"My Lords, I declare my interest as chairman of the board that advises the International Centre for Digital Trade and Innovation. I am grateful to the noble Lord, Lord Holmes, for his support in this, and for the time that the Minister and his officials afforded to discuss it.
"My Lords, I have one or two brief observations in support of the amendments, particularly Amendments 73 and 78 tabled by the noble Lord, Lord Holmes. First, it is critical that people are given an easy understanding of digital access to the system, but that is said in the context …..." Lord Thomas of Cwmgiedd - View Speech
"My Lords, I thank everyone who has spoken in this short, slightly esoteric argument and on these interests. I simply say that I do not think that this issue will go away. First, the payment terms in the Bill are 60 days and in modern international trade that is a …..." Lord Thomas of Cwmgiedd - View Speech
"I make one brief observation on Amendment 83. When one looks back at the last group of amendments and at this one, one sees that what is happening, in effect, is the creation of an entirely alternate system of dispute resolution—a new form of court or adjudication procedure. It is …..." Lord Thomas of Cwmgiedd - View Speech
"My Lords, I too add my congratulations to the noble Baroness, Lady Hamwee, on raising this point. It is important for two reasons: first, the terrible damage done to those who have suffered as a result of what happened; and, secondly, and to my mind importantly, the damage this does …..." Lord Thomas of Cwmgiedd - View Speech
"As the first person to speak this afternoon who can claim no part whatever in the production of this report, I independently express my view, and the views of many to whom I have spoken, on its excellence and that it needed doing and that what it said needed saying. …..." Lord Thomas of Cwmgiedd - View Speech
"My Lords, the Minister has explained over and over again the number of changes that are occurring. I welcome them all, just as I welcome the noble Lords’ report. However, there are various ways in which these changes can be implemented. Can we have in the autumn a broad strategic …..." Lord Thomas of Cwmgiedd - View Speech
"One of the problems in regulation is that those who are regulated are able to pay substantially greater salaries and employ better experts. Are the Government going to look at properly funding the new regulator so that the ability of those employed by the regulator is greater than that available …..." Lord Thomas of Cwmgiedd - View Speech
"I too welcome the powerful, lucid and passionate way in which the noble Lord the Minister introduced, based on his own experience, the need for this Bill and the principal purposes behind it. It is also a great pleasure to follow the noble Lord, Lord Hunt, and his exposition of …..." Lord Thomas of Cwmgiedd - View Speech