Busking

Debate between Baroness Williams of Trafford and Baroness McIntosh of Hudnall

Thursday 12th February 2015 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Williams of Trafford]

My noble friend is right. Good manners are at the heart of this—people’s right to enjoy the wonderful sounds of busking, but also people’s right to engage in their church service without being disturbed by noise.

[Baroness McIntosh of Hudnall (Lab)]

My Lords, of course busking is entertaining in many senses, as we have borne witness to this morning, but there is a serious point behind this. Frequently, young musicians are engaged in very long periods of training, during which they are often short of money. It is often a pleasure to hear very talented people playing on the streets for money that they undoubtedly need. There is a difference between that kind of busking and the sort that does occasionally cause upset, when people use very loud amplified sound.

[Baroness Williams of Trafford]

The noble Baroness has got to the nub of the point. I often enjoy listening to some of the buskers in Underground stations. They really enhance the journey, and calm people down on their way to and from work; I find that they do. It is nice to hear people singing and playing music, and that should not be mixed up with people who genuinely cause distress and disturbance to others.

Allotments

Debate between Baroness Williams of Trafford and Baroness McIntosh of Hudnall

Wednesday 3rd December 2014 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Williams of Trafford]

My Lords, I agree with my noble friend. Going back to the second question that I answered about neighbourhood plans, the way that local communities work with local authorities will be crucial in moving this forward.

[Baroness McIntosh of Hudnall (Lab)]

In the light of what she has just said, does the noble Baroness agree that neighbourhood plans for local authorities are difficult to establish, particularly where there is activity from extremely aggressive developers who are very keen on acquiring greenfield sites and are prepared to spend a lot of money—money that local authorities cannot match—on overturning decisions and going to appeal? Is that helping with the development of greenfield sites for more congenial purposes, such as allotments?

[Baroness Williams of Trafford]

My Lords, I agree with the noble Baroness that the process needs to be speeded up. We have done well in local authorities producing neighbourhood plans, but speeding them up will be considered by CLG, because the noble Baroness is right: such blockages need to be addressed.

Children: Alcohol Harm

Debate between Baroness Williams of Trafford and Baroness McIntosh of Hudnall

Monday 17th November 2014 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Williams of Trafford]

My Lords, minimum alcohol unit pricing is still under consideration. I totally agree with the noble Earl: it is a tragedy and it would be even more of a tragedy if both social services and other local agencies were not on to such families where children are basically being abused.

[Baroness McIntosh of Hudnall (Lab)]

My Lords, will the Minister take a moment to respond to the question that my noble friend Lord Brooke asked her about the impact of lobbying from the drinks industry? Can she tell the House whether any other group or individual apart from that industry has asked for the deregulation that is in the Bill to which he referred?

[Baroness Williams of Trafford]

My Lords, I answered three of the questions asked by the noble Lord, Lord Brooke. On the point of lobbying by other industries, I do not know of any industries that have lobbied the Government, but I can write to the noble Baroness and confirm that. The Government have requested the drinks industry to take responsibility, or else we will.

Child Abuse: Police Investigations

Debate between Baroness Williams of Trafford and Baroness McIntosh of Hudnall

Wednesday 29th October 2014 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Williams of Trafford]

Yes, those are some of the most vulnerable children in our society and it is right that we should deal with this and bring the perpetrators to book.

[Baroness McIntosh of Hudnall (Lab)]

My Lords, is the Minister aware that the General Medical Council did some work a couple of years ago, with which I was involved, on the involvement of general practitioners and other doctors in spotting child abuse? Is she also aware that one issue that was most clearly a problem was the multiagency relationships that she talked of in one of her earlier answers? Although there are good intentions in relation to multiagency work, is she confident that it is being carried out in a coherent way?

[Baroness Williams of Trafford]

The noble Baroness raises a very valid point. That is why I mentioned earlier the different pictures across various multiagency teams. This is an area for improvement.