To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, when he plans to launch a consultation on cohabitation law reform.

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, when he plans to launch a consultation on cohabitation law reform.

Committee stage. Clauses 1 and 2 agreed to. Bill reported without amendment. Third reading. Agreed to on question. Bill passed.

Committee stage. Clauses 1 and 2 agreed to. Bill reported without amendment. Third reading. Agreed to on question. Bill passed.

It is a pleasure to serve under you, Madam Chair.

I am pleased to open this discussion on the clauses of a focused but important Bill, designed to drive innovation, enhance legal certainty, and strengthen our standing in the global digital economy. Let me turn first to clause 1—an unassuming clause...

It is a pleasure to serve under you, Madam Chair.

I am pleased to open this discussion on the clauses of a focused but important Bill, designed to drive innovation, enhance legal certainty, and strengthen our standing in the global digital economy. Let me turn first to clause 1—an unassuming clause...

I am pleased to speak again on behalf of the Opposition as we carry forward the constructive debate that we had on Second Reading.

Let me restate from the outset our support for the Bill, which represents a careful, modest step in the right direction, and preserves the inherent flexibility of...

I am pleased to speak again on behalf of the Opposition as we carry forward the constructive debate that we had on Second Reading.

Let me restate from the outset our support for the Bill, which represents a careful, modest step in the right direction, and preserves the inherent flexibility of...

It is a pleasure to speak once again in this Chamber on the Property (Digital Assets etc) Bill, which creates a modern legal framework that will allow Britain to take every opportunity we can while protecting ourselves in an ever-changing digital age.

The Liberal Democrats support clause 1. It states that...

It is a pleasure to speak once again in this Chamber on the Property (Digital Assets etc) Bill, which creates a modern legal framework that will allow Britain to take every opportunity we can while protecting ourselves in an ever-changing digital age.

The Liberal Democrats support clause 1. It states that...

With the leave of the Committee, I give my sincere thanks to the hon. Members for Bexhill and Battle (Dr Mullan) and for Woking (Mr Forster). It has been a pleasure to discuss the clauses in more detail, and it is good to see constructive consensus about a piece of...

With the leave of the Committee, I give my sincere thanks to the hon. Members for Bexhill and Battle (Dr Mullan) and for Woking (Mr Forster). It has been a pleasure to discuss the clauses in more detail, and it is good to see constructive consensus about a piece of...

I beg to move, That the Bill be now read the Third time.

Let me I start by reiterating my sincere thanks to Members of this House and the other place for their support and insightful contributions. I am particularly grateful for the support expressed on Second Reading by the hon....

I beg to move, That the Bill be now read the Third time.

Let me I start by reiterating my sincere thanks to Members of this House and the other place for their support and insightful contributions. I am particularly grateful for the support expressed on Second Reading by the hon....

I rise simply to put on the record my thanks, particularly to the Bill Committee and to the Law Commission for its diligence. Yet again we see the great benefit that our state machinery and apparatus as whole derive from having the Law Commission. I have nothing further to add.

2.34...

I rise simply to put on the record my thanks, particularly to the Bill Committee and to the Law Commission for its diligence. Yet again we see the great benefit that our state machinery and apparatus as whole derive from having the Law Commission. I have nothing further to add.

2.34...

I thank colleagues from across the House. It is a good example of cross-party working, delivering a Bill that has been well-scrutinised and is fit for purpose. In that spirit, I hope that the Minister can take that away and encourage her colleagues to do the same with other legislation.

Question...

I thank colleagues from across the House. It is a good example of cross-party working, delivering a Bill that has been well-scrutinised and is fit for purpose. In that spirit, I hope that the Minister can take that away and encourage her colleagues to do the same with other legislation.

Question...

Lords report stage. Amendment 6 agreed to. Bill, as amended, ordered to be printed (HL Bill 98).

Lords report stage. Amendment 6 agreed to. Bill, as amended, ordered to be printed (HL Bill 98).

Moved by

Lord Holmes of Richmond

1: Clause 1, page 1, line 5, leave out “a thing in” and insert “capable of”

Member's explanatory statement

This amendment, connected to another in the name of Lord Holmes of Richmond, seeks to provide a statutory basis for recognising digital assets as property, while removing any presumption...

Moved by

Lord Holmes of Richmond

1: Clause 1, page 1, line 5, leave out “a thing in” and insert “capable of”

Member's explanatory statement

This amendment, connected to another in the name of Lord Holmes of Richmond, seeks to provide a statutory basis for recognising digital assets as property, while removing any presumption...

