Baroness Ford: Does the Minister agree that the hollowing out of local government audits since the abolition of the Audit Commission has led to serious deficiencies in financial control in the audit of complex joint ventures such as this? It is simply not acceptable that we leave a situation where we have no capacity to understand the obligations and accountabilities of joint venture partners. What are the...
Baroness Ford: My Lords, like other noble Lords I greatly welcome the announcement made today and, in particular, the provisions and support offered to people with mental health difficulties and debt. However, when someone is in a crisis involving their mental health, they are probably at their least able or well-equipped to access the kind of advice that the Minister has described. Can he say whether there...
Baroness Ford: Will the Minister say whether the Government have any plans to standardise rail fares for people with disabilities? At the moment adults with epilepsy, for example, have free rail travel in London but in many other parts of the United Kingdom they have to pay the full fare. I declare an interest as the national president of Epilepsy Action. Will any action be taken to standardise policy and...
Baroness Ford: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether UK guidance on the use of valproate-based medicines during pregnancy has been reviewed in the light of recent findings on the intergenerational effects of that drug.
Baroness Ford: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they have any plans to offer compensation to women and children who have been affected by the use of valproate-based medicines during pregnancy.
Baroness Ford: To ask Her Majesty's Government what support they will put in place for children born with birth defects resulting from the use of valproate-based medicines by their mothers during pregnancy.
Baroness Ford: In the absence of the noble Lord, Lord Moynihan, I would hate the opportunity to go past without mentioning Prestwick and the spaceport again. I have a lot of sympathy with what the noble Baroness, Lady Randerson, says. Although the airport at Prestwick is already well established, with a clear area around it where the public do not come, that will not be true of everywhere. The lack of...
Baroness Ford: My Lords, it is always a great pleasure to participate in the debate which marks International Women’s Day and I thank the Minister for her introduction. I always learn so much from my colleagues in your Lordships’ House, who in different ways are supporting women in very different walks of life. My pleasure this year is tinged with sadness, in that we will miss hearing from the late...
Baroness Ford: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many requests have been received from local authorities in the last three years for permission to sell land at undervalue under section 123 of the Local Government Act 1972; and whether those requests were granted or refused.
Baroness Ford: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how much public land held by central government departments and their agencies has been disposed of for house building since 2012, broken down by department.
Baroness Ford: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is the target date for the 73 councils across England to complete their brownfield registers.
Baroness Ford: To ask Her Majesty’s Government which local authorities (1) have applied for Secretary of State consent for discretionary landlord licensing schemes since new rules were introduced in 2015, and (2) have applications pending.
Baroness Ford: My Lords, although one could always wish for more, it would be churlish not to acknowledge the important steps forward contained in the gracious Speech on vital infrastructure for our country. I will focus on this today, and on transport, including the regime to enable spaceports to be developed in the United Kingdom. Before I do, I declare my interests on the register relating to housing and...
Baroness Ford: My Lords, I also rise to support the amendment, and in so doing declare a very particular interest as chairman of a public service broadcaster, STV. We are on Report and had a very full debate on this issue in Committee where, as the noble Lord, Lord Black, said, there was very little between any of us in understanding and appreciating the issues in front of us. I do not think there is any...
Baroness Ford: My Lords, can the Minister say what progress, if any, has been made to provide advice to pregnant women on the use of sodium valproate before and during pregnancy? I remind the Minister that I first raised this issue in the House in November 2010. I declare an interest as the honorary president of Epilepsy Action and a supporter of the campaign group InFact, which has done so much to...
Baroness Ford: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to increase the supply of affordable housing.
Baroness Ford: My Lords, I am pleased to have secured this debate this evening. I should immediately remind the House of the housing interests that I have declared on the register. I am a director of Taylor Wimpey plc, the housebuilder, and Grainger, the residential landlord, and, as the House probably knows, I have previous form as chairman of English Partnerships, the predecessor agency to the HCA, and...
Baroness Ford: My Lords, the Statement hints at changes to judicial review. As the Minister well knows, delivering infrastructure requires not just a plan —which we are pleased to hear about even though we, as a Government, plainly had a plan, whether he recognises that or not—but access to requisite finance and, critically, planning consent. The Government in their supposed wisdom decided not to go...
Baroness Ford: To avoid building on greenfield land, do the Government now regret their initial decisions to abandon the sequential test for brownfield land and all the targets for building on brownfield land that were rejected in 2010?
Baroness Ford: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether there are any plans to extend or improve the range of retail savings products offered by National Savings & Investments.