My Lords, I thank the noble Lord, Lord Leong, for introducing this debate, and I too congratulate him on his well-deserved appointment as a Minister. This Steel Industry (Nationalisation) Bill is a government Bill, and it will provide powers to nationalise any company involved in steel manufacturing where that is...

My Lords, I thank the noble Lord, Lord Leong, for introducing this debate, and I too congratulate him on his well-deserved appointment as a Minister. This Steel Industry (Nationalisation) Bill is a government Bill, and it will provide powers to nationalise any company involved in steel manufacturing where that is...

What an excellent speech by the noble Lord, Lord St John of Bletso, the 22nd Baron St John of Bletso—a title that has existed for 460 years. I declare my interest: in the nearly 20 years that I have been privileged to be a Member here, my noble friend Lord...

What an excellent speech by the noble Lord, Lord St John of Bletso, the 22nd Baron St John of Bletso—a title that has existed for 460 years. I declare my interest: in the nearly 20 years that I have been privileged to be a Member here, my noble friend Lord...

The Statement on 3 March focused primarily on presenting the latest OBR forecasts, rather than announcing new policy measures. It forecast growth of about 1.1%, which is very low. It forecast inflation to fall from 3.4% to 2.3% this year. It forecast unemployment to rise to 5.3%, and net migration—which...

The Statement on 3 March focused primarily on presenting the latest OBR forecasts, rather than announcing new policy measures. It forecast growth of about 1.1%, which is very low. It forecast inflation to fall from 3.4% to 2.3% this year. It forecast unemployment to rise to 5.3%, and net migration—which...

My Lords—

My Lords—

My Lords, I am a member of the expert advisory council of the Government’s Help to Grow: Management scheme set up by Rishi Sunak when he was Chancellor, which this Government have happily continued. Some 10,000 businesses have graduated from this, but is the Minister aware that only businesses with five to 249 employees are eligible for the scheme? Micro-businesses, including start-ups, which make up 90% of SMEs in this country have fewer than five employees and so are not eligible for this programme. Will the Government consider expanding this very successful programme to include micro-businesses?

My Lords, I am a member of the expert advisory council of the Government’s Help to Grow: Management scheme set up by Rishi Sunak when he was Chancellor, which this Government have happily continued. Some 10,000 businesses have graduated from this, but is the Minister aware that only businesses with five to 249 employees are eligible for the scheme? Micro-businesses, including start-ups, which make up 90% of SMEs in this country have fewer than five employees and so are not eligible for this programme. Will the Government consider expanding this very successful programme to include micro-businesses?

My Lords, will the Minister confirm that funding for PhDs and research in the arts is going to be cut by up to 60%? There has been a huge uproar in the academic world, which believes that this is not right. Of course, science is important; STEM is important, but surely it should be STEAM, which includes the arts as well, which are crucial for our education and our competitiveness.

My Lords, will the Minister confirm that funding for PhDs and research in the arts is going to be cut by up to 60%? There has been a huge uproar in the academic world, which believes that this is not right. Of course, science is important; STEM is important, but surely it should be STEAM, which includes the arts as well, which are crucial for our education and our competitiveness.

My Lords, I received a wonderful birthday present on 26 November: the Budget, with taxes going up by £26.6 billion on top of the £40 billion that we had last year, leading to 38% of GDP, the highest level that we have known. The UK economy growth rate has averaged...

My Lords, I received a wonderful birthday present on 26 November: the Budget, with taxes going up by £26.6 billion on top of the £40 billion that we had last year, leading to 38% of GDP, the highest level that we have known. The UK economy growth rate has averaged...

My Lords, the UK has been described as one of the most nature-depleted countries on earth. My friend Professor Sir Partha Dasgupta wrote his famous The Economics of Biodiversity: The Dasgupta Review in February 2021, which starts:

“We are facing a global crisis. We are totally dependent upon the natural world....

My Lords, the UK has been described as one of the most nature-depleted countries on earth. My friend Professor Sir Partha Dasgupta wrote his famous The Economics of Biodiversity: The Dasgupta Review in February 2021, which starts:

“We are facing a global crisis. We are totally dependent upon the natural world....

My Lords, the Government have spoken about growth as their priority from day one and, to be fair, they are doing a few good things. They have carried on the Help to Grow: Management programme, which was started by the previous Government. Some 10,000 businesses have already gone through the...

My Lords, the Government have spoken about growth as their priority from day one and, to be fair, they are doing a few good things. They have carried on the Help to Grow: Management programme, which was started by the previous Government. Some 10,000 businesses have already gone through the...

My Lords, I was president of the CBI when the Ukraine war started, when Russia illegally invaded Ukraine on 24 February 2022. On the Monday after the war started, I went to see ambassador Vadym Prystaiko at the Ukrainian embassy to offer the help of British industry. It was then...

My Lords, I was president of the CBI when the Ukraine war started, when Russia illegally invaded Ukraine on 24 February 2022. On the Monday after the war started, I went to see ambassador Vadym Prystaiko at the Ukrainian embassy to offer the help of British industry. It was then...

