Lord Smith of Finsbury: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what discussions they have had with British-based banks and other major companies which have outsourced customer services to overseas countries about the way in which enquiries from United Kingdom citizens who have entered into a civil partnership or same-sex marriage are handled.
Lord Smith of Finsbury: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the impact of proposals to change AS levels on broadening access for students to Russell Group universities.
Lord Smith of Finsbury: To ask Her Majesty’s Government when they expect to be able to respond to Natural England's proposals for an extension to the boundaries of the Lake District and Yorkshire Dales National Parks.
Lord Smith of Finsbury: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what were the reasons for their decision to reduce funding for the national HIV prevention programme in England by half for the year commencing in April 2015; and what plans they have for the programme from 2016 onwards.
Lord Smith of Finsbury: My Lords, I join in thanking the noble Baroness, Lady Bakewell, and congratulating her on initiating this debate. Her Motion does a crucially important thing, because it helpfully links the challenge and impact of global climate change with the importance of the local environment that we all live, work and play in. It is a hugely important link to make. Climate change is of course very much...
Lord Smith of Finsbury: My Lords, I begin by expressing my interest as a patron of the BRIT school in Croydon and as chairman of trustees in the Wordsworth Trust and the Donmar Warehouse Theatre, both of which have substantial educational and school engagement programmes. The case for the overwhelming importance of arts education in our schools has been compellingly made by the noble Earl, Lord Clancarty, in...
Lord Smith of Finsbury: My Lords, I should begin by declaring an interest as chairman of the Wordsworth Trust in Cumbria, which has been the recipient of a number of grants that were very handsomely and generously provided by the Heritage Lottery Fund. As the shadow Secretary of State, I was present 20 years ago at the Tower of London when the National Lottery was launched. I join heartily in the words of the noble...
Lord Smith of Finsbury: My Lords, as one of the other seven “Smiths” in your Lordships’ House, I join in the warm congratulations to the noble Baroness, Lady Smith of Newnham, on her fine maiden speech. It was deeply felt and knowledgeable, and I hope that we will hear much more from her in the House over the coming weeks and months. I want to reflect in the short time allowed on the vital importance of our...
Lord Smith of Finsbury: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their current estimate of the cost to the Exchequer to date of those parts of Operation Yewtree where (1) the defendant has been acquitted, or (2) a decision has been taken not to proceed with any further action in relation to the defendant.
Lord Smith of Finsbury: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the potential value to knowledge of climate change and its impacts, of more accurate measurements of the Earth that could come from the proposed Traceable Radiometry Underpinning Terrestrial-and-Helio-Studies satellite mission.
Lord Smith of Finsbury: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the decision by the government of the United States to deny certain Ugandan officials entry into the United States following the passage of the Ugandan Anti-Homosexuality Act in February; whether they have plans to introduce similar measures in the United Kingdom; and whether they intend to encourage other European Union...
Lord Smith of Finsbury: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their current estimate of the time it will take, in the event of a “yes” vote in the Scottish referendum on 18 September, for the necessary legislative and administrative preparations to be made for the implementation of independence.
Lord Smith of Finsbury: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what discussions they have had with universities, and what research they have conducted, in relation to the impact that changes to the A/S level examinations will have on the assessment the university sector will be able to make of candidates for undergraduate entry.
Lord Smith of Finsbury: My Lords, the Minister will know that the Thames tideway tunnel is robustly supported by the Environment Agency, which I chair, and by the Mayor of London. It was also supported by a range of voices in your Lordships’ House when we last discussed the matter. Unhappily, cost and disruption will be involved, but does the Minister not agree that this is the only practical way of ensuring that...
Lord Smith of Finsbury: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Deighton on 6 May (WA 443) on the treatment of newspaper products, what plans they have in relation to a zero rate of VAT on books provided in digital format.
Lord Smith of Finsbury: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they have any plans to ensure that newspapers delivered to their readers directly to online tablets or computers are exempt from VAT in the same way as the paper versions.
Lord Smith of Finsbury: My Lords, I support the noble Lord, Lord Oxburgh, and Amendments 1 and 2. At the heart of this debate is the question of why decarbonisation is important. As the noble Lord, Lord Teverson, said, it sits at the heart of the Government’s Bill, and the amendment moved by the noble Lord, Lord Oxburgh, seeks to strengthen the position of decarbonisation at the heart of energy policy. The noble...
Lord Smith of Finsbury: It is rather good to have on the record the noble Viscount’s opinion that climate change has been happening, and I have to say to him that it is a process that it is continuing. I am the chairman of the Environment Agency in England. We are already seeing increasingly erratic and extreme patterns of weather here in the UK. Last year, in 2012, the first three months saw us in near drought....
Lord Smith of Finsbury: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they carried out in order to determine the need to introduce the proposed Copyright (Regulation of Relevant Licensing Bodies) Regulations 2014; and what account any such assessment took of the principle of reducing regulation.
Lord Smith of Finsbury: My Lords, I join in the warm congratulations to the noble Baroness, Lady Wheatcroft, for securing and introducing this debate so well and for stimulating so many excellent speeches. I remind noble Lords the range of arts organisations with which I am involved, as set out in the register of interests. Robert Kennedy once wrote: “The Gross National Product does not allow for the health of our...