"My Lords, first, I absolutely congratulate the noble Baroness, Lady Brown of Silvertown, on her excellently motivated amendment. It is very thought provoking. In particular, this sentence caught my attention:
“The victim may have been criminally exploited even if the activity appears consensual”.
"My Lords, first, what is the timescale for the independent commission on grooming gangs in terms of appointing a chair, publishing the terms of reference, and so on? Is there any urgency there? Secondly, as these rape gangs are arguably the most shameful examples of state indifference to, even collusion …..." Baroness Fox of Buckley - View Speech
"My Lords, I have not always historically been an enthusiast for experts dictating policy, but I am enthusiastic about this amendment from the noble Lord, Lord Lansley.
Particularly in relation to policy or legislation related to public health, there is an awful lot of evidence swapping, people citing data, and …..." Baroness Fox of Buckley - View Speech
"I want to say that I understand some of the addiction points in relation to young people in particular. I asked in an earlier group in Committee if this Bill was tackling addiction per se as a problem. There are things that we know are addictive—for example, nicotine. I am …..." Baroness Fox of Buckley - View Speech
"My Lords, I am very much in favour of these three amendments. As we come to the end of Committee, it is important that we consider some of the unintended consequences of this Bill, particularly in relation to retailers. In relation to Amendment 188 from the noble Lord, Lord Kamall, …..." Baroness Fox of Buckley - View Speech
"It would also seem that misrepresenting them in the pages of the Grocer by saying that they absolutely love this legislation is the opposite of fearmongering. That is called misinformation; it is illegitimate and not fair. I do not think any fearmongering needed to happen. As it goes, the Government …..." Baroness Fox of Buckley - View Speech
"If the Committee will allow me, I want to come back on the point about retail organisations. I am more than happy to acknowledge that all sorts of organisations are not quite as independent as they seem. In fact, many health charities over the years feel more like Astroturfed organisations, …..." Baroness Fox of Buckley - View Speech
"My Lords, the Minister constantly stresses the operational independence of the police, yet a Jew-free zone was created in the West Midlands—with, it appears, official sanction. Does the Minister understand that while the Government say they will not tolerate antisemitism, it seems that antisemitism was not only tolerated but officially …..." Baroness Fox of Buckley - View Speech
"Some clarification is needed in relation to a number of points that you have made. How does anybody know, how does the doctor know, whether any of these scenarios have happened? Is there anything in the Bill that makes the doctor ask and explore? The word I proposed was “encouragement”—that …..." Baroness Fox of Buckley - View Speech
"My Lords, I, by contrast, speak as an atheist and humanist, mainly to address my Amendment 45, which would add the word “encouraged” after “coerced”. I support the general theme of the other amendments in this group, which largely tackle the need to strengthen safeguards against patients being indirectly influenced …..." Baroness Fox of Buckley - View Speech