Lord Birt Alert Sample


Alert Sample

View the Parallel Parliament page for Lord Birt

Information between 24th February 2024 - 15th March 2024

Note: This sample does not contain the most recent 2 weeks of information. Up to date samples can only be viewed by Subscribers.
Click here to view Subscription options.


Division Votes
4 Mar 2024 - Safety of Rwanda (Asylum and Immigration) Bill - View Vote Context
Lord Birt voted Aye and in line with the House
One of 62 Crossbench Aye votes vs 5 Crossbench No votes
Tally: Ayes - 274 Noes - 172
4 Mar 2024 - Safety of Rwanda (Asylum and Immigration) Bill - View Vote Context
Lord Birt voted Aye and in line with the House
One of 53 Crossbench Aye votes vs 1 Crossbench No votes
Tally: Ayes - 258 Noes - 171
4 Mar 2024 - Safety of Rwanda (Asylum and Immigration) Bill - View Vote Context
Lord Birt voted Aye and in line with the House
One of 65 Crossbench Aye votes vs 4 Crossbench No votes
Tally: Ayes - 277 Noes - 167
4 Mar 2024 - Safety of Rwanda (Asylum and Immigration) Bill - View Vote Context
Lord Birt voted Aye and in line with the House
One of 53 Crossbench Aye votes vs 2 Crossbench No votes
Tally: Ayes - 260 Noes - 169
4 Mar 2024 - Safety of Rwanda (Asylum and Immigration) Bill - View Vote Context
Lord Birt voted Aye and in line with the House
One of 66 Crossbench Aye votes vs 6 Crossbench No votes
Tally: Ayes - 282 Noes - 180
6 Mar 2024 - Safety of Rwanda (Asylum and Immigration) Bill - View Vote Context
Lord Birt voted Aye and in line with the House
One of 65 Crossbench Aye votes vs 11 Crossbench No votes
Tally: Ayes - 278 Noes - 189


Speeches
Lord Birt speeches from: Biomass: Power Generation
Lord Birt contributed 1 speech (88 words)
Wednesday 13th March 2024 - Lords Chamber
Department for Energy Security & Net Zero
Lord Birt speeches from: Operation Conifer
Lord Birt contributed 1 speech (128 words)
Monday 11th March 2024 - Lords Chamber
Home Office
Lord Birt speeches from: Heat Pumps
Lord Birt contributed 1 speech (59 words)
Wednesday 6th March 2024 - Lords Chamber
Department for Energy Security & Net Zero
Lord Birt speeches from: TV Licence Non-payment: Women
Lord Birt contributed 1 speech (49 words)
Tuesday 5th March 2024 - Lords Chamber
Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport
Lord Birt speeches from: Media Bill
Lord Birt contributed 1 speech (963 words)
2nd reading
Wednesday 28th February 2024 - Lords Chamber
Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport


Written Answers
Government Departments: Communication
Asked by: Lord Birt (Crossbench - Life peer)
Monday 26th February 2024

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government what is their assessment of the account of the workings of the communications function across Government set out in the chapter entitled “Government (Mis)Communications” in Dame Kate Bingham’s book The Long Shot.

Answered by Baroness Neville-Rolfe - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)

During a crisis, effective communication is essential. As public bodies we must be the source of accurate, relevant and timely information. The Government Communication Service has recently published a new operating model for Crisis Communications to ensure that we learn lessons from previous experiences, including the UK’s Covid response. This sets out clear guidelines for preparing for, responding to and recovering from crises. Our response to emergencies are kept under constant review.

Economic Situation
Asked by: Lord Birt (Crossbench - Life peer)
Tuesday 27th February 2024

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the analysis by Goldman Sachs which found that the economy is five per cent smaller than it would have been if the UK had remained within the European Union.

Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)

It is for the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) to provide independent and authoritative analysis and forecasting for the UK public finances. The Government makes no assessment of analysis conducted by banks or other independent organisations.

India: Fraud
Asked by: Lord Birt (Crossbench - Life peer)
Tuesday 5th March 2024

Question to the Home Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with the government of India about the large-scale online organisations identified by the BBC's Scam Interceptors programme, which seek to defraud UK internet users and which operate out of Kolkata.

