The Rt Hon. the Lord Foster of Bath
Liberal Democrat
Member of the House of Lords
M
Lord Foster of Bath's full title is The Rt Hon. the Lord Foster of Bath. His name is Donald Michael Ellison Foster, and he is a current member of the House of Lords.
Allowance claims · 2026
Daily attendance allowance
£6,678
18 days attended across 1 published month
Overnight / accommodation
£756
Travel claims
£432
Attendance £432
Total claimed
£7,866
Source: House of Lords Finance Office monthly publications, refreshed on the 5th of each month.
Lords votes · 2026
189 divisions
108 Content(57.1%)
28 Not-Content(14.8%)
53 didn't vote(28.0%)
2026-07-22
Not-Content
64–95
Not-Content
2026-07-21
Not-Content
173–234
Not-Content
2026-07-13
Not-Content
158–239
Not-Content
2026-06-09
Not-Content
13–66
Not-Content
2026-04-23
Not-Content
152–207
Not-Content
2026-04-13
Not-Content
30–130
Not-Content
2026-04-13
Not-Content
178–231
Not-Content
2026-03-26
Not-Content
115–197
Not-Content
2026-03-05
Content
193–143
Content
2026-03-05
Content
194–140
Content
2026-03-05
Content
198–139
Content
2026-03-05
Content
208–142
Content
2026-03-05
Content
214–142
Content
2026-02-04
Content
62–295
Not-Content
2026-01-05
Content
131–127
Content
2026-01-05
Not-Content
168–178
Not-Content
2026-01-05
Content
210–131
Content
Source: lordsvotes-api.parliament.uk. "Result" shows the headline
Content vs Not-Content tally (including tellers). The Lords doesn't
publish a "didn't vote" attendance roll like the Commons, so the
figure above conflates absence with abstention.
Recent Hansard contributions · latest 25
2026-09-17
Prison and Probation Service
My Lords, I am delighted to follow the noble Lord, Lord Brooke, and I join him in congratulating the noble Lord, Lord Farmer, not only on the tremendous work that he has done in this particular area but for securing the debate and his excellent opening s
2026-09-08
Criminal Justice Reform
My Lords, in what appears to be plucking figures out of the air, we are told that between 200 and 900 new cells are going to be created by the conversion of laundries, office spaces and storage areas. Can the Minister at least assure us that every one of
2026-07-23
Young People: Gambling Harm
My Lords, I begin by congratulating the Minister on what appear to be yet more responsibilities that she is taking on. I welcome this opportunity to debate with her what the Government plan to do to reduce gambling harm among children and young people. I
2026-07-23
Young People: Gambling Harm
To ask His Majesty’s Government what plans they have to reduce gambling harm among young people.
2026-07-15
Sporting Events Bill [HL]
My Lords, I thank the Minister for her response, and I also thank the noble Lord, Lord Parkinson, for his contribution. I say to the noble Baroness, Lady Jones of Moulsecoomb, that I find it strange, given that the IOC always requires a sustainability re
2026-07-15
Sporting Events Bill [HL]
My Lords, the amendments standing in my name in this group are ones I have tabled before and, in tabling them again, I draw attention to my entry in the register of interests, showing that I am the chairman of both Peers for Gambling Reform and the chari
2026-07-15
Sporting Events Bill [HL]
2026-06-24
Sporting Events Bill [HL]
My Lords, the point about cyber is really important. At Second Reading I referred to my involvement in the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games. Prior to the Games I had the opportunity of visiting the transport management hub, a group that, among other thi
2026-06-24
Sporting Events Bill [HL]
My Lords, at Second Reading, I raised the example of the butcher in Weymouth who, during the 2012 Paralympics and Olympics, was threatened with a £20,000 fine because he displayed in his shop window five strings of sausages in the shape of the five Olymp
2026-06-22
Sporting Events Bill [HL]
My Lords, I thank all noble Lords who have taken part. I thank the noble Baroness, Lady Taylor of Bolton, for her support for my remarks. I neither accuse her nor imply anything about who her support will be for the next leader of her party. I merely po
2026-06-22
Sporting Events Bill [HL]
My Lords, in addition to moving Amendment 2, I will speak to the 11 other amendments in my name and that of my noble friend Lord Addington. I declare my interests as the chair of Peers for Gambling Reform and of Action on Gambling.
