Lords Mourn Widdecombe, Address Security, Pass Energy Tax Bill

High-Level Summary

The House of Lords held oral questions on business hiring, autism support, violence against retail workers, and political finance. Peers also heard and responded to a Commons statement on the murder of Ann Widdecombe, with tributes and discussion of security for those in public life. A Commons statement on the state of climate and nature was repeated, followed by exchanges. The Government’s Taxation (Energy and Vehicles) Bill completed all Lords stages, and the Cyber Security and Resilience (Network and Information Systems) Bill was introduced for second reading. Several formal bills progressed, including Supply and Appropriation and a local markets bill, and the Steel Industry (Nationalisation) Bill was returned agreed to.

Detailed Summary

Business Hiring – Question

Lord Hunt of Wirral asked about current business hiring intentions and their implications. Baroness Ramsey of Wall Heath said the labour market and economy were resilient, citing “399,000 more people in work than a year ago” and that “over 80% of businesses intend to either maintain or increase their staff levels in July this year”. In response to concerns about regulation and employment costs, she outlined £2.5 billion for the youth guarantee and growth and skills levy to support young people, including expanded work experience and apprenticeships, and support for hospitality through business rates reforms.

Peers raised graduate hiring pressures; Lord Fox highlighted a sharp drop, and the Minister said “employment is rising… we are… poised to go further when the Milburn review reports back later this year”, noting guidance to employers on AI in recruitment. Baroness O’Grady cited a Manpower survey; the Minister said it reported “an 18 percentage point increase in businesses planning to recruit since last year” and the UK had “the fourth most positive hiring outlook globally”. On overall performance, she said the UK’s employment rate was in the top half of the OECD and “399,000 more people have moved into work in the past year”. Addressing hospitality, she said: “The average pub gains £1,650 this year” from rates support. She confirmed the Milburn review’s full report is expected in September and detailed planned youth job grants and apprenticeship payments for SMEs.

Autism: Parenting Support Programmes – Question

Baroness Leaman asked about the availability of parenting support programmes post‑diagnosis and plans to improve access. Baroness Blake of Leeds said support is available locally via health, social care, education and the voluntary sector, alongside the national Autism Central programme, and that SEND reforms aim to improve earlier support. On data, she emphasised building local capacity “that can then be collated up to national level”.

On diagnostics, she said “270,701 people were waiting for an autism assessment in March 2026”, with average waits “about 67 weeks” for under‑18s and “about 20 weeks” for adults. She assured that there would be “not… a one‑size‑fits‑all approach” to inclusion versus specialist schooling. Asked about assessing provision, she said, “The system is broken and needs so much attention throughout,” and pointed to expectations on ICBs and trusts to improve access, experience and outcomes.

Violence Against Retail Workers – Question

Lord Walker of Broxton asked about tackling rising violence against retail workers. Lord Hanson of Flint said a new “stand‑alone offence of assaulting a retail worker” had been created in the Crime and Policing Act 2026, and neighbourhood policing was being restored with “more than 3,100 additional neighbourhood officers and PCSOs since March 2025”. He said violence against shop workers is “properly prioritised”, noting recorded shop theft fell by 1%, charges rose by 21%, and British Retail Consortium data showed incidents down from 2,000 to 1,600 a day.

On enforcement and prevention, he said the Government had lifted the £200 threshold below which police did not need to act on shop theft, cited work targeting persistent offenders including potential use of facial recognition (subject to consultation) and respect orders, and stressed the need for “speedy justice” and early intervention to divert young people from crime.

National Crime Agency: Reform Party Funding – Question

Lord Bassam of Brighton asked how many Suspicious Activity Report (SAR) enquiries the NCA is conducting concerning Reform Party funding. Lord Hanson of Flint said the Government “do not comment on the submission of suspicious activity reports… [and] breaching that confidentiality risks committing a tipping‑off offence”. He said all parties should be held to account for clean funding and that the Government had accepted all Rycroft review recommendations.

He listed measures to tighten political finance: “a cap on donations from overseas electors; a tightening of corporate donation rules; a moratorium on crypto donations… strengthened ‘know your donor’ checks; and standardised political financing reporting”. On wider electoral law, he noted the Representation of the People Bill timetable had shifted and undertook to pass on calls for consolidation and stronger NCA investigatory powers. He confirmed new powers for the Electoral Commission to prescribe standardised reporting formats and noted that ministerial appointments are “a matter for the Prime Minister”.

Cheltenham Borough Council (Markets) Bill – Third Reading

The House agreed the Bill on Third Reading. “Bill passed.”.

Supply and Appropriation (Main Estimates) Bill – Second Reading (and remaining stages)

Lord Livermore moved Second Reading and, with Committee negatived and Standing Order 44 dispensed with, “the Bill was read a third time and passed”.

