Contributions
879 recent contributions in Hansard
HANSARDLords Spiritual (Women) Act 2015 (Extension) Bill [HL]My Lords, the Church of England moves slowly, but not as slowly as the reform of the House of Lords. I grew up in the heart of the Church of England, as a chorister at Westminster…10 Sept 2024HANSARDWhitehall: Prioritising PerformanceMy Lords, the Minister mentioned that retention of the exceptionally talented is a problem. I have been distressed in the last five years to discover that some of the most…10 Sept 2024HANSARDEmergency Alert ServiceMy Lords, when the UK Government’s resilience framework was launched two years ago, one of its three core principles, as announced, was: “Resilience is a ‘whole of society’…05 Sept 2024HANSARDHouse of Lords: CompositionMy Lords, I remind the House that my party is committed to further reform of this House, including the introduction of an elected element, which we first declared as party policy…05 Sept 2024HANSARDIndependent Schools: VAT ExemptionMy Lords, this has been a passionate debate about a policy which we do not know the details of yet, and which, as many noble Lords have said, has a lot of consequences about which…05 Sept 2024HANSARDCivil Service: RecruitmentMy Lords, does the Minister agree with the statements that the noble Lord, Lord Maude, and the noble Baroness, Lady Finn, made on a number of occasions during the coalition…04 Sept 2024HANSARDInternational Anti-Corruption CourtMy Lords, in the fight against corruption, transparency of ownership and of financial transactions is clearly important. We have seen a number of things in recent years about…02 Sept 2024HANSARDHouse of Lords: Nominations for AppointmentMy Lords, does the Minister recognise that the prerogative power of the Prime Minister to appoint to this House remains absolute, as we saw under Boris Johnson? As a prerogative…30 Jul 2024HANSARDGovernment StandardsMy Lords, practice matters as well as principles and regulations here. In terms of ministerial practice, will the new Government try their best to ensure that Ministers stay in…25 Jul 2024HANSARDKing’s SpeechMy Lords, I join in welcoming the noble and learned Lord, Lord Hermer, to his new post and to the House. I was cheered by his speech, and by the broader issues not just of the…23 Jul 2024HANSARDMail Carriage by RailMy Lords, is the Minister aware that one of the choke points if one wants to increase the amount of freight moved by rail is across the Pennines? The M62 is crowded every day with…22 Jul 2024HANSARDConflict in Sudan: El FasherMy Lords, what conversations are the Minister and the Government having with external actors, particularly the UAE, which are supporting the different sides? There are reports…16 May 2024HANSARDDefence FundingCan the Minister reassure us that it is the Treasury’s view that an increase in defence expenditure to 2.5% of GDP is compatible with the promise of further tax cuts, without…16 May 2024HANSARDEconomic Activity of Public Bodies (Overseas Matters) BillMy Lords, I should declare an interest as a beneficiary of the university superannuation scheme. Can the Minister remind us how many times any local government pension fund has…14 May 2024HANSARDEconomic Activity of Public Bodies (Overseas Matters) BillMy Lords, I have been trying to think of the right reverend Prelate as a public body. He is certainly a public authority, but he is at most a hybrid public body. I am not quite…14 May 2024HANSARDEconomic Activity of Public Bodies (Overseas Matters) BillMy Lords, we need to be very careful about how we talk about social cohesion at present. As it happens, I spent some time last weekend in Saltaire, which is part of the Bradford…14 May 2024HANSARDEconomic Activity of Public Bodies (Overseas Matters) BillMy Lords, there is no one on the Liberal Democrat Benches tonight who is sufficiently expert in international law to intervene at length in this debate, so I will be very brief. I…14 May 2024HANSARDEconomic Activity of Public Bodies (Overseas Matters) BillThe noble Baroness said that she is afraid that BDS statements will increase. Is she in favour of preventing such statements in unavoidably lively public debate?14 May 2024HANSARDCraftspeople: European Union Travel and TradeMy Lords, when Henry III ordered the rebuilding of Westminster Abbey a mere 750 years ago, there were craftsmen from Italy, France, Germany and the Low Countries working on it.…13 May 2024HANSARDPermanent Secretaries: Appointment and Removal (Constitution Committee Report)My Lords, this small gathering of experts interested in this subject brings back for me happy memories of standing in the office of Mr Maude, as he then was, with his special…09 May 2024