Vol. 811 Thursday No. 220 22 April 2021

PARLIAMENTARYDEBATES (HANSARD) HOUSE OF LORDS OFFICIAL REPORT

ORDEROFBUSINESS

Questions Overseas Development Assistance: Budgets and Awards ...... 1949 E-Scooters...... 1953 Covid-19: Pupil Referral Units ...... 1956 Transparency of Lobbying, Non-Party Campaigning and Trade Union Administration Act 2014 ...... 1959 Russia: Alexei Navalny Private Notice Question...... 1963 Highgate Cemetery Bill [HL] Third Reading...... 1967 Prisons (Substance Testing) Bill Order of Commitment Discharged ...... 1967 Botulinum Toxin and Cosmetic Fillers (Children) Bill Order of Commitment Discharged ...... 1967 Animal Welfare (Sentencing) Bill Order of Commitment Discharged ...... 1967 Education (Guidance about Costs of School Uniforms) Bill Report ...... 1967 Forensic Science Regulator Bill Third Reading...... 1968 National Security and Investment Bill Third Reading...... 1968 Terrorism Act 2000 (Proscribed Organisations) (Amendment) Order 2021 Motion to Approve ...... 1973 Integrated Review of Security, Defence, Development and Foreign Policy Motion to Take Note...... 1978 Diocesan Boards of Education Measure Motion to Direct ...... 2044 Cathedrals Measure Motion to Direct ...... 2047 Grand Committee Body Mass Index Question for Short Debate...... GC 361 Alcohol Harm Commission: Report 2020 Question for Short Debate...... GC 375 Covid-19: Poverty and Mass Evictions Question for Short Debate...... GC 388 Biodiversity Emergency Question for Short Debate ...... GC 403 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 https://hansard.parliament.uk/lords/2021-04-22

In Hybrid sittings, [V] after a Member’s name indicates that they contributed by video call.

The following abbreviations are used to show a Member’s 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 Lab Co-op Labour and Co-operative Party 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 2021, this publication may be reproduced under the terms of the Open Parliament licence, which is published at www.parliament.uk/site-information/copyright/. 1949 Arrangement of Business [22 APRIL 2021] ODA: Budgets and Awards 1950

House of Lords will cut its support for conflict prevention by more than half. This cruel and callous plan shames our Thursday 22 April 2021 country. Will the Government do the right thing and put it to a vote? Noon Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon (Con): My Lords, I first Prayers—read by the Lord Bishop of London. put on record that I note the sentiments of the noble Lord and the excellent work that he does in this area. Arrangement of Business However, I am sure that he, equally, will recognise that the UK economy is today 11.3% smaller than it was Announcement last year and undergoing its worst contraction for 300 years. The deficit this year is projected to be 12.07 pm double its peak during the financial crisis. This does The Lord Speaker (Lord Fowler): My Lords,the Hybrid require difficult decisions, they have been taken and Sitting of the House will now begin. Some Members the Government have committed to restore the 0.7% as are here in the Chamber, others are participating soon as the fiscal situation allows. remotely, but all Members will be treated equally. Oral Questions will now commence. Please can those asking Lord McCrea of Magherafelt and Cookstown (DUP) supplementary questions keep them brief and confined [V]: My Lords, many see the announcement of quite to two points? I ask that Ministers’ answers are also in major cuts to the overseas development assistance the same spirit. budget as a tragic blow to the poorest and most marginalised people in the world. It seems that the Government have not even spared countries that have Overseas Development Assistance: Budgets been ravaged by disease, war and poverty. How does and Awards the Minister answer these charges, at such a critical time Question of pandemic? Is not this investment in such countries money well spent? 12.08 pm Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon (Con): My Lords, I Asked by Lord McConnell of Glenscorrodale agree with the noble Lord’s final point. Any money spent in respect of alleviating the suffering of humanity, To ask Her Majesty’s Government when they wherever that may be, is money well spent. On his will publish a list of the reductions in Overseas challenge to me to justify this, I can point no further Development Assistance budgets and awards for than to the support we have given throughout the (1) 2019/20, and (2) 2020/21. Covid-19 pandemic to helping countries directly. We are also the people who put the architecture in place Lord McConnell of Glenscorrodale (Lab): My Lords, for the COVAX facility, which is now helping people I draw attention to my entry in the register of interests with vaccinations globally, through a contribution of and beg leave to ask the Question standing in my £548 million made by the UK. name on the Order Paper. Lord Herbert of South Downs (Con): My Lords, is it The Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and not an irony that the ODA budget was one of the most Development Office (Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon) (Con): scrutinised in government, where outcomes are actually MyLords,UKofficialdevelopmentassistance—ODA—in tracked by the Independent Commission for Aid Impact? 2019 and 2020 was: £15.2 billion, of which £11.8 billion Would that other government programmes had such wasspentbytheFCDO;and£14.5billion,with£10.7billion scrutiny. Is it not a further irony that this budget has spent by the FCDO respectively. The full detailed been subject to cuts, with the harsh effects that we breakdown of ODA spend for 2019 was published on have now seen, when it would already have fallen 24SeptemberintheStatisticsonInternationalDevelopment. because of the contraction in the size of the economy? The final 2020 spend will be published in the same Will my noble friend confirm that that is the case, and final UK aid spend statistics in the autumn of this year by how much the budget would have fallen anyway and will contain detailed breakdowns of the UK’s ODA before this action was taken? spend for 2020, including an activity-level dataset. Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon (Con): My Lords, I agree with my noble friend’s final point. As I said in Lord McConnell of Glenscorrodale (Lab): My Lords, my original Answer in response to the noble Lord, the Government have today published their planned Lord McConnell, we saw a contraction in last year’s expenditure for 2021-22. This Conservative Government budget, where there was a real drop in the actual spend won the 2019 election and their manifesto said: on ODA resulting from the economy contracting in “We will proudly maintain our commitment to spend 0.7 per the manner that it did. I also agree with my noble cent of GNI on development”. friend on the importance of scrutiny of ODA. That is Today they are breaking that promise and breaking why the Government have committed to working with the law of the land. As a result, fewer girls will go to ICAI on its valuable work, and that will continue to be school, fewer vaccinations will cost lives and the UK the case. 1951 ODA: Budgets and Awards [LORDS] ODA: Budgets and Awards 1952

Baroness Hayman (CB) [V]: My Lords, I declare my programmes that we are going to cut today, and does registered interests in malaria and neglected tropical that not speak to short-termism at the expense of the diseases. Both these areas are already feeling the British national interest? devastating effects of cuts in UK funding, for example the cessation of drug treatments as part of the highly Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon (Con): My Lords, let me successful Ascend NTD programme and the cut to UKRI assure my noble friend that, while have had to make funding for research at Imperial College into infectious reductions in ODA, we will remain very much focused— diseases such as malaria. Where exactly does this leave as the WMS that we laid last night indicates—on the Government’s other manifesto commitment to key priorities, including the issues of humanitarian “lead the way in eradicating … malaria”? preparedness and climate change. Priorities for the future will be determined at that time, but there are Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon (Con): My Lords, first, I projects that we are invested in for the long term and know how much work the noble Baroness has put into that will continue. fighting malaria. The noble Baroness and I have worked together, particularly on issues in this area that relate Lord Collins of Highbury (Lab): My Lords,the Minister to the Commonwealth. Weremain very much committed mentioned scrutiny of the budget. The chair of the IDC, to research and technology. Indeed, there are specific Sarah Champion, said yesterday: allocations as well as allocations across the piece. On “To say the statement”— the issue of fighting various diseases, we remain very on planned spending— much committed to Gavi, CEPI and supporting the “is scant on detail is an understatement.” work of the World Health Organization in fighting We are still awaiting guidance on country-by-country any kind of disease, anywhere around the world. allocations. Can the Minister confirm exactly how much the cuts will affect the FCDO’s bilateral nutrition Lord Anderson of Swansea (Lab): My Lords, some portfolios? If he is unable to answer, can he confirm of the relevant reductions in ODA are already available when the House can expect a precise figure? and are alarming. For example, Yemen has the greatest humanitarian crisis in the world today and one would Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon (Con): My Lords, we expect it to be spared the full effect of the cuts—but will be announcing the particular detail that the noble no. We know that in the year 2021-22 the UK plans to Lord has requested in the very near future. provide “at least £87 million”. Last year, 2020-21, £164 million was pledged and £207 million was dispersed. Baroness D’Souza (CB) [V]: My Lords, like so many It is little wonder that Sir Mark Lowcock of the UN others I was taken aback to learn that the cuts were to accused the Government of having decided to be across the board and would include very recently “balance the books on the backs of the starving people of established programmes. A careful assessment of priority Yemen”. programmes is of course time consuming, but does this mean that cutting assistance for starving and wounded Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon (Con): My Lords, I know Yemeni children is to be equated with, let us say, cuts Sir Mark Lowcock well. I do not share his opinion. As to training videos? Do the cuts have to be so unthinking? the noble Lord himself has said, we remain very much committed to Yemen, both in terms of political settlement Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon (Con): I assure the noble and the support we are providing through the UK aid Baroness that a lot of thought has gone into the pledge of £87 million for 2021-22. reductions we have had to make.

Lord Purvis of Tweed (LD): What are the fiscal Baroness Warsi (Con) [V]: [Inaudible.]—the specific conditions that would allow a return to 0.7%? The application of funding for a Covid response by sitting Minister said the economy has shrunk by 11%. Why are this as part of the now much-reduced health allocation. the Government cutting bilateral aid by 50%? Is it, in effect, a double hit against basic health and survival nutrition programmes? Can my noble friend Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon (Con): My Lords, I am explain why the Covid response does not sit outside sure the noble Lord would acknowledge the contributions this allocation, as an exceptional response to a particular the Government have made to various challenges that and exceptional humanitarian issue? we face domestically.That has called for hard decisions, including looking at ODA. As I said earlier, we will Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon (Con): My Lords, I am look to restore 0.7% at the earliest opportunity. sure that my noble friend will recognise that all countries, not just the United Kingdom but globally,have readjusted Baroness Fall (Con) [V]: My Lords, through our aid their own spend in-country to respond to Covid. It is a budget we are able to insure ourselves against mass pandemic like no other that has gripped the modern migration, terrorism, pandemics and environmental world. It is therefore right that, when we look at our destruction, as well as standing by our commitment health outcomes and indeed our health spending, the to the world’s poor. Our cut to 0.5% from 0.7% is, as Covid challenge cannot be ignored and is part and others have said, a double whammy alongside a shrinking parcel of the integrated perspective in tackling health economy. It also means that when we return to 0.7%, as issues around the world. the Government have committed, when the fiscal outlook improves there will be a windfall. What will the Minister The Lord Speaker (Lord Fowler): My Lords, the time spend that windfall on? Is it to go to many of the allowed for this Question has elapsed. 1953 E-Scooters [22 APRIL 2021] E-Scooters 1954

E-Scooters note of his comments and will make sure that colleagues Question in the Home Office are aware of the concerns about enforcement against the use of e-scooters on pavements. 12.19 pm Asked by Baroness McIntosh of Pickering Lord Snape (Lab): Is the Minister aware that Birmingham is one of the cities selected for the e-scooters Toask Her Majesty’sGovernment what assessment trial, and that representatives of the blind and partially they have made of (1) the use of e-scooters, and sighted community have expressed widespread concern (2) the number of (a) offences, and (b) casualties, about the number of these wretched things that have caused by their use. been abandoned in the city centre as a result of this trial? Does the Minister anticipate ditching her ministerial TheParliamentaryUnder-Secretaryof State,Department car to use one and can she see the Peers’ car park being for Transport (Baroness Vere of Norbiton) (Con): My packed with e-scooters at some time in the future? Lords, e-scooter rental trials are under way in 31 regions Finally, can she reflect on replacing the private car across England, with the purpose of assessing their with these sorts of machines? Wehave heard it all before, safety, benefits and wider impacts. Trials in London so will e-scooters go the same way as the Sinclair C5 or will begin in May. Evidence gathered from all 32 trials Segway? willinformadecisionaboutfuturelegalsalesof e-scooters. We have made no assessment of their use, or the Baroness Vere of Norbiton (Con): My Lords, the number of offences or casualties caused by their use, at Government believe that e-scooters, if used in the this stage; these issues will form part of our overall right way, have great potential and could encourage evaluation, later this year. modal shift away from the car. That is why we are doing these trials. I am delighted that Birmingham has Baroness McIntosh of Pickering (Con): I understand decided to be forward-thinking, as I would expect of that e-scooters are illegal in London, so how is it that it, and to take up the opportunity for a trial. A lot goes they are terrorising our streets and pavements,endangering into place when a trial is established; there is careful and imperilling other road users and those using liaison with the local police and the operator. A key pavements, particularly vulnerable older pedestrians, concern is to make sure that the scooters are put back young families and the disabled, as well as the sight- where they belong, and we are very focused on that impaired? The most recent statistics that I have seen with each of the operators. include pedal bikes, covering e-bikes and e-scooters. In 2019, 379 pedestrians were hit by pedal cyclists; four Baroness Randerson (LD) [V]: My Lords, will the were killed and 122 were seriously injured. The questions Minister undertake to introduce lessons on the safe to my noble friend are: what is the current framework use of electric scooters as part of road safety education for enforcement? Who is monitoring the use of e-scooters in schools, when the Government get to the point of to ensure that they are limited to private land outside making decisions on how they should be operated in London and what penalties are imposed for their the future? Can she also undertake that charities illegal use? representing the disabled will be fully consulted before the Government make final decisions? Baroness Vere of Norbiton (Con): My noble friend highlights the intricacies of the different micromobility interventions that we have, of which e-scooters is but Baroness Vere of Norbiton (Con): I can certainly one. She is right that the private use of e-scooters on guarantee the latter: we will be consulting all sorts of public highways is illegal. A person can be fined up to people, when we make the final decision on the trials. £300 or get six points on their licence, and their As I noted, the trials are in place. I cannot go into the e-scooter can be impounded, so we have tools at our hypothetical of what might happen if the Government disposal. Local enforcement activities are operational might do something in the future. However, at the decisions for local police forces. moment, users of the trials get instructions from the app about their use. There are stickers on the scooters Lord Shinkwin (Con): My Lords, barely a day passes reminding people to stay off the pavements and about when I am not passed, in my wheelchair, on my way to the areas where the scooters can be used. Some operators the House, by someone riding an e-scooter on the have advanced training modules and incentives for pavement. Given the danger that e-scooters pose to users to complete them. disabledpeople,particularlythosewithvisualimpairments, and given the tools at the disposal of the authorities, Lord Rosser (Lab) [V]: The Government have provided which my noble friend the Minister has just mentioned, for a number of e-scooter trials around the country, as what reassurance can she offer disabled people that the Minister has indicated. What will constitute positive those tools will be used? and negative outcomes of an e-scooter pilot exercise?

