"My Lords, I very much welcome what the Minister said and I am glad that we have cross-party support for this. I wonder whether I could inject a question relating to some of the comments that have been made by the American Administration about the possibility of easing sanctions against …..." Lord Bruce of Bennachie - View Speech
"My Lords, it is worth recording that Scotland has around 35,000 defence jobs and 11,000 people in the forces. We are building seven warships, and we have naval and RAF bases. Will the Government consider, in the new defence era, extending the engagement of the entire industrial complex of Scotland, …..." Lord Bruce of Bennachie - View Speech
"My Lords, since the establishment of the Scottish Parliament, the proportion of income raised from taxes on Scottish citizens has risen from under 10% to around 40%. The Scottish Finance and Public Administration Committee has agreed that accountability and scrutiny need to be improved. I suggest that it might be …..." Lord Bruce of Bennachie - View Speech
"My Lords, first, I am glad to be able to debate with the Minister. I had a conversation with her when she was first appointed, but this is my first opportunity to do that. I am obviously grateful to her for introducing this order.
"My Lords, it is a privilege to take part in this debate and to hear so many personal experiences, views and opinions from both sides of the divide and from outside of the divide. It is a historic moment, but is coming way too late.
"My Lords, I am grateful to the noble Lord, Lord Howell, for giving us the opportunity to debate this important issue at a crucial time. I also welcome the maiden speech of the noble Lord, Lord Pitkeathley, and look forward to hearing a lot more from him in the future.
"To ask His Majesty’s Government how aid priorities will change following the decision to reduce the Official Development Assistance budget to 0.3 per cent of gross national income (GNI), and whether they intend to restore the commitment of spending 0.7 per cent of GNI in future...." Lord Bruce of Bennachie - View Speech
"First, I congratulate the Minister on her promotion, albeit in somewhat difficult and unexpected circumstances. I will seek to work with her to try to ensure that aid, in its reduced capacity, gets to where it matters most. Nevertheless, I believe that the cut in ODA is a strategic error, …..." Lord Bruce of Bennachie - View Speech
"My Lords, I will speak briefly to Amendments 2 and 36, to which I have added my name. On Amendment 2, I do not need to add much to what has been said, other than that the disproportionate hit on part-time workers seems to me to be extraordinarily damaging. As …..." Lord Bruce of Bennachie - View Speech
"My Lords, I will briefly speak to Amendment 40, which is in my name. It asks for an impact assessment of this Bill on Scotland, because of the differences that have been identified.