Voting at 16

Debate between Baroness Hazarika and Lord Khan of Burnley

Thursday 24th July 2025 Lords Chamber

[Lord Khan of Burnley (Lab)]

My Lords, let me first say that the Government were elected on a clear mandate, which included lowering the voting age to 16 for all elections in the UK. This is a major change in the electoral franchise and we need to get it right. Changes of this magnitude to the electoral law require careful planning and should not be rushed. On the question about national insurance, we are looking at different options to ensure that young people can be easily and accurately registered to vote, including enabling people to register when they interact with other government services. The noble Lord keeps pushing, and I give him the good news that we are looking at that.

[Baroness Hazarika (Lab)]

My Lords, this policy is very welcome. It is always good to extend the franchise, particularly after the voter ID fiasco of recent years, but education is going to be incredibly important, so that young people can use this new right. What plans do the Government have to improve discussions around political education and literacy, media literacy and information and misinformation, because the next election will have a very heavy focus on social media?

[Lord Khan of Burnley (Lab)]

My Lords, my noble friend makes an excellent point. We are confident that, with the right education and support, young people will participate meaningfully. Young people are the future of our country and it is only right that they have a say over it. We know that education and engagement are a vital part of implementing this policy and we take empowering and equipping young people with the knowledge and skills they need seriously. We want to break down barriers and drive participation. Teaching about democracy and elections already forms a central part of the national curriculum for citizenship at key stages 3 and 4 and can be taught as a non-statutory topic in primary schools.

Community Engagement Principles and Extremism Definition

Debate between Baroness Hazarika and Lord Khan of Burnley

Wednesday 22nd January 2025 Lords Chamber

[Lord Khan of Burnley (Lab)]

My Lords, let me reassure the noble Baroness that, having been a councillor for 16 years in the wonderful district of Burnley, I understand the fantastic work that local councils do. I reaffirm the Deputy Prime Minister’s position that we want to work in equal partnership with the local authorities and we want to give them more power. I would not be able to comment on the size of the wards because that is the responsibility of the Minister, Jim McMahon, in the other place.

[Baroness Hazarika (Lab)]

My Lords, I am sure the whole House will agree that this work could not be more important or timely. As a Muslim woman, can I ask the Minister what has been done to engage with women and girls’ voices? It feels like our voices are often ignored, and certain very noisy male groups dominate the conversation. Will the Minister acknowledge that it is often women and, sadly, girls, who are the victims of extremist violent behaviour?

[Lord Khan of Burnley (Lab)]

My Lords, my noble friend makes a series of excellent points. I totally agree about extremist behaviour and its disproportionate impact on women and girls. Let me reassure the noble Baroness that we are looking at ensuring that we have more female voices—not just female voices, but young female voices—in the faith space. Let me also let the House know that I have been up and down the country and have engaged not just with the major faiths but with every faith in our country. That has been a privilege, but I have learned that there need to be more female voices in the faith space.

Social Housing: Awaab’s Law

Debate between Baroness Hazarika and Lord Khan of Burnley

Tuesday 22nd October 2024 Lords Chamber

[Lord Khan of Burnley (Lab)]

My Lords, we are working with social landlord and tenant groups to consider the practical implications of the proposed requirements to be set through Awaab’s law. The Government’s response to the consultation, which will be published in due course, as well as subsequent regulations, will provide details on how Awaab’s law will work. We will issue guidance for landlords and residents on the new duties to be set by the regulations. The guidance will be published before the regulations come into force, to give landlords time to prepare and for tenants to know their rights.

[Baroness Hazarika (Lab)]

My Lords, does my noble friend the Minister agree with me that Awaab’s law is not just important to our housing policy but absolutely germane to preventing child poverty? A child’s life chances depend on having a home that is clean, safe and habitable.

[Lord Khan of Burnley (Lab)]

I absolutely agree with my noble friend’s excellent and eloquent point. It is for us all to learn lessons from what happened. She talked about the wider societal issues and unfortunate challenges we have to deal with, and I hope that we can work together across government to address them.