My Lords, given that 80% of fish caught in our waters are exported, I ask, as the chair of the International Chamber of Commerce in the UK, what priority are the Government giving to exports in general? We hear about the economy and growth, but what about exports, including our...

My Lords, given that 80% of fish caught in our waters are exported, I ask, as the chair of the International Chamber of Commerce in the UK, what priority are the Government giving to exports in general? We hear about the economy and growth, but what about exports, including our...

My Lords, at the outset of this debate on the Steel Industry (Special Measures) Act, I congratulate the Minister, the noble Baroness, Lady Lloyd, on her excellent maiden speech, and I look forward to the maiden speech of the noble Lord, Lord Stockwood.

I chair the Manufacturing Commission. Manufacturing used to...

My Lords, at the outset of this debate on the Steel Industry (Special Measures) Act, I congratulate the Minister, the noble Baroness, Lady Lloyd, on her excellent maiden speech, and I look forward to the maiden speech of the noble Lord, Lord Stockwood.

I chair the Manufacturing Commission. Manufacturing used to...

My Lords, as the chair of the International Chamber of Commerce UK, I am absolutely delighted with the defence industrial strategy. Back in 2019, we debated the 70th anniversary of NATO. I was the only Peer in that debate who said that our defence expenditure should be 3% of GDP,...

My Lords, as the chair of the International Chamber of Commerce UK, I am absolutely delighted with the defence industrial strategy. Back in 2019, we debated the 70th anniversary of NATO. I was the only Peer in that debate who said that our defence expenditure should be 3% of GDP,...

My Lords, last month, as co-chair of the India All-Party Parliamentary Group, I hosted a delegation of cross-party Members of Parliament from both houses of the Indian Parliament to the UK. They were sent by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to communicate to us the horrors of 22 April in Kashmir...

My Lords, last month, as co-chair of the India All-Party Parliamentary Group, I hosted a delegation of cross-party Members of Parliament from both houses of the Indian Parliament to the UK. They were sent by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to communicate to us the horrors of 22 April in Kashmir...

My Lords, immigration is constantly presented as a negative—something to be scared of and to be feared. The Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Bill tries to address these fears, dealing primarily with illegal immigration, which we unanimously want to stop.

After all, 150,000 people on small boats came to the UK...

My Lords, immigration is constantly presented as a negative—something to be scared of and to be feared. The Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Bill tries to address these fears, dealing primarily with illegal immigration, which we unanimously want to stop.

After all, 150,000 people on small boats came to the UK...

My Lords, for over a quarter of a century, as founder of Cobra Beer, I produced beer in the UK with British-grown barley. I am proud of the high quality of our agriculture sector’s produce, leading to Cobra Beer winning 150 gold medals. Agriculture makes up just 0.6% of the...

My Lords, for over a quarter of a century, as founder of Cobra Beer, I produced beer in the UK with British-grown barley. I am proud of the high quality of our agriculture sector’s produce, leading to Cobra Beer winning 150 gold medals. Agriculture makes up just 0.6% of the...

Before the Minister sits down, I asked several questions and raised many points—not one has been answered. I would be grateful if she put a Written Answer in the Library.

Before the Minister sits down, I asked several questions and raised many points—not one has been answered. I would be grateful if she put a Written Answer in the Library.

I congratulate the Minister on her appointment. This is our first interaction. We served on the GREAT campaign advisory council for many years until her ministerial appointment. I am reassured to hear that the Government want to be cool, calm and collected. I am also reassured that the Government are...

I congratulate the Minister on her appointment. This is our first interaction. We served on the GREAT campaign advisory council for many years until her ministerial appointment. I am reassured to hear that the Government want to be cool, calm and collected. I am also reassured that the Government are...

My Lords, 1.5 million school leavers apply to the Indian Institutes of Technology, the IIT; 130,000 make the first cut and 15,000 get places. These graduates are now running some of the biggest companies in the world. What more can we do to make maths and STEM subjects as popular as they are in India, and get the brightest and the best to go for them? When I was chancellor of the University of Birmingham, we set up a joint AI and data science degree with IIT Madras. Surely we should make many more collaborative degrees like that one.

My Lords, 1.5 million school leavers apply to the Indian Institutes of Technology, the IIT; 130,000 make the first cut and 15,000 get places. These graduates are now running some of the biggest companies in the world. What more can we do to make maths and STEM subjects as popular as they are in India, and get the brightest and the best to go for them? When I was chancellor of the University of Birmingham, we set up a joint AI and data science degree with IIT Madras. Surely we should make many more collaborative degrees like that one.

My Lords, would the Minister agree that neither the Autumn Budget nor the Spring Statement mentioned trade at all? I have been appointed as the chair of the International Chamber of Commerce—the ICC UK—and we have just unveiled that we could unlock £25 billion in trade growth, £224 billion in...

My Lords, would the Minister agree that neither the Autumn Budget nor the Spring Statement mentioned trade at all? I have been appointed as the chair of the International Chamber of Commerce—the ICC UK—and we have just unveiled that we could unlock £25 billion in trade growth, £224 billion in...