House of Lords — sitting of 23 July 2026: transcript & video · Polyfact

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House of Lords

23 July 2026

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Contents updated on 23 Jul 2026

Lords oral questions and a private notice question on charities’ banking and AML rules, delivery of the National Youth Strategy, UK policy on unrest and human rights in Kashmir, a VAT cut on electricity and its territorial implications, and early release and sentencing following the PC Harper case.

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Oral questions and PNQ — finance, youth, justice, foreign policy

37:12

Lords oral questions and PNQ — finance, youth, foreign policy, justice

37:12

Oral Question 1 — charities’ access to banking and AML rules

37:12

Oral Question 1 introduced — charities’ access to banking

37:12

Supplementary Q — money laundering rules and de-banking of charities

38:05

Rural access and long‑standing system failures for charity banking

40:04

De-banking, appeals and regulatory protections for charities

42:30

Risk-based assessments, Muslim charities and ethical banking

44:59

Oral Question 2 — National Youth Strategy funding and delivery

47:51

Oral Question 2 — National Youth Strategy funding and delivery

47:51

Supplementaries — support for established youth organisations

50:07

Cadet forces, transitional funding and youth infrastructure

54:22

Minister: international youth exchanges and Erasmus-style schemes

56:43

Kashmir unrest and UK policy stance

58:09

Oral Question 3 introduced — unrest in Pakistan-administered Kashmir

58:09

Q&A — Kashmir elections, human rights and UK engagement with Pakistan

01:01:45

Deportation case of Shabir Ahmed and UK stance on mediation

01:04:28

Travel advisories, detentions and genocide warnings in Kashmir

01:07:07

Kashmir — Minister reiterates stance on violence

01:08:02

VAT cut on electricity — fiscal, territorial and energy policy implications

01:08:41

Oral Question 4 introduced — VAT cut on electricity bills

01:08:41

Funding the VAT cut — concerns over ‘unfunded giveaways’

