"My Lords, Amendment 181 in my name is very straightforward indeed. The noble Baroness, Lady Morris of Yardley, and the noble Lord, Lord Sherbourne of Didsbury, have kindly added their names to it; both regret that they are unable to be present this evening.
"My Lords, I thank the Minister for his reply and for his very clear statement that the Government agree that they have a moral and legal obligation to make sure that people in these situations clearly understand what is happening. Rather than just writing to me, will he agree to …..." Baroness Coussins - View Speech
"My Lords, will His Majesty’s Government consider using some of the money that they expect to get from this policy to reverse their recent decision to remove funding from state schools for the international baccalaureate?..." Baroness Coussins - View Speech
"My Lords, I warmly welcome this report and begin by declaring my interests as co-chair of the All-Party Group on Modern Languages, and honorary president of the Chartered Institute of Linguists, both of which submitted evidence to the committee’s inquiry. I am very glad to say that many of our …..." Baroness Coussins - View Speech
"Will the noble Lord be kind enough to write to me with his response to my points on the Defence Academy and the issue to do with Afghan interpreters?..." Baroness Coussins - View Speech
"My Lords, I shall raise two issues that were not covered in what is otherwise a thoroughly convincing and comprehensive review. The first is soft power. Perhaps the terms of reference were too tightly drawn or too narrowly interpreted, but defence is not just about weapons and Armed Forces—the hard …..." Baroness Coussins - View Speech
"My Lords, what assessment have the Government made of the risk of further World Service closures, which might result in Russia or China immediately occupying those frequencies? Would not more robust, long-term government funding for the World Service be a sensible protective measure against disinformation?..." Baroness Coussins - View Speech
"My Lords, if the military base on Diego Garcia is just as important to the US as it is to the UK, was the US ever asked to split the costs of leasing it back?..." Baroness Coussins - View Speech
"My Lords, Russian-backed media are now transmitting on the radio frequency previously occupied by BBC Arabic. While the FCDO funding for 2025-26 is helping the World Service, as the Minister said, to maintain existing language and emergency services for those in crisis, including in Gaza, Sudan and Ukraine, this cannot …..." Baroness Coussins - View Speech