Answered by Lord Sharpe of Epsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)

We are developing stronger partnerships with countries across the world to build the global response to this vile threat and tackle fraudsters wherever they are based. We are hosting the inaugural Global Fraud Summit in March, which will convene key allies to spearhead a coordinated diplomatic and law enforcement approach to tackling fraud internationally.

We are also engaging with the Government of India directly to see what more can be done, including on law enforcement collaboration and sharing best practice on fraud prevention.

Private Rented Housing: Heating and Insulation
Asked by: Lord Birt (Crossbench - Life peer)
Tuesday 12th March 2024

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask His Majesty's Government whether they have any plans to allow landlords of rented properties to claim (1) adding insulation where there was none before, and (2) upgrading a central heating boiler from an older, less efficient model, as expenses.

Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)

The Government continues to support both owner-occupier and private rented sector households to improve the energy efficiency of their homes. Landlords are therefore eligible to claim support to install low-carbon heating or energy efficiency upgrades in their properties under schemes like the Boiler Upgrade Scheme and Energy Company Obligation (ECO) 4.

The Government keeps all aspects of the tax system under review and any decisions on future changes will be taken in the context of the wider public finances.

Department for Culture, Media and Sport: BBC
Asked by: Lord Birt (Crossbench - Life peer)
Wednesday 13th March 2024

Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the comments made by the retiring Chair of the BBC about the increasing frequency of interventions on BBC matters by the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport.

Answered by Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)

The BBC is operationally and editorially independent of the Government. As it is a public service broadcaster funded by licence fee-payers, it is right that the Government engages constructively with the BBC to ensure that it upholds the highest standards expected by the public.

As its sponsor department, DCMS maintains regular contact with the BBC on a number of issues. DCMS is grateful for Dame Elan Closs Stephens's constructive engagement whilst Acting Chairman of the BBC.

Royal Mail: Standards
Asked by: Lord Birt (Crossbench - Life peer)
Wednesday 13th March 2024

Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of reports that Royal Mail are not meeting their delivery targets for letters.

Answered by Lord Offord of Garvel - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)

As the independent regulator for the postal sector, it is for Ofcom to monitor Royal Mail’s delivery of the universal service obligation and decide how to respond should Royal Mail fail to meet its obligations.

Ofcom fined the business £5.6m for failing to meet its service delivery targets in 2022-23 and is closely monitoring Royal Mail’s performance to ensure service issues are addressed as a priority.

Drax Power Station: Timber
Asked by: Lord Birt (Crossbench - Life peer)
Thursday 14th March 2024

Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the report by BBC Panorama that Drax power station is burning wood from forests defined by the government of British Columbia as "old growth" primary forests which provide unique habitats, structures and ecological functions.

Answered by Lord Callanan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)

Government continues to engage with the Canadian Authorities to discuss interactions between sustainable sourcing requirements and old growth areas, such as raised in the BBC report mentioned. Electricity generators only receive subsidies for the electricity they generate from biomass that has demonstrated compliance with stringent sustainability criteria, and the regulator, Ofgem, is responsible for ensuring compliance with these criteria.




Lord Birt mentioned

Parliamentary Debates
Biomass: Power Generation
23 speeches (1,717 words)
Wednesday 13th March 2024 - Lords Chamber
Department for Energy Security & Net Zero
Mentions:
1: Lord Callanan (Con - Life peer) money, but we spend it on a number of different sources, including those mentioned by the noble Lord, Lord - Link to Speech

Media Bill
90 speeches (44,454 words)
2nd reading
Wednesday 28th February 2024 - Lords Chamber
Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport
Mentions:
1: Lord Bishop of Leeds (Bshp - Bishops) My Lords, it is a pleasure but somewhat daunting to follow the noble Lord, Lord Birt. - Link to Speech
2: Viscount Colville of Culross (XB - Excepted Hereditary) Like my noble friends Lady Kidron and Lord Birt, my concern is that the Bill is so vague in many areas - Link to Speech
3: Lord Stevenson of Balmacara (Lab - Life peer) As the noble Lord, Lord Birt, said, UK broadcasting policy has evolved on a broadly bipartisan basis - Link to Speech
4: Lord Foster of Bath (LD - Life peer) Birt, Lord Hall and Lord Vaizey, and, it would appear, Joni Mitchell. - Link to Speech
5: Baroness Thornton (Lab - Life peer) I do not think that I could express it any better than the noble Lords, Lord Birt and Lord Hall—Birt - Link to Speech