Death of Ann Widdecombe – Statement (Commons statement repeated) and Lords exchanges

Peers heard a Commons statement reporting that Counter Terrorism Policing had taken the lead in the investigation into Ann Widdecombe’s murder, with “new information and evidence” being pursued, and that a suspect, “a 28 year‑old white British man… was not known to Prevent,” was in custody; Members were urged not to speculate. Security for MPs and others was addressed, including Operation Bridger, forthcoming police guidance to MPs, and an offer for Nigel Farage to meet the chair of RAVEC.

In tributes, Lord True said, “no 78 year‑old woman deserves to be bludgeoned to death in her own home”, and Baroness Doocey noted police had asked “not to speculate”. Lord Hanson of Flint confirmed that Counter Terrorism Policing was leading the investigation and quoted its head: “We … have new information and evidence … We are pursuing multiple lines of enquiry”. He outlined current protections via the parliamentary authorities and Operation Bridger and emphasised focusing on the investigation now and learning lessons later.

State of Climate and Nature – Statement (Commons statement repeated) and Lords exchanges

A Commons statement set out government action on the climate and nature crisis, including investment of “more than £7 billion in nature” over three years, with “£5.9 billion for environmental farming schemes” and adoption of carbon budget 7 to “cut emissions by almost 87%” by 2038‑42. It launched the 30 by 30 land delivery plan and highlighted cross‑government actions.

Responding, Lord Whitehead defended substantial spending on nature and rejected characterisations of solar as inherently dirty, saying solar’s carbon payback is about a year. He said Jackdaw gas field decisions were under way, emphasised that “a substantial driver of electricity prices is the volatile price of gas”, and backed shifting to low‑carbon electricity. On the marine environment, he said bottom trawling is “very destructive” and would not be tolerated in marine protected areas. He also referred to adaptation work on floods and buildings, the farming road map, and low‑methane feed to cut agricultural emissions.

Taxation (Energy and Vehicles) Bill – Second Reading (and remaining stages)

Opening the debate, Lord Livermore said the Bill responds to pressures linked to the conflict in the Middle East with three measures: raising the Electricity Generator Levy from 45% to 55% and extending it beyond 2028; increasing Approved Mileage Allowance Payments from 45p to 55p for the first 10,000 miles; and granting a 12‑month HGV vehicle excise duty holiday at £1. He argued the higher levy would encourage participation in “wholesale contracts for difference” to help “break the link between gas and electricity prices”.

Baroness Neville‑Rolfe welcomed the mileage rise but criticised the EGL’s open‑ended nature and limited relief for hauliers. Lord Redwood opposed regularising windfall taxes, arguing such levies should target genuine windfalls. Lord Sikka supported the higher levy and criticised Ofgem’s marginal pricing as benefiting low‑cost generators: “a boon for companies generating electricity… because they are paid the price of electricity produced from gas”. Lord Fuller warned the levy could deter investment amid system tightness.

Closing, Lord Livermore said the levy exempts “new investment after 2023” and targets legacy generators’ extraordinary profits. He explained the mileage structure and said typical HGVs would save £600 to £912, with fuel duty freezes saving “over £2,000” since the election. The Bill completed all stages and “was read a third time and passed”.

Cyber Security and Resilience (Network and Information Systems) Bill – Second Reading

Baroness Lloyd of Effra said the 2018 NIS Regulations—the UK’s only cross‑sector cyber law—need updating. The Bill brings data centres, large load controllers and medium‑to‑large managed service providers into scope, enables designation of critical suppliers, mandates incident reporting within 24 and 72 hours, strengthens regulators’ powers and information‑sharing, and creates emergency national security direction powers.

Peers broadly supported the aims but queried strategy, scope and execution. The Opposition asked for the absent cyber strategy and noted “artificial intelligence does not appear to feature”. Others urged a whole‑economy approach beyond currently listed sectors, proposed a single lead regulator to avoid duplication, and highlighted the role of cyber insurance in resilience. Baroness Harding warned that MSPs serving multiple regulated sectors could face overlapping demands during a crisis, hampering response.

Closing, the Minister said scope would be kept under review, with any extensions consulted upon, and emphasised proportionality. She confirmed incident thresholds will be set in secondary legislation to avoid over‑reporting, that cross‑border information‑sharing has safeguards, and that outcome‑based security requirements will reflect state‑of‑the‑art risks, including post‑quantum cryptography. SMEs will generally be exempt unless designated critical, defined as under 50 employees and turnover/balance sheet under €10 million. The Bill was committed to Grand Committee with an agreed order of consideration.

Steel Industry (Nationalisation) Bill – Returned from the Commons

The Bill was returned from the Commons agreed to.