The Baroness Smith of Cluny KC
Labour
Member of the House of Lords
F
Baroness Smith of Cluny's full title is The Baroness Smith of Cluny KC. Her name is Catherine Anne Smith, and she is a current member of the House of Lords.
Allowance claims · 2026
Data not yet released for 2026 — the Lords Finance Office publishes monthly CSVs ~6-8 weeks after month-end.
Lords votes · 2026
162 divisions
2 Content(1.2%)
51 Not-Content(31.5%)
109 didn't vote(67.3%)
2026-04-27
Not-Content
58–138
Not-Content
2026-04-23
Not-Content
152–207
Not-Content
2026-03-25
Not-Content
95–137
Not-Content
2026-01-05
Not-Content
131–127
Content
2026-01-05
Not-Content
194–130
Content
2026-01-05
Not-Content
168–178
Not-Content
2026-01-05
Not-Content
210–131
Content
2026-01-05
Not-Content
132–124
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
I am grateful to the noble Lord for raising this issue, because I can see that it is creating confusion, and I think that reflects how complicated and difficult the matter has been. The first thing to say is that it is not for the UK Government to draft
I would be delighted to write to the noble Baroness. It is important that we have precision on this issue and I do not have that information immediately to hand, so I will write.
I am grateful to noble Lords for their contributions to this debate. I will respond to the specific points raised, but first I mention four overarching points that are important to hold in mind in this debate.
It is for the Scottish Parliament, not th
I thank the noble and learned Lord for his amendment and his engagement with me on this matter. I understand the concerns he has raised. However, the Government believe the approach they have taken is appropriate and in keeping with the devolution settle
That the draft Order laid before the House on 17 December 2025 be approved.
Relevant document: 48th Report from the Secondary Legislation Scrutiny Committee (special attention drawn to the instrument)
2026-01-21
Violence Against Women and Girls Strategy
I am grateful to the noble Lord for raising this prescient and important issue. I am pleased to report that the Government are taking action. That is why a consultation on this issue has been announced. The reason for announcing a consultation is that, o
2026-01-21
Violence Against Women and Girls Strategy
The noble Baroness raises a very important issue and I am grateful for the opportunity to address it. We know that men and boys experience these types of behaviours. We also know that their experiences are unique. Indeed, one in five men experience domes
2026-01-21
Violence Against Women and Girls Strategy
My Lords, the structures that have been put in place around the strategy will ensure that any schemes or questions that remain outstanding will be picked up. A cross-government ministerial group will be meeting quarterly, reporting to the safer streets m
2026-01-21
Violence Against Women and Girls Strategy
I am pleased to be able to tell the noble Lord that the Government will host a round table on FGM in March. It will be focused on prevention, investigation and prosecution, and is part of the whole-society approach to which I have already alluded.
2026-01-21
Violence Against Women and Girls Strategy
The Government are aware, and that is why we have taken a whole-system approach in the strategy. A cross-government approach means that the housing needs of such children will be addressed through the strategy, as well as social care, education and any r
2026-01-21
Violence Against Women and Girls Strategy
As the noble Baroness identifies, training is critical to the whole-society approach that the strategy sets out, and policing is a key part of that. That is why £13.1 million has been provided to set up the national centre for VAWG and public protection,
2026-01-21
Violence Against Women and Girls Strategy
The key point to note is that the entire strategy is fully funded. At least £1 billion is being spent across government over the spending review, and that includes funding for education. Indeed, there are other government programmes, because it is a cros
2026-01-21
Violence Against Women and Girls Strategy
The noble Baroness raises an important issue. Honour-based abuse is directly addressed in the strategy, as the noble Baroness has observed. It is often hidden in nature. That means we must try harder to address the needs of victims and build trust with t
2026-01-21
Violence Against Women and Girls Strategy
We will deliver the strategy through a truly cross-government approach, recognising that halving VAWG within a decade requires action from every part of society. Implementation will be overseen by cross-government governance, including the VAWG ministeri
That the draft Order laid before the House on 11 February be approved.
Relevant document: 18th Report from the Secondary Legislation Scrutiny Committee. Considered in Grand Committee on 25 March.
I thank noble Lords for their contributions. I am particularly pleased to see the noble Lord, Lord Cameron, who has done a lot of work in anticipation of this order, which has been in inception for some time. I am grateful for the points raised and the
My Lords, I am grateful for the opportunity to debate this order today. It comes as the result of collaboration between the two Governments in Scotland and makes provision as a result of changes made to the existing disclosure regime in Scotland. The ord
That the Grand Committee do consider the Disclosure (Scotland) Act 2020 (Consequential Provisions and Modifications) Order 2025.
Relevant document: 18th Report from the Secondary Legislation Scrutiny Committee
2025-03-17
Violence Against Women and Girls
The Government are resolute in their commitment to keeping children safe online. I have already mentioned some of the actions of Ofcom. Services in scope of the Online Safety Act must take action to tackle illegal pornographic content, and Ofcom will be
2025-03-17
Violence Against Women and Girls
It is vital that every woman and child in the UK is included, and that is why we are taking a cross-departmental and cross-sector approach, so that all information, including from the third sector, is captured and fed into the strategy. The Home Secretar
2025-03-17
Violence Against Women and Girls
I regret to tell the noble Lord that I do not have the date when it will be published, but he can be assured that the utmost attention will be paid to it, in line with our attitude towards all these issues, which, as I described, are a national emergency
2025-03-17
Violence Against Women and Girls
It is vital that we work with the third sector on the strategy and that the Government work with other public bodies and with the private sector. That is why we are engaging across the sector to ensure that the new cross-government approach and strategy
2025-03-17
Violence Against Women and Girls
I think the noble Baroness’ comments reflect my comment, indeed my opening sentence, which is that this Government are treating this as a national emergency. On online safety, we are working with Ofcom to ensure that the Online Safety Act is implemented
2025-03-17
Violence Against Women and Girls
The noble Baroness raises another pertinent issue. As she is aware, we have created a new offence in the Data (Use and Access) Bill to criminalise the creation of a purported intimate image, otherwise known as deepfake images, of an adult without their c
2025-03-17
Violence Against Women and Girls
My noble friend raises a very pertinent and distressing question for women, as she says, particularly at night. There are two parts to this answer; the first is on what the Government are doing and the second is on “What should a woman do tonight?” Shoul
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 · 1 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 1: Remunerated employment etc.
-
HM Advocate General for Scotland
registered 2024-10-29 · amended 2025-04-05
Source: UK Parliament Members API (Lords register). Refreshed weekly.
Read the full
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Party history
2024-10-09 → present
Labour
current
Government posts
2024-08-29 → present
Advocate General for Scotland
Opposition posts
None recorded.
Committee memberships
None recorded.
Contact
Parliamentary office
contactholmember@parliament.uk
020 7219 5353 · House of Lords, London, SW1A 0PW
020 7219 5353 · House of Lords, London, SW1A 0PW
APPGs (2026) · 0 active officership(s)
No APPG officerships found for this peer. (Officer matching is by name —
if the parliamentary register lists them under a slightly different
form, the join may miss; check
/appgs directly.)
Written parliamentary questions · 2026
No written questions tabled in 2026.
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)
0 bills
0 as lead sponsor
0 as supporter
No bills sponsored or supported on record.
Same source as the year-scoped panel above, but unconstrained by
year. The "Sponsored" tag = lead sponsor; "Supported" = backed at
introduction. Sorted newest first.