Baroness Vere of Norbiton (Con): My noble friend Baroness Vere of Norbiton (Con): That is a very is right that it can be a frightening prospect, particularly specific question, to which I probably cannot provide for vulnerable people using the road or pavement, to an answer. As the noble Lord knows, when it comes to be terrorised by e-scooter users. But that does not road safety, there are always benefits and significant mean that we should not proceed with trials that will risks to be carefully looked at together. As we go establish exactly what the risks are and build an evidence through these trials, evidence will come forth, which base, as to how they might be successfully used. I take we will look at and make a decision accordingly. 1955 E-Scooters [LORDS] Covid-19: Pupil Referral Units 1956

Lord McColl of Dulwich (Con): My Lords, it is not The Lord Speaker (Lord Fowler): My Lords, the time surprising that there have been so many serious injuries, allowed for this Question has elapsed. because the combined weight of a miscreant and their scooter is over 100 kilos. They often break the speed limit at over 40 mph. Will the Government encourage Covid-19: Pupil Referral Units local police forces to enforce the law, so that injuries Question and death can be avoided? Blind people are particularly vulnerable, of course. 12.30 pm Asked by Baroness Lawrence of Clarendon Baroness Vere of Norbiton (Con): My noble friend has identified for your Lordships’ House the difference To ask Her Majesty’s Government what support between illegal use of private e-scooters on public they have given to students in Pupil Referral Units roads and the trials. To date, there have been 2 million during the COVID-19 pandemic; and whether such journeys on e-scooters within the trials. They have students received the same treatment and prioritisation travelled the equivalent distance to the moon and back as those in other education settings. 13 times, which is 5 million kilometres. In all that time, there have been zero fatalities and zero people hospitalised TheParliamentaryUnder-Secretaryof State,Department as in-patients. There have been 11 injuries that could for Education and Department for International Trade be called serious, but were not hospitalisation injuries, (Baroness Berridge) (Con): My Lords, it will be no and 62 slight injuries, such as a sprained ankle—from surprise to noble Lords that, on the 28th anniversary 2 million journeys. The noble Lord mentioned that of the death of her son, Stephen Lawrence, the noble they can go up to 40 mph. Again, that is impossible for Baroness, Lady Lawrence, is here asking a Question on a trial e-scooter, which is limited to 15.5 mph. It is behalf of others, and I pay tribute to her for that. The important that we continue with these trials, embrace Government recognise that education is a key protective technology and innovation, assess the risks and make factor for vulnerable students, and we therefore prioritise the right decision. those in alternative provision. These settings remained open throughout the pandemic. Support included last Baroness Uddin (Non-Afl) [V]: My Lords, while this summer’s £7.1 million alternative provision transition is expensive, it is sold without any guidance or rules. I fund for year 11 pupils to make a successful transition spoke to 10 scooter owners on my street, over a few to post-16 education, additional support through the days. They were of various ages and all male. Not one workforce fund and, most recently, increased levels of was aware of the restriction on public use or had been funding for mass asymptomatic testing. issued advice on licensing or insurance at the time of purchase. I tried it in my back yard, and it is fun. Does Baroness Lawrence of Clarendon (Lab) [V]: My the Minister agree, regardless of what she is saying Lords, I thank the Minister for talking about my son, and the assurance she has made, that ambiguities Stephen. Since the pandemic, have pupils in pupil about the rules of their use remain? When can we expect referral units been supported and prioritised, as those a government direction to be made available to all in other educational settings have? What is the impact retailers and manufacturers? Is it time for the Government on their education? Are they being monitored to return to consider a public information campaign? to mainstream school? As we know, the majority of people in pupil referral units are boys from the black Baroness Vere of Norbiton (Con): When one purchases community. an e-scooter, the vast majority of retailers say that it is for use on private land only. I will take the noble Baroness’s comments back to the department to see Baroness Berridge (Con): The Government were what else we can do. keen to ensure that alternative provision got additional support, so the Covid catch-up fund was triple the Lord Whitty (Lab) [V]: My Lords, given the dangers amount put into mainstream provision—£240 per pupil to pedestrians, particularly disabled pedestrians, how rather than £80. An additional £730 million has been come there are scooters on the pavement within a few put into the high-needs budget this year.The Government hundred yards of the Palace of Westminster and elsewhere, are acutely aware that in these settings are some of our when it is against the law to be on the pavement most vulnerable young people. I also draw attention to anywhere? How come there have been so few prosecutions the amazing staff who, during the pandemic, did much and that you are still allowed to buy and sell these to protect them. scooters when, in the trial areas, you must use those provided by designated renters only? Baroness Blower (Lab) [V]: My Lords, I salute my noble friend Lady Lawrence on Stephen Lawrence Baroness Vere of Norbiton (Con): I have probably Day. In a statement at its recent conference, the NEU addressed many of the issues that the noble Lord said that it is a symptom of poverty and racism that points out. I will take that point about enforcement the majority of those in pupil referral units are working- and what more we can do back to the Home Office. class and black students. Does the Minister agree that, E-scooters should never be on the pavement, as is the as the pandemic has laid bare the extent of racial case with bicycles. The OECD’s international transport inequality, to begin to tackle this in education schools forum analysed various global studies of e-scooter safety need resources to prevent exclusions, including smaller and concluded that they are broadly equivalent to cycles. classes and engaging a flexible curriculum, and much That may or may not be reassuring to the noble Lord. more investment in pastoral systems? 1957 Covid-19: Pupil Referral Units[22 APRIL 2021] Covid-19: Pupil Referral Units 1958

Baroness Berridge (Con): My Lords, the cohort provision. The AP settings are part of the SEND review within alternative provision is incredibly mixed, and so that they can be considered together. We recognise only just over 40% of those in such settings have been that this is often not the most appropriate place for permanently excluded from mainstream education. Of young people to end up, and we will look at how to those, 70.7% are white British, an overrepresentation, change the dynamic that is operating. since 65.4% of the population is white British. However, the noble Baroness is right that 3% are of black-Caribbean Lord Hastings of Scarisbrick (CB): My Lords, given heritage, while they represent only 1% of the population. the proven likelihood that PRUs can be highways to Also, 3.7% in alternative provision are Asian, while hopelessness, driving vulnerable young people towards 11.4% of pupils are of British-Asian heritage. Who is long-term criminality, what is the Government’s currently in alternative provision is a complex picture. assessment of why PRUs tend not to lead to successful educational and social outcomes? Also, given the The Lord Bishop of London: My Lords, we welcome opportunities of the Oasis Restore secure school, funded the increased level of catch-up funding for pupil referral by the Ministry of Justice and opening in Medway units, but will the Minister tell the House how the next year,how involved will the Department for Education Government will ensure that the funding alleviates the be in defining and inspecting the curriculum, as well as pressure on staff and students that they faced during underpinning the well-being of all those educated in the pandemic? this new, remarkable school?

Baroness Berridge (Con): My Lords, as mainstream Baroness Berridge (Con): My Lords, our aspirations state-funded provision, the staff costs are still paid are the same for all young people, regardless of where regardless of attendance. The initial feedback is that they are being educated, but it is true that some young the £7.1 million in transition funding, which enabled the people who end up in alternative provision are, for staff to ensure that AP ends at 16 and there is a successful instance, of secondary school age but with only a transition into post-16, was successful. We are looking primary school reading age. Therefore, the classic at whether that can be extended for a further year. traditional measures of educational performance must be looked at in terms of the progress which that young Lord Polak (Con): My Lords, Stephen Lawrence’s person can make. Many of the AP settings are acutely memory should be for a blessing. I commend JW3’s aware of the safeguarding of their students. Many Gateways programme, which provides integrated work closely with the 18 violence reduction units to education and vocational provision for vulnerable young safeguard their pupils, and I will write to the noble people and those experiencing mental health challenges Lord about the first secure school, which is within the within the Jewish community. Additionally, the trustees Ministry of Justice’s provision. of JW3 should be congratulated, since they are in the process of establishing the first PRU in the Jewish community after consulting a wide range of Jewish Lord Watson of Invergowrie (Lab) [V]: My Lords, I schools in north-west London that are desperate for add my tribute to my noble friend Lady Lawrence of such a PRU to exist. Can the Minister consider how Clarendon, for the great strength of character that she the department could assist the trustees to ensure that has shown following the callous murder of her son, the new PRU becomes a centre of excellence? and for the work that she has done in establishing the Stephen Lawrence Charitable Trust. Baroness Berridge (Con): My Lords, it is pleasing to Many pupil referral units have been forced to cut hear of that kind of community response to these services for vulnerable and disadvantaged pupils because issues. Noble Lords may remember that there are, of of the severe reduction in funding following the drop course, non-maintained special schools, which apparently in referrals during the pandemic. There is real concern include some alternative provision. Many of those in the sector that the increased level of recovery funding that remain are Jewish or Catholic in their religious ethos, for PRUs announced by the Government is unlikely to but it is open to any community to open a registered be sufficient to meet the anticipated surge in demand. provider within the independent sector. I will be pleased Does the Minister accept that the Government must to write to my noble friend to outline how that might heed those concerns and review the per-pupil element be possible within the state-funded alternative provision of the funding formula to ensure consistency and sector. parity of funding with mainstream schools?

Baroness Garden of Frognal (LD): My Lords, PRUs Baroness Berridge (Con): My Lords, obviously some cater for some of the most disadvantaged, disturbed young people are dual registered, so they are mainstream and sometimes dangerous students. I taught in one for as well as AP funded. During the two formal lockdowns a while, and it was an unforgettable experience. The when schools were closed, the guidance from the NEU found that there was a 17% rise in the number of department to local authorities was that they should pupils with education, health and care plans in pupil pay the top-up element that they pay to these provisions. referral units last year. How are the Government ensuring If a pupil referral unit that is still an LA-maintained that every child with an EHCP is being educated in the unit is in financial difficulty, obviously it goes to its most appropriate setting for them? local authority; in relation to the other alternative provision—the just over 40% of the sector that is Baroness Berridge (Con): My Lords, there is a very academised—I can assure the noble Lord that we are high level of those with not only EHCP but SEND keeping a close watch on the financial situation of that generally.Around 80% end up in some form of alternative provision. 1959 Covid-19: Pupil Referral Units[LORDS] Transparency of Lobbying Etc. 1960

Lord Addington (LD): My Lords, does the Minister Lord True (Con): My Lords, the noble Lord asks a accept that many children who end up in these units wide range of questions there. In my contention, I come from backgrounds where they do not have believe that we have very high standards of integrity in supportive families and people who are keen on education? public life in this country, and indeed in our Civil Does the Minister also accept that these are the groups Service.But wherever there is the possibility of wrongdoing in which undiagnosed special educational needs—I it should be investigated, and where it is uncovered it remind the House of my declared interests in this should be addressed. The Boardman review has been field—do not get spotted until much later, if at all, and announced, and that work will be taken into account probably in the prison system? Do the Government in any relevant post-legislative scrutiny work that is have any process by which to pick up on the backlog continuing. of identification caused by the pandemic and the missed school experience? Baroness Hayter of Kentish Town (Lab): I am back. On 13 January 2014, an amendment from the noble Baroness Berridge (Con): My Lords, it is precisely and learned Lord, Lord Hardie, my noble friend Lady for those reasons that we must consider AP in the Royall and me would have extended the lobbying Bill context of the SEND review and work out why some to include in-house lobbyists and so cover, for example, conditions are not being spotted early enough. For David Cameron’s lobbying on behalf of Greensill. His instance, it seems that in an all-through setting—we then Government defeated that amendment by 185 to now have some all-through schools—spotting it in 218—two Not-Contents, of course, being from the early years or reception is vital to the educational noble Lords, Lord True and Lord Tyler. In the light of progress of those young people. As I have outlined, we recent events, will the Minister now support a full need to look at why so many young people with these register of all professional lobbyists? Will he take it needs are ending up in alternative provision and with from me that we will judge the forthcoming Queen’s late diagnosis of conditions. Speech on whether it includes measures to outlaw the invidious, secret, back-channel lobbying that is so The Lord Speaker (Lord Fowler): My Lords, the time undermining of good governance? allowed for this Question has elapsed. We now come to the fourth Oral Question. Lord True (Con): My Lords, I make a practice at this Dispatch Box of not throwing stones, and I think Transparency of Lobbying, Non-Party everyone in every party should be cautious about Campaigning and Trade Union throwing stones. In response to what the noble Baroness Administration Act 2014 said—I am sorry that she is in her place, but it is good to see her—on the question of in-house lobbyists, it is Question true that the Government did not pursue that in 2014. 12.41 pm There are issues involved. It obviously will be considered currently. Such an approach would require thousands Asked by Lord Tyler of businesses, charities, NGOs and trade bodies to pay To ask Her Majesty’s Government what plans a registration fee of £1,000 a year to write or speak to they have to review and update the Transparency of Ministers. That could be detrimental to the public Lobbying, Non-Party Campaigning and Trade Union interest, but I note what the noble Baroness says. Administration Act 2014. Lord Wallace of Saltaire (LD): My Lords, I take my The Minister of State, Cabinet Office (Lord True) share of responsibility for the last Act. It is now clear (Con): My Lords, the Government are already conducting that we have to extend further the coverage of lobbying post-legislative scrutiny of Part 1 of the transparency activities. Will the Minister accept that these should of lobbying Act, which established the register. The include greater transparency for political think tanks, post-legislative scrutiny was announced in 2020, and including full declaration of their sources of funding? earlier this year Ministers met stakeholders to seek As he will know, Conservative MPs are concerned their views. about the Runnymede Trust. Others of us are concerned about the Institute of Economic Affairs and Policy Lord Tyler (LD) [V]: My Lords, I recall that during Exchange, for example, which declare on their websites the passage of the transparency Bill I quoted Mr Cameron their access to Ministers and their influence over as saying: government policy. “Sunlight is the best disinfectant.”—[Official Report, 13/1/14; col. 29.] Lord True (Con): My Lords, the noble Lord makes WilltheGovernmentnowimplementtherecommendations a further suggestion. Since 2010, with the help of the fromthePublicRelationsandCommunicationsAssociation party opposite, we have brought in a statutory registration to strengthen the Act? As the Minister will know, I and of consultant lobbyists and a new routine of regular my colleagues secured a promise to include special government transparency publications on spending, advisers when the legislation had settled down and to salaries, contracts and tenders. We are implementing examine the case for the inclusion of in-house lobbyists. the recommendations of the Boardman review on Given the widespread public perception of Tory sleaze, procurement. Wehave banned the practice under previous will the Government now take action to ensure that the Governments of quangos hiring lobbyists to lobby the Act recognises the danger of privileged access for their Government. We have made sure that taxpayer-funded prominent political supporters? government grants are not used for lobbying purposes 1961 Transparency of Lobbying Etc.[22 APRIL 2021] Arrangement of Business 1962 and have provided for greater transparency on trade have significantly increased transparency.There is post- unions. We have done a number of things. That does legislative scrutiny of the Act and the Government not mean that more may not need to be done. I accept will be going further to review and improve business that work is ongoing to consider these matters. appointment rules and increase transparency in procurement. We need to maintain high standards in Lord Grade of Yarmouth (Con) [V]: Does my noble public life—I agree with all noble Lords who have spoken. friend the Minister agree that there is a much simpler solution to the lobbying problem than that being Lord Dubs (Lab) [V]: My Lords, does the Minister discussed? What is being discussed would require a agree that nobody should be a Member of either House written definition of what constitutes lobbying or who of Parliament who is a paid advocate for a particular is or is not a lobbyist, which can lead only to endless cause? arguments about interpretation. Is not the neatest and most effective solution to require all civil servants, Lord True (Con): My Lords, we have long had a serving Ministers and spads formally to log all and paid-advocacy rule in your Lordships’ House, and it is any lobbying approaches,however informal, and prescribe a good rule. that they must respond by requiring the lobbyist to “put it in writing”? No one will ever stop people trying Lord Lansley (Con): My Lords, my noble friend will to lobby, so the onus should be on the recipient of any recall that I took charge in the Commons of the lobbying to respond in the correct manner. passage of the transparency of lobbying et cetera Act. In my view it was wrong then and is wrong now to Lord True (Con): My Lords, I agree that transparency include in-house lobbyists, because many thousands is important; that has been a standard across the House. of people working in companies will have to register Ministers’ and Permanent Secretaries’ appointments simply to speak on behalf of their own company. are published. Obviously, there is ongoing review of My noble friends Lord Grade and Lord Norton of this work, not only by the Government but by a Louth have it right. There has never been a sufficient number of parliamentary committees. I am sure what level of openness about who Ministers receive lobbying my noble friend said will be noted. from, or indeed receive any communication from. That should be published. It was not sufficient then and Lord Sikka (Lab) [V]: My Lords, while it is right to it is not sufficient now. constrain the power of lobbyists and former Ministers renting themselves out, the real cancer at the heart of Lord True (Con): My noble friend puts his finger on our politics is corporate money and power, which fund a key issue that I alluded to in my reply to the noble political parties and legislators to gain unfair advantage Baroness opposite,in terms of the scale of the undertaking in public policy-making. Is the Minister concerned? If that would be required. I agree—government publishes so, what legislation will he propose? data on meetings between Ministers, Permanent Secretaries and external interests. Regulation must Lord True (Con): The noble Lord is the antithesis to balance the need for transparency on third-party lobbyists capitalism. The remarkable success of private companies while not preventing engagement by the voluntary and in procuring vaccines for the safety of our people is private sector. These issues require and will receive something for which I am profoundly grateful. very careful consideration. I can assure all noble Lords that the matter of integrity in public life is something Baroness Barker (LD): What changes will be made that this Government take profoundly seriously. to the code about lobbying for government contracts directly via a Minister’s WhatsApp account and text? The Lord Speaker (Lord Fowler): My Lords, the time allowed for this Question has elapsed and it brings Lord True (Con): My Lords, all these matters are Question Time to an end. currently under review.I declare myself guilty occasionally of sending and receiving WhatsApp messages, in common Arrangement of Business with millions of other people in this country. I wonder Announcement of Recess Dates which is the way to the guillotine. 12.52 pm Lord Norton of Louth (Con) [V]: My Lords, my The Earl of Courtown (Con): My Lords, on behalf question complements that of my noble friend Lord of my noble friend the Chief Whip, I thought this Grade. Given that the 2014 Act did not increase would be a convenient time to confirm the plan for transparency and was focused not on lobbying but on the Summer Recess. Subject as is always the case to the lobbyists—the people, not the activity—will my noble progress of business, we will rise for the summer in the friend commit to looking at ways to ensure that details conclusion of proceedings on Thursday 22 July and of all representations made to government on Bills return on Monday 6 September. A copy of these dates and ministerial policies are released at the same time will be made available in the Royal Gallery. Further that those Bills and policies are published? recess dates will be confirmed in due course.

