Lord Sheikh: My Lords, I thank the noble Lord, Lord Kirkwood of Kirkhope, for securing this important debate. Previous Governments have tried to tackle this issue with the best of intentions. However, the complexity and scope of this problem have often meant that past strategies have not been successful in addressing this matter. I intend to focus my contribution primarily on poverty among children and...
Lord Sheikh: My Lords, I thank the noble Lord, Lord St John of Bletso, for securing this debate. Africa is a continent close to my heart. I was born in Kenya and spent my childhood in Uganda. His Excellency the Ambassador of Zimbabwe is in the Chamber, and I welcome him to your Lordships' House. About three weeks ago, I was asked by my Chief Whip to attend the sixth Consultative Assembly of...
Lord Sheikh: Can the Minister say whether the employers and the heads of the various companies, when making a statement against the increase of the NIC, were deceived?
Lord Sheikh: To ask Her Majesty's Government what recent reports they have received from the Government of Nigeria regarding the situation in Jos. To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they intend to make representations to the Government of Nigeria about the violence in Jos. To ask Her Majesty's Government what is their assessment of the political situation in Nigeria. To ask Her Majesty's Government...
Lord Sheikh: My Lords, this Bill covers many areas of importance that have a significant impact on our civil liberties and our fundamental human rights. These are the very principles on which our democracy was founded. I hope that this legislation will make a contribution to tackling the injustices in our society that it highlights. Clause 1 relates to the amount of information that officers would be...
Lord Sheikh: I thank my noble friend Lord MacGregor for securing this timely debate. At present, we have one of the largest budget deficits in the developed world. I am deeply concerned about the state of British finances and the impact of the national deficit on our GDP. Government debt currently stands at more than 50 per cent of GDP, and the deficit this year will be £167 billion, which is a record...
Lord Sheikh: To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps will they take to ensure that the use of anti-terrorism security equipment does not have a negative impact on community cohesion.
Lord Sheikh: My Lords, I begin by paying tribute to the honourable Member for Totnes in the other place for his prudent stewardship of this important Bill, which I wholeheartedly support, and also to the noble and learned Baroness, Lady Butler-Sloss, for introducing it to your Lordships' House. I also congratulate the noble Baroness, Lady Young of Hornsey, on her excellent speech. I sincerely believe that...
Lord Sheikh: To ask Her Majesty's Government what measures they will put in place to ensure that the use of anti-terrorism body scanners does not compromise civil liberties.
Lord Sheikh: To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure that halal products meet food safety requirements. To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they will take to prevent retailers from falsely claiming to stock halal products.
Lord Sheikh: To ask Her Majesty's Government what provisions are in place to ensure that Muslim communities are able to bury their deceased at weekends. To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure that Muslim communities are able to bury their deceased immediately after death.
Lord Sheikh: To ask Her Majesty's Government how they will address public concerns that the images created of those who go through body scanners may be too graphic.
Lord Sheikh: To ask Her Majesty's Government how they will deal with women who do not wish to be scanned by body scanners.
Lord Sheikh: To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps have been taken to ensure that airport security equipment is not used to discriminate unfairly against any social or ethnic group.
Lord Sheikh: To ask Her Majesty's Government what safeguards they will put in place to ensure that proper care and respect for cultural differences are taken into account when using anti-terrorism body scanners.
Lord Sheikh: To ask Her Majesty's Government what course of action will be taken if a person declines a full body search on the ground that it challenges their dignity. To ask Her Majesty's Government what action they will take to ensure that passengers who decline a full-body search will not be banned from flying.
Lord Sheikh: My Lords, at the outset I declare an interest: I am the chairman of an insurance broking organisation. I welcome this Bill as I recognise that a binding agreement on flood risk management is long overdue. The recent floods in Cumbria caused widespread devastation, surpassed only by the 2007 floods which resulted in 13 deaths and extensive damage to properties at a cost of over £3 billion....
Lord Sheikh: My Lords, I certainly welcome our increasing involvement in Islamic finance. We have the largest finance industry in the western world and are very keen to promote this. I see us as being the stepping stone into more penetration into Europe. Islamic finance is taken not only by Muslims but by non-Muslims because of its ethical nature and the fact that it is mutual. Therefore, the idea of...
Lord Sheikh: My Lords, fiscal responsibility should be the first duty of any Government in macroeconomic matters. The entire credibility of our economy is founded on that, as is our ability to engage with other partners in a global world. No one can object to the principle of fiscal responsibility. Indeed, even the current Prime Minister, on taking office as Chancellor of the Exchequer in 1997, promised...
Lord Sheikh: To ask Her Majesty's Government what is their assessment of the treatment of the Tamil population in Sri Lanka.