🗣️ Speeches and Debates
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My Lords, although it is a pro bono position, I declare my interest as a board member of the London Marathon Foundation. Sport, as the Government rightly recognise, has a unique power. It brings people together in a way that little else can. It inspires, unites and instils pride in our communities. When we host major sporting events, we do not just celebrate sport—we generate real economic...
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My Lords, like my noble friend Lord True, I add my support to this Bill. It seeks to rectify situations that, as Leader, I too sought to address but unfortunately did not succeed in doing so. Namely, it amends the law to ensure that Ministers, whether they are here or in the other place, are paid for the work that they do. That may seem common sense and unarguable but, for too long,...
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My Lords, I shall very briefly add my support to Amendment 243C and, in doing so, declare my interest as a member of the board of the London Marathon Foundation. As we have heard, schools play a crucial role in the formation of lifelong activity habits, but they need to be properly supported, both to provide more opportunities within school and to ensure that what they offer meets the needs...
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My Lords, I support Amendment 203 in the name of my noble friend Lady Barran. Free schools have played an important role in raising educational standards over the last 15 years, with their benefits felt most strongly in communities that have needed them the most. As I set out during our discussions in Committee, last summer’s exam results underline their impact: free schools outperformed...
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My Lords, I shall speak to Amendment 191 in the name of the noble Lord, Lord Knight, to which I have added my name. In doing so, I declare my interest as honorary president of COBIS. Unfortunately, the noble Lord, Lord Knight, is unable to be here today, but I am grateful to him for sharing recent correspondence he has had with the Minister on this matter. It is critical that we act to...
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My Lords, I add my support to Amendment 114, which I believe provides a more flexible approach to achieving the Government’s aims of keeping down the cost of school uniforms while ensuring that the legislation before us is better future-proofed to potential changes in individual school policies. For instance, noble Lords may have seen reports of the growing number of schools, particularly...
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My Lords, while welcoming the Government’s amendment to ensure that the child’s voice is heard in family group decision-making, I add my support to the amendments in this group in the name of my noble friend Lady Barran. As we discussed in Committee, family group decision-making is a broad, generic term—without clear principles and standards—about what families can expect. Indeed, the...
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My Lords, Progress 8 has been proved to have been a success, and, as my noble friend pointed out, the Francis review is clear that its recommendation is not to make any changes “to the structure of Progress 8 or the composition of the ‘buckets’”, yet Ministers have now decided to consult on changes to the measure anyway. So, will keeping the current Progress 8 measure be included as...
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✍️ Written Questions and Answers
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Section 18 of the Environment Act 2021 sets out the routes for parliamentary scrutiny of the draft Environmental Principles Policy Statement recently laid before Parliament by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. This includes consideration by relevant Select Committees. The Chief Whip will work with the Usual Channels to schedule any business resulting from these routes...
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As Leader of the House, I take my responsibility to ensure all Ministers provide full, timely and accurate responses to Questions for Written Answers (QWAs) very seriously. I regularly remind Front Bench colleagues of their obligation to the House as stipulated in the Companion and of the importance of answering QWAs within the 10 day target. This has been raised regularly at Front Bench...
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We have debated 18 Select Committee reports so far this session, including most recently on 24 January. We have seen an increase in the number of committees, with the number of Sessional Committees doubling over the last decade and six new ones set up since 2020. The Government Whips Office will continue to work closely with the Usual Channels and the Committee Office to schedule time for...
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I have noted the questions referenced, as well as the Noble Lord’s three further questions submitted to the department in question (HL5696, HL5697, HL5698). I would refer the Noble Lord to the recently issued answers to these from the department.
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As Leader of the House I take very seriously the responsibility incumbent on all Ministers to provide full, timely and comprehensive answers to Questions for Written Answers. Ministers are reminded regularly of the importance of their obligations to the House and under the ministerial code. My office works closely with all departmental Parliamentary teams and Private Offices to help provide...
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As Leader of the House I take very seriously the responsibility incumbent on all Ministers and departments to provide full, timely and comprehensive answers to Questions for Written Answers. The Department for Health and Social Care received 1206 QWAs in 2021 compared to 599 in 2019, and have doubled the size of the relevant team to deal with the increased work and pressure. My office...
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I have not been asked any written questions about human rights in Belarus, Mali, Nicaragua or Cameroon. Over the past three years other Ministers have regularly answered questions about these four countries, including most recently: HL2108 (Belarus), HL2053 (Mali), HL952 (Nicaragua) and HL2735 (Cameroon).
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The Government intends to subject three draft bills to pre-legislative scrutiny in the present Session of Parliament: Downstream Oil Resilience, Victims, and Online Safety, and is in discussion with the Liaison Committees in both Houses regarding how the draft bills will be scrutinised. As in previous years, it is possible that additional draft bills will be added to the list and therefore...
More of Baroness Evans of Bowes Park's written questions