Lord True (Con): Again, my Lords, the noble Lord 12.53 pm raises a specific point, as have a couple of other noble Lords who have spoken. I repeat that the Government Sitting suspended. 1963 Russia: Alexei Navalny [LORDS] Russia: Alexei Navalny 1964

Russia: Alexei Navalny financing and corruption. On the specific issue of the Private Notice Question Russia report, among other steps, I assure him that we will introduce new legislation to provide Security Service 1 pm and law enforcement agencies with the tools that they need to tackle the evolving threat. On visas, we are Asked by Lord Walney reviewing all tier 1 visas granted before 5 April 2015. ToaskHerMajesty’sGovernmentwhatrepresentations they have made to the government of Russia regarding Baroness Northover (LD): My Lords, what liaison the treatment of imprisoned Russian opposition are the Government having with our European allies leader, Alexei Navalny. over Mr Navalny’s case? Does he agree that we must ensure that sanctions are comprehensive and effective, The Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and and that at the moment they are neither? Development Office (Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon) (Con): My Lords, on 19 April the Foreign Secretary underlined Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon (Con): My Lords, as the that Russia is responsible for Alexei Navalny’sdeteriorating noble Baroness will be aware, the sanctions that have health, and that Mr Navalny must be given immediate already been imposed on the individuals that I mentioned access to independent medical care and released from in my response to an earlier question were done in his politically motivated detention. We continue to raise conjunction with our European Union partners. We Mr Navalny’s case regularly with Russia, most recently continue to sustain those sanctions. I think the fact through the British embassy in Moscow on 15 April, that Russia has taken note and looks to react to this and to work with partners to hold Russia to account shows the effectiveness of those tools. I repeat once again, in multilateral fora, including via the OPCW. and I know the noble Baroness agrees, that whatever we do with sanctions we must continue to work with Lord Walney (Non-Afl): I thank the Minister for our close allies, including those in the EU. that Answer but let us be clear what is happening here: Vladimir Putin is directing the slow murder of his Lord Garnier (Con): My Lords, I agree with the main rival as the world looks on. This is not simply an noble Lord, Lord Walney, and the noble Baroness, internal matter. The Russian troops amassed on the Lady Northover. I want to ask a question that is a Ukraine border point to the consequences of letting variant of the one that I asked on Monday about Putin think he can trample on the rule of law without Hong Kong: what practical and effective steps can the comeback. Will the Government undertake to increase United Kingdom take, both alone and with our allies, thenumberof individuals—Putin’scronies—beingsanctioned to ensure that, first, Mr Navalny is not murdered or by the UK every day until Mr Navalny is released? left to die in prison; secondly, that Russia’s nascent democracy is not snuffed out; and, thirdly, that the Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon (Con): My Lords, I Russian Government are not tempted to distract from agree with the noble Lord. It is a rather perverse their domestic, political and economic problems by foreign situation, with the ruling of 2 February meaning that adventures calculated to destabilise their neighbours? the very person fighting for democratic rights, who was himself a victim of a direct attack by the Russian Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon (Con): My Lords, my state, is now being imprisoned. I agree about increasing noble and learned friend raises some important points. pressure and we are doing just that bilaterally and I assure him that the United Kingdom is taking actions through multilateral fora. On the specific issue of quite directly, including, as I have alluded to, with sanctions, I cannot speculate on the future but, as the sanctions, which include asset freezes and travel bans. noble Lord will acknowledge, we have already taken We are acting with our key partners to ensure that a quite specific sanctions against six individuals and an clear message is sent to the Russian state, most recently institution because of the poisoning of Alexei Navalny. on 19 April. The Foreign Secretary issued a statement asking for the immediate release of Mr Navalny from Lord Collins of Highbury (Lab): My Lords, Alexei detention. We are working through key multilateral Navalny’s life is in danger for his campaign against organisations. The UK led a G7 statement. Today we corruption. Up to half of all money laundered out of are awaiting statements due to be issued as a response Russia is still done through the United Kingdom. We at the OCPW. There are OSCE statements today on have a responsibility, yet there has been no action on Mr Navalny and media freedom, and a European human golden visas nor powers to sanction corrupt officials rights ambassadors statement today covering this issue. and, three years after the Salisbury attack, the Government have failed to fully implement anyof the recommendations Lord Wigley (PC) [V]: My Lords, will the Minister set out in the Russia report. Also, is the Minister not spell out in detail what new steps are being taken to concerned that, from when David Cameron became stop money laundering from Russia through London? leader of his party, almost £5 million has been received That, more than anything, will probably hit hardest by it in Russian-linked donations? those who need to have their minds focused by this outrageous issue. Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon (Con): My Lords, as the noble Lord is aware, we are taking quite specific steps Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon (Con): My Lords, I have to fight corruption and illicit finance. Indeed, he will already detailed some of the steps that we are taking be aware that we are in the process of looking at and will continue to take. I agree with the noble Lord broadening the sanctions application to include illicit that far too much of such money comes through the 1965 Russia: Alexei Navalny [22 APRIL 2021] Arrangement of Business 1966

City of London, and we must seek to ensure the robustness particularly good image if people die in custody, as I of our regime so that such illicit finance and money found out when I served in the European Parliament does not pass through our country’s capital. and Bobby Sands died?

Lord Campbell of Pittenweem (LD): My Lords, while Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon (Con): My Lords, on I acknowledge, as we must, that Mr Navalny is a the noble Lord’s second point, it was particularly political prisoner, does the Minister none the less accept interesting to hear the Russian Ambassador on UK the relevance of the proposition that media saying that Russia would do its utmost to “the treatment of crime and criminals is one of the most unfailing ensure that that would not happen. On the specifics of tests of the civilisation of any country”?—[Official Report, Commons, the earlier question, I acknowledge that all the questions 20/7/1910; col. 1354] I get from the noble Lord, Lord Collins, are extremely If so, he will be in very good company; it was first good and challenging and that is the way it should be. articulated by Winston Churchill in July 1910. I alluded to the fact that we have taken specific actions, including the review of tier 1. In pointing to the future, Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon (Con): My Lords, I agree. I have said that there will be specific legislation and Further, I agree with the great, respected and revered when that is timetabled I will, of course, share that Winston Churchill. with my noble friend and your Lordships’ House.

Lord Cormack (Con): My Lords, following the point Lord Mackenzie of Framwellgate (Non-Afl) [V]: My made by the noble Lord, Lord Walney, when he asked Lords, the mistreatment of Alexei Navalny on what his Question, why do we not take sanctions against a appear to be trumped up charges ironically mirrors given number of people every week until Navalny is the treatment of Mr Magnitsky himself, after whom released from his appalling jail? Although we know the sanctions are named, and could end with the same that the Russians veto things at the Security Council, result. Resolute and firm action is required in conjunction that is no reason for not having an internationally with our many democratic allies throughout the world. publicised debate on this issue. Can the Minister confirm that such discussions are taking place and that the message is given to Russia in Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon (Con): My Lords, on my no uncertain terms that such behaviour has consequences? noble friend’s second point, we are doing just that, if not necessarily at the UN Security Council. I mentioned Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon (Con): My Lords, I the OPCW earlier. There is a specific debate with the agree with the noble Lord and assure him that such Russians, in a constructive fashion, saying: “There was discussions are taking place. We have seen co-ordination a poisoning of Mr Navalny. Answer the case.” The through the OSCE, work through the G7 and today at Russians have not been forthcoming. On the issue of NATO there was a statement on a related subject: the sanctions every day or what may happen in future, expulsions by the Czech Republic of the Russian there are good reasons why we do not speculate, one of diplomats implicated in actions there. The individuals which is that an evidential threshold needs to be met. identified by the Czech Republic are the very same Anyone or any institution that is sanctioned has the ones who carried out the Salisbury attack, so there is a right to appeal, and we need to ensure that the sanctions lot of co-ordination. we impose are robust. Let us not forget that it is not just the international Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick (Non-Afl) [V]: My community. We have seen protests in 100 cities across Lords, UN human rights experts have urged Moscow Russia. The protests continue to be suppressed. We to let Alexei Navalny be medically evaluated abroad. also need to stand up for the people of Russia: they Can the Minister confirm what discussions are being are also asking for Alexei Navalny to be released. It is held with the United Nations to ensure that all pressure about time the Russians listened not only to the is put on Moscow to allow an external medical evaluation international community but to their own citizens. to take place? The Deputy Speaker (The Earl of Kinnoull) (Non-Afl): Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon (Con): My Lords, there My Lords, all supplementary questions have been asked. are two points in response to the noble Baroness’s question. First, we are calling for that kind of independent Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay (Con): My Lords, I access to make that medical assessment with our key am afraid we must wait until the time shown on the partners, within the context of our various representative Order Paper for the next business. I beg to move that bodies, such as the UN and the OPCW, as I suggested. the House do now adjourn for two minutes. Secondly, Russia is part and parcel of the Security Council. It is a P5 member. It has signed up to its 1.13 pm responsibilities. It now needs to be seen not just to act Sitting suspended. but to act in this instance.

Lord Balfe (Con): My Lords, the noble Lord, Lord Arrangement of Business Collins, asked some very good questions and the Minister Announcement outlined some measures that may be taken. What is the timetable for undertaking the measures he outlined? 1.15 pm Secondly,one person’spolitical prisoner is not necessarily The Deputy Speaker (The Earl of Kinnoull) (Non-Afl): another’s. Can the Government have a quiet word My Lords, the Hybrid Sitting of the House will now with the Russians and point out that it is not a resume. I ask Members to respect social distancing. 1967 Highgate Cemetery Bill [HL][LORDS] National Security and Investment Bill 1968

Highgate Cemetery Bill [HL] Forensic Science Regulator Bill Third Reading Third Reading 1.16 pm 1.19 pm Bill passed and sent to the Commons. Motion Prisons (Substance Testing) Bill Moved by Lord Kennedy of Southwark Order of Commitment Discharged That the Bill do now pass. 1.16 pm Lord Kennedy of Southwark (Lab Co-op): I beg to move that the Bill do now pass. In moving this Motion, Baroness Pidding Moved by I wish to make a few brief remarks. I would like to That the order of commitment be discharged. place on record my thanks to my good friend the honourable Member for Bristol North West in the Baroness Pidding (Con): My Lords, I understand other place, Mr Darren Jones, for skilfully steering that no amendments have been set down to this Bill this Bill through the House of Commons and asking and that no noble Lord has indicated a wish to speak me to take the Bill up in your Lordships’ House. I also in Committee. Manuscript amendments are not possible want to thank Dr Gillian Tully, the recently outgoing at present. Unless, therefore, any noble Lord objects, I Forensic Science Regulator, for understanding that beg to move that the order of commitment be discharged. this Bill was necessary to support the regulator and place them on a statutory basis. I also want to pay Motion agreed. tribute to both the Science and Technology Committee of this House and of the Commons for pushing for Botulinum Toxin and Cosmetic Fillers this change. I thank the Government, and particularly (Children) Bill the noble Baroness, Lady Williams of Trafford, for Order of Commitment Discharged recognising a problem and supporting this important measure. 1.17 pm I also thank all noble Lords for not being tempted Moved by Baroness Wyld to table amendments to make a good Bill an even better Bill. As we all know, Private Member’s Bills risk That the order of commitment be discharged. falling due to the pressures of time. Clearly, more will need to be done in this area, but this Bill is a big step Baroness Wyld (Con): My Lords, I understand that forward. It will make a real difference in ensuring that no amendments have been set down to this Bill and the highest standards are in place across forensic science that no noble Lord has indicated a wish to speak in services. As we debated during Second Reading, it is Committee. Manuscript amendments are not possible important for victims, defendants and the community at present. Unless, therefore, any noble Lord objects, I to ensure that forensic science of the highest standard beg to move that the order of commitment be discharged. helps everybody receive the justice that they deserve. Motion agreed. Bill passed. Animal Welfare (Sentencing) Bill 1.21 pm Order of Commitment Discharged Sitting suspended. 1.18 pm Arrangement of Business Moved by Lord Randall of Uxbridge Announcement That the order of commitment be discharged. 1.30 pm Lord Randall of Uxbridge (Con): My Lords, I The Deputy Speaker (The Earl of Kinnoull) (Non-Afl): understand that no amendments have been set down My Lords, the Hybrid Sitting of the House will now to this Bill and that no noble Lord has indicated a resume. I ask Members to respect social distancing. wish to speak in Committee. Manuscript amendments are not possible at present. Unless, therefore, any noble National Security and Investment Bill Lord objects, I beg to move that the order of commitment Third Reading be discharged. 1.30 pm Motion agreed.

