Lord Trefgarne Portrait

Lord Trefgarne

Conservative - Excepted Hereditary

Became Member: 29th June 1962


1 APPG membership (as of 24 Jan 2024)
War Heritage
Industry and Regulators Committee
19th Jan 2022 - 24th May 2022
Highgate Cemetery Bill [HL] Committee
15th Dec 2020 - 8th Mar 2021
Secondary Legislation Scrutiny Committee
8th Jun 2015 - 1st Jul 2019
SLSC Sub-Committee A
4th Sep 2018 - 30th Apr 2019
Inquiries Act 2005 Committee
16th May 2013 - 26th Feb 2014
Draft House of Lords Reform Bill (Joint Committee)
6th Jul 2011 - 26th Mar 2012
Committee of Selection (Lords)
21st Jun 2001 - 18th Nov 2004
Committee for Privileges and Conduct (Lords)
20th Nov 2002 - 18th Nov 2004
Procedure and Privileges Committee
13th Dec 2000 - 20th Nov 2003
European Union Committee
6th Dec 1999 - 30th Nov 2000
House of Lords Offices Committee
23rd May 1979 - 28th Oct 1982


Division Voting information

During the current Parliament, Lord Trefgarne has voted in 265 divisions, and 2 times against the majority of their Party.

15 Jun 2020 - Abortion (Northern Ireland) (No. 2) Regulations 2020 - View Vote Context
Lord Trefgarne voted Aye - against a party majority and against the House
One of 43 Conservative Aye votes vs 125 Conservative No votes
Tally: Ayes - 112 Noes - 388
8 Dec 2021 - Armed Forces Bill - View Vote Context
Lord Trefgarne voted Aye - against a party majority and in line with the House
One of 1 Conservative Aye votes vs 168 Conservative No votes
Tally: Ayes - 215 Noes - 173
View All Lord Trefgarne Division Votes

Debates during the 2019 Parliament

Speeches made during Parliamentary debates are recorded in Hansard. For ease of browsing we have grouped debates into individual, departmental and legislative categories.

Sparring Partners
Baroness Goldie (Conservative)
(34 debate interactions)
Baroness Vere of Norbiton (Conservative)
Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
(18 debate interactions)
Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon (Conservative)
Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
(17 debate interactions)
View All Sparring Partners
Department Debates
Ministry of Defence
(22 debate contributions)
Department for Transport
(14 debate contributions)
Leader of the House
(5 debate contributions)
View All Department Debates
View all Lord Trefgarne's debates

Lords initiatives

These initiatives were driven by Lord Trefgarne, and are more likely to reflect personal policy preferences.


3 Bills introduced by Lord Trefgarne


A bill to amend the law regarding succession to peerages; and for connected purposes.

Lords - 40%

Last Event - 2nd Reading : House Of Lords
Friday 11th September 2015

First reading took place on 7 June. This stage is a formality that signals the start of the Bill's journey through the Lords.Second reading - the general debate on all aspects of the Bill - is yet to be scheduled.The 2016-2017 session of Parliament has prorogued and this Bill will make no further progress. A Bill to amend the law regarding succession to peerages and for connected purposes.

Lords - 20%

Last Event - 1st Reading : House Of Lords
Tuesday 7th June 2016

A Bill to amend the law regarding succession to peerages; and for connected purposes.

Lords - 20%

Last Event - 1st Reading: House Of Lords
Wednesday 11th June 2014

Lord Trefgarne has not co-sponsored any Bills in the current parliamentary sitting


Latest 19 Written Questions

(View all written questions)
Written Questions can be tabled by MPs and Lords to request specific information information on the work, policy and activities of a Government Department
1 Other Department Questions
13th Nov 2023
To ask the Senior Deputy Speaker what was the approximate number of Noble Lords attending the State Opening of Parliament on 7 November; and whether this represents the greatest number on record.

