Lord Birt Portrait

Lord Birt

Crossbench - Life peer

Became Member: 11th February 2000


Lord Birt is not a member of any APPGs
3 Former APPG memberships
Media, Metal, Stone and Heritage Crime, Sri Lanka
Lord Birt has no previous appointments


Division Voting information

During the current Parliament, Lord Birt has voted in 0 divisions, and never against the majority of their Party.
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Debates during the 2024 Parliament

Speeches made during Parliamentary debates are recorded in Hansard. For ease of browsing we have grouped debates into individual, departmental and legislative categories.

Sparring Partners
Lord Hanson of Flint (Labour)
Minister of State (Home Office)
(2 debate interactions)
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Department Debates
Department for Transport
(2 debate contributions)
Leader of the House
(1 debate contributions)
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Lords initiatives

These initiatives were driven by Lord Birt, and are more likely to reflect personal policy preferences.


Lord Birt has not introduced any legislation before Parliament

Lord Birt has not co-sponsored any Bills in the current parliamentary sitting


Latest 11 Written Questions

(View all written questions)
Written Questions can be tabled by MPs and Lords to request specific information information on the work, policy and activities of a Government Department
18th Jul 2024
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they propose to issue a code of behaviour requiring Ministers and their advisers to be respectful in their dealings with civil servants, including banning the use of foul language in the workplace.

The Prime Minister is committed to restoring confidence in government and ensuring ministers are held to the highest standards. Under his leadership, this Government will ensure the highest standards of integrity and honesty. When meeting with his new Cabinet for the first time, the Prime Minister was clear about the standards he expects of them and their ministerial teams.

He will issue a Ministerial Code in due course which will set out the standards of behaviour expected of ministers. As public office holders, ministers are also bound by the Nolan Principles. One such principle that applies is leadership, under which ministers are required to “treat others with respect”.

Ministers' special advisers are contractually required to abide by the standards set out in the Code of Conduct for Special Advisers, which includes the requirement to “establish mutual relationships of confidence and trust” with civil servants.

Baroness Twycross
Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
18th Jul 2024
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to commission a study on the benefits and disbenefits of the UK’s departure from the EU, and in particular its impact on the UK economy.

The Government is currently focused on looking forwards and resetting the relationship with our European friends. As such the Prime Minister hosted 45 leaders from across Europe to the European Political Community on Thursday 18 July, to enhance cooperation on European security and other shared challenges the continent faces. Publicly available research on the interactions between the UK-EU relationship and the UK economy is widely accessible.

Baroness Twycross
Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
2nd Sep 2024
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to set out a detailed and comprehensive analytical framework for establishing the optimum route to achieving Net Zero.

The Government sets five-yearly carbon budgets which outline our pathway to net zero. To identify the optimum route, Government considers a range of factors including technical potential, impacts on growth, wider costs and benefits, as well as advice from our independent advisory body, the Climate Change Committee. We will publish an updated Carbon Budget Delivery Plan in Spring 2025 and set the Carbon Budget 7 target by June 2026, in line with statutory duties.

Lord Hunt of Kings Heath
Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
23rd Jul 2024
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to encourage the use by domestic consumers of electricity over gas to power home heating.

Heat pumps will play a pivotal role in the decarbonisation of heat in homes, and the Government is committed to supporting their adoption.

Support is available to help households to upgrade to a heat pump, through schemes like the Boiler Upgrade Scheme which provides grants of £7,500 towards the cost of installation. Current schemes, like the Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund and the Home Upgrade Grant, also remain in place to provide financial support for installations in low-income households and social housing.

Our Warm Homes Plan will set out further Government support for investment in insulation and low-carbon heating, with the goal of upgrading five million homes over this Parliament. We will announce more details in due course.

Lord Hunt of Kings Heath
Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
18th Jul 2024
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to commission an inquiry into the state of public service broadcasting in the UK.

The Government understands the important role our public service broadcasters (PSBs) play not only within the TV sector, but also in terms of their wider economic and democratic contribution in the United Kingdom.

We are committed to working constructively with our PSBs so that they can continue to inform, educate and entertain across the UK. More broadly, this Government will work towards opening up more opportunities for people in all parts of the UK to work in broadcast programming and we recognise the important role PSBs have in supporting this aim.