Education (Guidance about Costs of Motion School Uniforms) Bill Moved by Lord Callanan Report That the Bill do now pass. 1.19 pm TheParliamentaryUnder-Secretaryof State,Department forBusiness,EnergyandIndustrialStrategy(LordCallanan) Report received. (Con): My Lords, I start by expressing my gratitude to 1969 National Security and Investment Bill[22 APRIL 2021] National Security and Investment Bill 1970 noble Lords from across the whole House for their 1.34 pm contributions to the passage of the Bill. In particular, I Lord Grantchester (Lab): From these Benches, it is thank my noble friends Lord Grimstone and Lady a pleasure to thank the Minister, the noble Lord, Lord Bloomfield for their steadfast help, guidance and support Callanan, for the way that he handled this important throughout its passage. I also place on record my Bill and steered it through your Lordships’ House, so thanks to the noble Baroness, Lady Hayter of Kentish ably supported by the noble Lord, Lord Grimstone, Town—my commiserations on the results of the Lord and the noble Baroness, Lady Bloomfield. At the end Speakerelection—andtothenobleLords,LordGrantchester of a long season and Session, it is very rewarding to and Lord Rooker, for their constructive attitude and examine the legislation of the noble Lord, who, with helpful challenges from the Opposition Front Bench his team, engaged so positively with us and the House. throughout the passage of the Bill. I also thank the This resulted in real and productive improvements to noble Lords, Lord Fox and Lord Clement-Jones, for the Bill—especially on new public guidance, the expert their customary ability to ask the most difficult questions panel and turnaround times, among other features, at totally wrong times during the passage of the Bill. being included in the annual report. It would also be remiss of me not to thank some of I am grateful to the Bill team, ably led by Mike my noble friends who have taken a particular interest Penry, and the department, for their exemplary attention in ensuring that we get the Bill right. I am thinking in and courtesy shown to us at all times. The broadcasting particular of my noble friends Lord Lansley, Lady team were excellent and managed our hybrid proceedings Noakes, Lord Hodgson of Astley Abbotts, Lord Leigh throughout without a hitch. I am also grateful to my of Hurley, Lord Vaizey of Didcot, Lady McIntosh and lead and boss on the Bill, my noble friend and colleague others. Lady Hayter, who was disappointed that she could not Noble Lords from across the House have rightly see it through all its stages to the conclusion. held the Government’s feet to the fire in a number of I would not have been able to step up to the grade areas, in the finest traditions of this House, and I can without the support my very able legislative assistant honestly say that the Bill leaves the House in a better in our office, Dan Harris, who, with Ellie Robson, was state as a result of that scrutiny. I extend my particular able to guide me over the hurdles, draft our amendments thanks to parliamentary counsel for their exemplary and take the negotiations with the Public Bill Office drafting and to the clerks and all the House authorities completely out of my clumsy hands. I am very grateful for shepherding us through these exceptional times. to them. The smoothness with which proceedings flow masks Our team is especially grateful also for assistance the sometimes immense and exceptional logistical that came from outside the House—from the Russell operation going on behind the scenes. group of universities, the CBI and the Wellcome Trust, I also extend my thanks to the officials and lawyers as well as the Henry Royce Institute, the BioIndustry within my department, who have worked tirelessly on Association, the Law Society and the Law Society of the drafting and subsequent passage of the Bill, for Scotland. They have all provided insights and appreciation their immense patience in explaining some of the of the Bill’s likely workings and omissions, which difficult concepts to a mere simpleton such as myself. proved invaluable to our attention within the House. In particular, I thank Dr Sarah Mackintosh, Mike A clear feature of the Bill is how co-operatively the Penry,Danny McCarthy,Arash Abzarian, Alex Midgley Minister and his team have worked with us and the and George Kokkinos, who embarked on their NSI House throughout, to understand and accommodate journey before I was even a Minister in this department. the pertinent issues in the Bill from our perspective. Of In my view, they act in the finest traditions of our civil course, there is one clear divergence of opinion between servants, and I am very grateful to them for all their the House and the Government, which we are sending expert help, support and guidance. Finally, I thank the to the Commons for their consideration. For the wonderful Melissa Craig, in my private office, and the achievement of that task, I am very grateful to the front immense Yasmin Kalhori in the Whips’ Office, who is row team, marshalled into a complete scrum by our ever-helpful in feeding forward suggested speaking admiral, my noble friend Lord West, at roll call on Report. notes—not all of which I can use in this House. I am also grateful to my noble friend and colleague I said at Second Reading: Lord Rooker, who guested as a heavyweight on the “This Bill will keep the British people safe.”—[Official Report, Front Bench for the occasion. It is very good to see 4/2/21; col. 2335.] him back in the Chamber and back to good health. In the meantime, we have had lengthy discussions on I trust that the positive engagement from across the fishing, lectures to insolvency practitioners and—in House—including the Lib Dem and Conservative Benches one memorable case—the makeup of a particularly —and the commitment shown by all noble Lords to a hawkish rugby front row. These discussions and others successful outcome, will give the Bill a fair wind to find have made me certain that the Bill will go a long way safe harbour in the Commons. in ensuring that the UK’s defences are fighting fit, both now and long into the future. 1.37 pm I am heartened that, in the finest traditions of this Lord Fox (LD): My Lords, there has never been any House, all parties have recognised the Bill’s importance, doubt that the Bill’s aims were supported across the even if we have disagreed on some of the detail. In that whole of the House, and that has added to the quality sense, it has genuinely been a cross-party effort, and I of the debate from the start. That said, actually delivering am grateful to all noble Lords who have participated. a balanced approach to protecting the UK’s security, I beg to move. while ensuring that the necessary flow of investment 1971 National Security and Investment Bill[LORDS] National Security and Investment Bill 1972

[LORD FOX] noble Lords, Lord Leigh and Lord Lansley—but there will not be interrupted, will be a challenge. The debates are others, such as the noble Baroness, Lady McIntosh. that we have had have underlined the subtlety of that They must have added to the pressure that the Minister challenge. feels: when the noises are coming from behind as well However, the stakes are high. The UK has arguably as in front, it makes it harder to resist. been one of the most open economies in the world, As for the home team, I hope that my colleagues and it is clear that this openness has let through some will not mind if I single out, first, Sarah Pughe in the transactions that, in retrospect, should not have been Lib Dem legislative team, who has done a magnificent permitted. The onus is now on the Government to act job supporting us. Among Members, I would mention in such cases. the noble Baronesses, Lady Bowles, Lady Berkhamsted, The skeletal nature of the Bill has informed quite a Lady Northover and Lady Smith of Newnham, the noble lot of the debate that we have had, and it is clear that, Lords, Lord Bruce of Bennachie, Lord Campbell of from the outset, the Government have sought to keep Pittenweem, Lord McNally and Lord Purvis of Tweed, their options open. To my mind, phrases such as “We and, last but no means least, my noble friend Lord will take things on a case-by-case basis” have popped Clement-Jones, who has been here in support. I hope up too often. So I hope that, over time, there will be thatwedonothavetocomeback—IhopetheGovernment fewer “case-by-cases” and fewer exceptions—because see sense on that amendment. That said, the Bill leaves people need clarity,and that clarity needs to be supported this House in a much better state than it arrived in. by strong communication. People need to understand how the decisions will be made. If this unit acts as a 1.43 pm black box, that will not happen, and investment will Lord Bilimoria (CB) [V]: My Lords, from the Cross definitely be discouraged. Benches I join previous speakers in thanking all the Finally, before the long thank-yous, I apologise for House of Lords officials and the Bill team. coming back to the amendment on Report that set out As we have previously outlined, the Bill has a valid the importance of climate change with respect to and important principle at its heart: the protection of national security. I will say—with all due respect—that national security and the lessening of economic the Minister grudgingly went along with the thesis, but interference in industrial control by hostile actors. only to the minimum extent necessary. Perhaps his Nobody would disagree with that intention, and the natural combativeness prevented him really appraising business community is no different. The CBI, of which or acknowledging the risk. I am president, supports those principles and stands Therefore, before the Minister moves from this Bill ready to help make a success of the new regime. We to his next important project, I recommend that he have heard from a wide range of businesses likely to reads an op-ed in Politico by the NATO Secretary-General, engage with the regime, many of which have complex Jens Stoltenberg, which came out today. In it, he says international supply and value chains and all of which that it is clear that climate change recognise the need for such regimes and already comply “is making the world a more dangerous place”, with counterpart regimes across the world. with, However, to make a success of such a regime in a “rising sea levels and more extreme weather … increasing competition manner that reflects the approach of many of our for scarce resources and fueling tensions and conflict.” international counterparts, the concerns of a wide He states: subsection of the business community should continue “Climate change threatens global security”. to be heard. As I have noted previously, the extra- territoriality of the Bill, combined with no set de minimis Please note, Minister. That should be reflected in the function, could inadvertently lead to a real rise in activities of the new unit. bureaucracy at micro level and slow inward investment Of course, one outstanding issue between us remains, at macro level, so it is critical that the Government symbolised by the flankers here—the noble Lords, continue to engage with business and industry on the Lord West and Lord Campbell—and I hope that the practical application of the regime. The fast-track Minister and the Secretary of State will see some sense processes and expert advisory panels that have been on that. Otherwise we will be back for ping-pong. discussed are a very welcome move. The amendments That said, the passage of this Bill has been efficient, moved by the noble Lord, Lord Callanan, on future and, as the Minister has said, the overall quality of the reporting on the progress of the regime and on Bill has been improved through that process. I commend omitting the 15% threshold for significant control are the openness of the noble Baroness, Lady Bloomfield, also welcome. the noble Lord, Lord Grimstone, and the noble Lord, Business welcomes the Bill, and I give credit to Lord Callanan, who has shown his characteristic empathy many noble Lords who have taken part, including the in the process. The noble Lord listed the very considerable noble Lord, Lord Leigh, the noble Lord, Lord Clement- Bill team and all the support that has delivered the Jones, the noble Baroness, Lady Noakes, the noble Bill, and I second, indeed third, that, because without Lord, Lord Lansley, and the noble Lord, Lord Hodgson them there would certainly be no Bill—and, of course, —I could go on. The more detailed reporting requirements without many of them there would be no unit to make provide more clarity on the average processing or the Bill a reality. decision time for notifications, whether mandatory or I also thank the noble Baroness, Lady Hayter, and voluntary. Business has been concerned about the the noble Lord, Lord Grantchester,for their engagement transparency of the statutory process, so we welcome in this process, and I thank particularly the Members the Government’sreflection of that in the Bill. Moreover, opposite. There are two representatives of them here—the the removal of the 15% threshold for significant control 1973 National Security and Investment Bill[22 APRIL 2021] Terrorism Act 2000 Order 2021 1974 is welcome, as, while such a percentage may represent and young people. The danger posed by terrorist a critical investment in other areas, it is unsuitable organisations varies from one group to another. There when applied to significant control more widely. are those that recruit, radicalise, promote and encourage Looking ahead, the spirit of dialogue that has terrorism as well as those that prepare and commit allowed such amendments to be moved should continue terrible acts of violence against innocent members of to ensure that both business and government are equipped the public. to make a success of the regime. This Bill shows the In the internet age, extremist and terrorist groups House of Lords at its best: it has greater strength by can more easily and rapidly influence those vulnerable far in depth and breadth of world-class expertise than to their recruitment tactics. At the click of a button, any other Chamber in the world. This Bill has seen they can spread their abhorrent world views to other this skill applied on a cross-party basis, enabling this groups in different countries, encouraging them to House to play its role as a revising Chamber to help take up their mantle and engage in violence. We have a change legislation for the better. This can only happen, duty to our allies, as well as to our own people, to however,if the Government are prepared to listen—which tackle those groups that inspire and co-ordinate they have. We are grateful to the Government, and international terror. While we can never entirely eliminate long may the spirit of collaboration continue. the threat from terrorism, we will always do all we can to minimise the danger it poses and keep our public 1.46 pm safe. Lord Callanan (Con): I thank noble Lords for their Some 76 international terrorist organisations are kind words and renewed support for the Bill. Empathy currentlyproscribedundertheTerrorismAct2000.Thanks is not something I normally get accused of—I am sure to the dedication, courage and skill of counterterrorism that the noble Lord, Lord Fox, did not have his tongue policing and our security and intelligence services, in his cheek, so I will take that as a compliment. As I most of these groups have never carried out a successful said earlier,there has been genuine cross-party enthusiasm attack on UK soil. Proscription is a powerful tool for for the Bill and, with the exception of one important degrading terrorist organisations, as noble Lords know. detail, I have been heartened by the House’s desire to The groups we now propose to add to the list of get it on the statute book. The debate has been excellent terrorist organisations, amending Schedule 2 to the and shows the finest traditions of this Chamber. Terrorism Act 2000, are Atomwaffen Division, or I will certainly take up the suggestion made by the AWD, and its alias, National Socialist Order, or NSO. noble Lord, Lord Fox, for my considerable reading AWD is a predominately US-based white supremacist list. My in-tray is very high at the moment, but I will group active under that guise between 2015 and 2020. look at the article he referred to, and I am sure that it NSO is the alias of AWD, has claimed to be AWD’s will enhance my understanding of the subject. For a successor group and remains active. The group’s actions, final time, therefore, I beg to move. which seek to divide communities and stir up hatred, are entirely contrary to the interests of our nation. 1.47 pm Given the wide-ranging impact of these powers, the Bill passed and returned to the Commons with amendments. Home Secretary exercises her power to proscribe only after thoroughly reviewing the available evidence on an organisation. This includes open-source material, Terrorism Act 2000 (Proscribed intelligence material and advice that reflects consultation Organisations) (Amendment) Order 2021 across government, including with the intelligence and law Motion to Approve enforcement agencies.The cross-government Proscription Review Group supports the Home Secretary in her 1.47 pm decision-making process. Her decision to proscribe is Moved by Baroness Williams of Trafford taken only after great care and consideration of the particular case, and it is appropriate that it must be That the draft Order laid before the House on approved by both Houses. 19 April be approved. Having carefully considered all the evidence, the Instrument not yet reported by the Joint Committee Home Secretary believes that AWD, including through on Statutory Instruments the activities of its alias, NSO, is concerned in terrorism and the discretionary factors weigh in favour of The Minister of State, Home Office (Baroness Williams proscription. Although, as noble Lords will know, I of Trafford) (Con): My Lords, this Government are cannot comment on specific intelligence, I can provide committed to taking all necessary steps to protect the the House with a summary of the group’s activities. people of this country. Tackling terrorism in all its AWD celebrates a collection of noxious essays that guises is a key element of that mission. The threat level advocate the use of violence to bring about a fascist, in the UK, which is set by the independent Joint white ethnostate by initiating the collapse of modern Terrorism Analysis Centre, remains at “substantial”. society by means of a race war. This ideology has This means that a terrorist attack in our country is likely. become known as “accelerationism”. AWD’s online The constantly evolving nature of terrorism means propaganda has encouraged and promoted terrorist that we continuously consider whether new action is acts, and this content likely remains influential among necessary to ensure that our response is adapted to the accelerationist terrorist groups. We know that AWD threat picture. There are growing concerns about the has inspired, at least in part, several loosely affiliated spread of extremist ideologies,such as white supremacism, franchise groups abroad, including Feuerkrieg Division, and their pernicious influence, particularly on children which was proscribed in 2020. 1975 Terrorism Act 2000 Order 2021[LORDS] Terrorism Act 2000 Order 2021 1976