The number of Peers attending the Chamber for the State Opening of Parliament is not recorded; but all of the approximately 180 available spaces for Members of the House were occupied for the State Opening this year. This figure does not include 14 Lords spiritual or eight members of the House who were either part of the procession or hold certain offices and were present in the Chamber due to the offices they hold. We do not have records to say how this compares to previous State Openings.

23rd Oct 2023
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the efficacy of the arrangements for controlling air traffic with the UK's airspace, further to the recent disruption to the London Flight Information Region.

The Government regrets the recent air traffic control issues and the impact these have had on airlines and their customers. NATS has an outstanding aviation safety record and is regulated against service targets which are set by the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA). It is important that we await the findings of the independent review which the CAA has announced into the technical failure which impacted NATS systems on 28 August 2023 and that any recommendations from this are responded to accordingly.

My officials have and will continue to engage with the relevant stakeholders to ensure robust plans are in place to mitigate any disruption to air traffic control services, recognising that the safety of the operation must always be the paramount consideration for air navigation service providers.

Baroness Vere of Norbiton
Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
9th Feb 2022
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the meetings of the Hammersmith Bridge Taskforce, what progress they have made with repairing Hammersmith Bridge; and when they expect the bridge will fully re-open.

Hammersmith Bridge is owned by the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham (LBHF) and therefore responsibility for making decisions on its repair lies with the borough.

My Department and Transport for London (TfL) are working constructively with LBHF as it makes progress with its business cases for the project. The submission of these cases is a condition for the release of any Government or TfL contribution to the cost of repairing the bridge.

The works are split into two phases: stabilisation and strengthening. The completion of both phases will allow the permanent reopening of the bridge to all users.

LBHF is due to start the stabilisation phase of works in February. The timeline of the project to reopen the bridge fully is dependent on the engineering solutions chosen by LBHF.

Baroness Vere of Norbiton
Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
11th Oct 2021
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they are satisfied with the law which authorises statutory authorities to obstruct the highway for the purposes of repair and maintenance.

Utility street works and highway authority road works, are carried out within the framework of legislation set by New Roads and Street Works Act 1991 and the Traffic Management Act 2004. The overall framework balances the need to ensure the essential repair and maintenance of roads, whilst reducing the disruption that such works can cause.

We have, in recent years, continued to improve the framework of secondary legislation and we have approved lane rental schemes, which allow local authorities to charge for works on the busiest roads at the busiest times to reduce congestion. We have also introduced the Street Manager digital service, which is now used by all local highway authorities and utility companies in England to plan and manage works, providing real time, open data on live and planned works.

Baroness Vere of Norbiton
Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
22nd Jul 2021
To ask Her Majesty's Government when they expect Hammersmith Bridge to be re-opened to vehicular traffic.

Hammersmith Bridge is owned by the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham (LBHF) and therefore responsibility for maintaining the bridge, and making decisions on its repair, lies with the borough.

The Government has set out a clear commitment to support LBHF in finding a long-term solution for the bridge. As agreed in the Transport for London Extraordinary Funding and Finance agreement of 1 June 2021, the Government will contribute up to 1/3 of the total costs, but no more.

The next step to permanent reopening to motor vehicles lies with LBHF, which must submit a satisfactory business case to the Department for Transport. The submission of such a case is a condition for the release of any Government contribution to the cost of repairing the bridge. As the asset owner, it is up to LBHF to take the decision on its preferred engineering solution. The timeline of the project is dependent on the solutions chosen by LBHF.

Baroness Vere of Norbiton
Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
12th Feb 2020
To ask Her Majesty's Government what estimate they have made of the cost of a single standard class rail ticket from London to Birmingham when HS2 opens.

A decision has not been taken on how fares will be set for High Speed 2 (HS2) at this stage. The business case for HS2 is based on the assumption that fares will be the same as the average for comparable services on the existing network.

Baroness Vere of Norbiton
Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
20th Feb 2023
To ask His Majesty's Government what is the typical monthly salary of an ambulance crew member working in England.

