House of Lords Official Report

Total Page:16

File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb

House of Lords Official Report Vol. 768 Monday No. 107 8 February 2016 PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES (HANSARD) HOUSE OF LORDS OFFICIAL REPORT ORDER OF BUSINESS Questions Refugees: Unaccompanied Children ............................................................................................1979 Creative Industries ........................................................................................................................1981 Tourism ..........................................................................................................................................1984 Allied Health Professionals: Training .........................................................................................1986 Riot Compensation Bill First Reading .................................................................................................................................1988 Criminal Cases Review Commission (Information) Bill First Reading .................................................................................................................................1988 Immigration Bill Motion to Approve........................................................................................................................1989 Education and Adoption Bill Third Reading................................................................................................................................1989 Trade Union Bill Committee (1st Day) ...................................................................................................................2001 Junior Doctors Statement .......................................................................................................................................2030 Syria Statement .......................................................................................................................................2034 Local Government Finance Statement .......................................................................................................................................2043 Opticians Act 1989 Question for Short Debate ...........................................................................................................2051 Trade Union Bill Committee (1st Day) (Continued)..............................................................................................2064 Grand Committee Transport for London Bill [HL] Motion to Take Note...............................................................................................................GC 97 Pensions Act 2014 (Consequential and Supplementary Amendments) Order 2016 ............GC 107 State Pension and Occupational Pension Schemes (Miscellaneous Amendments) Regulations 2016 .........................................................................................................................GC 116 Producer Responsibility Obligations (Packaging Waste) (Miscellaneous Amendments) Regulations 2016 .........................................................................................................................GC 116 Infrastructure Planning (Onshore Wind Generating Stations) Order 2016 ..........................GC 119 Motions to Consider £4·00 Lords wishing to be supplied with these Daily Reports should give notice to this effect to the Printed Paper Office. No proofs of Daily Reports are provided. Corrections for the bound volume which Lords wish to suggest to the report of their speeches should be clearly indicated in a copy of the Daily Report, which, with the column numbers concerned shown on the front cover, should be sent to the Editor of Debates, House of Lords, within 14 days of the date of the Daily Report. This issue of the Official Report is also available on the Internet at www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/ld201516/ldhansrd/index/160208.html PRICES AND SUBSCRIPTION RATES DAILY PARTS Single copies: Commons, £5; Lords £4 Annual subscriptions: Commons, £865; Lords £600 LORDS VOLUME INDEX obtainable on standing order only. Details available on request. BOUND VOLUMES OF DEBATES are issued periodically during the session. Single copies: Commons, £65 (£105 for a two-volume edition); Lords, £60 (£100 for a two-volume edition). Standing orders will be accepted. THE INDEX to each Bound Volume of House of Commons Debates is published separately at £9·00 and can be supplied to standing order. All prices are inclusive of postage. The first time a Member speaks to a new piece of parliamentary business, the following abbreviations are used to show their party affiliation: Abbreviation Party/Group CB Cross Bench Con Conservative DUP Democratic Unionist Party GP Green Party Ind Lab Independent Labour Ind LD Independent Liberal Democrat Ind SD Independent Social Democrat Ind UU Independent Ulster Unionist Lab Labour LD Liberal Democrat LD Ind Liberal Democrat Independent Non-afl Non-affiliated PC Plaid Cymru UKIP UK Independence Party UUP Ulster Unionist Party No party affiliation is given for Members serving the House in a formal capacity, the Lords spiritual, Members on leave of absence or Members who are otherwise disqualified from sitting in the House. © Parliamentary Copyright House of Lords 2016, this publication may be reproduced under the terms of the Open Parliament licence, which is published at www.parliament.uk/site-information/copyright/. 