The Rt Hon. the Lord Blencathra
Conservative
Member of the House of Lords
M
Lord Blencathra's full title is The Rt Hon. the Lord Blencathra. His name is David John Maclean, and he is a current member of the House of Lords.
Allowance claims · 2026
Daily attendance allowance
£6,677
17 days attended across 1 published month
Overnight / accommodation
£1,071
Travel claims
£459
Attendance £459
Total claimed
£8,207
Source: House of Lords Finance Office monthly publications, refreshed on the 5th of each month.
Lords votes · 2026
189 divisions
107 Content(56.6%)
6 Not-Content(3.2%)
76 didn't vote(40.2%)
2026-09-08
Content
26–63
Not-Content
2026-07-21
Content
173–234
Not-Content
2026-07-13
Content
142–138
Content
2026-07-13
Content
158–239
Not-Content
2026-03-25
Content
95–137
Not-Content
2026-02-04
Not-Content
62–295
Not-Content
2026-01-12
Content
201–169
Content
2026-01-05
Content
131–127
Content
2026-01-05
Content
194–130
Content
2026-01-05
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
Climate Change: Food Supply Resilience
My Lords, I commend the Minister for persisting with questions today despite her awful throat braxy.
Two weeks ago, the National Audit Office published a highly critical report on Defra’s lack of preparedness for food shortages, the failure to test th
My Lords, I thank the Minister for bringing forward these regulations and being present to hear the concerns of noble Lords; I look forward to her response. Once again, I found the arguments of the noble Lords from Northern Ireland and my noble friends o
I thank the Minister for that reply, but that is for the future. The Times has revealed that emails on financial records obtained from the London office of the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, the world’s largest bank, show that the Chinese bank
To ask His Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the government of China’s financial influence over UK water companies.
My Lords, I thank the Minister for bringing this secondary legislation before your Lordships’ House tonight. Once again, noble Lords and Baronesses from Northern Ireland and some of my noble friends have, in my opinion, made a very powerful, unanswerable
I take that to mean that, although the National Crime Agency will not be put into the lead, it will have an enhanced role. Is that what the Minister said?
My Lords, I thank the Minister for bringing these regulations before the Committee. I can be commendably brief—or briefer than I normally am—because we give a very warm welcome to these excellent regulations. We on these Benches have repeatedly raised wa
My Lords, I make two very brief points. First, it was neglectful of me—in fact, rude of me—not to thank the Minister for the government amendments, particularly government Amendment 24, which will deliver nearly everything that we have been asking for. I
My Lords, I will speak to Amendment 5; it is the only amendment to which I shall speak on Report.
I can tell the House that I have now beaten Frank Gardner’s record for being left on a plane. On 24 June, my flight back from Basel left the city 45 minu
2026-07-13
Clean Water Bill: Chalk Streams
My Lords, we have a unique responsibility to protect our chalk streams, given that we possess 85% of the world’s total stock. These chalk streams have suffered mistreatment, given that they are located in some of the most densely populated areas of our c
My Lords, the introduction of sustainable farming incentives under ELMS remains something we on these Benches are particularly proud of. They were intended to be part of a transitional scheme preparing farmers for greater private finance involvement in r
2026-07-07
Railways Bill
My Lords, I pay tribute to the noble Lord, Lord Wilson of Dinton. He was the Permanent Secretary of the Home Office when I was the Minister of State there for four years. He was an excellent civil servant, diligently and neutrally delivering our policies
My Lords, I apologise to the Committee—I was in Yerevan in Armenia monitoring the election for the Council of Europe at Second Reading. This is the only intervention I shall make in Committee. I have done an observation role for the Council of Europe for
2026-06-10
Food Supplements Purity Criteria (Magnesium L-threonate monohydrate) (England) Regulations 2026
My Lords, I thank the Minister for bringing forward this SI. These draft regulations are a purely technical measure, setting the purity criteria for magnesium L-threonate to be used in food supplements and for its legal sale and use, in compliance with t
2026-06-10
Farming and Food Production
My Lords, the Government announced this 25-year road map for farming in November 2024. That is 18 months ago. The noble Baroness has said it is going to happen this year, so when exactly might we see it in 2026? Will Defra now stand up for British agricu
My Lords, I thank the Minister for bringing forward this important SI. Two-thirds of the world’s oceans lies beyond any nation’s jurisdiction, so it is crucial that we support international co-operation and that we take our own responsibilities and oppor
2026-06-09
Water Companies
My Lords, delivery of strategic water infrastructure is crucial to tackling wider systemic issues. What assessment have the Government made of the benefits of smaller farm reservoir networks alongside large-scale water storage? That is the shortest quest
2026-05-18
King’s Speech
My Lords, I welcome the rhetoric of the Chişinău Declaration and the wonderfully sensible words in the No. 10 briefing on the immigration Bill that bogus illegals will not be able to use every excuse under the sun to prevent them being sent back. Will it
2026-05-18
EU-UK SPS Agreement: Food-related Standards
My Lords, the freedom to break out of the ridiculous EU ban on gene editing was one of the greatest successes of Brexit. We passed the law fully supported by the Labour Party, and the Food Standards Agency has developed all the necessary guidelines. Our
2026-03-20
Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill
My Lords, I had an amendment in this group but I withdrew it when I saw that other noble Lords had tabled an amendment that was superior to mine. So I rise to support some of their amendments and to express my concern about the new clauses proposed by th
2026-03-20
Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill
My Lords, I rise to support the amendments in this group but first, if the Committee will permit me, I turn to face my noble friend Lady Nicholson of Winterbourne. She is absolutely right to criticise the lack of facilities for deaf people in this Chambe
My Lords, the United Kingdom has developed some excellent technological flood detection and prevention solutions, including FloodAdapt, Nautilus barriers, Floodstop, flood defence and others. The UK Government’s funding strategy of November 2025 promised
2026-03-18
Crime and Policing Bill
I have no objection to the court pronouncing on a point of law. However, on this occasion, it was not pronouncing on a point of law but making a judgment on the facts of the case and disagreeing with the Home Secretary on the facts.