Together, my 12 ame
2026-06-22
Sporting Events Bill [HL]
2026-06-03
Sporting Events Bill [HL]
My Lords, until the noble Lord, Lord Hayward, spoke, I was beginning to feel incredibly isolated as a rugby fan in your Lordships’ Chamber. Only two of us have now mentioned rugby as a major sport.
I thank the Minister for her excellent introduction t
2026-06-03
Sporting Events Bill [HL]
I am grateful to the noble Lord for giving way, but I remind him that, during that long deliberation, I moved an amendment that changed the Title of the Bill to the Olympic and Paralympic Bill.
2026-05-18
King’s Speech
My Lords, the Government are right to focus on economic growth. But in parts the plans are timid and in others they are, frankly, bizarre and wrong. They are timid about rebuilding our relationship with the European Union, given the inhibiting red lines.
My Lords, I declare my interest as chairman of Peers for Gambling Reform and as chair of Action on Gambling. I thank the Minister for her very kind words just now. As she said, giving local councils greater power to control the number of gambling premise
2026-03-16
Social Cohesion Action Plan
My Lords, there is much to welcome in the plan, including the agreement to produce an integration plan. It would obviously be very helpful if the Minister could tell us when that is expected to be produced. But it also includes a commitment to refresh th
2026-03-16
Social Cohesion Action Plan
My Lords—
My Lords, rather like the noble Lord, Lord Hampton, I apologise for being a Johnny-come-lately, having left my noble friends to do all the heavy lifting on this Bill. I have come to raise only one issue: the concern that many of us have about the prevale
My Lords, before I do exactly that, I thank the Minister for her very warm response. I am well aware of the difficulty around the issue of planning and licensing. The Minister will be aware that many councils have combined the two, even though they must
My Lords, further to the point raised by my noble friend, the Minister himself confirmed that the Home Office’s current arrangements are that, “at their own discretion”, carriers “may” accept “some” expired British passports as appropriate documentation.
My Lords, I thank all noble Lords who have spoken, not least those who have given us five excellent and thought-provoking maiden speeches. I am sure that all will make valuable contributions to the work of your Lordships’ House. I was somewhat concerned
My Lords, as the chair of the Justice and Home Affairs Committee, it is a pleasure to lead this debate. I look forward to the five maiden speeches from new Members; I welcome them all. I am delighted that they have chosen the committee’s report on prison
That this House takes note of the Report from the Justice and Home Affairs Committee Better prisons: less crime (1st Report, HL Paper 153).
Source: hansard.parliament.uk via hansard-api. Snippets shown
verbatim from the search API; click any debate title for the full record.
Register of Interests · 3 entries on file
Declarations under the Lords Code of Conduct. Free text — no monetary values, no hours worked. A declaration that an interest exists, not a claim about its size.
Category 4: Sponsorship
-
The member, as Chair of Peers for Gambling Reform, receives assistance with his parliamentary work on gambling reform from Dentons Global Advisors; the cost of this assistance is met by Mr Derek Webb
registered 2025-06-02
-
Member benefits from part-time research assistance related to work on climate change, paid for by Zero Hour
registered 2024-05-16 · amended 2026-03-04
-
Member benefits from part-time research assistance relating to work on electrical safety, paid for by Electrical Safety First charity
registered 2024-05-16 · amended 2025-04-05
Source: UK Parliament Members API (Lords register). Refreshed weekly.
Read the full
Lords Code of Conduct
for what each category covers and the disclosure thresholds.
