Humanist Marriages
Lord Watson of Invergowrie Excerpts(3 weeks ago)
Lords ChamberRead Full debate Read Hansard Text Watch Debate Read Debate Ministerial Extracts
Lord Ponsonby of Shulbrede (Lab)
I agree with the noble Lord. The objective of the Government is to have clarity and fairness in relation to weddings within England and Wales. There were 57 recommendations in a 500-page report from the Law Commission, and the Government need to take their time to consider them all carefully.
Lord Watson of Invergowrie (Lab)
My Lords, as other noble Lords have said, England and Wales are outliers on the issue of humanist marriages, with Scotland having applied legal recognition in 2005, Northern Ireland in 2018 and the Channel Islands at the same time. The Republic of Ireland has had it since 2012. To avoid my noble friend having to repeat the same answer, can I put it to him that this is an equalities issue, and it offers the Government the chance to extend laws that exist for some UK citizens to all of us?
Lord Ponsonby of Shulbrede (Lab)
I thank my noble friend for that question. Indeed, it could be seen to be an equalities issue, but the Government’s approach is to look at this matter in the round.
Public Libraries
Lord Watson of Invergowrie Excerpts(3 months, 1 week ago)
Grand CommitteeRead Full debate Read Hansard Text Read Debate Ministerial Extracts
Lord Watson of Invergowrie (Lab)
My Lords, we sadly cannot do justice today to the many important recommendations in the report of the noble Baroness, Lady Sanderson, because Back-Bench contributions are restricted to just 60 seconds.
Were there time, I would have spoken about the more than 180 public libraries that have been closed or handed to volunteers since 2016, and the fact that the most deprived communities—the very areas that need them the most—are four times more likely to lose their library than those in more affluent areas. I would have spoken about the lack of recognition across both local and central government of the value and impact of public libraries, and I would have spoken about the major impact of the summer reading challenge, where libraries work with public health teams and education or children’s services in areas of disadvantage or low literacy.
I urge my noble friend the Minister to add her influential voice to that of the noble Baroness, Lady Sanderson, in demanding that we have a proper debate—which today’s debate cannot be—on public libraries in the very near future.