Stonehenge

Debate between Lord Ashton of Hyde and Lord Dobbs

Thursday 23rd July 2020 Lords Chamber

[Lord Dobbs (Con) [V]]

My Lords, I am very fortunate to be a local resident. We have had more than 20 years of dispute between stakeholders—

[Lord Ashton of Hyde (Con)]

The noble Lord should put the Question standing on the Order Paper.

[Lord Dobbs [V]]

I beg your pardon. I beg to put the Question standing in my name.

Brexit: Tourism

Debate between Lord Ashton of Hyde and Lord Dobbs

Tuesday 19th February 2019 Lords Chamber

[Lord Ashton of Hyde]

I do not know what review group the noble Lord is referring to, but I can assure him that, via the Tourism Industry Council, the tourism sector is engaging and the Home Office has said it will engage on the issue of seasonal workers. We need a provision, where if an industry is reliant on seasonal workers, like some agriculture is, the future immigration system is capable of handling that.

[Lord Dobbs (Con)]

Would my noble friend like to bring a sense of balance to this discussion, and perhaps some common sense?

[Lord Dobbs]

Thank you. Like other Members of this noble House, has my noble friend noticed the latest employment figures from today? They show a record number of jobs in the UK economy, a fall—again—in unemployment and a record level of women in employment: the highest number of women employed in our economy in our history. Does he not think that that should be emphasised rather more than all the doom and gloom we keep getting?

[Lord Ashton of Hyde]

Of course, I agree with my noble friend that it should be emphasised. The issue this brings for certain sectors is whether they can compete in attracting the workforce. As far as the tourism industry is concerned, this sector deal will try to address that, because we need a higher-wage economy which will increase productivity. We need to use things such as automation and training to avoid the turnover that exists in the tourism industry. However, I certainly agree with my noble friend that the Government’s record on employment is excellent.

Television Broadcasts: Audibility

Debate between Lord Ashton of Hyde and Lord Dobbs

Tuesday 4th April 2017 Lords Chamber

[Lord Ashton of Hyde]

My Lords, I am not an expert on enunciation, but I am told that it is all to do with your diaphragm.

[Lord Dobbs (Con)]

My Lords, perhaps I may take this opportunity to agree with my noble friend Lord Fellowes that when dialogue is written it is always clear. A great part of the problem may be that modern televisions are all screen and the speakers face backwards. It is bound to be a technological problem when the speakers face away from you, apart from the fact that of course we are all getting a little older and perhaps deafer.

[Lord Ashton of Hyde]

My Lords, I certainly do not agree that all written dialogue is comprehensible, although my noble friend is an obvious exception to that. The point is that the director is in charge of the entire programme and should listen to the rushes and to what he has produced. Sometimes it is perfectly reasonable for an actor to face away from the camera but it is important that he can still be heard.