Vol. 755 Tuesday No. 25 15 July 2014 PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES (HANSARD) HOUSE OF LORDS OFFICIAL REPORT ORDER OF BUSINESS Message from the Queen .................................................................................................497 Leader of the House........................................................................................................497 Questions Northern Ireland: Illegal Petrol and Diesel................................................................501 Income Tax: Top Rate .................................................................................................503 Cabinet Office: Efficiency and Reform Programme ...................................................505 Child Abuse...................................................................................................................508 Business of the House Timing of Debates.........................................................................................................510 Public Bodies (Abolition of Food from Britain) Order 2014 Motion to Approve ........................................................................................................511 Serious Crime Bill [HL] Committee (3rd Day) ...................................................................................................511 Cyprus Question for Short Debate............................................................................................563 Grand Committee Infrastructure Bill [HL] Committee (4th Day)............................................................................................GC 211 Written Statements......................................................................................................WS 53 Written Answers .........................................................................................................WA 111 £4·00 Lords wishing to be supplied with these Daily Reports should give notice to this effect to the Printed Paper Office. 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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 Con Ind Conservative Independent DUP Democratic Unionist Party GP Green Party Ind Lab Independent Labour Ind LD Independent Liberal Democrat Ind SD Independent Social Democrat Lab Labour Lab Ind Labour Independent 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 2014, this publication may be reproduced under the terms of the Open Parliament licence, which is published at www.parliament.uk/site-information/copyright/. 497 Message from the Queen[15 JULY 2014] Leader of the House 498 reformed EU, I was relieved that we have such rational House of Lords chap in Brussels, notwithstanding our differences over the EU Referendum Bill. This morning he said that Tuesday, 15 July 2014. one of his challenges was, “how to strengthen public support in many countries for the 2.30 pm European Union”. I trust that he includes the UK in this. Prayers—read by the Lord Bishop of Carlisle. While I fear that some of his colleagues in the Commons want us to leave the EU come what may, I Message from the Queen know that the noble Lord will work with colleagues in the Commission to bring about reform. However, I offer him commiserations for having to deal with some 2.37 pm elements of his own party who will want to breathe The Lord Chamberlain (Earl Peel) (CB): My Lords, down his neck, harrying him towards the exit. I have the honour to present to your Lordships a The noble Lord survived the experience of the message from Her Majesty the Queen, signed by her Maastricht Bill in No. 10 and I have no doubt that he own hand. The message is as follows: will survive the tensions of being a Conservative “I have received with great satisfaction the dutiful and loyal Commissioner. From these Benches, we wish him well. expression of your thanks for the Speech with which I opened the present Session of Parliament”. Lord Wallace of Tankerness (LD): My Lords, I associate the Liberal Democrat Benches with the very Leader of the House warm wishes expressed by the noble Baroness, Lady Royall of Blaisdon, to my noble friend Lord Hill of 2.38 pm Oareford. Perhaps I may paraphrase Benjamin Disraeli by Baroness Royall of Blaisdon (Lab): My Lords, before saying that everyone likes flattery, and when you come exercising the privilege of leading tributes to the noble to an outgoing Leader of the House, you should lay it Lord, Lord Hill of Oareford, I welcome the noble on with a trowel. You may wonder why from these Baroness, Lady Stowell of Beeston, to her new role as Benches I am quoting Benjamin Disraeli. The truth is Leader of the House. The whole House rightly paid that the noble Lord, Lord Hill, pointed me in the tribute to her for the consensual manner in which she direction of this quote when I spoke to him on the phone piloted the same-sex marriage Bill through your Lordships’ this morning. House, and I am sure that she will use those skills as Leader of the House. I wonder whether her skills I actually need no prompting whatever to pay a could also be used to offer a peacemaking role between very warm tribute to the noble Lord, Lord Hill. I Mr George Clooney and the Daily Mail—but I will valued him as a Front Bench colleague from 2010—but leave that to the noble Baroness. particularly since I was appointed Deputy Leader of your Lordships’ House in October last year, I have had It will be a pleasure to work for the noble Baroness, a warm and constructive working relationship with who I am sure will secure the Government’s business him. He has been an exemplary and thoughtful Leader in the Lords in a style that fits with its traditions and of your Lordships’ House, protecting the interests of places the proper emphasis on effective scrutiny and the House and of individual Members in everything the willingness of government to rethink from time to that he has done during his term of office. I can time. I also know that she will not forget that in the sincerely say that his overwhelming concern has always strange but wonderful position she has as Leader she been to protect the good reputation of this House, and wears two hats—Leader of the Conservative Benches he has regularly returned to this in our many conversations and Leader of the whole House. The whole House will together. Party politics aside, we have genuinely worked be united in its support for the noble Baroness as very well together and I hold him in very high regard. Leader. I trust that press reports that she will not be a full member of the Cabinet are not true. I echo the noble Baroness, Lady Royall, in saying that the noble Lord had a consensual way of working I turn to the noble Lord, Lord Hill of Oareford. I in the House and a particular concern for detail that I start by thanking him personally for the warm and believe will stand him in good stead in his new role in productive working relationship that he and I had Europe. The outgoing United Kingdom Commissioner during his time as Leader. His door has always been was also a Leader of your Lordships’ House. We may open, as has his mind. He has shown himself to be a reflect that, to operate in a House where no one party consensus builder with inner steel. He was endorsed has a majority, we must build alliances and agreements for such skills in his new commissioner role by the across it to get things done. I suspect that this House Prime Minister, who this morning said: was therefore a very good training ground for his new “He has proven a skilled negotiator, respected by all parties”. position. Whatever our party-political views on Europe, Whether he can extend those skills to negotiations we on these Benches wish him well in his new role. with Nigel Farage remains to be seen—but if anyone I also extend a warm welcome to my noble friend can, perhaps it is the noble Lord. Lady Stowell as Leader of the House. We worked well This might not help his credentials within his own together this time last year on the Marriage (Same Sex party, but as someone who leads the Labour Benches, Couples) Bill and, as the noble Baroness, Lady