[BARONESS WILLIAMS OF TRAFFORD] The noble Baroness carefully spelled out the objects In March 2020, AWD claimed that it had disbanded of the order, and I am grateful to her. I welcome the following pressure from US law enforcement agencies. updating of the names of organisations from which In July 2020, NSO announced itself online as AWD’s we are in danger. If we are to have an efficient system successor. NSO adheres to the same abhorrent ideology of proscription, it is important that it is, first, speedily and has similar accelerationist aims as it did when it updated; secondly, relevant and accurate as far as names was called AWD. Under the name NSO, the organisation and descriptions are concerned; and lastly, achieves has publicly dedicated itself to bringing about white- the object of being preventive. It is the preventive power Governments “by any means necessary”, and it nature of the order that I particularly welcome. is the Government’s belief that it is almost certain that We are referring now to three organisations named “any means necessary” is intended to be understood as in accordance with Section 3 of the Terrorism Act. endorsing violence. Some 24 orders have been laid already, two of them in Our strategy to combat terrorism looks at the full 2019, and in accordance with Section 3, those we wish spectrum of activity. It is absolutely right that this to add are named. I deliberately will not give the includes confronting, square on, the threat from groups advantage of further publicity to the activities of the who call for violence and mass murder, and who one organisation that caught my eye in particular, unlawfully glorify horrific terrorist acts, so that they Sonnenkrieg Division. We are dealing with the activities are prevented from continuing to stir up hatred. When of such organisations today. Therefore, I will not give groups without a physical presence in the UK are any additional publicity to the matters that have already proscribed, particularly groups such as AWD which been set out. I welcome the order very much and have an established online presence, it is important to I support it. consider the wider impact that proscription has. By proscribing white supremacist, accelerationist terrorist 1.58 pm groups with like-minded ideologies, such as Sonnenkrieg Division, Feuerkrieg Division and Atomwaffen Division, Lord Paddick (LD): My Lords, I thank the Minister we underline our commitment to ensuring that the for introducing this order,but I confess to being somewhat UK is a hostile environment for individuals involved confused. Before I get on to that, I pay tribute the work in white supremacist or accelerationist terrorism. that our security services and police do to keep us safe in the face of a substantial threat. Our objective is to ensure that there are no safe spaces online for terrorists to promote or share their On 27 February 2020, the Government brought extreme views. In proscribing AWD and NSO, we send forward a similar order,proscribing the white supremacist a clear signal that the dissemination of the group’s group Sonnenkrieg Division—Sonnenkrieg means “sun online propaganda is unacceptable. The Home Office war” in German—or SKD. My confusion is because continues to work closely with law enforcement, our SKD is apparently the British branch of Atomwaffen international partners and tech companies, including Division—Atomwaffen means “nuclear weapons” in through the Global Internet Forum to Counter Terrorism, German—which is based in the southern United States also known as GIFCT,to collaboratively tackle the spread and is heavily influenced by extremist Islamist ideology of terrorist content online. We know that proscription in that it encourages neo-Nazis to kill and die for the of groups helps tech companies to better tackle terrorist cause. As I said almost 14 months ago in this House, material on their platforms. I believe that there is a the overlap between extremist Islamists, who advocate strong case for the Government to proscribe AWD the violent overthrow of democracy and liberal values, and list NSO as an alias. It will build upon the robust and neo-Nazis is worrying. One of Atomwaffen Division’s action the Government have already taken by proscribing followers apparently sees ISIL as preferable to multi- National Action, Sonnenkrieg Division and Feuerkrieg culturalism and liberal values. Division. As the Minister said, it recruits young people and has been active on university campuses in the United Our message is clear: we will always take every States. Some members of the British SKD convicted possible action to counter the threat from those who of terrorism offences were teenagers. Will the Minister hate the values that we cherish. The safety and security explain why the Government are only now proscribing of the public is our number one priority, and I commend an organisation—Atomwaffen Division—that even this order to the House. Wikipedia says is also known as National Socialist Order, whose British branch was proscribed 14 months ago? 1.56 pm In the Explanatory Memorandum, the Government Lord Morris of Aberavon (Lab) [V]: My Lords, my say that an instrument such as this comments will be brief. As a law officer, I had to take “which imposes duties that are significantly more onerous than before should not usually be brought into force earlier than an interest and advise on many aspects of terrorism 21 days after it is made … However, any significant delay between matters. We are debating a very narrow order, otherwise the laying and coming into force of the Order would alert the I would have raised questions following the Joint organisation to its impending proscription and may result in Committee on Human Rights’ report as far back as pre-emptive action by the organisation’s members designed to 2009-10 on special advocates, who I appointed for the circumvent the provisions of TACT and/or the criminal law.” first time.I chose them very carefully.The Joint Committee Can the Minister explain, given that the British branch was critical of their ability to operate properly. I would of Atomwaffen Division was proscribed 14 months have asked for an update, but I presume that they are ago, and that the National Socialist Order is named in still there and there will be another occasion when Wikipedia as an alias, why it would come as a surprise I can seek to do this. to anybody that the parent organisation is now being 1977 Terrorism Act 2000 Order 2021[22 APRIL 2021] Integrated Review of Security Etc. 1978 proscribed? The only surprise is that the parent first and then changing to something different, but it is organisation, the British branch of which was proscribed fair to ask why they were not all captured at the same 14 months ago, is only now being proscribed. time. I accept that the Home Secretary has to look at a I accept that one of the factors considered by the number of factors, and perhaps that is the reason why, Secretary of State is the extent of the organisation’s but that is the only question I have for the Minister. presence in the UK, but another is the need to support We very much support and welcome the order today, international partners in the fight against terrorism. and offer the Government our full support. Surely, the United States of America is one of those partners. Bearing in mind that Atomwaffen Division 2.05 pm is based in the southern United States, why was it not Baroness Williams of Trafford (Con): My Lords, I proscribed at the same time as the British branch of thank all noble Lords who have spoken in favour of the same organisation, the Sonnenkrieg Division, this proscription. The noble and learned Lord, Lord 14 months ago? Indeed, the Explanatory Memorandum Morris of Aberavon, made the pertinent point that says: these actions are preventive—and, my goodness, the “The Home Secretary believes that AWD is almost certainly security services have certainly prevented some terrorist now operating under the name NSO in the United States” action over the last few years. Like the noble Lords, in the same way as Atomwaffen Division was operating Lord Paddick and Lord Kennedy, I pay tribute to them. in United States between 2015 and 2020. Yet it is only The noble Lords, Lord Kennedy and Lord Paddick, now that Atomwaffen Division is being proscribed—more pressed me on why we are bringing these measures than a year since it claimed to have disbanded following forward now. Obviously, there is information that the pressure from US law enforcement. Home Secretary receives that I cannot discuss, and she Of course, we support this order, but we also have will make decisions based on the intelligence and legal serious questions as to why it has taken so long to information that she receives. On the point made by proscribe Atomwaffen Division and its alias, National the noble Lord, Lord Paddick, we do not think that Socialist Order. SKD was actually the British branch of AWD. It might have been influenced by AWD, but we understand 2.02 pm that it is not the same group. They are all equally awful, but we do not think that those links are there. Lord Kennedy of Southwark (Lab Co-op): My Lords, With that, I beg to move. on behalf of the Official Opposition, I want to make it very clear that we offer our full support to the Government on all matters of national security and public safety Motion agreed. and in ensuring that the public and our communities are safe. Combating terrorism, no matter where it comes 2.06 pm from, will always have the full support of these Benches. Sitting suspended. It is right that the organisation before us today is outlawed, and we welcome and support this order proscribing it. It sends a strong message that racism, Arrangement of Business fascism and the glorification of terrorism will simply Announcement not be tolerated on our streets and in our society. Like others, I pay tribute to our security services, the 2.15 pm counterterrorism police and others for all the work they do to keep us and our communities safe. We will The Deputy Speaker (Lord McNicol of West Kilbride) never know all the work they do to keep us safe and we (Lab): My Lords, the Hybrid Sitting of the House will very much thank them for that. now resume. I ask Members to respect social distancing. The time limit for the following debate is five hours. This order will give some clarity and direction to the counterterrorism police for the work that they do. As the Minister set out, this organisation—Atomwaffen Integrated Review of Security, Defence, Division or AWD—is a white supremacist organisation. Development and Foreign Policy In recent years, we have seen a proliferation of these organisations and groups turning up in the UK, and it Motion to Take Note is right that we deal with them. Just hearing what the Minister has told us is disturbing enough, along with 2.15 pm the material that they write about bringing about a Moved by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon “white ethnostate” instigated by the collapse of society through a race war. Everything we stand for as British That this House takes note of the Integrated citizens—our country and our values—is opposed to Review of Security,Defence,Development and Foreign these ideas. It is vile propaganda, and I am delighted Policy. that the organisations will be outlawed today. The noble Lord, Lord Paddick, made a fair point The Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and about the different forms of the organisation, asking Development Office (Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon) (Con): why we did not deal with all of them at the same time. My Lords, I am grateful for the opportunity to open If the Minister could help us out, it would be interesting this important debate in your Lordships’ House on the to hear the explanation. I accept that the organisations integrated review of security, defence, development try to change—like a chameleon—by having one name and foreign policy. 1979 Integrated Review of Security Etc.[LORDS] Integrated Review of Security Etc. 1980

[LORD AHMAD OF WIMBLEDON] cyberspace and space, while protecting and strengthening As noble Lords will be aware, the Prime Minister democratic values. We will promote trade, because it published the review on 16 March this year. It is the creates jobs and prosperity at home and abroad and product of more than a year’s work across government offers the developing world a more compelling model in consultation with a huge range of academics, allies of growth. We are also pursuing a values-driven trade and external organisations. It is the most comprehensive policy to make the world stronger, safer and more articulation of foreign policy and approach to national prosperous. In less than two years, we have already security published by a British Government in decades. secured trade agreements with 66 countries, and we It also sets out the Prime Minister’s vision for a have signed a trade and co-operation agreement with stronger and more prosperous union in 2030 and our allies and neighbours in the European Union. We outlines the actions we will take at home and abroad are also very much deeply committed to multilateralism. to realise that vision. The United Kingdom is proud to have played its part, The integrated review outlines how the nature and both as one of the UN’s founding members and as a distribution of global power is changing. It identifies permanent member of the Security Council. Indeed, evolving trends in the world that will shape the next noble Lords will recall that, earlier this year, we hosted decade, including geopolitical and geo-economic shifts, Secretary-General Guterres and his team—in what such as China’s increasing power and assertiveness turned out to be, unfortunately, a virtual visit—to and the growing importance of the Indo-Pacific region, mark the end of UN 75. which are subjects we discuss quite regularly in your Thirdly, we will defend the British people by taking Lordships’ House; the increasing competition between a more robust approach to security and deterrence, by states over interests, norms and values, with authoritarian defending British people abroad and by building up states and malign actors seeking to undermine the better governance abroad. We are increasing our democratic systems and openness that underpin our investment in defence to 2.2% of GDP. Our Armed way of life; rapid technological change in areas such Forces will be more persistently engaged overseas and as artificial intelligence, cyber and data, which is totally better prepared to meet emerging threats with full- reshaping the threats we face and the wide scope of spectrum capabilities, including in space and cyberspace. opportunities that lie ahead; and, finally,the transnational We will take a more integrated approach to government and existential threats to our climate, biodiversity and work on conflict and instability, addressing the drivers health, illustrated so acutely by the challenge of the of conflict such as bad governance and strengthening Covid-19 pandemic. These threats affect everyone the resilience of fragile countries to external interference. everywhere, and they risk reversing decades of shared Finally, and equally importantly, global Britain will progress. be a force for good in the world, building resilience both Faced with this clear analysis of the trials we face at home and overseas as a defence against the threats today and the challenges of tomorrow, we cannot turn we all face. Tackling climate change and biodiversity inward as a country and hope to prosper. We must be loss is now our top international priority, supported, energetic and build alliances to counter and overcome as noble Lords will recognise, by the £11.6 billion we these challenges, demonstrating the full capabilities of have committed to international climate finance, and global Britain. To do this, we will focus on four key our 10-point green plan to reach net zero by 2050. We areas where the United Kingdom can make a difference. will use COP 26 in Glasgow later this year to encourage First, we will grow the UK as a great science and direct action to reach a zero-carbon global economy, technology power. We will ensure that our current to protect and restore biodiversity and to help vulnerable strategic advantage translates into a mastery of the countries adapt and boost their resilience to climate technologies that are central to geopolitical competition change. and our future prosperity, including, of course, areas I mentioned the Covid-19 pandemic; we are working such as artificial intelligence and renewables. To achieve collaboratively with key partners and agencies and the this, we are backing talent and expertise across the United Nations to beat Covid-19 by using our G7 country.Weare supporting scientists,researchers,investors presidency to accelerate equitable access to vaccines, and innovators. We are working with regulators and therapeutics and diagnostics across the world. We are standards bodies to help shape international norms. also seeking reform of the World Health Organization, We are leveraging talent and ideas from academia and but this is not just about calling for reform; it will be the private sector, helping manufacturers take their supported by our 30% increase in core funding over innovations through to market. In this respect, we are the next four years, which will take our contribution to investing at least £800 million to set up an independent the World Health Organization to £340 million. We body for high-risk, high-reward research. The advanced are establishing a global hub to provide countries with research and invention agency will back breakthrough a single source of intelligence on the human, animal technologies and basic research through experimentation. and environmental risks they face. We are growing our global network of innovation As a force for good, we will also continue to stand partnerships, putting science and technology at the up for open societies and democratic values: the values heart of our alliances and partnerships worldwide, and issues that matter to us most, such as freedom of from security to free trade agreements. speech, freedom of thought and freedom to choose. Our second priority is to reinvigorate the international We will continue to defend press and media freedom, order in support of the interests of open and democratic and we will strengthen and promote freedom of religion societies. We will play a more active part in international or belief, including through an international ministerial institutions to reinforce and reshape the international conference scheduled to be held in the UK in 2022. We order of the future, extending it in areas such as were the first European country to announce sanctions 1981 Integrated Review of Security Etc.[22 APRIL 2021] Integrated Review of Security Etc. 1982 against the regime in Belarus, and we have introduced We will do more to adapt to China’s growing impact, measures to ensure that British organisations are not managing disagreements, defending our values, and complicit in, or profiting from, human rights violations co-operating where our interests align—and, yes, that in Xinjiang. More widely, we will continue to promote includes pursuing a positive economic relationship, effective governance, democratic institutions and the while also tackling global challenges such as climate rule of law, including by bolstering our support for change. election observations and by introducing a new global We are clear-eyed about the challenges we face, but sanctions regime on corruption. we are also optimistic about our future. We are an We will use our leadership on international active European country, with a global perspective, development to help tackle global poverty and achieve bringing nations together to solve the problems that the sustainable development goals by 2030. We will matter most to our people, and to improve their lives continue to work for gender equality and our target and those of citizens around the world. of getting 40 million more girls into school in low In conclusion, the integrated review sends a message and middle-income countries by 2025. By creating the about what the United Kingdom stands for as an Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, we independent actor on the global stage. It is our have combined our aid with our diplomatic clout and commitment to work with our allies and partners as a are focusing our spending on where the UK can make force for good. a difference, while delivering on wider objectives that To reflect on the past year alone, we have introduced serve our national interest. a UK Magnitsky sanctions law to target individuals No single country could achieve these objectives guilty of the most serious human rights violations alone; as I have often said from the Dispatch Box, abroad. I acknowledge the contribution of many in collective action with our allies and partners is vitally your Lordships’ House that has strengthened our work important. We will lead by example where we have in this area and built the momentum behind the unique or significant strengths and identify other goals introduction of that law. We took the bold step to where we are better placed to support and work issue an invitation to this country to the people of constructively and collaboratively with our allies. These Hong Kong oppressed by Beijing. Again, I know that alliances will help sustain an international order in that is an important priority for many in your Lordships’ which open societies and economies can flourish. House. We set an example to the world with our The wisdom of this joined-up approach was evident contribution to COVAX, the global vaccine programme during my recent visit to India. From Chandigarh to for the developing world. We have continued to be one Chennai, I sawhow our ambitious vision of global Britain, of the most generous contributors of foreign aid, and coupled with a clear-eyed analysis of the UK’s place in we were the first industrialised nation to set a legally the world, is setting the tone for a productive and binding national target to reach net-zero carbon emissions progressive alliance with a key strategic partner.Increasing by 2050. our engagement in the Indo-Pacific region is a major This is global Britain. The integrated review builds priority that we have identified in the review, including on this foundation. It unleashes our independent foreign through our ambition to become a dialogue partner to policy outside the European Union and sets out our the ASEAN group of nations. vision for the next decade, based on our values and We will also develop stronger partnerships around grounded in the UK national interest. This is our mission: the world. Building from the bedrock of our traditional global Britain as a force for good in the world. I beg to alliances with the United States and Europe, and as move. the leading European ally within NATO, this includes our current work with allies and through NATO to deter Russia, particularly with regard to Ukraine to The Deputy Speaker (Lord McNicol of West Kilbride) de-escalate the situation. (Lab): Before I call the next speaker—the noble Lord, Lord Tunnicliffe—the noble Lord, Lord Parkinson, We also believe in being a partner of choice in the Chief Whip, will say a little about speaking times. Africa, from deepening trade and business links that support quality jobs, at home and across Africa, to working together to champion girls’ education as a Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay (Con): My Lords, as way to unlock opportunity. When you educate a girl, this is a time-limited debate with a large number of you change the future for her family, her community, speakers, I remind noble Lords in advance of the four- her town or city and for her country. minute speaking limit for Back-Bench speeches. We will foster thriving relationships in the Middle East based on trade, green innovation and science. 2.30 pm The UK has had the privilege of serving as Lord Tunnicliffe (Lab) [V]: My Lords, when the Commonwealth chair-in-office since 2018—as Minister integrated review was announced by the Prime Minister, for the Commonwealth, this has been a particular we welcomed it. We wanted it to succeed, to keep our priority for me. The Commonwealth is a constellation citizens safe and to secure Britain as a moral force of 53 sovereign and equal member states and remains for good in the world. But, after its publication, the an important institution in supporting an open and chorus of concern has only grown. To put it simply, it resilient international order. It brings together states is a plan for fewer troops, fewer ships and fewer with a national interest in promoting democracy and planes. There is no assessment of current or future ideals and values that we share, sustaining individual capability, no strategic principles and nothing about freedoms, driving sustainable development and enabling how the Ministry of Defence should be structured to cross-border trade. best provide national security. 1983 Integrated Review of Security Etc.[LORDS] Integrated Review of Security Etc. 1984

