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Written Question
Kideny Diseases
Monday 8th June 2026

Asked by: Lord Watts (Labour - Life peer)

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government when NHS England plans to publish the updated renal service specification; and what steps they are taking to ensure the specification supports increased access to home dialysis therapies and improved patient choice.

Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The specification is being worked on by NHS England in line with its national service specification methods process. Stakeholder testing was recently undertaken. The timing of full publication has yet to be decided upon as the feedback from stakeholders is being considered, alongside any changes required. NHS England will set out the expected date of publication as soon as this is available.

NHS England is increasing access to home-based therapies through the Renal Services Transformation Toolkit (2023), which aims for at least 20% of patients to be treated at home. The specification will support the 20% ambition.

Speech in Lords Chamber - Thu 04 Jun 2026
Military in the Gulf

"My Lords, under the last Government, we saw the hollowing out of our Armed Forces. Now we have started to invest in our Armed Forces again, but there are limits to that. Does my noble friend agree that those advocating spending lots more money need to identify where that cash …..."
Lord Watts - View Speech

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Speech in Lords Chamber - Wed 03 Jun 2026
World Cup Ticket Prices

"My Lords, people who are actually fans are going to America for the World Cup and are being ripped off with their flights, ripped off—and sometimes gazumped—with their hotels, and ripped off with their tickets. Can we do all we can, both internally and internationally, to stop these practices and …..."
Lord Watts - View Speech

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Speech in Lords Chamber - Tue 02 Jun 2026
Steel Import Restrictions

"The question is: when we had Brexit, we were told by the supporters of Brexit that we had oven-ready trade deals, ready to go, and they would boost the economy. Where are those trade deals?..."
Lord Watts - View Speech

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Speech in Lords Chamber - Tue 02 Jun 2026
Steel Import Restrictions

"My Lords, when we had Brexit, we were informed that there were oven-ready schemes for trade. Where are they?..."
Lord Watts - View Speech

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Speech in Lords Chamber - Tue 02 Jun 2026
Lord Mandelson Humble Address: Government Response

"My Lords, does the Minister agreed with me that we should not take lessons from the Opposition, who had a Prime Minister who misled Parliament on a number of occasions and none of them said anything about it?..."
Lord Watts - View Speech

View all Lord Watts (Lab - Life peer) contributions to the debate on: Lord Mandelson Humble Address: Government Response
Speech in Lords Chamber - Mon 01 Jun 2026
Donations to Political Parties

"My Lords, the present system has some controls during an election period but then, in a non-election period, there seems to be very little control, with one right-wing individual donating £10 million to one political party. Will the review deal with this issue?..."
Lord Watts - View Speech

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Written Question
Press: Standards
Monday 1st June 2026

Asked by: Lord Watts (Labour - Life peer)

Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they plan to take, if any, to introduce legislation to raise standards in the British press.

Answered by Baroness Twycross - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)

In the UK, there is a self-regulatory system for the press, which is independent from Government. This is important for press freedom and to ensure the public has access to accurate and trustworthy information from a range of different sources. However, with this freedom comes responsibility. We expect publishers to operate within the bounds of the law and adhere to high ethical and professional standards, as well as ensure appropriate routes to redress if these standards are not met.

Looking ahead, we are closely following trends in media consumption and are carefully considering the best route forward to safeguard public trust in our news media. There are currently no plans for legislation on press standards.

Speech in Lords Chamber - Thu 21 May 2026
Higher Earners: Emigration

"My Lords, is it not the case that if you are a patriot you are obliged to pay your fair share of tax and that people who do not want to do that are not patriots?..."
Lord Watts - View Speech

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Speech in Lords Chamber - Wed 20 May 2026
Self-employed: Paternity Leave

"Have the Government considered looking at the previous Government’s proposals in this area to see what lessons can be learned?..."
Lord Watts - View Speech

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