Contributions
453 recent contributions in Hansard
HANSARDPublic Authorities (Fraud, Error and Recovery) BillMy Lords, I rise briefly to add my support to the first two amendments in this group. While I agree with removing the discretion of the Secretary of State, Amendment 99A does not…18 Jun 2025HANSARDPublic Authorities (Fraud, Error and Recovery) BillMy Lords, I thank everyone who has taken part in this short but, I hope, illuminating debate. I have concerns about these police powers being given to civil servants and I do not…18 Jun 2025HANSARDPublic Authorities (Fraud, Error and Recovery) BillThe noble Baroness has not answered one question that I had. My understanding from Clause 89 is that these DDO rights—or however one describes them—can be used only where a person…18 Jun 2025HANSARDPublic Authorities (Fraud, Error and Recovery) BillCan the Minister explain why the DWP needs that power but the PSFA does not? The two clauses in the Bill are otherwise identical and differ only in respect of the reasonable force…18 Jun 2025HANSARDPublic Authorities (Fraud, Error and Recovery) BillMy Lords, I shall be brief. When we discussed a previous group on Part 1 that was similar to this, I believe the Minister stated that those using search or other powers would…18 Jun 2025HANSARDPublic Authorities (Fraud, Error and Recovery) Bill18 Jun 2025HANSARDPublic Authorities (Fraud, Error and Recovery) BillMy Lords, I will speak briefly to Amendments 102 and 122, which would require the Secretary of State to apply to the court for a direct deduction order—a DDO. I confess that I am…18 Jun 2025HANSARDSocial Energy TariffMy Lords, one of the main reasons why electricity prices are so high is the bizarre way the wholesale market works. If I need to buy 10 pints of milk, so I go to my supermarket,…16 Jun 2025HANSARDPublic Authorities (Fraud, Error and Recovery) BillMy Lords, my Amendment 77 is, as the noble Lord, Lord Sikka, has just said, slightly different from the others. I thought about degrouping it, but I decided that life was too…16 Jun 2025HANSARDPublic Authorities (Fraud, Error and Recovery) BillI understand the noble Baroness’s point. It was because it said “reasonable grounds” in the first half that the fact that it was missing in the second half—paragraph (b)—stuck…16 Jun 2025HANSARDPublic Authorities (Fraud, Error and Recovery) BillMy Lords, I speak to my Amendment 79B and thank the noble Baroness, Lady Kramer, for her support for it. It is a very simple amendment that would make the giving of an eligibility…16 Jun 2025HANSARDPublic Authorities (Fraud, Error and Recovery) Bill16 Jun 2025HANSARDPublic Authorities (Fraud, Error and Recovery) BillI will jump in quickly before the Minister continues. She has been very helpful in explaining how this is going to work. I should say, as I have before, that I think this is…16 Jun 2025HANSARDPublic Authorities (Fraud, Error and Recovery) BillI am still not convinced that that is correct. I think that what happens is that there is an indicator that goes with the payment of the benefit, and we are then asking the banks,…16 Jun 2025HANSARDPublic Authorities (Fraud, Error and Recovery) BillMy Lords, I hope that my Amendments 81, 89C and 91 are fairly self-explanatory and that we are getting into more detailed points, which might be easier, rather than points of…16 Jun 2025HANSARDPublic Authorities (Fraud, Error and Recovery) Bill16 Jun 2025HANSARDPublic Authorities (Fraud, Error and Recovery) BillMy Lords, I thank all noble Lords who have taken part in this debate and for their support for my amendments. We tabled these cost amendments primarily because we do not know what…16 Jun 2025HANSARDPublic Authorities (Fraud, Error and Recovery) BillMy Lords, I have Amendment 89ZA in this group—I still do not understand the numbering system that the Public Bill Office uses. Before I move on to that, I want to make a couple of…16 Jun 2025HANSARDPublic Authorities (Fraud, Error and Recovery) BillBefore the Minister moves on to Amendment 88, I asked about the cross-comparison with datasets from different banks; this goes to the point that the Minister has just been making…16 Jun 2025HANSARDPublic Authorities (Fraud, Error and Recovery) BillIn the situation where there would be a suspicion of fraud, you have bank A—actually, I suppose it would not have provided the information, would it?16 Jun 2025