"My Lords, I shall be super-brief, because I spoke broadly on my Amendment 196 in the previous group when I made the case—it is not hyperbole—that the hospitality sector faces an existential issue. I agree with all my noble friend Lord Udny-Lister’s words on this.
"My Lords, Amendment 168 is in my name. I will also speak briefly to my Amendment 196, which is in the next group, but the subject matter is broadly similar. I am very grateful to my noble friends Lord Brady of Altrincham and Lord Naseby and the noble Baroness, Lady …..." Lord Sharpe of Epsom - View Speech
"My Lords, I was not involved in the 2024 Act, so—to no doubt universal relief—I shall be very brief. As the Minister explained, the statutory instruments implement Chapter 4 of the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024, by replacing the voluntary accreditation system for alternative dispute resolution providers with …..." Lord Sharpe of Epsom - View Speech
"Paper is not that durable in fire or water, so are we talking stone tablets, or vellum, perhaps? I am very curious to know the answer to the question from the noble Lord, Lord Stevenson.
Obviously, alternative dispute resolution plays an important role in enabling consumers to resolve disputes quickly …..." Lord Sharpe of Epsom - View Speech
"I do not imagine there is much clamour for me to start my speech again, so I will go back to where I got to; I made a note.
The Confederation of British Industry has warned that high energy prices threaten the United Kingdom’s standing as a manufacturing nation. It …..." Lord Sharpe of Epsom - View Speech
"My Lords, I am very grateful to the Minister for his detailed explanation, but it is difficult to consider this statutory instrument without reflecting on the circumstances that have made it necessary. The Government have presented these regulations as a modest and technical adjustment—an increase in the network charge compensation …..." Lord Sharpe of Epsom - View Speech
"Yes, but of course we could have exploited our own reserves in the North Sea, and that was another policy choice. So that is not strictly a fair argument...." Lord Sharpe of Epsom - View Speech
"Before the Minister comes back in, can I add to the noble Lord’s question? Of course, it is not just the manufacturing businesses that we are interested in; we need to attract data centres, which have enormous power requirements. That is partly for sovereign security reasons, as regards how we …..." Lord Sharpe of Epsom - View Speech
"My Lords, I will speak in favour of the amendments tabled by my noble friend Lord Murray of Blidworth. I will concentrate on one narrow area—one of the practical aspects of this generational ban—which, as my noble friend Lord Clarke highlighted, is the inevitable difficulty of age verification in stores. …..." Lord Sharpe of Epsom - View Speech
"The noble Baroness said earlier that steel was at the forefront of the Prime Minister’s mind. We understand that the steel strategy, which is long awaited, is with No. 10 and the Prime Minister at the moment. Can she enlighten us a little more as to when we can expect …..." Lord Sharpe of Epsom - View Speech