"To ask His Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the impact on further education colleges of their inability to recover VAT on expenditure; and what plans they have, if any, to address this disparity to create equality with other publicly funded education providers...." Lord Forbes of Newcastle - View Speech
"My Lords, I beg leave to ask the Question standing in my name on the Order Paper. In doing so, I draw attention to my role as president of Capital City College Group...." Lord Forbes of Newcastle - View Speech
"I thank my noble friend the Minister for that response. As he correctly identifies, since 2011, FE colleges, unlike councils, academies and almost all other public sector organisations, have been unable to reclaim VAT costs from the Government’s refund scheme. LSE research estimates this to be a loss to the …..." Lord Forbes of Newcastle - View Speech
"To ask His Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the impact of increasing abuse and intimidation on the recruitment, retention and wellbeing of local councillors; and what action they intend to take in response...." Lord Forbes of Newcastle - View Speech
"My Lords, I am grateful to all noble Lords who have expressed a wish to speak in this debate. I draw noble Lords’ attention to my role as a non-exec director at MHCLG.
"My Lords, the gracious Speech puts national security where it belongs, at the centre of government. I welcome that, but the question before us is not only what we spend—it is how we think and act; how we organise a whole-society defence; how we turn resilience from a slogan into …..." Lord Forbes of Newcastle - View Speech
"My Lords, first, I declare an interest and draw noble Lords’ attention to my role as a non-executive director at MHCLG, the lead department for this Bill. The Bill, as presented very ably by my noble friend the Minister, is short, tightly drawn and constitutionally straightforward. It is a money …..." Lord Forbes of Newcastle - View Speech
"My Lords, I congratulate the Government on avoiding the pull towards an illegal and pointless conflict in the Middle East, despite the pressure brought to bear from some national and international corners. We have heard much about the impact of the conflict on oil and gas supplies. What we have …..." Lord Forbes of Newcastle - View Speech
"My Lords, I shall speak to the amendments in this group. For the record, I declare my interest as a trustee of Action on Smoking and Health.
First of all, I follow on from the comments of the noble Lord, Lord Young, around a road map. Surely a road map …..." Lord Forbes of Newcastle - View Speech
"I will come to that point in a moment and explain further. The TRIS process concluded on 18 February. The UK Government have provided a clear and satisfactory response to the concerns raised by member states, which I hope offers some reassurance to the noble Baroness, Lady Hoey.