01:09:52

Opposition response — support for cut, call for wider energy reforms

01:11:48

Legacy net‑zero pledges and accusations of unfunded spending

01:13:23

Northern Ireland — Windsor Framework complications for VAT cut

01:14:53

Market confidence, borrowing costs and fiscal discipline

01:16:07

Revenue options — VAT on online marketplaces and social media commerce

01:18:01

PC Harper case — review of early release scheme

01:19:10

Private notice question — PC Andrew Harper case and early release scheme

01:19:10

Government’s delay and Lords’ rejected amendments on early release

01:20:44

Early release scheme — focus on sentence lengths

01:22:36

Victims’ confidence, housing on release and early release review

01:26:42

Northern Ireland experience and women prisoners as alternative cohort

01:27:58

Probation capacity, tagging expansion and serious offenders

01:29:38

Lords debate — UK digital and AI sovereignty

01:36:51

Opening motion — UK digital sovereignty stakes

01:36:51

Opening of debate — digital sovereignty and UK leverage

01:36:51

Debate motion introduced — digital policy and sovereignty

01:36:51

Economic leverage, Palantir and structural tech dependency

01:41:07

Strategic vulnerabilities from offshore digital infrastructure

01:44:54

UK sovereign datasets, public AI model and procurement reform

01:46:53

Sovereign datasets and a UK public foundation model

01:46:53

Procurement reform, sovereignty dashboard and conclusion

01:49:40

AI sovereignty and systemic digital risks

01:52:56

UK AI sovereignty, systemic risks and capacity

01:52:56

Call for UK sovereign AI and superintelligence moratorium

01:52:56

Shifting sovereignty, global interdependence and role of multilateral bodies

01:59:02

AI sovereignty — competition vs concentration of power

02:05:24

Rogue cross‑border AI and CMA and copyright asks

02:11:29

Scaling UK AI — infrastructure, skills and DSIT abolition

02:16:42

Digital sovereignty, lock‑in and global inequality

02:22:15

Digital sovereignty as constitutional issue — lock‑in and ISDS

02:22:15

Tech billionaires’ ideology, Palantir and US political context

02:26:41

Digital exclusion, AI ‘colonisation’ and global inequality

02:28:29

Duty of scrutiny and UK’s global convening role

02:31:33

UK digital sovereignty gap and governance capacity

02:34:34

UK digital sovereignty gap, US Cloud Act and EU alignment

02:34:34

Digital sovereignty gap and US deregulation

02:34:34

Palantir contracts, US Cloud Act and EU alignment

02:37:49

DSIT abolition — digital strategy and AI oversight

02:41:58

Holmes: DSIT abolition, AI oversight and cross‑sector law

02:41:58

Digital sovereignty as strategic choice and DSIT abolition

03:02:21

Lords’ debate on AI dependency and digital sovereignty

02:47:57

Digital sovereignty threats from cloud and AI dependency

02:47:57

Digital sovereignty, children’s rights and AI‑mediated services

02:47:57

UK cloud dependency, US Cloud Act and procurement asks

02:55:30

AI frontier control and UK sovereignty risks

03:08:04

Peers’ concerns on AI ethics, dependency and sovereignty

03:14:25

Ethical foundations, ‘brakes’ on AI and national sovereignty

03:14:25

Clement-Jones: digital dependency, CMA action and sovereignty tests

03:20:37

Lords debate — UK digital and AI sovereignty

03:32:06

Opposition peers: risks to UK digital and AI sovereignty

03:32:06

Opposition: sovereignty risks and need for a unified strategy

03:32:06

Opposition: open‑source AI, procurement levers and policy demands

03:38:58

Ministerial response on digital and tech sovereignty

03:43:03

Minister: digital sovereignty strategy, AI investment and risk response

03:43:03

Minister: data sovereignty, cloud risk and standards

03:54:47

Debate mover’s closing remarks — call for a true tech sovereignty strategy

04:01:22

House of Lords debate on youth gambling harms

04:05:13

Debate opening and youth gambling policy agenda

04:05:13

Opening of short debate and Foster’s policy agenda

04:05:13

Short debate introduced — reducing gambling harm among young people

04:05:13

Foster: policy asks on youth gambling — advertising, platforms, loot boxes

04:09:57

Youth gambling harms, match‑fixing and public health approach

04:14:18

International match‑fixing and Macolin Convention ratification

04:14:18

Public health framing, statutory levy and prevention gap

04:18:47

Youth gambling risks and evidence debate

04:23:19

Gambling freedom, youth risk data and affordability checks

04:23:19

Claire Fox: defence of gambling freedom and data critique

04:23:19

Herbert: horse racing, affordability checks and black market risk

04:29:01

Peers’ concerns on youth gambling harms

04:34:45

Bennett: support for affordability checks and crackdown on advertising and illegal gambling in games

04:34:45

Norton: youth gambling harms, ads and cross‑border action

04:40:12

Addington: sport integrity, education and loot boxes

04:45:08

Youth gambling protections and government response

04:50:07

Youth gambling harms — opposition concerns and questions

04:50:07

Opposition benches: defining young people, illegal market and social media ban

04:50:07

Minister — government measures on youth gambling and FRAs

04:54:00

Minister’s closing response — youth gambling protections and FRAs

04:54:00

Motion on Level 3 creative reforms and existing routes

05:03:43

Level 3 creative reform — motion and T/V Level model

05:03:43

Level 3 creative qualifications reform — motion introduced

05:03:43

Debate introduced — Level 3 creative qualifications and V/T Levels

05:03:43

Music and creative T/V Levels — structure and rollout

05:11:16

Keeley: music T Levels, V Levels and A‑level decline

05:11:16

Creative T/V Level rollout and co‑design with industry

05:17:45

Existing creative Level 3 routes and progression risks

05:24:03

Defence of existing creative Level 3 routes

05:24:03

Value of existing vocational routes and call to pause defunding

05:24:03

Knight: T/V Levels vs creative vocational pathways

05:29:54

Concerns over placements, skills mix and pausing defunding

05:36:03

Bennett: resources, access and pipeline into creative careers

05:41:19

Risks to higher education progression and skills pipeline

05:47:36

Defending Level 3 creative diplomas and HE progression

05:47:36

T Level scale, narrow content and case for retaining diplomas

05:51:24

Skills demand, Level 4 focus and impact on screen academies

05:53:01

Peers’ critique of reforms and Minister’s response

05:56:31

Peers — risks of Level 3 creative reforms

05:56:31

Screen sector Level 3 reforms — placements and vocational diplomas

05:56:31

VFX, games qualifications, regional access and catch‑22

05:56:31

Peer: film and TV workforce, placements and V Levels

05:59:19

Peer: centres of excellence and defence of large vocational diplomas

06:05:44

Peers: creative industries value and Level 3 risks

06:10:03

Peer: creative industries as strategic asset and cross‑government alignment

06:10:03

Defending creative Level 3 diplomas and role of UTCs

06:15:24

Creative careers as portfolio work — need for flexible qualifications

06:21:56

Peers’ concerns — creative T/V Levels and SEND access

06:27:03

Addington: careers guidance, FE status and SEND access

06:27:03

Opposition front bench: evidence gaps, labour‑market mapping and call to pause defunding

06:35:53

Minister — defence and implementation of Level 3 reforms

06:47:15

Minister’s response — timetable, creative routes and progression

06:47:15

Minister: creative industries value and Level 3 routes

06:47:15

T Levels: outcomes, access, creative pathways and placements

06:54:34

V Levels, curriculum pipeline, HE progression and workforce

07:00:49

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House of Lords

23 July 2026

Chamber Thu, 23 Jul 2026 Actual start 10:30 House of Lords

37:12 - 37:18

Speaker 1

First oral question, Lord Fords of Newcastle.

37:18 - 37:25

Speaker 2

My Lords, I beg leave to ask the question standing in my name on the order paper.

37:25 - 38:05

Speaker 4

Charities make vital contributions across the country. While the provision of banking services is ultimately a commercial decision for banks, the government believes it is essential that charities and voluntary organisations can access suitable banking services for their needs. The government has worked closely with UK Finance to support non-profit groups' access to finance, developing an interactive account finder tool hosted on its website. Smaller charities may also be eligible to use the current account switch service. I should also declare my interest: I chaired the payments board at UK Finance for several years.

38:05 - 38:55

Speaker 3

Can I thank my noble friend for his thoughtful and considered reply? Many charities face slow, complicated, and burdensome processes to change registered trustees on their accounts. And according to the Charity Commission, a growing number of charities, particularly but not exclusively those that are Muslim-led, are finding themselves de-banked altogether. Does my noble friend the Minister accept that current money laundering rules and banks' risk avoidance practices are having unintended consequences for charities seeking ethical banking? And will His Majesty's Government consider issuing clearer regulatory guidance for the banking sector to ensure that civil society organisations are treated proportionately, fairly, and indiscriminately?

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