Following last year’s pay award, average basic pay per person for professionally qualified ambulance staff has increased to around £34,300 from around £33,000. On average, ambulance staff have additional earnings worth around 37% of basic pay, covering unsocial hours, geographical supplements and overtime. Following the 2022/23 pay award this will take total earnings to around £47,000 per year.

Lord Markham
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
13th Jan 2020
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have, if any, for the now-closed hospital at Broadmoor; and where the former patients are now held.

Broadmoor Hospital is owned by West London NHS Trust. In December 2019, the Broadmoor Hospital moved from the predominantly Victorian buildings, which were no longer compatible with modern clinical standards, into a state-of-the-art facility. This provides purpose built accommodation to ensure a safe, therapeutic environment for the care, treatment and rehabilitation of patients who need high-secure psychiatric care. All the former patients have been moved this new facility on the same site.

The Department encourages the National Health Service to sell land when it is not in use and the NHS locally deem it no longer needed for clinical purposes. Broadmoor Hospital was declared surplus in April 2012 and is recorded in the NHS Surplus Land annual collection. The surplus land area is 16.86 hectares containing listed buildings and is expected to be disposed of in April 2022.

The Trust is looking to dispose the former hospital in a sensitive way that accounts for the complex planning and environmental aspects of the site, in line with official NHS guidance.

13th Jul 2022
To ask Her Majesty's Government what formal legal qualifications are required for any person seeking election as a Police and Crime Commissioner.

The criteria for those who wish to stand for, and hold the office of Police and Crime Commissioner, is set out in legislation under Section 64 to 69 of the Police Reform and Social Responsibility Act 2011.

Those who wish to stand as a candidate must be at least 18 years of age on the day of their nomination and registered to vote in the force area in which they wish to stand. They must also be a British citizen, an eligible Commonwealth citizen or a qualifying EU citizen or EU citizen with retained rights. To be nominated as a candidate, candidates must obtain 100 nominations and tender a deposit of £5,000.

Individuals are not required to have any formal legal qualifications or other qualifications.

Baroness Williams of Trafford
Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
15th Jun 2022
To ask Her Majesty's Government who is responsible for ensuring the (1) accuracy, and (2) reliability, of electronic devices used to measure the speed of vehicles on (a) motorways, and (b) other major highways; and whether they have any plans to amend these arrangements.

The Government’s Home Office Type Approval (HOTA) process oversees the accuracy and reliability of vehicle speed measurement devices to ensure they meet the specified requirements.

Manufacturers work with Road Safety Support to test the accuracy of speed cameras and provide test reports as part of the HOTA submission process. These reports are reviewed by scientific colleagues at the Defence, Science and Technology Laboratory (DSTL) who will then make a recommendation on a device’s suitability for Type Approval.

Baroness Williams of Trafford
Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
12th May 2020
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many fixed penalty notices have been issued under powers granted by orders made under the Coronavirus Act 2020.

Data on the number of fixed penalty notices (FPNs) issued under the new emergency COVID-19 health regulations, are published by the NPCC on a fortnightly basis and can be found on the National Police Chiefs' Council website.

The NPCC release provides information about FPNs issued by police forces in England and Wales, the British Transport Police and the Ministry of Defence Police.

Policing is a devolved matter and FPNs issued by Police Scotland and Police Service Northern Ireland are reported separately by the respective forces.

Baroness Williams of Trafford
Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
3rd Feb 2020
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to propose amendments to the provision of the Civil Partnership, Marriages and Deaths (Registration etc) Act 2019 as they relate to the issue of marriage certificates by churches immediately following the ceremony in question.

The General Register Office (GRO) is currently working on the secondary legislation, IT systems and administrative processes that are required to implement the marriage schedule system, which includes the issue of certificates following a ceremony.

GRO continues to engage interested stakeholders on these matters, including the Church of England and Church in Wales.

