Contributions
612 recent contributions in Hansard
HANSARDDigital Markets, Competition and Consumers BillMy Lords, I am delighted to speak on the third day in Committee. I reiterate the sentiment articulated in the first session by my noble friend Lord Camrose that the Bill,…29 Jan 2024HANSARDDigital Markets, Competition and Consumers BillI thank the noble Lords for their questions. I will first address the question from the noble Lord, Lord Clement-Jones. I do not see the shadows that he sees within the…29 Jan 2024HANSARDDigital Markets, Competition and Consumers BillThe noble Lord will know that, on the current pie chart of activity undertaken by the CMA, 80% is for mergers with companies with a turnover north of £100 million, while 20% of it…29 Jan 2024HANSARDAlan Bates and Others v Post Office LimitedI thank the noble Lord for his Question. I can confirm that no prosecutions have been brought against Post Office directors to date. The Horizon inquiry will establish the facts…24 Jan 2024HANSARDAlan Bates and Others v Post Office LimitedThe noble Lord is right to say that it is for the members of a company to take action against directors who have breached their statutory duties. In this case, the sole…24 Jan 2024HANSARDAlan Bates and Others v Post Office LimitedI thank the noble Lord for that question. The Financial Reporting Council is the UK body that deals with accounting failures. It had a considerable review following the failure of…24 Jan 2024HANSARDAlan Bates and Others v Post Office LimitedI thank the noble Lord for his question. The Horizon system has been upgraded—and upgraded again since 2017—and we now have a reasonable audit that it is now working…24 Jan 2024HANSARDAlan Bates and Others v Post Office LimitedI thank the noble and learned Baroness. This is exactly the issue we need to get to the bottom of. It goes back over a large number of years. We will be going back through files,…24 Jan 2024HANSARDAlan Bates and Others v Post Office LimitedI thank the noble and gallant Lord. That is exactly what the outcome will be. No prosecutions have been brought since 2015. The board has been reconstituted. There is a new chief…24 Jan 2024HANSARDAlan Bates and Others v Post Office LimitedThe Post Office is publicly owned and set up as a limited company with a sole shareholder, which is the Government. Its governance is as an arm’s-length body with its own board,…24 Jan 2024HANSARDAlan Bates and Others v Post Office LimitedI thank the noble Lord for that. I know that there is a lot of frustration in this House and the other place on the timelines. This has been going on for a very long time—almost…24 Jan 2024HANSARDDigital Markets, Competition and Consumers Bill24 Jan 2024HANSARDDigital Markets, Competition and Consumers Bill22 Jan 2024HANSARDPost Office (Horizon System) Compensation BillThat is exactly the position that has been taken here by the Lord Chancellor for England and Wales, and that is now the conversation that has to be had in Scotland and Northern…16 Jan 2024HANSARDPost Office (Horizon System) Compensation BillI thank the noble Lord for that searching question. Of course, this covers about three or four different Governments and more than half a dozen Ministers; that is just a fact. The…16 Jan 2024HANSARDPost Office (Horizon System) Compensation BillShorter arms, yes. There has been quite a big overhaul in terms of organisation, some of which is pretty obvious when you look at it. There is now a huge amount more central…16 Jan 2024HANSARDPost Office (Horizon System) Compensation BillI thank my noble friend for that clarification. Moving onto another theme, there has obviously been a lot of comment on Fujitsu and we have all been horrified by the extent of…16 Jan 2024HANSARDPost Office (Horizon System) Compensation BillThat the Bill be now read a second time. The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Business and Trade and Scotland Office (Lord Offord of Garvel) (Con): My Lords,…16 Jan 2024HANSARDPost Office (Horizon System) Compensation BillMy Lords, it is with great responsibility that I stand to conclude what has been a respectful debate. We have heard many insightful and personal contributions from noble Lords…16 Jan 2024HANSARDPost Office (Horizon System) Compensation BillI commend my colleague the Postal Minister Mr Hollinrake for pushing through hard on the £600,000 because it is not for us to judge what any individual has lost; it is up to that…16 Jan 2024