite the opposite. We will process the cases as quickly as they are put in. When cases are put in, and if the offer…19 Feb 2024HANSARDPost Office Horizon Scandal: RacismI thank the noble Baroness for that question. Absolutely—this is fundamental to looking at the overturning of the convictions. There were 983 wrongful convictions and the Ministry…19 Feb 2024HANSARDPost Office Horizon Scandal: RacismI thank the noble Baroness. As I said, these are all issues that will be looked at. Sir Wyn Williams has complete authority to look into all these matters and he will be guided by…19 Feb 2024