"My Lords, I want to add to the comments made by my noble friend Lord Altrincham in introducing these amendments. He spoke of a large number of young people who are not in economic activity, full-time education or training. Labour market statistics are notoriously difficult to interpret, as we know, …..." Lord Blackwell - View Speech
"My Lords, I will not repeat the powerful arguments that have been made for this set of amendments, but I would like to put the argument in stark terms. What is exceptional about most charities is that they do not have the ability to raise revenue by selling more and …..." Lord Blackwell - View Speech
"My Lords, I will make a brief comment on these amendments. In the Committee’s discussions so far, the noble Lord, Lord Eatwell, has made great play of the fact that the OBR suggested that the overall Budget measures would increase employment. The noble Lord is not in his place but, …..." Lord Blackwell - View Speech
"My Lords, I would like to put this discussion in the context of the profitability of the small businesses that we are talking about. The noble Lords who proposed these amendments have effectively made the point that many of these small businesses will be the engine of growth—the acorns that …..." Lord Blackwell - View Speech
"My Lords, as the noble Baroness said, the easiest way to avoid exemptions would be not to raise this tax at all; then we would not have to deal with the sectors that will be hit hard by it. I very much support the amendment in the name of the …..." Lord Blackwell - View Speech
"My Lords, the Minister will be aware that the most important and fastest-growing part of UK exports is services. Can he assure us that the Government will put equal emphasis on non-tariff barriers, which tend to restrict service exports?..." Lord Blackwell - View Speech
"My Lords, in contributing to the debate on this Bill, I should declare my interest as a trustee of two charitable music organisations, which, like other charities, including hospices and those that help the homeless, as pointed out by the noble Baroness, Lady Kramer, and others, will now have the …..." Lord Blackwell - View Speech