"My Lords, I refer to my entry in the register of interests as regards City of London College. Within the Statement, the Government commit to transferring responsibility and finance for 16 to 19 year-olds to mayors and, presumably, to strategic authorities, but, to date, local authorities have sometimes been quite …..." Lord Weir of Ballyholme - View Speech
"My Lords, I broadly welcome the three SIs before us. As the Minister has indicated, they fall into two categories: one aspect dealing with the widening of accessibility in terms of voter ID, and the second aspect dealing with the expense limits.
"Just to clarify, although I raised the issue in relation to the veteran card, it was in reference all four forms of identification. I appreciate that the Minister probably does not have the figures in relation to those to hand, but perhaps she could write to me on them...." Lord Weir of Ballyholme - View Speech
"My Lords, I welcome the Minister to his place. To some extent he has touched on this in his previous answer, but does he agree that the Scottish First Minister would be better placed dealing with practical priorities such as co-operating with the UK Government on issues such as youth …..." Lord Weir of Ballyholme - View Speech
"My Lords, I join others in thanking the noble Lord, Lord Patel, for securing this debate. Across a range of medical conditions, we are hopefully on the brink of medical advances, underpinned by robust research, which have the opportunity to save lives or transform them for the better. With the …..." Lord Weir of Ballyholme - View Speech
"My Lords, given the time constraints, I will not reiterate some of the wider constitutional issues that have already been raised. But first I have a question: why is the SI even needed? By Defra’s own admission, the current regulations are fully complied with by everybody in the industry. That …..." Lord Weir of Ballyholme - View Speech
"My Lords, I support the amendment in the name of the noble Baroness, Lady Hoey. It is well thought through, balanced and modest. The House will be relieved that, for once, neither I nor the noble Baroness, Lady Hoey, are even mentioning the Northern Ireland protocol or the Windsor Framework …..." Lord Weir of Ballyholme - View Speech
"My Lords, time does not permit me to reiterate or examine the constitutional issues that this SI raises. They have been dealt with by a number of other speakers. Nor can I comment on whether those constitutional concerns are in any way ameliorated in practice by the impact on the …..." Lord Weir of Ballyholme - View Speech
"My Lords, any easing of the cost of living is to be welcomed. However, the Minister will be aware that the VAT reduction cannot be directly applied to Northern Ireland because of the rules of the Windsor Framework and the arrangements with the European Union. At best, we will have …..." Lord Weir of Ballyholme - View Speech