"I thank the Minister for her response, although I point out, in the interests of balance, that unemployment is rising while job vacancies are falling fast. In fact, graduate vacancies have now dropped to their lowest level since 2018, with some 40% of our graduates either in low-skilled jobs or …..." Lord Londesborough - View Speech
"My Lords, I think we have spent 13 days in this Chamber scrutinising this critical Bill. I salute the Ministers and Front Benches for their stamina and perseverance. The Bill has tested the patience of noble Lords on all sides of this House, so I will not test their patience …..." Lord Londesborough - View Speech
"My Lords, does the Minister agree that it would be wrong to single out clubs such as Morecambe and Sheffield Wednesday as outliers or exceptional? I say that because, in the last two seasons, all 24 clubs in our second tier—the EFL Championship—have generated operating losses, with wage bills continuing …..." Lord Londesborough - View Speech
"My Lords, while the results from the landmark Civil Service AI trial are clearly encouraging, does the Minister agree that it highlights the urgent need to train up public sector workers across all departments on the effective and appropriate use of generative AI? I suggest that such training and guidance …..." Lord Londesborough - View Speech
"My Lords, I will briefly speak to Amendment 167 tabled by my noble friend Lord Freyberg, to which I have added my name. It is a thoughtful, pertinent and probing amendment which—dare I suggest at this late hour—the Government should embrace with enthusiasm.
"My Lords, I promise to be very brief. I support all the amendments in this group.
The arguments are building for the establishment of an independent freelance commissioner, mainly because the number of freelancers is growing and will continue to do so in the face of increasingly adverse conditions for …..." Lord Londesborough - View Speech
"My Lords, since the Chancellor announced the £25 billion hike in employers’ national insurance, we have seen the number of people on the PAYE payroll fall in seven of the past eight months, vacancies, especially for SMEs, declining every month and, most worrying of all, GDP per capita and labour …..." Lord Londesborough - View Speech
"My Lords, I support all the amendments in this group but will speak specifically to Amendments 129, 131 and 145 tabled by the noble Lords, Lord Sharpe of Epsom and Lord Hunt of Wirral, to which I have put my name.