1979 Refugees: Unaccompanied Children[8 FEBRUARY 2016] Refugees: Unaccompanied Children 1980 Europol and what discussions we are having with it House of Lords about tackling this? Also, given that the 100,000 people Monday, 8 February 2016. now massing at Oncupinar, on the Turkish border with the Aleppo province, are facing an aerial 2.30 pm bombardment campaign and the borders are closed to them—many of those refugees will be children—what Prayers—read by the Lord Bishop of Chester. action are the Government taking to ask that those borders be opened to allow the refugees safe passage Refugees: Unaccompanied Children across? Question Lord Bates: The noble Lord is absolutely right to 2.35 pm focus on this. Europol estimates that some 90% of people who arrive at Calais have been trafficked by Asked by Lord Roberts of Llandudno criminal gangs. That is why the Prime Minister announced To ask Her Majesty’s Government what action that we are setting up the Organised Immigration they are taking to relieve the situation of Crime Task Force, and there have been some early unaccompanied refugee children. successes, although we need to work much harder on that. That is also why Kevin Hyland—I know the The Minister of State, Home Office (Lord Bates) noble Lord knows him and respects his work—is (Con): My Lords, the Government are working with looking at those issues. On the situation in Turkey, the UNHCR to resettle unaccompanied refugee children that is why we have announced a further £275 million from conflict areas where it is in the best interests of as part of the EU-Turkey agreement, to provide aid to the child to do so. These are likely to be exceptional that southern border. cases: for most children, their needs are best met in the region. We are providing an additional £10 million of Lord Lexden (Con): My noble friend recently told support for vulnerable children in Europe. the House he hoped that more local authorities would extend a warm welcome to refugee children and ensure Lord Roberts of Llandudno (LD): On 2 December, that they are well cared for, in accordance with the the Prime Minister said that he was thinking again traditions of our country. Has there been progress? about our moral duty towards these children. That was 10 weeks ago. What has happened in that 10 weeks, Lord Bates: I must admit that I wish there had been and what is going to happen in the next 10 weeks, to more. My noble friend is right to raise this matter. those children who are spread out in so many ways? Kent is bearing an unfair share of the burden of They are deserving of our compassion, and those who caring for unaccompanied asylum-seeking children: are showing compassion are the people—young people more than 1,000 are being cared for there. The Home especially—working as volunteers in Calais, Dunkirk Secretary, the Secretary of State for Education, and and other places. As a House, we should express our the Secretary of State for Communities and Local appreciation of everything that they are doing. Government wrote in November asking local authorities to come forward. So far we have had interest from Lord Bates: I certainly endorse what the noble Lord 24—but that is out of 440. Only eight children out of says about the volunteers who are giving up their time 1,000 have so far been offered places. I would like to to help those people in need. The noble Lord asked think that all Members of this House who have links what has happened since 2 December. On 28 January, to their local authorities would be encouraging them the Prime Minister made a Statement outlining what to look again and see what can be done to help Kent in he had done in the interim period, and he announced its hour of need. four new initiatives. He said that he was going to send the Independent Anti-Slavery Commissioner, Kevin Baroness Kinnock of Holyhead (Lab): My Lords, as Hyland, to look at the hotspots, as they are called, or the Minister may know, Eritrean children are fleeing reception centres, to see what was happening to children. from their country because of their experience of the We announced an additional £10 million of support, most brutal human rights violations, often described particularly for children who had arrived
Recommended publications
  • Webroots-Democracy-Cost-Of-Voting
    1 forewords 3 - 8 executive summary 9 - 11 cost of existing elections 12 - 14 cost of online voting 15 - 19 impact of online voting on existing costs 20 - 23 policy roundtable 24 - 26 survey data 27 - 28 recommendations 29 - 31 appendix 32 - 35 2 3 Areeq Chowdhury If democracy was reborn tomorrow and we came vote following the introduction of online voting together to decide how our electoral system would fall by more than a quarter. should operate, would it look remotely the same as it does today? In an age where coins have been The cost of the current analogue system is more replaced by cash, cash has been replaced by than just money, however. The cost is thousands cards, and cards have been replaced by of voters overseas having their ballots contactless smartphone payments; would we undelivered, hundreds of thousands of voters replicate a voting system concocted in the 19th with disabilities being unable to cast an century? independent ballot, and millions of young people alienated from the political process. The added The idea that we would decide to create a system value of modernising elections is to have a based on spending millions and millions of pounds democratic system fit for the 21st century, true of taxpayers’ money on posting poll cards, hand- access for all voters with the capacity to further opening thousands of envelopes, and purchasing educate existing voters, and the potential to 300,000 pencils seems far-fetched to me. In a engage some of the 10m to 15m eligible voters digital era, in an innovative country like the UK, that do not currently vote.
