Environment: Leafleting

Debate between Lord Brooke of Sutton Mandeville and Lord Taylor of Holbeach

Monday 9th July 2012 Lords Chamber

[Lord Brooke of Sutton Mandeville]

My Lords, is my noble friend aware of the irony towards which he is leading us whereby local authorities will be castigated as being philistine because they intervene on cultural leaflets when recent archaeology demonstrates that the philistines were actually very civilised people?

[Lord Taylor of Holbeach]

I am sure that they were, and far be it from me to suggest that any behaviour by a local authority is philistine.

Gangmasters

Debate between Lord Brooke of Sutton Mandeville and Lord Taylor of Holbeach

Monday 12th December 2011 Lords Chamber

[Lord Taylor of Holbeach]

From my knowledge of star chambers, which is rather limited to history books and the like, they are where conflicting views which may need to be resolved are discussed in an informal way. That is exactly how the star chamber has functioned in this way. I am not suggesting for a moment that the European issue could be resolved quite so easily.

[Lord Brooke of Sutton Mandeville]

My Lords, “GLA” has another acronymic provenance. Will my noble friend see if it is possible to avoid duplication of acronyms when they occur for bears of very little brain who find it very difficult to follow?

[Lord Taylor of Holbeach]

Unfortunately, the first letters tie up with the Greater London Authority but as far as I am concerned the GLA is the Gangmasters Licensing Authority.

Census

Debate between Lord Brooke of Sutton Mandeville and Lord Taylor of Holbeach

Monday 13th June 2011 Lords Chamber

[Lord Taylor of Holbeach]

I thank the noble Baroness for that question. I struggled a little to complete my own form and was rather embarrassed by that considering that I have occasionally to answer questions on the subject. So I understand exactly what she is saying. However, I can reassure her that were she part of the postcode lottery—that is, the postcode selected for this interview process—she might indeed find that somebody wanted to interview her about her census form. If so, it would be a very much abbreviated questionnaire compared with the one that she was asked to fill in in the first place.

[Lord Brooke of Sutton Mandeville]

My Lords, I declare an interest as a former canvasser in an inner London seat. Can my noble friend tell me what happens if the only method of communication with the person being interviewed is through an entry phone?

[Lord Taylor of Holbeach]

This is a familiar experience for most noble Lords. It relates in some ways to the difficulties experienced in some inner urban areas in this regard. Noble Lords may remember that I was asked a question on this some time ago and that Kensington and Chelsea had only a 64 per cent return of census forms in 2001. We are on track for a much better return this time, aiming at a 94 per cent return. The early indications are that it is on target, and that is very satisfying. As my noble friend has pointed out, communication is often difficult in these hard-to-reach areas. In the case of non face-to-face communication, it is possible, as I say, for a form to be filled in by the respondee.

Public Bodies: Reform

Debate between Lord Brooke of Sutton Mandeville and Lord Taylor of Holbeach

Thursday 14th October 2010 Lords Chamber

[Lord Brooke of Sutton Mandeville]

At a similar point in a prior Administration, I was ministerially responsible for a department with 43 non-departmental public bodies. I received a Cabinet Office instruction almost to double the proportion of women on those boards within a matter of months. That order could have been carried out to the letter either by greatly raising the number of women board members or by conducting a massacre of male innocents on their own quarter-decks. At some risk to my own quarter-deck, I minuted back about which course I was to follow. Can my noble friend give an assurance that a competent mathematician will proof-read any similar instructions before they are sent out this time?

[Lord Taylor of Holbeach]

I cannot guarantee the standards of proof-reading or mathematical skills, but I am sure that we have a highly skilled Civil Service and that no instruction will go out which is neither numerate nor literate.