[LORD TUNNICLIFFE] the EU never stopped trade with China, or India or For this speech, I will focus on defence, and my Indonesia, and would have given us a stronger base for noble friend Lord Collins will focus on the foreign and tackling China’s threats. development policy components—but, of course, they The review was pre-empted by the merger of the are interrelated. On defence, I start with the Prime FCO and DfID, without having worked out any strategic Minister’s comments. He said that the integrated review reason for this. Then, during the pandemic, which would end what he described as an “era of retreat”. demonstrates how interlinked we are globally, there The review and subsequent defence Command Paper was the decision to cut ODA. Both actions undermine made it clear that the threats facing the UK are our outstanding previous reputation in international “increasing and diversifying”. Despite these promises development and poverty reduction. Much of the review and expanding threats, the review is set to repeat the was clearly written before that cut was decided, and mistakes of the past. this undermines the rhetoric throughout. The Prime Minister even broke an election promise There is something of an industrial strategy here, at by announcing that the size of the Army specifically the same time that we learn that we are not really will be cut by 10,000 by 2025. We urge the Government going to have one. It says that we need to be a science to think again. Former military chiefs, including the and technology superpower. That was at the heart of noble Lord, Lord Dannatt, and the noble and gallant the 2012 industrial strategy and helped to lay the Lord, Lord Richards, have said that further cuts to the foundations for our strength in the biotech sector, but Army would mean that the UK was those cutting ODA clearly did not know how it supported “no longer taken seriously as a military power” the science and tech sector, and that cuts would savagely and would undermine the review’s claims. “damage our relationship with the US and our position in NATO”. See, too, soft power. The review rightly recognises A slew of Navy and RAF retirements have been both the British Council and the BBC. It says: announced. These include “at least”two Type 23 frigates, “The BBC is the most trusted broadcaster worldwide”. well before new frigates will be brought into service, Yet the British Council is closing offices because of Typhoon tranche 1 aircraft and Hawk T1 training aircraft. cuts and the BBC is under systematic attack from the We urge the Government to think again. Government. I will also touch on threats. The review outlines a number of threats to the UK, but fails to present a The review does not even try to define global Britain, coherentstrategyfordeterringthem.Rightly,theCommand which is what the Government say we are post Brexit. Paper names Russia as the I quote: “What Global Britain means in practice is best defined by “greatest nuclear, conventional military and sub-threshold threat actions rather than words.” to European security.” This is evidenced by the build-up of 100,000 Russian Indeed: we have cut aid, threatened to break international troops on the border of eastern Ukraine but, despite law and lost allies. Our effort on their own warning, the Government still have not fully “global leadership on reducing space threats” implementedanyof theRussiareport’s23recommendations, amountstoaUNGeneralAssemblyresolution.Weappointed 18 months after the report was completed. I ask the “the UK’s first Special Envoy for Famine Prevention”, Minister a simple question: why? but cut assistance to Yemen, as Mark Lowcock said, With the integrated review, Ministers are making to the same mistake—responding to increasing threats with “balance the books on the backs of the starving people of more cuts. Of course, we must develop new technologies Yemen”. in domains such as cyberspace and artificial intelligence, The review says that we will uphold human rights, but but new technologies have always been harnessed to we have agreed an unconstrained FTA with Cambodia, strengthen our Armed Forces; they will never entirely despite human rights abuses, in contrast to the EU’s replace the need for boots on the ground. approach. The review says that 2.34 pm “the UK will remain deeply invested in the security and prosperity Baroness Northover (LD): My Lords, we waited a of Europe”, long time for this review. What arrived has some but we have slashed support to the Balkans. There is a extraordinary omissions, contradictions and, frankly, chapter entitled “Arms control, disarmament, and double-speak. The words on the page do not square non-proliferation: our commitment to international with the actions that the Government are taking. treaties”—and then it says that we will increase our nuclear We are, of course, a smaller player outside the EU, warheads. George Orwell would have been impressed. more dependent on the US and their interests and I welcome this review for being useful, as we are buffeted by China. The review says that we are in a better able to hold the Government to account on multipolar world—indeed so. One of those poles is the what they say that they want to do. What is extraordinary EU, and yet there is an EU-shaped hole here. The is the contrast between that rhetoric and the reality of review rightly emphasises that we achieve more by the Government’s actions. working with others. Why then is there nothing here on how we work with the EU properly or rebuild our relationship? 2.38 pm The review emphasises an “Indo-Pacific tilt”. Of Lord Stirrup (CB): I start by saying that the integrated course, this region will be very important for trade, review is a good piece of work. It sets the strategic and challenging with the rise of China, but being in scene well and I agree with many of the conclusions 1985 Integrated Review of Security Etc.[22 APRIL 2021] Integrated Review of Security Etc. 1986 that it draws. There are inevitably areas of detail that should make clear that we place long-term benefit merit more examination and further debate but, alas, over short-term advantage and that we are prepared to there is no opportunity for that today. Given the short face up to the difficulties that this will cause. time available, I shall make just two points. First, despite the much-discussed tilt to the Indo-Pacific, 2.42 pm the review correctly identifies Russia as the most immediate threat to our security. The maintenance of our Baroness Anelay of St Johns (Con) [V]: My Lords, commitment to NATO, the associated transatlantic the International Relations and Defence Committee, relationship and the continued development of our which I chair,has discussed the proposals in the integrated military capabilities, including in new fields such as review. My comments today reflect the views expressed cyber, are therefore crucial. But we will continue to on just three issues. face challenges from Russia below the threshold of We welcome the drive to achieve better co-ordination conventional war. Success with these requires robust and consistency between Britain’s international international responses, particularly among our European departments. Foreign policy should balance the interests neighbours, but such responses will become increasingly and values of the UK. That objective is evident in the difficult to agree, as issues of security become more Government’soverall approach—[Inaudible]— prosperity, entangled with those of trade and supply,and short-term security and democracy. We feel, however, that the national concerns trump regional solidarity.Nord Stream review itself is too broad-brush, failing sufficiently to 2 and its possible effect on Europe’s ability to respond prioritise and give a clear indication of where and effectively to Russian adventurism is a case in point. when the UK will expend both time and resources. That is even more vital at a time when the Government How do we rise to this challenge? The integrated have decided to break the UK’s statutory commitment review says that the UK will work with its European to spend 0.7% of GNI on ODA. The review states: partners “where our interests coincide”. Surely there can be no greater example of mutual self-interest than “We will continue to support stability in Afghanistan, as part of a wider coalition” the peace and stability of our own continent. But our ability to influence our European partners has and: “Under persistent engagement, our armed forces will continue undoubtedly been weakened by Brexit. We are no … longer directly involved in the engine rooms where EU to provide support to the Government of Afghanistan”. foreign and security policy proposals are developed, In the light of the announcement that UK troops will and our high-level relationships with our neighbours leave Afghanistan in September, plus the reduction are subject to the tensions and frictions that will arise in ODA spend, what are the consequences for the from time to time, as a consequence of our divergence Government’scommitments in the review? What priority from previously common positions. These are now will the Government give to support for the Afghan inescapable facts of life that will require determined Government? and sustained effort if we are to counteract them, but We are also concerned by a lack of consistency in the review has little or nothing to say about how this is sections of the report. The tilt to the Indo-Pacific was to be done. heavily briefed before publication, but the review identifies My second point concerns China. The review says: Russia, not China, as “We will continue to pursue a positive trade and investment “the most acute direct threat to the UK”. relationship … while ensuring our national security and values There are some standard lines on support for NATO are protected.” and European partners, but the review offers little on This is likely to prove an almost impossible balancing the importance of working alongside like-minded act and we need to be clearer about the choices we will countries with which we share a neighbourhood. As have to make and where our true interests lie. China economic pressures build, of course we understand patently does not wish to be constrained by the post-1945 why the Government are rushing towards an Indo-Pacific global order. Whether it wants to dictate the course of focus and new partners further afield. However, it is other nations may be open to question; that it wants to essential to nurture our alliances with nearer friends be free of constraints imposed by others is beyond doubt. too. We are now engaged in a global contest to determine There is also a lack of consistency in the approach the rules by which international behaviour will be governed to relations with countries in Africa. The regions of for most of the remainder of this century. The outcome Africa prioritised in the review are not consistent with of that struggle is crucial to our national interest. the Government’s evidence given to our committee The Government have rightly said that the UK about their strategic approach focusing on security in should help to shape those rules, but this will mean the Sahel. There is a glancing reference to the Sahel in opposing China. It will require us to be part of a half a sentence and two brief mentions of Mali, but grouping that can muster sufficient economic strength, that is it. We are not given reasons for the change in military power and technological advantage to influence focus. It is east Africa which is prioritised; this is new. decisions in a way that runs counter to China’s purposes. The case for closer engagement in east Africa would As a proud and modern superpower, China will not not be difficult to make, but the Government simply take such opposition lying down. There will be do not do so. consequences. We should, of course, seek to trade A final matter of concern is the decision to increase with China and to engage with it on important issues the UK’s nuclear stockpile. There could hardly be a such as climate change, but we should also expect our worse time to do so, just months before the RevCon of stances on global governance and human rights to the nuclear non-proliferation treaty.If there is a plausible disrupt those efforts, perhaps severely. Our strategy rationale for that significant policy change, perhaps 1987 Integrated Review of Security Etc.[LORDS] Integrated Review of Security Etc. 1988

[BARONESS ANELAY OF ST JOHNS] Finally, I draw the Minister’s attention to a paper based on maintaining the credibility of our nuclear issued this week by the European Leadership Network, deterrent, the Government should make that case. which pointed out: They have not. Their decision undermines Britain’s “The ability for the leaders of nuclear-weapons states … to leverage to encourage other nuclear weapon states to communicate personally, unambiguously, and with certainty in exercise restraint in their modernisation programmes. all conditions has eroded as their number … has increased” I hope that the more detailed plans which should and technology has evolved. Astonishingly, in an age surely flow from the review will focus better on when any nuclear crisis or conflict could not be contained prioritisation and resourcing to deliver the Government’s with certainty to two states, there are currently no ambitions for a global Britain. Weall need that to happen. multilateral communication lines that can be trusted. All major nuclear risk reduction efforts under way 2.46 pm ahead of the NPT review conference have recommended that the permanent five work on improving crisis Lord Reid of Cardowan (Lab) [V]: My Lords, I will communication technology.What have the Government confine myself to making three points on nuclear done to assist this process? deterrence, a policy I have long supported both inside and outside government. I did not hear the Minister The Deputy Speaker (Lord McNicol of West Kilbride) mention it today, but I have concerns about the review (Lab): Before I call the next speaker, the noble Lord, in this area, some of which reflect what the noble Lord Purvis of Tweed, it might be helpful to read out Baroness, Lady Anelay, has just said. First, page 76 of the scratches so that the speakers who follow them will the integrated review approximates to our present policy be aware and can make plans. The noble Baroness, by saying: Lady Sheehan, has scratched, as has the noble Baroness, “The UK will not use, or threaten to use, nuclear weapons Lady Sugg, the noble Lord, Lord Clement-Jones, the against any non-nuclear weapon state party to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons 1968.” noble and learned Lord, Lord Woolf, and the noble Lords, Lord Sarfraz, Lord Walney, Lord Hannan, However, it then goes on to say, no more than two Lord Berkeley and Lord Desai. sentences later: “However, we reserve the right to review this assurance if the 2.51 pm future threat of weapons of mass destruction, such as chemical and biological capabilities, or emerging technologies that could LordPurvisof Tweed(LD):MyLords,thetellingphrase have a comparable impact, makes it necessary.” isinpartVof thereview.Onpage97,paragraph2,itsays: This raises a question. Does it actually mean that we “‘Integration’ is not a new theme in the UK’s approach to hold open the use of nuclear weapons in response to national security, although the language used to describe it has any form of aggression, including, perhaps, through varied over time.” technology or cyber? Will the Minister explain the Language is important. On development co-operation, meaning of this section? In asking that, I understand the language of a United Kingdom Prime Minister,at the that ambiguity has a part to play in nuclear deterrence start of this, described UK development assistance as but, if ambiguity is stretched so far that it becomes “a great cashpoint in the sky”. ubiquitous, it is in danger of becoming confusing and, That was the message from this Government to the frankly, incredible. That, in turn, then undermines rather world. On page 5, the language on aid is than reinforces nuclear deterrence. “we will return to our commitment to spend 0.7% of gross Secondly, as the noble Baroness, Lady Anelay, just national income on development when the fiscal situation allows.” said, and as my noble friend Lord Browne recently I have asked the noble Lord, Lord Ahmad, three times, and accurately pointed out, by raising the cap on the including today, what these fiscal criteria are, and numbers of our nuclear arsenal we have effectively there has been no answer. The Government either abdicated our leadership role in nuclear disarmament, know and are refusing to tell Parliament—which is an not least by announcing a policy change that runs undemocratic outrage—or this is just more disingenuous completely counter to President Biden’s commitment language that warrants no trust. to reduce the role of nuclear weapons in national Only one part of the integrated review has been security policies.In the integrated review,the Government underpinned by law, and the Government are acting have provided for fewer soldiers, fewer planes, fewer unlawfully in contradiction to it, by halving UK bilateral ships, but more nuclear warheads. Perhaps the Minister aid assistance. How integrated is it, when the Government could tell the House, first, what the rationale is for that say it will be a soft power—as my noble friend Lady and, secondly, what consultation took place with the Northover indicated—but, in the preceding three years, Biden Administration on this change? theGovernmentsaidthesoftpowerstrategywasimminent, We live in an age in which the threats and dangers only for it ditched as Brexit made it inconvenient? are more complex and interrelated than ever before. The Africa strategy that the noble Baroness, Lady Only this week US Strategic Command warned: Anelay,referred to was imminent but was never published. “The spectrum of conflict today is neither linear nor predictable. Theresa May promised that the UK would be the We must account for the possibility of conflict leading to conditions largest investor in Africa. China took note because of which could very rapidly drive an adversary to consider nuclear its strategic debt policy. China noticed even more use as their least bad option.” when Boris Johnson ditched that approach. What is In this context, will the Minister explain how the our approach to investment in Africa? What guides us decision to increase our nuclear stockpile, and to on this? Annex B, on evidence and engagement, says potentially extend the threat of a nuclear response to in paragraph 2 that an apparently unlimited range of conflict situations, is “we undertook a systematic programme of engagement, analysis supposed to strengthen nuclear deterrence? and challenge.” 1989 Integrated Review of Security Etc.[22 APRIL 2021] Integrated Review of Security Etc. 1990