    [Show full text]
  • Webroots-Democracy-Viral-Voting-2Nd
    1 forewords 3 - 8 executive summary 9 - 12 internet activity in the uk 13 - 20 culture change 21 - 23 twitter and clicktivism 24 - 28 previous uk pilots 29 - 31 global examples 32 - 34 benefits 35 - 43 recent developments 44 - 49 challenges 50 - 52 survey results 53 – 57 references 58 – 61 2 3 Areeq Chowdhury It is time for politics to fast-forward to the present The UK is a politically active nation online, and we and have online voting introduced. need to translate this passion to voting: the bedrock of our democracy. Analogue methods of This report is the work of over a year’s worth of politics will increasingly become incompatible research into the potential of online voting in the with the digital world of today. UK and I am delighted to share the results. Combined with effective marketing and WebRoots Democracy started as a result of integration with social media platforms, I am perceived youth apathy and low voter turnouts, confident that the introduction of an online however over the course of this research it is voting option will significantly increase voter evident that the appeal of online voting is much turnout in the UK. The estimate within this report wider. Online voting has the potential to is that online voting could boost youth voter enfranchise voters currently locked out of the turnout to 70%, up from 44% in the 2010 General current voting methods and will help future-proof Election. elections for an increasingly digital population in the UK. I urge all political parties to commit to introduce an online voting option in elections, as will-power One of the respondents to our survey summed up is the main stumbling block to progress.
    [Show full text]
  • Secure Voting. a Guide to Secure Online Voting in Elections
    A guide to secure #onlinevoting in elections. Contents Forewords 3-9 Executive summary 10-14 Related areas of interest 15-26 Electoral Reform Services 27-32 Everyone Counts 33-36 Follow My Vote 37-41 Dr Kevin Curran 42-48 Mi-Voice 49-52 Professor Robert Krimmer 53-56 Scytl 57-71 Smartmatic 72-81 Verizon 82-89 Conclusion 90-93 Glossary 94-99 References 100-101 Secure Voting: A guide to secure #onlinevoting in elections. 2 Forewords Areeq Chowdhury Rt Hon John Bercow MP Chloe Smith MP Graham Allen MP Hannah Bardell MP Rt Hon Tom Brake MP “ The Government said they wanted assurances of online voting being ‘robust and really hard to hack’ – I believe this “ report provides those assurances. Secure Voting: A guide to secure #onlinevoting in elections. 3 Forewords Areeq Chowdhury One of the major challenges I’ve come across since starting this campaign has been to provide reassurances that modernising our voting system would not make it less secure. In October last year, the Government said they wanted assurances of online voting being “robust and really hard to hack” – I believe this report provides those assurances. Secure Voting draws upon decades of experience in secure online voting from leading academics and global providers of online and electronic voting. If you were to seek advice on how to make a car or a boat, you would seek it from those who have years of experience in successfully making cars and boats. This is the approach I have sought when putting together this report. This report does not shy away from the security challenges of online voting, but addresses them head on.
    [Show full text]
  • Whole Day Download the Hansard
    Wednesday Volume 635 31 January 2018 No. 89 HOUSE OF COMMONS OFFICIAL REPORT PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES (HANSARD) Wednesday 31 January 2018 © Parliamentary Copyright House of Commons 2018 This publication may be reproduced under the terms of the Open Parliament licence, which is published at www.parliament.uk/site-information/copyright/. 801 31 JANUARY 2018 802 Sir David Amess: Every “Gavin and Stacey” fan House of Commons knows that the journey from Essex to Wales involves the most expensive toll bridge charges in the country, so Wednesday 31 January 2018 I am delighted that this Conservative Government have removed the burden of crossing the border for tourists, businesses and commuters generally. Will my right hon. The House met at half-past Eleven o’clock Friend tell the House how he intends to capitalise on that wonderful news? PRAYERS Alun Cairns: I am grateful to my hon. Friend for reminding us of that iconic “Gavin and Stacey” scene [MR SPEAKER in the Chair] where Smithy is struggling to get into Wales because he has to pay the £6.70 toll charge to cross the bridge. I would point out to my hon. Friend that tolls have been Oral Answers to Questions reduced by 20% in the interim, and by the end of the year they will be abolished. That will be one of the biggest stimuluses for the Welsh economy in decades. It will provide the opportunity for more and better-paid WALES jobs, and a £100 million boost to the Welsh economy. This is an opportunity for the south-west of England The Secretary of State was asked— and south Wales to come together as an economic powerhouse to provide better opportunities in the western Cross-border Economic Opportunities side of the UK.
