Results 1-20 of 2,609 for speaker:Lord Smith of Finsbury

Coroners and Justice Bill: Commons Reasons and Amendments (11 Nov 2009)

Lord Smith of Finsbury: My Lords, I rise to plead with your Lordships' House to reject the amendment and agree with the House of Commons. I do so because it is important for us to recognise the signal that legislation sometimes sends to the world outside. The problem is that we are faced with a clash of competing profound values. No one could possibly argue against the principle of free speech and the need of this...

Coroners and Justice Bill: Commons Reasons and Amendments (11 Nov 2009)

Lord Smith of Finsbury: I am afraid that it does. The point that I was about to make is that legislation, in the signals that it sends to the world outside, can have an impact on behaviour way beyond the actual meaning of the words in the legislation. There is already a huge amount of anxiety and fear among the gay community about the increasing level of attacks. If the signal that the House sends is that it is all...

Written Answers — House of Lords: Local Government: London Boroughs (11 Nov 2009)

Lord Smith of Finsbury: To ask Her Majesty's Government what alternative options for governance structures, including elected mayors, designated leaders and appointed lead members, will be available to London boroughs from April 2010; and what provision will be made for public consultation in the event that a change in governance is contemplated.

Water Management — Question for Short Debate (3 Nov 2009)

Lord Smith of Finsbury: My Lords, I am grateful to the noble Lord, Lord Dear, for selecting this subject for debate and for so admirably setting out the issues that confront us. I have a particular interest in engaging actively with this discussion given my role as chairman of the Environment Agency. As the noble Lord clearly spelt out, the challenges we now face with the implementation of the water framework...

Written Answers — House of Lords: House of Lords: Recycling (27 Oct 2009)

Lord Smith of Finsbury: To ask the Chairman of Committees what arrangements have been made for the subsequent re-use or recycling of computer and other electronic equipment no longer required by Members or staff of the House.

Climate Change — Debate (29 Jan 2009)

Lord Smith of Finsbury: My Lords, I, too, congratulate the noble Lord, Lord Browne, on putting this hugely important issue in front of us. As chairman of the Environment Agency, I have a passionate commitment to protecting and enhancing the environment on which we all depend. We all have to understand and recognise that the prospect of climate change is by far the greatest challenge that any of us faces...

Criminal Justice and Immigration Bill (7 May 2008)

Lord Smith of Finsbury: My Lords, when I came into the House today, I did not originally intend to speak, but I have been listening very carefully to the discussion and I want to make two brief points. First, I can absolutely understand the wish on the part of the noble Lord, Lord Waddington, and his supporters to prevent a situation where people are unnecessarily interrogated, arrested, or questioned by the police...

Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008 (23 Apr 2008)

Lord Smith of Finsbury: My Lords, I hate to interrupt the noble Baroness, but some of us get younger after the event.

Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008 (23 Apr 2008)

Lord Smith of Finsbury: My Lords, first, I join the noble Baroness, Lady Wilcox, in welcoming my noble friend to his new responsibilities on the Front Bench and I congratulate him on his elevation. I join this debate primarily as the chairman of the Advertising Standards Authority and, in that role, I give a warm welcome to these two instruments. The Government have succeeded in implementing the European directive...

Criminal Justice and Immigration Bill (21 Apr 2008)

Lord Smith of Finsbury: My Lords—

Criminal Justice and Immigration Bill (21 Apr 2008)

Lord Smith of Finsbury: My Lords, I am trying to be helpful. My noble friend might perhaps wish to observe to the noble Lord that the provision that he is concerned about is not yet on the statute book.

Criminal Justice and Immigration Bill (21 Apr 2008)

Lord Smith of Finsbury: My Lords, I am loath to disagree with my noble friend Lord Clarke who has been a good and valued colleague for many years but I am afraid that I cannot agree with the conclusions of his very moving contribution to this debate. I hold no brief for anyone who causes unnecessary distress to anyone because they have made a joke or an inappropriate remark. However, let us not forget that the...

Written Answers — House of Lords: HIV/AIDS (14 Mar 2008)

Lord Smith of Finsbury: asked Her Majesty's Government: How the revised global HIV and AIDS strategy will seek to ensure universal access to HIV and AIDS prevention, treatment, care and support for women.

Iraq (24 Jan 2008)

Lord Smith of Finsbury: My Lords, it was with a heavy heart nearly five years ago that I told my own Government and my own Prime Minister that I thought they were making a huge mistake in joining the American invasion of Iraq. I proposed the Motion in another place that brought 130 of my Labour colleagues into the Division Lobby against our own Government. I took no pleasure in doing that, and there are no prizes in...

Economy: Creative Industries (6 Jun 2007)

Lord Smith of Finsbury: My Lords, I remind the House of my interests, among them my role as chairman-designate of the Advertising Standards Authority and as a non-executive director of Phonographic Performance Limited. I am particularly proud of having begun the work, when I was Secretary of State, that the Government have built on in establishing the importance of the creative industries and the creative sector of...

Olympic Games 2012: Heritage and Arts Funding (17 May 2007)

Lord Smith of Finsbury: My Lords, I congratulate the noble Lord, Lord Baker of Dorking, on securing this important debate. I have some sympathy with a number of the points that he made, although I could not agree entirely with the detail. I declare a number of interests in the arts. I am director of the Clore Leadership Programme, chairman of the London Cultural Consortium, the Donmar Warehouse and the Wordsworth...

Equality Act (Sexual Orientation) Regulations 2007 (21 Mar 2007)

Lord Smith of Finsbury: My Lords, I support the regulations and oppose the noble Baroness's amendment. This debate and the debate outside this House have, I fear, been subject to considerable misconception. In a very telling point in her speech, the noble Baroness said that the regulations would force religious believers to change their beliefs. That point is echoed in the briefing that we all received from the...

Written Answers — House of Lords: Freedom of Information: Fee Regulations (6 Mar 2007)

Lord Smith of Finsbury: asked Her Majesty's Government: Whether they have made an estimate of (a) the change in the number of complaints likely to be made to the Information Commissioner as a result of the Freedom of Information and Data Protection (Appropriate Limit and Fees) Regulations 2007, if implemented; and (b) the effect of those complaints on the Information Commissioner's ability to deal with the existing...

Written Answers — House of Lords: Information Commissioner (5 Mar 2007)

Lord Smith of Finsbury: asked Her Majesty's Government: Whether they have made an assessment of the use that the Information Commissioner has made of the extra funds granted to him by the Government to reduce the number of complaints being investigated by his office.

Equality Act (Sexual Orientation) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2006 (9 Jan 2007)

Lord Smith of Finsbury: My Lords, before the noble Earl leaves the point about content, does he agree with the existing law of this country which says that harassment against an individual on grounds of race is wrong? Does he also, therefore, agree that harassment against an individual on grounds of his sexual orientation should be wrong?