I beg to move, That this House has considered the contribution of local museums. It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Ms Lewell. Colleagues will know that I am incredibly proud to call Thurrock home. I am the...

I thank my hon. Friend for making an amazing speech and celebrating local history. In my constituency we have the Brunel Museum, which is a fantastic local resource covering engineering history, the Thames and the Brune...

I thank my hon. Friend for his contribution; I think he may have had a sneak peek at my speech, as that is just what I am coming to. Let me give a huge shout-out to the Brunel Museum—I am a big fan. It includes a replic...

My Lords, if there is a Division in the Chamber while we are sitting, this Committee will adjourn as soon as the Division Bells are rung and resume after 10 minutes.

My Lords, before we start the debate, I remind the Grand Committee that we started this group last month and that only those who were here at the start of the group should contribute. A list has helpfully been provided...

I apologise for the noble Baroness, Lady Freeman, who is unable to be here today.

To ask His Majesty’s Government whether the consultation announced in their PFAS Plan: building a safer future together , published on 3 February, will include an option for per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances to be ba...

My Lords, the PFAS plan was published on 3 February this year. It sets out for the first time the Government’s approach to minimising the harmful effects of PFAS while moving to safer alternatives. The plan includes con...

My Lords, I thank my noble friend the Minister for her response. PFAS are considered to be harmful to the environment, and by the time we collect enough evidence that a substance is harmful, it is too late—it is prevale...

I beg to move, That this House has considered World Book Day. It is a pleasure to see you in the Chair, Mrs Hobhouse. I am grateful to the Backbench Business Committee for allocating time for this debate. I am tempted t...

I want to celebrate our local libraries and how much they give to our communities. Castle Donington library hosts not only a uniform swap but a dress-up swap, which is so important for affordability. Libraries are also...

My hon. Friend is absolutely right. World Book Day is a collaboration between lots of different organisations across our communities, and libraries are central to that. This year, we mark the 30th anniversary of World B...

My Lords, I am grateful to all noble Lords who have spoken on what was—

My Lords, before we were interrupted, I was just saying that we are very grateful to all noble Lords who spoke on 11 February—it was as far away as that, and we have not met since then. If noble Lords think back, it was...

My Lords, I thank all noble Lords and noble Baronesses for their amendments on the community right to buy and assets of community value, which I will refer to as ACVs. I know we debated this as far back as 11 February a...

1. If he will commission new works under the Official History Programme.

I should start by referring to my entries in the Members’ Register of Financial Interests about my books and to my background as a historian. I thank my hon. Friend for such an excellent opening question. He will be ple...

I draw the House’s attention to my vice-chairship of the all-party parliamentary group for archives and history. I strongly welcome the statement that my right hon. Friend has just made to the House. For more than 100 y...

To ask His Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the University of Manchester report Class Ceiling , published in January; and what steps they are taking to address class inequality in the arts.

As the report highlights, it is considerably harder for someone from a working-class background to access the arts and pursue an artistic career. This is clearly not acceptable. Our £1.5 billion Arts Everywhere fund wil...

My Lords, my takeaway from a report that makes many crucial points is how much the starving of arts funding over many years has contributed to the neglect of a particular part of the workforce. Does the Minister agree t...

2. What assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the delivery of the civil service pension scheme.

5. What recent discussions he has had with Capita on ensuring timely payments under the civil service pension scheme.

Welcome back, Minister.

To ask His Majesty’s Government when the operation of the Access to Work fund was last reviewed.

My Lords, in begging leave to ask the Question standing in my name on the Order Paper, I declare an interest as a vice-president of the National Autistic Society, an honour I share with my noble friend Lady Browning opp...

My Lords, Access to Work is a demand-led, personalised discretionary grant programme, which supports the recruitment and retention of disabled people in employment. As part of standard operational practice, the DWP cont...

3. What recent discussions he has had with EU counterparts on topics of mutual interest.

14. What recent discussions he has had with EU counterparts on topics of mutual interest.

20. What recent discussions he has had with EU counterparts on topics of mutual interest