Contributions
2,386 recent contributions in Hansard
HANSARDGovernment Departments: Non-Executive DirectorsMy Lords, the noble Lord, as ever, raises a thoughtful and interesting point. I do not follow him entirely, because I believe that it is the essence of your Lordships’ House that…08 Sept 2021HANSARDGovernment Departments: Non-Executive DirectorsMy Lords, again, I am not following any implication of disparagement of the honour of those who are serving as non-executive board members. The Government are grateful and I would…08 Sept 2021HANSARDHouse of Lords Appointments CommissionMy Lords, it is very good to see the old House back. I fear that one thing that might not change is that from this Dispatch Box I am not necessarily able to give the noble…06 Sept 2021HANSARDHouse of Lords Appointments CommissionI am grateful that it was not intended. What I heard was a complaint that not enough Cross-Bench Peers were being appointed, and I think Hansard will show that the noble Lord made…06 Sept 2021HANSARDNational Insurance Numbers: Electoral RegisterMy Lords, I have indicated that the Government do not see attractions in producing a single national electoral register or centralised database. It is one of the aspects of our…22 Jul 2021HANSARDNational Insurance Numbers: Electoral RegisterI thank my noble friend for his remarks. Each step is important. I acknowledge that this has taken time; HMRC has competing priorities—noble Lords will understand the situation…22 Jul 2021HANSARDNational Insurance Numbers: Electoral RegisterMy Lords, we have spoken often about the great service of the late Lord Shutt. We are determined to see people exercise their right to vote, but there are numerous important…22 Jul 2021HANSARDNational Insurance Numbers: Electoral RegisterMy Lords, the Government do not support automatic registration, but we certainly wish to see everyone register and exercise the right to vote, for which so many people have made…22 Jul 2021HANSARDNational Insurance Numbers: Electoral RegisterMy Lords, the Government are committed to making registration as easy as possible, and we encourage everyone eligible to register to do so. I stand by those earlier statements.…22 Jul 2021HANSARDNational Insurance Numbers: Electoral RegisterMy Lords, Cabinet Office officials have continued to work with colleagues in HMRC on the inclusion of additional information on registering to vote in letters issuing national…22 Jul 2021HANSARDCovid-19 (Public Services Committee Report)My Lords, this has been an outstanding debate on, frankly, what I thought was a really outstanding report. I thank those who worked on it and all those who have spoken to it, and…22 Jul 2021HANSARDNational Insurance Numbers: Electoral RegisterMy Lords, I do not have an assessment to hand, but my noble friend raises an important point. I will pursue that matter and report back to her.22 Jul 2021HANSARDNational Insurance Numbers: Electoral RegisterMy Lords, the Government do not support compulsory voting, and, in fact, it has very limited public support, but I agree with the need to encourage participation. We have the…22 Jul 2021HANSARDNational Insurance Numbers: Electoral RegisterMy Lords, my noble friend raises an important point and we will certainly look at the Northern Ireland example. As he and the House may know, we have been working to try to…22 Jul 2021HANSARDNational Insurance Numbers: Electoral RegisterMy Lords, we will have many hours to discuss these matters on the Elections Bill. Time is short now, but I reject the view that that Bill is anything to do with voter suppression.…22 Jul 2021HANSARDEuropean Union (Future Relationship) Act 2020 (References to the Trade and Cooperation Agreement) Regulations 2021That the draft Regulations laid before the House on 16 June be approved. Relevant document: 7th Report from the Secondary Legislation Scrutiny Committee. Considered in Grand…22 Jul 2021HANSARDSpywareMy Lords, again, I cannot comment on operational specifics, but I assure the noble Lord that our intelligence agencies are governed by a robust regulatory framework to ensure that…21 Jul 2021HANSARDSpywareMy Lords, I reiterate the Government’s determination within the cyber strategy to protect all our citizens. I strongly agree with the noble Lord that freedom of the press is an…21 Jul 2021HANSARDSpywareMy Lords, Her Majesty’s Government are committed to defending the UK from online threats and boosting national resilience to cyberattacks, which the noble Lord rightly asks about.…21 Jul 2021HANSARDSpywareMy Lords, the UK Government are aware of companies selling high-end, state-like cyber capabilities to Governments. We believe that the use of cyberespionage tools against civil…21 Jul 2021