2026-03-18
Crime and Policing Bill
My Lords, I shall speak to the two amendments in my name. Like many noble Lords, I was surprised by the decision of the High Court that the Home Secretary’s decision to proscribe Palestine Action was unlawful, in view of her detailed description of its t
2026-03-12
Peatland Restoration
My Lords, the United Kingdom peatlands hold over 3 billion tonnes of carbon. I welcome the Government’s commitment to continue funding the Conservative Government’s innovative £50 million England Peat Action Plan, since the benefits of peatland restorati
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.
-
Director, Cleanstreets CIC (programme to tackle smoking-related litter)
registered 2021-12-01 · amended 2025-12-15
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
1983-07-28 → present
Conservative
current
Government posts
1993-05-27 → 1997-05-01
Minister of State (Home Office)
1992-04-14 → 1993-05-26
Minister (Department of Environment) (Environment and Countryside)
1989-06-26 → 1992-04-15
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food)
1988-07-27 → 1989-07-24
Lord Commissioner (HM Treasury) (Whip)
1987-06-18 → 1988-07-25
Assistant Whip (HM Treasury)
Opposition posts
2026-09-17 → present
Shadow Minister (Energy Security and Net Zero)
2024-09-01 → present
Shadow Minister (Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
2001-09-18 → 2005-05-10
Opposition Chief Whip (Commons)
Committee memberships
1985-12-06 → 1987-05-15
Agriculture
2004-01-29 → 2010-05-06
Members Estimate Committee
2006-06-14 → 2010-05-06
Statutory Instruments (Select Committee)
Chair
+£12,500/yr
2006-06-12 → 2010-05-06
Statutory Instruments (Select Committee)
2006-06-14 → 2010-05-06
Statutory Instruments (Joint Committee)
Chair
+£12,500/yr
2006-06-12 → 2010-05-06
Statutory Instruments (Joint Committee)
2006-06-14 → 2010-05-06
Liaison Committee (Commons)
2012-05-16 → 2015-03-30
Procedure and Privileges Committee
2012-06-28 → 2012-11-28
Draft Communications Data Bill (Joint Committee)
2017-09-07 → 2022-01-19
Delegated Powers and Regulatory Reform Committee
Chair
+£15,235/yr
2022-01-19 → 2025-01-30
Liaison Committee (Lords)
2023-01-31 → 2026-01-27
Public Services Committee
2026-05-13 → present
Lord Speaker's Advisory Panel on Works of Art
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) · 2 active officership(s) · 5 historic
| Group | Role(s) | Funders | Officers in group | Next deadline |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
All-Party Parliamentary Group on Health and the Natural Environment
Subject Group
|
Vice Chair | National Academy for Social Prescribing | 10 | 2023-08-27 |
|
Parks and Green Spaces All-Party Parliamentary Group
Subject Group
|
Vice Chair | Keep Britain Tidy | 4 | 2027-04-04 |
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
59
of 59 tabled
53 answered(89.8%)
14
departments
2026-07-22
Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government
Rents: Regulation
Answered
2026-07-22
Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government
Housing: Construction
Answered
2026-07-20
Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government
Housing: Construction
Answered
2026-07-20
Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government
Housing: Construction
Answered
2026-07-20
Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government
Housing: Construction
Answered
2026-07-20
Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government
Affordable Housing: Construction
Answered
2026-07-20
Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government
Housing: Construction
Answered
2026-07-20
Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government
Temporary Accommodation: Costs
Answered
2026-05-19
Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
Food Supply and Rural Areas: Weather
Answered
2026-05-19
Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
Armed Conflict and El Niño
Answered
2026-05-14
Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office
Taiwan: Foreign Relations
Answered
2026-02-26
Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office
Taiwan: Foreign Relations
Answered
2026-02-26
Department of Health and Social Care
Health Professions: Sexual Offences
Answered
2026-02-06
Restoration and Renewal Client Board
Catering: Parliamentary Estate
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
7 as lead sponsor
1 as supporter
| Bill | Info | Role | Status | Introduced |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wheelchair Access Bill [HL] | Sponsored | 1st reading | 2023-12-04 | |
| Equipment Theft (Prevention) Act 2023 | Supported | Royal Assent | 2022-06-15 | |
| Joint Committee on Nominations to the Supreme Court Bill [HL] | Sponsored | 2nd reading | 2020-01-16 | |
| Equality Act 2010 (Amendment) (Disabled Access) Bill [HL] | Sponsored | 2nd reading | 2017-06-27 | |
| Equality Act 2010 (Amendment) Bill [HL] | Sponsored | 2nd reading | 2015-06-11 | |
| Equality Act 2010 (Amendment) Bill [HL] | Sponsored | 2nd reading | 2014-06-09 | |
| Equality Act 2010 (Amendment) Bill [HL] | Sponsored | 2nd reading | 2013-05-20 | |
| Freedom of Information (Amendment) Bill | Sponsored | 2nd reading | 2006-12-18 |
Same source as the year-scoped panel above, but unconstrained by
year. The "Sponsored" tag = lead sponsor; "Supported" = backed at
introduction. Sorted newest first.