"My Lords, does the Minister accept that the situation of hereditary Peers is sexually discriminatory? Titles still go first to a son, and if there is no son they go to a collateral branch. That is in itself sexually discriminatory and I cannot see how she can possibly argue against …..." Baroness Symons of Vernham Dean - View Speech
"My Lords, the Minister has referenced blind people. When I was in my local station the other day, getting my ticket to come to London, I stood behind a blind person who was completely confused and had no idea how to use the ticket machine. The chap in the ticket …..." Baroness Symons of Vernham Dean - View Speech
"My Lords, the Minister referred to the consular staff. Can he tell us how many British consular staff there are in our consulate in Rhodes, as opposed to the locally engaged staff?..." Baroness Symons of Vernham Dean - View Speech
"My Lords, there is also a very serious problem—certainly around where I live, on the Hampshire-Wiltshire border—of the theft of dogs. These dogs are stolen not only to stage cruel and horrible dog fights; quite often they are non-fighting dogs that are used as the bait in such fights. Does …..." Baroness Symons of Vernham Dean - View Speech
"My Lords, the Minister has been unable to answer several questions raised today in this exchange. We have a debate tomorrow. Can he guarantee that he will look this evening at the questions he has been unable to answer and give perhaps a better account of what is going on? …..." Baroness Symons of Vernham Dean - View Speech
"My Lords, I had no intention of speaking on this amendment, but I feel I must, because my late husband, Philip Bassett, was an industrial journalist who covered many strikes, most significantly, I suppose, given what we are discussing, the miners’ strike, which the whole team of industrial journalists on …..." Baroness Symons of Vernham Dean - View Speech
"My Lords, listening to the Minister’s answers, one could be forgiven for coming to the conclusion that he is saying that the Government have no responsibility for this. I find that quite extraordinary. Why can the Government not bring forward a legislative framework to ensure that these sorts of police …..." Baroness Symons of Vernham Dean - View Speech
"My Lords, what advice would the Minister give to a senior staff nurse, working in theatre, and at the top of her pay band, alongside agency nurses who are paid two to three times as much as she is for a 10-hour shift? Should she leave the NHS and become …..." Baroness Symons of Vernham Dean - View Speech
"My Lords, in his initial Answer the Minister said that the Government would hold the Government of Iran to account for their treatment of women. How does he propose that the British Government do so?..." Baroness Symons of Vernham Dean - View Speech