"The Minister has made his career—and to an extent his reputation—on statistics. Can he clarify something for me? According to the Higher Education Statistics Agency, of all academic staff whose ethnicity is known, 22% were from ethnic-minority backgrounds in 2022-23. Is that a reflection of society at large, or is …..." Lord Swire - View Speech
"At the risk of repeating myself—the only thing that I am testing is my memory—can the Minister give us any reassurance that the international community is taking seriously the increase in the production of nuclear weapons, and in weapons capability, by the DPRK? What action is being taken with some …..." Lord Swire - View Speech
"My Lords, I too join in the congratulations to my noble friend Lord Elliott of Mickle Fell on obtaining this debate just 13 days before the Budget. Incidentally, I expect, as we all can, this to be a highly political Budget. I rather fear that common sense will be sacrificed …..." Lord Swire - View Speech
"The Minister is saying we are doing everything, and indeed we are the penholder at the UN, but there are some concerning reports that we are not doing as much as we should be due to financial constraints, particularly with our responsibilities towards women as victims of rape and crime …..." Lord Swire - View Speech
"Increasing the capacity of the grid —particularly bringing more offshore power onshore—will see a dramatic escalation in the number of overhead power lines to distribute the power, as well as more onshore substations. Given the huge profits made by some of the energy companies, what are the Government doing to …..." Lord Swire - View Speech
"I am reflecting on the Minister’s remarks in answer to my noble friend Lord Harper’s earlier point. If the current situation is that the border commander is operating anyway, without the statutory footing, under whose authority is he currently acting?..." Lord Swire - View Speech
"My Lords, I support my noble friend Lord Davies in his amendments. They seem to me to be eminently sensible. I wholly concur with him, as do most people increasingly in the country, that there is no sense of urgency, no sense of grip and a total lack of confidence …..." Lord Swire - View Speech