Party history
1992-04-09 → present
Liberal Democrat
current
Government posts
2013-10-07 → 2015-05-08
Comptroller (HM Household) (Deputy Chief Whip, House of Commons)
2012-09-06 → 2013-10-07
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Communities and Local Government)
Opposition posts
2016-10-28 → 2017-06-16
Liberal Democrat Lords Spokesperson (Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy)
2003-07-01 → 2010-05-06
Shadow Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport (also Shadow Deputy Prime Minister)
2002-06-01 → 2003-06-01
Shadow Secretary of State for Transport
1999-06-01 → 2001-06-01
Shadow Spokesperson (Environment, Transport and the Regions)
1995-06-01 → 1997-06-01
Shadow Spokesperson (Work and Pensions)
1992-06-01 → 1995-06-01
Shadow Spokesperson (Education)
Committee memberships
1995-11-15 → 1999-03-29
Education & Employment
2016-06-14 → 2017-04-04
Licensing Act 2003 Committee
2018-05-17 → 2019-03-26
Rural Economy Committee
Chair
+£15,235/yr
2019-06-13 → 2020-06-16
Gambling Industry Committee
2020-06-30 → 2021-11-03
International Agreements Committee
2021-10-13 → 2024-01-31
Communications and Digital Committee
2024-01-31 → present
Justice and Home Affairs Committee
Chair
+£17,806/yr
Contact
Parliamentary office
fosterdon@parliament.uk
020 7219 6332 · House of Lords, London, SW1A 0PW
020 7219 6332 · House of Lords, London, SW1A 0PW
APPGs (2026) · 2 active officership(s) · 4 historic
| Group | Role(s) | Funders | Officers in group | Next deadline |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
All-Party Parliamentary Group for Gambling Related Harm
Subject Group
|
Vice Chair | Dentons Global Advisors | 4 | 2025-05-21 |
|
All-Party Parliamentary Group on Gambling Reform
Subject Group
|
Vice Chair | DGA Group | 4 | 2027-02-28 |
One row per active APPG. Funder names link out via the
/appgs Top secretariat funders panel — click any funder
there to open its full relationship graph. Officer matching is name-based against
the parliament.uk register text and may miss titled / hyphenated variants.
Written parliamentary questions · 2026
Showing
43
of 43 tabled
43 answered(100.0%)
7
departments
2026-09-01
Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government
Crown Immunity: Buildings
Answered
2026-06-17
Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government
Local Government: Community Development
Answered
2026-04-13
Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government
Sustainable Communities Act 2007
Answered
2026-04-13
Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government
Sustainable Communities Act 2007
Answered
2026-03-03
Department for Culture, Media and Sport
Gambling: Northern Ireland
Answered
2026-03-03
Department for Culture, Media and Sport
Gambling: Northern Ireland
Answered
2026-03-03
Department for Culture, Media and Sport
Gambling: Foreign Companies
Answered
2026-02-25
Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government
Sustainable Communities Act 2007
Answered
2026-02-23
Department for Energy Security and Net Zero
Energy Performance Certificates
Answered
2026-01-13
Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
Nature Conservation
Answered
Source: UK Parliament Members API. The amber "interest" tag is set
by Parliament's own system when the asking member has a register entry
it deems related — typically a paid role or directorship in the
sector being asked about. Click any "i" icon to see the full
question and the department's answer.
Bills sponsored & supported · 2026
0 bills
0 as lead sponsor
0 as supporter
No bills sponsored or supported in 2026.
Source: UK Parliament Bills API. "Lead" sponsor is the
primary mover (sortOrder = 1); "Supporter" rows are
members of either House who
backed the bill at introduction. Year is the bill's first-reading
date.
Historic bills (all-time)
8 bills
6 as lead sponsor
2 as supporter
| Bill | Info | Role | Status | Introduced |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic Premises (Electrical Safety Certificate) Bill [HL] | Sponsored | 3rd reading | 2022-05-24 | |
| Minimum Energy Performance of Buildings Bill [HL] | Sponsored | 1st reading | 2021-07-20 | |
| Domestic Premises (Energy Performance) Bill [HL] | Sponsored | Committee stage | 2020-01-08 | |
| Domestic Premises (Energy Performance) Bill [HL] | Sponsored | 2nd reading | 2019-10-29 | |
| Energy Measures (Cost Effectiveness and Efficiency) Bill [HL] | Sponsored | 2nd reading | 2016-06-14 | |
| Safe Standing (Football Stadia) Bill | Sponsored | 2nd reading | 2010-12-07 | |
| Live Music Act 2012 | Supported | Royal Assent | 2010-07-07 | |
| Live Music Bill [HL] | Supported | 2nd reading | 2009-11-19 |
Same source as the year-scoped panel above, but unconstrained by
year. The "Sponsored" tag = lead sponsor; "Supported" = backed at
introduction. Sorted newest first.