My Lords, in moving Amendment 1, in my name, I will speak to Amendments 2 and 3 in this group.

It is a pleasure to open Report of the Property (Digital Assets etc) Bill. In doing so, I declare my technology interests as set out in the register, not least as...

My Lords, in moving Amendment 1, in my name, I will speak to Amendments 2 and 3 in this group.

It is a pleasure to open Report of the Property (Digital Assets etc) Bill. In doing so, I declare my technology interests as set out in the register, not least as...

My Lords, I am a great admirer of the noble Lord, Lord Holmes, and his passion for all things digital. But this is a good yet very modest Bill, and I not sure that we need stress-testing at this point in the proceedings. Through the Special Public Bill process that...

My Lords, I am a great admirer of the noble Lord, Lord Holmes, and his passion for all things digital. But this is a good yet very modest Bill, and I not sure that we need stress-testing at this point in the proceedings. Through the Special Public Bill process that...

My Lords, traditionally, English common law has recognised two forms of property: tangible things in possession and intangible things in action, such as debts and shares. However, as we have heard, with the rise of digital assets such as crypto- currencies, tokens and non-fungible tokens we encounter items that do...

My Lords, traditionally, English common law has recognised two forms of property: tangible things in possession and intangible things in action, such as debts and shares. However, as we have heard, with the rise of digital assets such as crypto- currencies, tokens and non-fungible tokens we encounter items that do...

My Lords, I thank the noble Lord, Lord Holmes, for raising these issues. They get to the heart of the Bill: whether there is a need to recognise a further category in statute, and whether it is helpful to provide further guidance to the courts on the attributes to consider.

On...

My Lords, I thank the noble Lord, Lord Holmes, for raising these issues. They get to the heart of the Bill: whether there is a need to recognise a further category in statute, and whether it is helpful to provide further guidance to the courts on the attributes to consider.

On...

My Lords, I thank all noble Lords who participated in this short debate. I say particularly to my friend, the noble Lord, Lord Clement-Jones: disappointing? Never. The whole purpose of tabling these amendments has been set out eloquently through the debate and what I was seeking to achieve was to...

My Lords, I thank all noble Lords who participated in this short debate. I say particularly to my friend, the noble Lord, Lord Clement-Jones: disappointing? Never. The whole purpose of tabling these amendments has been set out eloquently through the debate and what I was seeking to achieve was to...

Moved by

Lord Holmes of Richmond

4: After Clause 1, insert the following new Clause—

“Review: impact of digital assets being treated as property by virtue of this Act

(1) On the day on which this Act is passed, the Secretary of State must publish an economic impact assessment of digital assets being treated...

Moved by

Lord Holmes of Richmond

4: After Clause 1, insert the following new Clause—

“Review: impact of digital assets being treated as property by virtue of this Act

(1) On the day on which this Act is passed, the Secretary of State must publish an economic impact assessment of digital assets being treated...

My Lords, in moving Amendment 4 I will speak also to Amendment 5 in my name. I will be very brief with these because I accept that they go some way beyond the central thrust of the Bill.

My main reason for bringing these amendments back on Report is to make...

My Lords, in moving Amendment 4 I will speak also to Amendment 5 in my name. I will be very brief with these because I accept that they go some way beyond the central thrust of the Bill.

My main reason for bringing these amendments back on Report is to make...

My Lords, rather like the noble Lord, Lord Clement-Jones, I am afraid I am also going to disappoint the noble Lord, Lord Holmes, because I do not think these amendments are necessary. But I agree with many of the things he said, especially about the evidence that we received. I...

My Lords, rather like the noble Lord, Lord Clement-Jones, I am afraid I am also going to disappoint the noble Lord, Lord Holmes, because I do not think these amendments are necessary. But I agree with many of the things he said, especially about the evidence that we received. I...

My Lords, I can be extremely brief because I agree with much of what the noble Viscount, Lord Stansgate, has had to say. The noble Lord, Lord Holmes, is nothing if not consistent. We had data centres brought up in the Data (Use and Access) Bill and in this Bill,...

My Lords, I can be extremely brief because I agree with much of what the noble Viscount, Lord Stansgate, has had to say. The noble Lord, Lord Holmes, is nothing if not consistent. We had data centres brought up in the Data (Use and Access) Bill and in this Bill,...