Baroness Williams of Trafford
Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
23rd May 2023
To ask His Majesty's Government how many retired Tornado aircraft remain in the possession of the RAF.

The Tornado aircraft went out of RAF service in 2019 and has been through a thorough disposal process. The RAF have retained 16 Tornado aircraft across different variants for use as ground based training aids and gate guardians but none are airworthy and the majority of their systems have been permanently removed or inhibited to ensure long-term safety for ground instruction training or public display.

21st Nov 2022
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have for the future of HMS Bristol.

I refer my noble Friend to the answer I gave on 15 November 2022 to Question HL3303 to the noble Lord, Lord West of Spithead.

11th Jul 2022
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many (1) destroyers, and (2) frigates, are presently available for service with the Royal Navy.

Six Destroyers and twelve Frigates are in-service with the Royal Navy. They rotate through operational deployments, exercises and periods of planned maintenance.

At present, of the six Destroyers, four are available for operations with the remainder in long term refit. Of the twelve Frigates, eight are available for operations with the remainder in long term refit.

13th Jan 2022
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the reply by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon on 12 January (HL Deb, col 1083), whether they have anything further to add about whether one of the UK's Trident submarines is always on patrol.

Since April 1969, there has always been at least one Royal Navy nuclear-armed submarine at sea keeping us safe from the most extreme threats to our national security and way of life. We will maintain four deterrent submarines to ensure at least one will always be on a Continuous At Sea Deterrence patrol.

13th Jan 2020
To ask Her Majesty's Government when they expect the first of the new Dreadnought-class submarines to go to sea; and when they expect it to go into service.

The first Dreadnought Class ballistic missile submarine will enter service in the early 2030s, as set out most recently in the eighth Annual Update to Parliament on the United Kingdom's Future Nuclear Deterrent, published on 20 December 2019.

8th Jan 2020
To ask Her Majesty's Government what estimate they have made of the number of homeless people sleeping rough in the Greater London area during the recent Christmas period; and of those, how many they estimate to be ex-service personnel.

The Government does not collect this information centrally. The annual rough sleeping snapshot for 2019 will be released on 27 February 2020. In addition, the Greater London Authority will release their CHAIN data on 31 January 2020, which will provide details on people seen sleeping rough in Greater London in September - December 2019, including details on ex-service personnel.

The Government has allocated over £1.2 billion through to 2020 to tackle all forms of homelessness. In London this includes:

  • Over £24.5 million of Rough Sleeping Initiative funding (over £6 million of which went direct to the GLA) for local authorities to tackle rough sleeping in their areas and have an immediate impact on the levels of rough sleeping. This has provided over 1000 bed spaces and around 200 staff in the capital.
  • The £50 million London portion of the Move-on Fund which was allocated to the GLA. This will contribute towards the capital costs of developing move-on accommodation for people leaving homelessness hostels and refuges for survivors of domestic abuse.
  • £9.5 million of Rapid Rehousing Pathway funding (over £2.3 million of which went direct to the GLA). This approach includes funding for Somewhere Safe to Stay hubs, specialist Navigators, the establishment of Local Lettings Agencies and funding for Supported Lettings initiatives.
  • £9.2 million from the Private Rented Sector Access scheme to fund a range of approaches including innovative transitional insurance policy to providing incentives to landlords to offer longer term tenancies.
  • £1 million since Oct 2017 towards the Rough Sleeping Social Impact Bond. This is a payment-by-results programme funded by MHCLG, targeting the most entrenched rough sleepers with multiple complex needs in 7 regional projects. As of June, 200 people have entered accommodation in London. The GLA have put £1m of their own funding into this project.
Viscount Younger of Leckie
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
11th Jul 2022
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many (1) men, and (2) women, over the age of 70 are serving custodial sentences in England and Wales.

As of 31 March 2022 (latest available published statistics), there were 1,618 male sentenced prisoners and 21 female sentenced prisoners aged ‘70 and over’ in prisons in England & Wales.

Lord Bellamy
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)