Contributions
164 recent contributions in Hansard
HANSARDHigher Education SectorMy Lords—04 Dec 2024HANSARDHigher Education SectorDoes the Minister not recognise that we are in the process of destroying our universities through swingeing cuts to their staff that have been occasioned by their financial…04 Dec 2024HANSARDGreat British Energy BillMy Lords, I express my admiration for the maiden speech we have already heard, and I look forward to the one that will follow immediately. The Bill seeks to establish the…18 Nov 2024HANSARDAutumn Budget 2024My Lords, the economic nostrums of the Thatcher era still dominate the minds of many politicians and civil servants. The Conservative ideology of the time proposed that public…11 Nov 2024HANSARDScience and Technology: EconomyMy Lords, I concur in the praise that has been accorded to the proposer of this debate and to the maiden speech. I wish to discuss the failures of Britain to profit from its own…31 Oct 2024HANSARDPassenger Railway Services (Public Ownership) BillMy Lords, I offer my support to Amendment 44 and, beyond that, want to support and reiterate what my colleague has just asserted. I agree that, consequent upon the Bill, the whole…23 Oct 2024HANSARDPassenger Railway Services (Public Ownership) BillMy Lords, I have been pre-empted in much of what I wished to say by my colleague, the speaker before last—but that pleases me. The period following the First World War saw a rapid…07 Oct 2024HANSARDHigher Education FundingMy Lords, during the so-called Robbins expansion of the university sector in the 1960s, there was a clear understanding between the Government and the universities. Whereas the…12 Sept 2024HANSARDHousing: Modern Methods of ConstructionMy Lords, the recently elected Labour Government have proposed that there should be mandatory targets for housebuilding that local authorities must adhere to. The ambition is for…05 Sept 2024HANSARDKing’s Speech (4th Day)My Lords, the incoming Government are right to express dismay at the state of our nation and the economy, and to be cautious about the prospects for achieving the growth that…22 Jul 2024HANSARDUniversities: Financial SustainabilityThe Minister is doubtless aware that the pension fund of university lecturers is mainly invested in Thames Water. Traditionally, the munificence of the university pension scheme…21 May 2024HANSARDLeaseholders: Management CompaniesMy Lords, is the Minister aware of the extent of a stratagem whereby companies have acquired freeholds with the intention of removing the leaseholder occupants by undertaking…20 May 2024HANSARDHigh Streets (Designation, Review and Improvement Plan) BillMy Lords, I should begin by mentioning that I am a current member of the Built Environment Committee, which is engaged in considering the state of Britain’s high streets. The Bill…17 May 2024HANSARDHigh Streets (Designation, Review and Improvement Plan) BillIt is advisory, presumably, but not mandatory.17 May 2024HANSARDTransport System: FailingsMy Lords, Britain was once a great innovator in transport. It was the first of the European nations to create a modern transport network. In the late 18th century, John McAdam and…25 Apr 2024HANSARDLeasehold and Freehold Reform BillMy Lords, rent is income derived from the ownership of land or other property. It is an income derived without effort on the part of the owner. The owner would have acquired a…27 Mar 2024HANSARDAdvanced Modular Reactors: Criticality TestsTo ask His Majesty’s Government what assistance they provide to the developers of advanced modular reactors to enable them to conduct criticality tests.19 Mar 2024HANSARDAdvanced Modular Reactors: Criticality TestsI thank the Minister for that Answer. Several projects aimed at developing advanced fourth-generation modular reactors are under way in the UK, but they are wilting through a lack…19 Mar 2024HANSARDHigher EducationMy Lords, it is a familiar aspersion that the scientific and technological innovations that occur in our universities are too slow in giving rise to practical industrial…07 Mar 2024HANSARDIndustrial StrategyMy Lords, Britain is in decline. To avert that decline, we need a comprehensive and sustained strategy for encouraging investment in our publicly owned social infrastructure and…01 Feb 2024