"My Lords, I am told that the programme for drug testing on drivers is in serious disarray, with many people’s samples not being tested. Has the Minister considered using breath as well as blood tests, and can he look at sorting it out? I am told that there are now …..." Lord Balfe - View Speech
"My Lords, I remind the Minister of the old Foreign Office dictum that we have no permanent friends or permanent enemies, only permanent interests. It is in our permanent interest not to fall out disastrously with the biggest country in the world. We have to live with the Chinese and …..." Lord Balfe - View Speech
"I thank the Minister for her Answer. This problem goes back a long time. I saw in the Times on 28 June that assessors in the department are apparently paid a bonus on interview numbers—the higher the number, the higher their bonus. This may or may not be reasonable but, …..." Lord Balfe - View Speech
"To ask His Majesty’s Government whether they plan to reinstate in-person interviews for all applicants for sickness benefits...." Lord Balfe - View Speech
"My Lords, I will probably not find a lot of favour on this side with what I am about to say. I remind the House that I am the honorary president of BALPA, the pilots’ union, a union that does not go on strike and does not regard militant industrial …..." Lord Balfe - View Speech
"My Lords, it will probably not surprise noble Lords that I support the amendment. This situation has cursed the whole of the trade union movement’s relations with the Labour Party for far too long. As some of you will remember, I am the president of BALPA, the pilots’ union, a …..." Lord Balfe - View Speech
"My Lord, one of the problems we have is that a number of medicines that are available privately are not available on the NHS. I am thinking in particular of medicines for prostate cancer. I happen to know that the DHSC is currently looking at a regime for them. Perhaps …..." Lord Balfe - View Speech
"Maybe I could say what I think the noble Lord, Lord Hendy, was going to say. The workplace is not necessarily quite as put. Both my grandmothers were businesspeople in their own right, with small businesses. The one we always call my English grandmother—because she was not the Irish one—was …..." Lord Balfe - View Speech