Results 1-12 of 12 for in the 'Commons debates' OR in the 'Westminster Hall debates' OR in the 'Lords debates' OR in the 'Northern Ireland Assembly debates' speaker:Lord Rana

Visas: Student Visa Policy — Motion to Take Note (31 January 2013)

Lord Rana: My Lords, I thank the noble Lord, Lord MacGregor, for initiating this very important debate. I wish to declare my interests as being associated with Northern Ireland universities, helping them to forge links with India. I also declare my charitable trust, which funds an educational complex in a rural area of Punjab in India. In the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s, because of the negative image of...

Voluntary Sector and Social Enterprise — Motion to Take Note (21 June 2012)

Lord Rana: My Lords, I thank the noble Baroness, Lady Scott, for initiating this debate on a topic that really goes to the heart of citizenship and all that it means to be a participant in the communities in which we live, as opposed to being a bystander on the fringes. The voluntary sector makes a proportionately greater contribution in Northern Ireland than in other parts of the UK. It has assumed...

Faith Communities — Question for Short Debate (29 May 2012)

Lord Rana: I thank the noble Lord, Lord Sacks, for this debate. In many instances where there has been conflict the root of the problem can be religion intertwined with politics. This was true of Northern Ireland, where I lived through the Troubles and saw at first hand how this can and does affect the lives of people caught up in the divide. However, I have also seen changes and how people from...

Queen's Speech — Debate (6th Day) (17 May 2012)

Lord Rana: I am pleased to be here today in your Lordships' House, adding my support to international development, an area that has great resonance for me. I am delighted that the Government have committed 0.7% of gross national income for international development from next year. Not only does international development encompass my own ideology in helping to promote and achieve the impossible in...

Republic of Ireland and the Commonwealth — Question (30 June 2011)

Lord Rana: To ask Her Majesty's Government, in the light of the recent visit by Her Majesty the Queen to the Republic of Ireland, what plans they have to encourage the Republic to rejoin the Commonwealth.

Republic of Ireland and the Commonwealth — Question (30 June 2011)

Lord Rana: I thank the Minister for that Answer. May I take this opportunity of congratulating Her Majesty and the President of Ireland on a very successful royal visit to the Republic of Ireland? In the light of this outstanding success, do the Government agree that it is important to build on the results of the visit in a constructive way so as further to improve relations within these islands and...

Northern Ireland: Public Expenditure — Question (22 June 2010)

Lord Rana: To ask Her Majesty's Government to what extent their public expenditure reductions will affect the Northern Ireland economy and the peace process there.

Northern Ireland: Public Expenditure — Question (22 June 2010)

Lord Rana: Does the Minister accept that, given the impending pressures on the public sector, it is essential to promote a much stronger private sector in Northern Ireland, with a solid core of high value-added jobs? I therefore ask the Government to implement urgently the pledge given by the Prime Minister before the general election to produce a government paper examining how the corporation tax rate...

Queen's Speech — Debate (4th Day) (2 June 2010)

Lord Rana: My Lords, I, too, add my best wishes and congratulations to the ministerial team. They have a challenging job ahead. Let us consider some causes of the economic crisis that we are all suffering. Over past decades there was a basic shift in the idea of wealth creation, which we now know was misguided. Individuals, financial institutions and Governments accepted a false idea that simply by...

Queen's Speech — Debate (2nd Day) (Continued) (4 December 2008)

Lord Rana: My Lords, the economy is one of the most fraught issues facing this country, this Government and Administrations worldwide. At a time when economic pressures urge us to consider our own financial hardships, there is a risk that that we will forget and forsake the need of those in the developing world. That need is not only for international aid, charity or benevolence. It is a need to address...

Multi-cultural Britain (7 June 2007)

Lord Rana: My Lords, I, too, thank the noble Lord, Lord Hastings, for introducing today's debate, which is an opportunity for Members of this House to commemorate the bicentenary of the passing of the Abolition of the Slave Trade Act 1807. I am pleased that so many distinguished noble Lords are taking part. Earlier this week, I participated in a tribute to William Wilberforce in his birthplace, the city...

Address in Reply to Her Majesty's Most Gracious Speech (24 May 2005)

Lord Rana: My Lords, I am delighted to have the opportunity to address your Lordships for the very first time today. My grateful thanks to the noble Baroness, Lady Andrews, and the noble Baroness, Lady Byford, for their kind words. Since my introduction to your Lordships' House last year, I have enjoyed the experience of being part of what is surely the finest, the most knowledgeable and most...