    [Show full text]
  • Electronic Balloting for Industrial Action
    Electronic Balloting Review The Report of the Independent Review of Electronic Balloting for Industrial Action Sir Ken Knight DEPARTMENT FOR BUSINESS, ENERGY AND INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY Electronic Balloting Review The Report of the Independent Review of Electronic Balloting for Industrial Action Presented to Parliament pursuant to Section 4 of the Trade Union Act 2016 The conclusions and recommendations in this report are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views or proposed policies of the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy. Contents Foreword .................................................................................................................................... 1 Executive Summary .................................................................................................................... 2 Chapter 1 About the Review/Legal Background .......................................................................... 6 Chapter 2 Current Ballot Processes ............................................................................................ 9 Chapter 3 E-Balloting Processes ……………………………………………………………………...14 Chapter 4 All Those Entitled to Vote Have an Opportunity to do so ......................................... ..18 Chapter 5 Votes Cast are Secret ............................................................................................... 26 Chapter 6 The risk of Unfairness or Malpractice is Minimised ................................................... 36 Chapter 7 Overall Conclusions
    [Show full text]
  • Parliamentary Debates (Hansard)
    Thursday Volume 597 18 June 2015 No. 19 HOUSE OF COMMONS OFFICIAL REPORT PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES (HANSARD) Thursday 18 June 2015 £5·00 © Parliamentary Copyright House of Commons 2015 This publication may be reproduced under the terms of the Open Parliament licence, which is published at www.parliament.uk/site-information/copyright/. 445 18 JUNE 2015 446 medicine, and will he join me in welcoming the publication House of Commons back in 2013 of a Government strategy to deal with the issue across Departments? Thursday 18 June 2015 George Eustice: My hon. Friend is absolutely right. This issue also affects the Department for Health, and The House met at half-past Nine o’clock the chief medical officer is leading our work in this area. As my hon. Friend says, we have published an antimicrobial strategy setting out our approach for the next five years. PRAYERS It is also true that, although the use of antibiotics in farming has been relatively static over the past decade [MR SPEAKER in the Chair] or so, we have seen an increase in the use of antibiotics in medicine, which is of great concern. Jim Shannon (Strangford) (DUP): McDonald’s is Oral Answers to Questions phasing out beef products that contain antibiotics, but it has indicated that beef products containing ionophore drugs will be acceptable, as they harm neither animals nor humans. What discussions has the Minister had ENVIRONMENT, FOOD AND RURAL AFFAIRS with the catering industry about that? The Secretary of State was asked— George Eustice: I have not had any specific discussions on that point.
    [Show full text]
  • Inclusive-Voting-Second-Edition-Merged.Pdf
    1 forewords 3 - 6 executive summary 7 - 9 voter registration 10 - 12 barriers in elections 13 - 15 barriers in voting 16 - 18 the existing system 19 - 20 online voting 21 - 23 international and eu law on voter accessibility 24 - 25 references 26 - 28 2 3 Areeq Chowdhury In undertaking this research, it has become clear with vision impairments and other disabilities to me that the problems facing disabled and have access to that right. vision impaired voters when accessing elections is Online voting has a crucial role to play in ensuring far greater than I imagined. It should be a source that everyone can play a full role in democratic of embarrassment for successive Governments participation. We should look towards the that such basic problems persist in 2017. progress that has been made in countries such as This report looks specifically at how the use of Australia and Estonia, where voters with digital technology can enhance accessibility, disabilities are able to vote independently in the however, there are some very simple short-term comfort of their homes. There can be no excuse fixes which should be implemented, too. Some of for delay, and I would strongly urge all parties these are outlined in this report, such as looking to govern the UK to adopt the highlighting accessibility helplines at the recommendations set out in this report. beginning of a document or webpage, rather than A democracy that works for everyone is one at the end. where no voter is left off the electoral register, For the UK to be a truly inclusive democracy, the where all voters are sufficiently informed about next Government must address the problems the election, and where all voters have the ability outlined in this report and recognise that digital to vote independently.
