My Lords, I join my noble friend Lord Ahmad in congratulating the right reverend Prelate the Bishop of Southwark on his final speech. I hope he enjoys an excellent retirement and has every opportunity to go on worshipping God and doing his best to swell the congregations in our churches....

My Lords, I join my noble friend Lord Ahmad in congratulating the right reverend Prelate the Bishop of Southwark on his final speech. I hope he enjoys an excellent retirement and has every opportunity to go on worshipping God and doing his best to swell the congregations in our churches....

The JEF point is interesting. Does the Minister agree that, if neutral countries such as Finland and Sweden can join, then so could Ukraine?

The JEF point is interesting. Does the Minister agree that, if neutral countries such as Finland and Sweden can join, then so could Ukraine?

To ask His Majesty's Government what the total headcount of full time equivalent staff within the Civil Service was on 4 July 2024.

To ask His Majesty's Government what the total headcount of full time equivalent staff within the Civil Service was on 4 July 2024.

To ask His Majesty's Government whether the total headcount of full time equivalent staff within the Civil Service has increased since 4 July 2024.

To ask His Majesty's Government whether the total headcount of full time equivalent staff within the Civil Service has increased since 4 July 2024.

To ask His Majesty's Government what the total headcount of full time equivalent staff within the Civil Service was on 1 July 2026.

To ask His Majesty's Government what the total headcount of full time equivalent staff within the Civil Service was on 1 July 2026.

My Lords, does the Minister not accept that the dumping of illegal waste is a direct result of the quite high charges that are made for dumping legally? Should not some of the money raised from legal dumping be allocated to clearing away illegal waste?

My Lords, does the Minister not accept that the dumping of illegal waste is a direct result of the quite high charges that are made for dumping legally? Should not some of the money raised from legal dumping be allocated to clearing away illegal waste?

My Lords, can the Minister update us on the coalition of the willing in terms of the final settlement that there will be on any peace agreement in Ukraine? Does she accept that the coalition of the willing will form the basis of European defence in the future if we...

My Lords, can the Minister update us on the coalition of the willing in terms of the final settlement that there will be on any peace agreement in Ukraine? Does she accept that the coalition of the willing will form the basis of European defence in the future if we...

To ask His Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the adequacy of staffing levels at the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency.

To ask His Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the adequacy of staffing levels at the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency.

The fact that it is taking 66 days to answer would explain my problem, as I met all the DVLA’s criteria when I replied in an email on 27 March. If my Question were to have come up next month, we would have been commemorating three months of me waiting to get a driving licence. Does the Minister accept that the DVLA is in a crisis? It is desperately short of manpower and it is not fit for purpose for what it is supposed to do: issuing driving licences to the public of this country, who pay its wages. Is the Minister considering technology to meet this problem, such as putting in place a computer programme to get on with issuing licences, thereby reducing the problem of DVLA not having enough manpower to meet the difficulties it has today?

The fact that it is taking 66 days to answer would explain my problem, as I met all the DVLA’s criteria when I replied in an email on 27 March. If my Question were to have come up next month, we would have been commemorating three months of me waiting to get a driving licence. Does the Minister accept that the DVLA is in a crisis? It is desperately short of manpower and it is not fit for purpose for what it is supposed to do: issuing driving licences to the public of this country, who pay its wages. Is the Minister considering technology to meet this problem, such as putting in place a computer programme to get on with issuing licences, thereby reducing the problem of DVLA not having enough manpower to meet the difficulties it has today?

The Minister has stated that the reason why this ship was stopped and many others were let through was that the circumstances aligned. Does he mean to say that, when all the other ships went through our territorial waters, for none of them did the circumstances align?

The Minister has stated that the reason why this ship was stopped and many others were let through was that the circumstances aligned. Does he mean to say that, when all the other ships went through our territorial waters, for none of them did the circumstances align?

Following on from my noble friend’s question, has the Minister made provision for ever-increasing amounts of taxpayer’s money to be paid into the steel industry?

Following on from my noble friend’s question, has the Minister made provision for ever-increasing amounts of taxpayer’s money to be paid into the steel industry?

Will the Minister accept that the problem that both the US Navy and the Royal Navy have is that they do not have a ship that has adequate defences against massive attack from either missiles or drones?

Will the Minister accept that the problem that both the US Navy and the Royal Navy have is that they do not have a ship that has adequate defences against massive attack from either missiles or drones?

My Lords, can the Minister now answer the question from the Conservative Front Bench? How much money has been got back from the fraudsters and how much of that has ended up with the victims of this appalling crime?

My Lords, can the Minister now answer the question from the Conservative Front Bench? How much money has been got back from the fraudsters and how much of that has ended up with the victims of this appalling crime?

My Lords, I have always considered that the six months was critical to the essence of this Bill, because there has to be some point at which doctors say that you are likely to die. Misdiagnosis has been a problem. I recognise the remarks of the noble Baroness, Lady Murphy....

My Lords, I have always considered that the six months was critical to the essence of this Bill, because there has to be some point at which doctors say that you are likely to die. Misdiagnosis has been a problem. I recognise the remarks of the noble Baroness, Lady Murphy....

All right—they could apply, if that helps the noble Baroness, Lady Hayter.

We have to think closely about this, because this is the essence of the Bill. I do not understand how we can be comfortable with the whole idea that some of these diagnoses will be completely wrong and, as...

All right—they could apply, if that helps the noble Baroness, Lady Hayter.

We have to think closely about this, because this is the essence of the Bill. I do not understand how we can be comfortable with the whole idea that some of these diagnoses will be completely wrong and, as...

I echo the sentiments of the noble Lord, Lord Rooker, about the noble Lord, Lord Grocott. I did not realise he was ill. It is very sad that he is not with us today, and I know we will all wish him the very best recovery from the problems that...

I echo the sentiments of the noble Lord, Lord Rooker, about the noble Lord, Lord Grocott. I did not realise he was ill. It is very sad that he is not with us today, and I know we will all wish him the very best recovery from the problems that...

Is the noble Baroness not concerned, as I am, that we are conflating expertise with bias? People think that because somebody is expert, they are independent. It does not necessarily follow. There could be people who are expert but at the same time very biased in their approach to any...

Is the noble Baroness not concerned, as I am, that we are conflating expertise with bias? People think that because somebody is expert, they are independent. It does not necessarily follow. There could be people who are expert but at the same time very biased in their approach to any...

My Lords, I would like to address the issue of mission creep. I have tabled amendments that come so late in the procedure that I do not think we will ever reach them, but I am concerned

that the Bill, if it becomes an Act of Parliament, will morph into...

My Lords, I would like to address the issue of mission creep. I have tabled amendments that come so late in the procedure that I do not think we will ever reach them, but I am concerned

that the Bill, if it becomes an Act of Parliament, will morph into...

Given the noble and learned Lord’s encyclopaedic knowledge of the statute book, can he tell us what went wrong with the Abortion Bill, which morphed without parliamentary consent, much to the concern of its sponsor, Lord Steel.

Given the noble and learned Lord’s encyclopaedic knowledge of the statute book, can he tell us what went wrong with the Abortion Bill, which morphed without parliamentary consent, much to the concern of its sponsor, Lord Steel.

I wish I could agree with my noble friend Lord Markham, but at the end of the day we have a National Health Service and it has to make choices, and we know that the National Health Service is desperately short of money. If it can save money by making...

I wish I could agree with my noble friend Lord Markham, but at the end of the day we have a National Health Service and it has to make choices, and we know that the National Health Service is desperately short of money. If it can save money by making...