On the breaking of the law and cutting UK bilateral be a “soft power superpower”. That is a noble aim, but aid by the greatest amount ever, the statement is not the problem is that the Government’s actions are true—especially on Yemen. On 3 March, I asked the undercutting it. Take development policy: DfID was a Minister what impact assessment had been carried out great soft power ambassador for Britain; it showed on halving support for Yemen. The noble Lord, Lord that we were practising the values we preached. Reducing Ahmad, refused to answer. On Tuesday, Chris Bold, the aid programme to 0.5% of a smaller GDP means the development director for Yemen at the FCDO, told making more than £4 billion of cuts from one financial the Commons committee: year to the next. It is the speed as well as the scale of “We haven’t done an impact assessment.” those cuts that is going to have such a disruptive Halving support for the poorest people in the world, impact. Since the UK already has some long-term during the worst humanitarian crisis on earth, is a moral commitments to multilateral organisations such as the stain on this Government. Nothing in this integrated World Bank, the burden will fall heaviest on the bilateral review means anything if we can do this without an programmes in countries in desperate need, such as assessment of the impact on them, our global reputation, Yemen, Sudan, Somalia and Syria. I felt that the and our partners, by the resignation of leadership. If Foreign Secretary’s Statement yesterday disguised the one of the richest countries in the world can halve extent of those cuts, but they are inevitable. They will support to the poorest people in the world, there is no mean stopping projects for humanitarian support, moral compass to guide anything else in this review. clean water, education and nutrition. Once staff are We are not just cutting aid; we are cutting co-operation. sacked it will be very difficult to get them restarted. We are not just cutting by half our position as a donor; At the same time, the British Army is to create new we are a less reliable partner to all those we have worked Ranger battalions to train and mentor the armed with to this point. forces of less advanced partners. I fear we risk cutting development spending and increasing military presence 2.55 pm in the same regions, if not the same countries. The Lord Ricketts (CB) [V]: My Lords, I declare my Minister might wish to explain how that is an integrated interest as a strategic adviser to Lockheed Martin UK. approach. I know how hard it is to conduct a review such as this, Thirdly and finally,in two sentences, we are proposing having co-ordinated the equivalent document in 2010. to work with European partners but not the EU. How I pay tribute to Professor John Bew and to all the can we credibly aspire to be a superpower in soft power, officials who produced it. I agree with the Minister science and technology, reshaping the world order, if that it is the most comprehensive survey yet of the we do not have a functional relationship with the EU? UK’snational security challenges.It also gives a convincing We will not have a real national strategy until we can analysis of a world that is fracturing into blocs and overcome this taboo. heading towards systemic competition. I welcome the confirmation that European security,NATO and Britain’s 2.59 pm partnership with the US will, as the noble and gallant Lord Howell of Guildford (Con) [V]: My Lords, Lord, Lord Stirrup, said, be at the heart of our foreign your Lordships should be well pleased by one aspect policy. of this review, because it reflects and draws on two The Indo-Pacific passage turned out to be more seminal House of Lords reports, Persuasion and Power measured than the advance hype suggested. Some in the Modern World in 2014 and UK Foreign Policy in increase in diplomatic activity, economic engagement a Shifting World Order in 2018, which urged policymakers and military presence makes sense, but we have to be and the then Foreign & Commonwealth Office to realistic: Britain will only ever be a secondary player in reappraise the UK’s position in a totally changed world Asian security. The passage on China recognises that landscape. we must treat the country both as a strategic competitor I welcome especially the review’s recommended tilt and a necessary partner on trade and climate change. I to Asia, including not just China but Japan, India and agree that that is the difficult balancing act we need to all the ASEAN counties,in terms of trade and security—a perform. shift which some of us have been urging for decades, I want to underline three areas that I see as main long before Brexit, to what is now by far the most weaknesses in the review. First, it is an impressively vibrant region on the planet. The balanced approach wide-ranging document, but it is not a strategy. The to the tricky China containment issue, which has US historian John Lewis Gaddis defines strategy as already been referred to, is also welcome, instead of “the alignment of potentially unlimited aspirations with necessarily some of the shotgun-like Sinophobia that has been limited capabilities.” served up to us from both sides of the Atlantic, which This review suggests British leadership in a whole China simply brushes off. Almost every democracy, series of areas but, as the noble Baroness, Lady Anelay, and almost certainly every Commonwealth member observed, it makes no effort to set priorities. In the state, is looking for the right balance in dealing with 2010 and 2015 reviews, we published a prioritised list the Chinese. Incidentally, I hope that New Zealand is of the risks facing Britain, which at least offered some not going wobbly on this need for developing a robust guide to resource allocation. This review is, in effect, a common approach. long laundry list of worthy goals, leaving the real The review is also good on recognising how technology choices to be made by Ministers later. has changed, the nature of warfare and defence—how, Secondly, it is not truly integrated. There is a large in the age of drones, cyber and artificial intelligence, gap between the words of the review and the Government’s troop power will have to be more skilled but with actions. This is clearest in the ambition for the UK to fewer numbers on the ground—and how soft power 1991 Integrated Review of Security Etc.[LORDS] Integrated Review of Security Etc. 1992

[LORD HOWELL OF GUILDFORD] to go for a hard Brexit, which cuts off trade links with and smart power now play a central role in UK foreign the EU, increases incentives to trade with China. The policy in a networked and multipolar world, just as we Government have been using heavy-handed tactics to urged seven years ago. The whole of society is now block the genocide amendment to the Trade Bill and involved in a permanent kind of warfare, requiring the Foreign Secretary has been hinting off the record entirely new kinds of defence, which some critics at double standards in trying to secure certain trade frankly do not yet seem to have grasped. Incidentally, deals. Compromising our common values on China I have to ask why the biggest modern soft power would likely further damage the prospects of close network of all, the modern Commonwealth, which co-operation with the United States. Indeed, at last the Minister has served so supremely well, gets so very week’s US-Japan summit there was pressure by the US little acknowledgement and no serious appraisal in on Japan to decouple supply chains from China. this review until page 61. The concept of Britain punching above her weight Where the authors go wrong is in not understanding also seems nostalgic, especially with a £17 billion the full nature of the changed relationship with the defence equipment budget hole and day-to-day defence United States. There is still far too much of a tone of spending being cut by 2.7% in real terms over the next the old followership with America, rather than partnership four years. Instead of reducing our stockpile of Trident in the network age. The review seems far too influenced nuclear warheads to 180, the Government’s unexplained by US think tanks, with their dated obsession with intention is to increase the cap to 260—a violation great power dominance and rivalries. Power, trade and of the UK’s international non-proliferation treaty even dollar dominance are shifting away from the commitments. With the urgent need to invest and West, but not much of that seems to come through in re-equip our health and care services after Covid, how the review at all. on earth can we afford money-wasting spending on Lastly, it has to be asked who on earth decided to weapons of mass destruction when we have enormous put the lifting of the nuclear warhead cap, which goes capability anyway? The Government’sdisgraceful decision flatly against NPT doctrine, in with the publication of to cut foreign aid from 0.7% of GDP to 0.5% will this review. That inevitably distorted its public reception damage the UK’s leadership of the G7 and the climate and its main messages. It really was a very unwise summit later this year. thing to do and spoiled a good, if belated, contribution Britain’s credibility is also being damaged by threats to our reappraisal of Britain’s position in a transformed to our own UK union and by the current dysfunctional world order. relationship with the EU, our largest trading partner and the biggest, richest market in the world right here 3.03 pm on our doorstep. Global Britain? More like parochial, Lord Hain (Lab) [V]: My Lords, as this review sadly shrunken Britain under this Government, sadly. confirms, rather than emerging from Brexit as global Britain, the country now inhabits a kind of diplomatic The Deputy Speaker (Baroness McIntosh of Hudnall) limbo. The omission, at the UK’s insistence, of foreign (Lab): The noble Baroness,Lady Sheehan, has withdrawn, policy and defence from the trade and co-operation so I call the noble Lord, Lord McDonald of Salford. agreement with the EU, together with the failure to agree a trade deal with the US reflecting the Biden 3.07 pm Administration’s concerns about Brexit and its potential consequences for the island of Ireland, mean that the Lord McDonald of Salford (CB): My Lords, unlike Government are left aspiring to a global role without many noble Lords, many allies have welcomed the having secured the alliances or the resources they need. integrated review. I will make just three points from The Government say that they want to tilt their listening to this debate. international relationships in the direction of Asia—a First, the most consequential meeting the United region that has recently provided about 20% of the Kingdom will organise this year—even more important UK’s trade, as opposed to almost half with the EU. than the G7—is COP 26 in November. Our guests in The PM’s cancelled visit to India was planned for this Glasgow are entitled to ask what our contribution is. purpose. However, outside the huge EU single market, This week’s announcement of a 78% reduction in CO2 the UK frankly ranks as a mid-sized power and lacks emissions by 2035 compared with 1990 goes a long negotiating leverage. Britain is just 18th on the list of way to answer that question, but 90% of the combined trading partners with India, a traditionally protectionist biodiversity of the UK and OTs is found in the OTs. economy. What contribution will the OTs make to our climate In view of the current massing of troops at the objectives? Ukrainian border, the review rightly identifies Russia Secondly, I agree with the noble Lords, Lord Reid, under Vladimir Putin as an active threat. However, the Lord Howell, and Lord Hain, and others that raising Conservative Party continues to accept donations from the cap on our stockpile of nuclear warheads looks London-based Russian oligarchs, and it has failed to odd. I understand that a continuous at-sea deterrent implement any of the recommendations of the long- needs us to be able to deploy two boats from time to delayed Russia report of the British Intelligence and time. The new ceiling allows both boats to be fully Security Committee of Parliament, finally published armed. But that does not increase deterrence. It is in July last year. expensive and incompatible with our obligations under By contrast, despite major human rights violations the nuclear non-proliferation treaty. In 1968, the non- in Hong Kong and Xinjiang, China is described in the nuclear weapon states accepted that as their permanent review as merely a “systemic challenge”. The decision status in exchange for two things: the sharing of the 1993 Integrated Review of Security Etc.[22 APRIL 2021] Integrated Review of Security Etc. 1994 benefits of peaceful nuclear technology, and that nuclear Furthermore, in Europe we must assert the absolute weapon states would work towards nuclear disarmament. necessity of defence burden sharing. We can be grateful The Government assert that the objective is untouched, to the United States for continuing to pay 70% of but the announcement is a step away from its achievement. NATO’s budget. Without this, our vulnerability in the Thirdly, on organisation, I agree with my noble European continent would be much greater. friend Lord Ricketts that we need institutional The review recognises Euro-Atlantic interconnectivity arrangements with the European Union. Internally, with the Indo-Pacific, where Britain will establish a things are clearer. The merger of the Department for greater presence than any other European country—most International Development and the Foreign and welcome to our friends in the region and the United Commonwealth Office last year was an essential step States. to increase and maximise the coherence and impact of Since independence, India has sought to pursue a the UK’s overseas policy-making and policy delivery. foreign policy not linked to any particular international Cutting the aid budget at the same time has made grouping. India is crucial as an investor in this country. acceptance of this merger more difficult within the I hope that democratic India can play its role increasingly new department, but I still believe that it is the right in protecting the Indian Ocean. Through our enhanced thing to do and that we should go further—I hope naval capability, notably HMS “Queen Elizabeth”, I that, before long, trade will fall under the authority of hope we can work with India to effect this. Additionally, the Foreign Secretary. our ambition to enhance our scientific capacity can be Lastly, I have an organisational suggestion for the shared with the high digital skills base in that country. Opposition. In order to succeed, the FCDO needs I very much welcome the clear emphasis on science everyone who works for it to buy into the new ministry. and technology. Our inventive genius has not always Some colleagues will feel justified in treating it as been matched by subsequent commercial success.Building temporary for as long as there is a shadow Secretary of on this vital area and helping explicitly to combat State for International Development. I urge the Opposition climate change must remain key pillars as we recommit to correct that anomaly. to a more focused role in the world. 3.11 pm 3.15 pm Lord Risby (Con): My Lords, the very first world leader to have a personal meeting with the new US Lord Godson (Con) (Maiden Speech): My Lords, it President was the Prime Minister of Japan. The posture is conventional on these occasions—a maiden speech—to of China has understandably increased nervousness pay tribute to the officers and staff of this House. and alarm in Japan, Korea, Taiwan and elsewhere. Having spent much of my professional career in journalism That meeting underlined the significance of the renewed and think tanks debunking the conventional wisdom, emphasis of our own commitment to the Indo-Pacific it is now delightful to be able to break the habit of a region, but this assessment in our integrated review professional lifetime to sing their praises with enthusiasm also needs to be put in the context of our commercial —the one thing that truly unites us all. I am delighted considerations. to do so today for the welcome they have afforded. Japan chairs the CPTPP,the Trans-Pacific Partnership, The expertise and counsel has been very much appreciated an area of rapid economic growth and opportunity, by me, as I know they are by many other newcomers and is supporting our bid for membership. This is very here, so I thank them for that. important, as we need a strong economic power base I also thank my supporters, my noble friends Lord to protect our own future prosperity and security. Strathclyde and Lord Howard of Lympne—known Japan is committed to a free and open Indo-Pacific well to many here, of course, as a distinguished former region. In the face of the current undermining of the Leader of the House and a path-breaking Home Secretary. rules-based international order, I ask my noble friend Their advice and counsel through years have been how we can assertively promote our own long-standing much appreciated by me as well. I say this particularly commitment to such an international order, given its because one of my noble friends is a hereditary and immense importance. the other a life Peer. There has been some harsh British geostrategy has been largely based on the criticism from the fourth estate, of which I was once Euro-Atlantic theatre.Our newly emphasised commitment part, of both hereditaries and life Peers. I place on the to the Indo-Pacific region does not preclude Britain record here and now my appreciation for the welcome, being at the very heart of the security of the Euro-Atlantic counsel and wisdom of life Peers and hereditary Peers region, where the bulk of the UK’s security focus will from all segments of this House. I look forward to remain—and with reason. learning more and hearing more of their wisdom in I chair the British Ukrainian Society. The massive the years to come. I say this because the caricature in build-up of Russian armed forces on the country’s some portions of the fourth estate and the wider country border reminds us of Russia’s continuing aggression. and society of what has been going on in this House is It is truly astonishing that Nord Stream 2 will increase utterly at variance with what I have experienced. dependence on Russian gas supplies, which have been I say this because I am a Briton not by birth but by operated with pricing mechanisms according to purely choice. I find the caricature of this country in certain political criteria. It is of course most damaging to the quarters of debate as a mean-spirited and bigoted Ukrainian economy, which will now be bypassed. I polity, again, utterly at variance with what I have ask my noble friend, given that the review describes experienced. I place on the record that and the pleasure Russia as the most acute direct threat, how in practice I derived, in the greatest honour of my public life, we can deal with the serious challenge it is presenting? from being able to swear allegiance to the sovereign 1995 Integrated Review of Security Etc.[LORDS] Integrated Review of Security Etc. 1996