    [Show full text]
  • Comparative Electoral Management Toby James Provides an In-Depth Comparative Analysis of One of the Core Administrative Functions of Democracy
    “Elections matter for so many reasons – not least for an orderly transfer of power, and for citizens to reflect on, interact with, and directly affect their state institutions. The performance of electoral management bodies can make the difference between an election that is accepted with an orderly transition of power, or an election result that is challenged with ensuing problems of violence or societal instability. This ground-breaking study is the first to give election management the serious scholarly attention it rightly deserves. Toby James’ insights on organising elections will provide valuable evidence-based advice for policy makers and election practitioners alike.” – Therese Pearce Laanela, Head of Electoral Processes, International IDEA “In Comparative Electoral Management Toby James provides an in-depth comparative analysis of one of the core administrative functions of democracy. Rich in data and innovative conceptualisation, the book draws on insights from a variety of disciplines to address a topic, the urgency of which is rapidly becoming apparent to citizens the world over. The result is a highly informed and perceptive analysis of how elections are run and how they might be improved.” – Sarah Birch, King’s College London, UK “Toby James demonstrates very convincingly in this major book that electoral management matters a lot for the quality of elections and for how reliable election results are as a reflection of the electorate’s intentions. Comparative Electoral Management is, therefore, a book that will be of great value for at least three audiences: students of elections, electoral practitioners, and – hopefully – politicians interested in the improvement of the quality of elections and electoral administration in their country.” – Jørgen Elklit, Aarhus University, Denmark Comparative Electoral Management This book offers the first comparative monograph on the management of elections.
    [Show full text]
  • House of Lords Official Report
    Vol. 769 Wednesday No. 127 16 March 2016 PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES (HANSARD) HOUSE OF LORDS OFFICIAL REPORT ORDER OF BUSINESS Royal Assent....................................................................................................................1843 Death of a Member: Lord Briggs ................................................................................1843 Questions Economy: Productivity ................................................................................................1843 Taxation: Income Tax Threshold ...............................................................................1845 Local Government Finance Settlement: Transitional Grant ....................................1847 Refugee Crisis: European Anti-migrant Parties ........................................................1849 Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (Regulated Activities) (Amendment) Order 2016 Motion to Approve.......................................................................................................1852 Disabled Persons’ Parking Badges (Scotland) Act 2014 (Consequential Provisions) Order 2016 Motion to Approve.......................................................................................................1852 Trade Union Bill Report (First Day)......................................................................................................1852 Renewables Obligation Closure Etc. (Amendment) Order 2016 Motion to Approve........................................................................................................1914
    [Show full text]
  • Doing Democracy Better: How Can Information and Discourse in Election and Referendum Campaigns in the Uk Be Improved?
    DOING DEMOCRACY BETTER: HOW CAN INFORMATION AND DISCOURSE IN ELECTION AND REFERENDUM CAMPAIGNS IN THE UK BE IMPROVED? Alan Renwick and Michela Palese The Constitution Unit University College London March 2019 ISBN: 978-1-903903-85-8 Published by: The Constitution Unit School of Public Policy University College London 29-31 Tavistock Square London WC1H 9QU Tel: 020 7679 4977 Email: [email protected] Web: www.ucl.ac.uk/constitution-unit ©The Constitution Unit, UCL 2019 This report is sold subject to the condition that it shall not, by way of trade or otherwise, be lent, hired out or otherwise circulated without the publisher’s prior consent in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is published and without a similar condition including this condition being imposed on the subsequent purchaser. First Published March 2019 Front cover image of Plato and Aristotle, or Philosophy. Marble panel from the North side, lower basement of the bell tower of Florence, Italy. Museo dell'Opera del Duomo. Photograph by Jastrow. Image used under public domain. Contents List of Tables and Figures iii Acknowledgements vi Executive Summary .................................................................................................................................. vii Introduction ................................................................................................................................................. 1 Plan of the Report 1 Part 1: Starting Points .........................................................................................................
    [Show full text]