The Media Act – which received Royal Assent on 24 May 2024 – will give our PSBs greater flexibility in how they contribute to the remit, making it easier for them to make their content available on a wider range of free-to-air platforms, as well as ensuring PSB content remains easy to find as viewers increasingly shift online.

Ofcom, as the independent broadcasting regulator, is responsible for monitoring the performance of PSBs against their remit and obligations. It also has a statutory duty to undertake a review of the PSB system at least every five years under the Communications Act 2003 with a view to maintaining and strengthening the quality of public service television in the United Kingdom. We expect Ofcom to launch their PSB review in the coming months and look forward to receiving its report next year.

Baroness Twycross
Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
2nd Sep 2024
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they have any plans to review the (1) performance, (2) remit, and (3) powers, of Ofwat.

Companies are being held to strict requirements by the regulators, demanding significantly higher spend on environmental enhancement than in the previous price review.

On 11 July, the Secretary of State met with water company bosses to set out our expectations for the sector, just six days after my Cabinet appointment. Alongside this, this Government announced a series of initial steps towards ending the crisis in the water sector.

The Water (Special Measures) Bill will give Ofwat further powers to hold water companies to account where they do not deliver for customers and the environment.

This Bill is just the start of the fundamental and much broader transformation that this Government will lead for the water industry.

The Government will launch a review to shape further legislation that will fundamentally transform how our water system works and clean up our rivers, lakes and seas for good.

Baroness Hayman of Ullock
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
23rd Jul 2024
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to enable people with work and family responsibilities to communicate flexibly with their NHS GP practice, and to make and attend appointments at mutually convenient times.

We recognise that it can be challenging to balance accessing care with other responsibilities. That’s why we have committed to modernising the general practice (GP) booking system, making it easier for patients to communicate with their practice, and why we will ensure that anyone who wants a face-to-face appointment can receive one.

Integrated care boards must ensure that out-of-hours appointments are available to patients to help them access care at convenient times, for example on weekends, evenings or bank holidays.

We will make sure the future of GPs is sustainable by training thousands more GPs across the country to take the pressure off those currently working within the system, ensure increased capacity across the National Health Service, and secure a future pipeline of GPs.

Baroness Merron
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
2nd Sep 2024
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they have any plans to review the working of the UK–US extradition treaty.

There is no current intention to review the UK-US Extradition Treaty. The UK-US Extradition Treaty continues to produce tangible results, bringing justice to victims in both the UK and US.

Lord Hanson of Flint
Minister of State (Home Office)
18th Jul 2024
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they will consult with motor vehicle manufacturers about introducing measures to eliminate the cloning of owners’ remote locking devices by car thieves.

The Government works closely with the National Police Chiefs’ Council lead for vehicle crime and the police-led National Vehicle Crime Working Group, which focuses on tackling vehicle crime. The working group which brings together representatives of the Government, policing, and vehicle manufacturers to address vulnerabilities in vehicles.

The Government keeps all legislation under review. We will be introducing a Crime and Policing Bill and will consider what measures are needed to support efforts to tackle and prevent vehicle crime.

Lord Hanson of Flint
Minister of State (Home Office)
2nd Sep 2024
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Taylor of Stevenage on 6 August (HL248), what percentage of the 1.5 million homes that the Government is committed to delivering in this Parliament will be social homes.

The Government has committed to delivering 1.5 million homes this Parliament, delivering the biggest increase in social and affordable housing in a generation. We are proposing reforms to the National Planning Policy Framework that are designed to support the delivery of affordable housing, including ensuring that councils can prioritise the types of affordable homes their communities need. We have given councils greater flexibility to use their Right to Buy receipts to deliver replacement affordable housing (these flexibilities will be in place for an initial 24 months, subject to review). Further details will be announced in due course.

Baroness Taylor of Stevenage
Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
23rd Jul 2024
To ask His Majesty's Government what percentage of the target for building new homes over the next five years will be for social housing.

The Government has committed to delivering 1.5 million homes in this Parliament, delivering the biggest increase in social and affordable housing in a generation. We will work with councils and housing associations to build capacity and ensure we build the homes people need.

We will also introduce ‘golden rules’ in relation to grey and Green Belt release, to ensure development benefits communities and nature, including targeting the delivery of 50 per cent affordable housing on these sites.

Baroness Taylor of Stevenage
Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)