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Speech in Lords Chamber - Fri 07 Sep 2018
House of Lords (Hereditary Peers) (Abolition of By-Elections) Bill [HL]

"Such Members as would be elected under this amendment would not be bound by the conventions of the House. That is the fundamental issue. I cannot take seriously people talking about reform in terms of the composition of the House. They completely ignore the functions and powers of the House. …..."
Lord Rooker - View Speech

View all Lord Rooker (Lab - Life peer) contributions to the debate on: House of Lords (Hereditary Peers) (Abolition of By-Elections) Bill [HL]

Written Question
Ministers: Directors
Monday 30th July 2018

Asked by: Lord Rooker (Labour - Life peer)

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask Her Majesty's Government whether any ministers are acting as directors of companies; and if so, whether derogations from the Ministerial Code have been granted to such ministers.

Answered by Lord Young of Cookham

The Ministerial Code states that Ministers must ensure that no conflict arises, or could reasonably be perceived to arise, between their public duties and their private interests, financial or otherwise

On appointment to office, Ministers provide their Permanent Secretary with a written list of all relevant interests known to them, which might be thought to give rise to a conflict. This is a requirement of the Ministerial Code. The personal information which Ministers disclose is treated in confidence, however, a list of those interests which are relevant to the Minister’s portfolio is published online.

The list includes relevant interests which are additional to those already disclosed in the Parliamentary Registers.

A statement covering relevant Ministers' interests is published twice yearly. The last list is attached and the next list will be published shortly


Speech in Lords Chamber - Tue 17 Jul 2018
Electoral Commission

"Does the Minister think that there is the slightest chance of the BBC giving a fair and balanced report of the Electoral Commission’s report?..."
Lord Rooker - View Speech

View all Lord Rooker (Lab - Life peer) contributions to the debate on: Electoral Commission

Speech in Lords Chamber - Thu 28 Jun 2018
Elections: Electoral Commission Recommendations

"Have the Government had a chance yet to consider the publication this week by Bloomberg of a report relating to referendum night, when the use by hedge funds of secret, unpublished exit polling created hundreds of millions of pounds of profit, aided and abetted by the lies told by Farage …..."
Lord Rooker - View Speech

View all Lord Rooker (Lab - Life peer) contributions to the debate on: Elections: Electoral Commission Recommendations

Written Question
Peers: Correspondence
Tuesday 16th January 2018

Asked by: Lord Rooker (Labour - Life peer)

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask Her Majesty's Government when the Prime Minister intends to reply to the letter from Lord Rooker to the Prime Minister dated 21 November 2017 in respect of the duty of care towards Government employees, with reference to the case of the late Dr Matthew Puncher.

Answered by Lord Young of Cookham

The correspondence was responded to on 9th January 2018 on behalf of the Prime Minister by the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Public Health and Primary Care.


Written Question
UK Membership of EU: Referendums
Wednesday 15th November 2017

Asked by: Lord Rooker (Labour - Life peer)

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask Her Majesty's Government whether any government departments and agencies have ongoing inquiries in respect of the 23 June 2016 referendum; and if so, which.

Answered by Lord Young of Cookham

This information is not collected centrally.

The Information Commissioner, who reports directly to Parliament, is carrying out a formal investigation into the use of data analytics for political purposes. This will explore practices deployed during the EU referendum campaign.

The Government also understands that the Electoral Commission, which reports directly to Parliament, is carrying out a number of investigations related to campaigning at the EU referendum.


Speech in Lords Chamber - Tue 27 Jun 2017
Civil Society and the Democratic Process

"To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they intend to bring forward amendments to legislation to ensure that civil society plays a meaningful role in the democratic process...."
Lord Rooker - View Speech

View all Lord Rooker (Lab - Life peer) contributions to the debate on: Civil Society and the Democratic Process

Speech in Lords Chamber - Tue 27 Jun 2017
Civil Society and the Democratic Process

"Is it not the case that the present position harms our democracy and keeps important voices out of public debate? In fact, civil society was effectively snuffed out at the general election. Does the Minister agree that organisations involved in incomes for pensioners, the care of the elderly, the care …..."
Lord Rooker - View Speech

View all Lord Rooker (Lab - Life peer) contributions to the debate on: Civil Society and the Democratic Process

Written Question
Oral Questions
Tuesday 28th March 2017

Asked by: Lord Rooker (Labour - Life peer)

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they use a system to monitor commitments by Ministers to write to members if they are unable to answer the oral question at the time it is asked in the House of Lords Chamber; and if so, how many replies are currently outstanding.

Answered by Lord Young of Cookham

The content of answers to Oral Questions is a matter for the Minister concerned, and each Minister is accountable to the House for the answers they provide. As such it is for individual departments to ensure commitments made by Ministers to write to members meet the Minister's responsibilities under section 1 of the Ministerial Code.


Speech in Lords Chamber - Wed 15 Mar 2017
Class 4 National Insurance Contributions

"Can I give the Minister two messages for the Chancellor? First, the greatest unfairness in national insurance—as I look around the House, this will not go down very well—is the cut-off point at age 65. Whether people are on salaries or pensions, national insurance is general taxation and it should …..."
Lord Rooker - View Speech

View all Lord Rooker (Lab - Life peer) contributions to the debate on: Class 4 National Insurance Contributions