[LORD GODSON] Britain’s most highly regarded and influential think and her successors. The welcome afforded in this tanks. We will look forward to his future, well-informed country to a newcomer, an immigrant such as me, has contributions. always rested on my consciousness, and I am profoundly The integrated review is well written, comprehensive grateful for it. and surprisingly comprehensible. The authors have I mention this because we are of course here today done a good job constructing what looks like a coherent, to discuss the integrated review. As its title suggests, ambitious strategy for post-Brexit Britain. In some with one of the words about an era of competition, we areas, such as its focus on domestic resilience, it captures are of course facing competition from really mean-spirited new and important ground. Territorial defence will polities, unlike this country—the critique we hear inevitably matter more in the future, as the current sometimes in certain quarters. I am grateful that Policy invasion by Covid-19 has shown us only too well. Exchange, the think tank for which I work, has, with I can, I fear, make only a few brief points in the its Indo-Pacific report, played its part in shaping debate time limit. First, I believe the review lacks a critical on the integrated review. path—a prioritised route to implementation. A plan Several things need to be said. The report commanded without that ingredient is in danger of being lost in the the attention of many figures in the Indo-Pacific region. governmental undergrowth. It was chaired by Stephen Harper, with a foreword Secondly, the importance of diplomacy is still from Shinzo Abe. Commissioners included several underestimated. Our Diplomatic Service has been Members of this House—the noble Lord, Lord Robertson relentlessly cut back in recent years, yet the rest of this of Port Ellen, and the noble Baroness,Lady Falkner—who review depends on the wise insights and intelligence are here today. Alas, the traditions of this House coming from the Diplomatic Service in the Foreign prevent me acknowledging them in parliamentary terms Office. Reviving and investing in diplomacy will be as friends, but I have benefited from their counsel and crucial for the success of the review. insight through the years. Thirdly, the trade-offs in the defence section between Several things should be noted about impact of the investing in combating the new threats and the continuing Indo-Pacific report and the wider integrated review. ones will remain open to serious debate. If we are to The first is that there was a tremendous welcome from retain our place at the leadership edge of NATO, as the distinguished group of commissioners on the Indo- we aspire to, our contribution has to rest on more than Pacific Commission for Britain’s tilt—to use the term just the 2.2% statistic. of art—towards that region again. The idea that we Fourthly, if we are, as the review asserts, to lead by had become an irrelevance post Brexit could not be example in the world, that ambition will, as others further from the truth. have said, be badly damaged by the cut in the legally Another point that I think has been omitted at mandated aid budget of 0.7% of GNI. That cut is times is that this is not a backward-looking report; it is hardly an advert for a law-abiding global Britain upholding not nostalgic. It is forward-looking, putting space the rules-based order, and it has been widely noticed. policy at the heart of an integrated strategy. Moreover, There is much more to be said about this large and it puts space policy beyond the confines of Europe important review, but more is time needed by all of us and into the UK’s greater role in the wider world. The here and elsewhere to say it. The sooner we get that National Cyber Force is another obvious example, opportunity, the better. alongside a tech envoy to increase our presence in Silicon Valley and beyond. All these things are scarcely 3.24 pm evidence of a backward-looking or nostalgic policy. Lord Alderdice (LD): My Lords, first, I welcome the I look forward to playing a further part in these noble Lord, Lord Godson. It is very good to have him debates and learning from noble friends and noble here, not only for his expertise, but because one thing Lords across the House. Although criticisms have that I think unites Members across this House is the been levelled today, there is still the serious possibility need to improve our reputation with the fourth estate. of dialogue and of recreating some kind of consensus I have no doubt that he will bring to the inside some of for the future. The integrated review shows the potential his experience from the outside and enable us to do that exists there. I look forward to hearing further that. I remind the House of my registered interest as from noble Lords and to learning more in the days the director of the Centre for the Resolution of Intractable and weeks to come. Conflict at Oxford University. I welcome the idea of an integrated review of this 3.20 pm kind and much good work has been put into it. As the Lord Robertson of Port Ellen (Lab) [V]: My Lords, review makes clear, we face extraordinary and difficult it is more than an ordinary pleasure to follow the challenges, requiring complex of approaches to address noble Lord, Lord Godson, making his maiden speech. them properly. However, I found that there was a In Scotland, one of the great put-down lines is “I kent disjunction between two different approaches within his faither”. When I say it today, it is the opposite of a the report. I would like to speak to them in two ways. put-down and instead a recognition of the legendary The first is general. On the one hand, the report—in Joe Godson, who would rightly be so proud of his son some very thoughtful and properly troubling passages— today. The noble Lord made a fine maiden speech. describes how the international rules-based order has That should be expected, as he brings to the House a been breaking down. It makes it clear that, rather like wealth of experience in journalism, authorship and, Humpty Dumpty, it will not be possible to put it back of course, as director of Policy Exchange, now one of together again. However, at the very beginning of the 1997 Integrated Review of Security Etc.[22 APRIL 2021] Integrated Review of Security Etc. 1998 report, one gets the sense that everything is wonderful, action on multiple fronts and the need for a strategy of we are doing marvellously and we are going to capitalise persistent engagement. I regret the review’s lack of on our place in the rules-based international order. emphasis on allies. These two things do not seem to fit terribly well I have more serious reservations about the review. together. It appears that there is a real need to struggle To explain them requires a short digression into some intellectually with putting them together because we military doctrine: specifically, the three subordinate have major challenges. components of what we call fighting power. They are: The second area is more troubling and more the physical component, the means to fight—tanks, immediately so. As I said, the draft by the Prime planes and ships; the conceptual component, by which Minister at the beginning is very positive and upbeat. thephysicalcapabilitiesarecoherentlyemployed—strategy, One can see his very particular phraseology in it and operational art and tactics; and the moral component—the feels like saying “Rah, rah, rah!” at the end of it—until ability to get people to fight, which I abbreviate as the one reads the rest of the report and compares it with integrity of leadership combined with the moral one’s knowledge of what is going on. This is profoundly superiority of purpose. The military doctrine of our troubling. nation believes that the full potential of fighting power I have warned repeatedly in this House that we are is realised only when all three of these components are already into the third global conflict in cyberspace and working in harmony. it is emerging in other spaces too. Let me give two I believe you can apply those components to an examples of the urgency. First, Margarita Simonyan, assessment of this review. The review is pretty good at editor-in-chief of the state-funded Russian media outlets the physical component. Indeed, historically the outcome RT and Sputnik, said that war with the US is inevitable. of many reviews has been judged on that element She believes that the conflict will break out when, not alone: is the right amount of money being spent on if, Vladimir Putin seizes more territory from Ukraine. the most appropriate equipment, human capability or Within the last two weeks she has said that there will departmental activity? Where the review lacks clarity be a kind of war driven by hacking and the forced is in accepting that in the context of our two principle disruption of internet access. She said: threats, China and Russia, our most important weapons “I do not believe that this will be a large-scale hot war, like are not physical ones: rather, they lie in the cognitive World War II, and I do not believe that there will be a long Cold domain. We need a more compelling narrative that War. It will be a war of the third type: the cyber war.” better justifies our sense of moral authority and the Turning now to the second example, as is known, I superiority of the values that we promote and defend. am a psychiatrist, and I have watched with bemusement This is why the moral component is so important, but what I can describe only as the mass hysteria in the I fear it is the moral component of our nation that is response by many leaders, including European leaders, currently damaged because our national integrity is to the question of the vaccine. But the reasons became under threat. Brexit, the state of the union, tensions clear to me in the last few weeks when I had my friends over race, the alienation of politics from society, the do some research. AstraZeneca is being targeted by continued maldistribution of wealth and opportunity, large-scale malign influence campaigns conducted by and sleaze: all these things combine in varying degrees the Russian Federation, using bots to advance its to undermine our integrity, and therefore our moral economic and foreign policy goals.The Russian operation superiority, in a war of ideas. has been successful in having France and others disqualify The review has described some of the conceptual the AZ vaccine from use in their populations. Russia component, but the description is somewhat abstract has been adversely influencing things, as it has been in andshortof explanationastohowideasareoperationalised elections and the gilets jaunes campaign. If we do not in practice. For example, what is the ethical, moral and inform our populations that this is going on, we can legal framework within which we deploy autonomous scarcely be surprised if they do not appreciate it. weapons,harnessartificialintelligence,destroyspace-based targets and initiate or threaten offensive cyberattacks? In the battle of competing narratives about what is 3.28 pm normal and legitimate, how do we successfully attribute Lord Houghton of Richmond (CB): My Lords, time the false claims and illegal acts of our enemies? How is short so I will not waste too much of it on does our political leadership sustain legitimacy for its congratulations. I also think a huge amount of the actions? How much of what is envisaged will be disclosed review is to be welcomed. It presents a largely compelling to society? Does the requisite of government even exist view of the global security context and the defence to fight this war? Who are the architects of the enduring and security challenges we face. I wholly agree about strategy? Who are the authors of the competing political the character of a far more competitive world—one narratives, and how are the narratives disseminated? that exists in a perpetual state of aggressive, but primarily Can the NSC really achieve all this sitting for an hour non-kinetic, rivalry below the threshold of what we every other Tuesday? have previously viewed as formalised warfare. I suppose my fundamental question is: having identified In principle, I do not take issue with the theory of through this review the Government’s best estimate of achieving military advantage through technological the character of future war, have we both the machinery superiority, though I worry that the seductive nature and the mentality to prosecute the necessary campaign of technical novelty has led to a premature gamble on successfully? Are we both ready and organised for a further reduction in military capacity. I suspect that what we have apparently just discovered? My fear is the true state of the defence budget is the reason for that the war has started and that, at least for now, we this gamble. I applaud the further moves to integrate are firmly on the defensive. 1999 Integrated Review of Security Etc.[LORDS] Integrated Review of Security Etc. 2000

3.33 pm I welcome the integrated review. It is a very brave Baroness Armstrong of Hill Top (Lab) [V]: My undertaking by the Government. It is a remarkable Lords, I will start by paying tribute to someone who I document with a very bullish foreword by our Prime know would have been speaking in this debate if he Minister. Of course, it is not just a defence review; it had been able to. Lord Judd, who died last weekend, carries a host of intentions and undertakings in security, spent his life devoted to peace and justice internationally. defence, development and foreign policy. It is going to He would tell me of being with his father, who was the be pretty fertile ground for regular reviews by Parliament first ever director of the United Nations Association of the various aims and ambitions that it expresses. in this country, where he met my father, who had set It has been accompanied by a pretty extensive up a branch in the north-east. Frank and my father defence Command Paper. Ben Wallace, the Secretary later became colleagues in the Commons, and both of State, says in that paper that his core mission is had a driving commitment never to return to the horrors “to seek out and to understand future threats”. of the war that they had seen. In the brief time available, I will raise one threat that is I went to Kenya at about that time with VSO for referred to only briefly in the review, in connection two years, and Frank later became its director. We with the nuclear deterrent, and pick up a theme mentioned both remained strong advocates of that organisation, by the noble Lord, Lord Reid. The integrated review and it is that which inspires me today. Frank was restates the commitment to the goal of a world without horrified at the way in which the Government changed nuclear weapons, but recognises that there is no early the legally binding commitment of 0.7% of our GDP prospect of that, so instead announces the ordering going to development aid and the manner in which of four new Dreadnought submarines to replace the VSO was being treated: the lack of clear decision-making, Vanguards.So,farfromtheplannedreductionof warheads, and arbitrary cuts leading to massive uncertainty and it announces an increase. That surprised me, and I insecurity for all the people involved. However, it is understand the comments that others have made about clearly about more than this. It injures our reputation that decision—and of course it includes the design of a abroad, certainly in those developing countries where new warhead. The review states: promises have been broken and programmes abandoned, “We will champion strategic risk reduction and seek to create and with those countries and organisations where dialogue among states possessing nuclear weapons, and between partnerships have been forged but where the UK is no states possessing nuclear weapons and non-nuclear weapon states, longer able to fulfil its commitments. It is not clear to to increase understanding and reduce the risk of misinterpretation me that the Government really understand the full and miscalculation.” extent of that. It is precisely that risk that I, like the noble Lord, It is of course the Government’s right to reset the Lord Reid, wish to highlight. The continuous at-sea UK’s position in the world, and the report we are deterrent operates in a totally different communications discussing today has many ambitions within it. However, environment now from the safe, secure systems when it these ambitions depend on the countries that we seek originally operated. We are living now in a world with to work with, and the international agencies we want ever-new developments, with cyberwarfare, ever-greater to be a partner in, trusting us and believing that we will organised hacking systems, artificial intelligence, audio stick by our word. That is what is in danger of being and videos called deep fakes and, on the side, an lost. increasing interest by other countries in some of our I welcome the Foreign Secretary’s statement that he undersea cables, which are important to some of our is looking to protect VSO, but what does this mean? communication connections.The risk of misinterpretation Will the budget for volunteers for development be and miscalculation is all the greater, and there is a vital renewed at the original level of £16 million, or will the need for effective hotlines at a top level between nuclear cuts of, in effect, 45% imposed so far on the short-term weapons states. extensions be the extent of protection? Will the I have just learnt that France, as the new chair of Government ensure that the programme, which they the P5 process, has embraced the concept of strategic recognise as one of the most effective delivered by risk reduction and will make improving crisis UKAID, is able to continue without the closure of communication technologies, such as hotlines, a key work in countries where, even during the pandemic, priority for discussion among the five permanent members real change around local communities’ response to of the United Nations Security Council ahead of and Covid-19, protection for women and girls and working beyond the planned review conference of the nuclear with local communities to build resilience against climate non-proliferation treaty this August. I hope the change in the most vulnerable countries have all been Government will give this French initiative the greatest going on despite the cuts? possible support and assistance. There is no question Soft power, as the Government have acknowledged, but that we live a more dangerous world at present, is an essential tool in modern international relations. with the increasingly assertive role of Russia and Organisations such as VSO are the best soft power that China’s activities. It is a dangerous situation and nuclear the Government have. Will they therefore meet a very miscalculation could be catastrophic. No time must be small, cross-party delegation to discuss this issue urgently? lost in addressing that.

3.37 pm 3.41 pm Lord King of Bridgwater (Con) [V]: My Lords, I Lord Empey (UUP) [V]: My Lords, I welcome my welcome my local noble friend Lord Godson and noble friend Lord Godson to the Chamber.He mentioned thank him for showing so quickly the excellent that he has been a member of the fourth estate, as he contribution that he is going to make to our discussions. put it, for many years. Perhaps we will see circumstances 2001 Integrated Review of Security Etc.[22 APRIL 2021] Integrated Review of Security Etc. 2002 where poacher becomes gamekeeper. We look forward Although those words reflect Labour’s criticism of very much to hearing more of his thoughts in the days the integrated review, I want to focus on another ahead. aspect of the review and what it means for the relationship Broadly speaking, I welcome the fact that there is a with the US. In doing so, I shall expand upon one of review. I welcome many of the ambitious proposals it the issues raised by my noble friend Lord Reid. The contains on science and technology issues and cyber meeting took place last Thursday, but I can find no issues. All these things are very important and very reference to what was discussed on the MoD’s website. valuable. We have seen how small a place the world Five days later, the DoD carried a readout, which has become, particularly in the past year when disease makes the usual positive noises about the relationship, knows no boundaries. mentions Russia amassing of forces on Ukraine’s border However, one issue continues to worry me. I do not and an orderly end to the war in Afghanistan. It has a believe that we have succeeded in matching our resources, reference, expanded upon in a terse and matter-of-fact particularly in terms of defence, to our policy objectives. joint statement, to past and continuing consultation We have heard for decades about the black hole that on the review and strategic alignment. exists in the MoD in its equipment and other budgets. There is no reference to consultation with the Biden When the noble Lord, Lord Hammond, was Secretary Administration but rather between the respective defence of State for Defence, we were told that this gap had departments. That difference is not lost on those who been plugged. However, just as the 2010 review proved have been commenting on the gaping disparity now to be a major mistake, I think we are on the verge of between our new nuclear weapons posture and that of making unnecessary mistakes this time. President Biden, who has spoken of a national security I appreciate that we cannot look on defence purely imperative and moral responsibility to manage and in terms of numbers of troops and traditional equipment. eliminate the threat posed by weapons of mass destruction. The nature of warfare is changing, as many speakers UK officials have been briefing on the review in the have pointed out. However, I do not understand the US. One, asked whether the removal of the cap had idea that you can have all these international objectives— been discussed with the Biden Administration, responded some of which I think are very good—but deliver that the Government wanted to report to Parliament them with a smaller army while getting rid of one of first. As our current nuclear posture is more an echo the principal mechanisms for moving troops and of the Trump Administration’s 2019 posture review than equipment around the world, the Hercules transport the aspirations of the new President, was prior discussion aircraft. If we are, quite correctly, trying to re-establish with the DoD under the previous Administration? An a footprint in the Indo-Pacific region, how that is to be increase in the cap on our nuclear weapons stockpile achieved with fewer vessels at our disposal escapes me. to more than 260 warheads is a significant reversal We still have not matched our resources. I do not from the long-standing position on reducing numbers believe that we can deliver these very valuable objectives while maintaining a minimum deterrent force. within a remit of 2.2% of GDP. I just do not think it is Equally concerning to Biden must be that while possible. We have to rethink that all together. I do not Russia and the US publicly declare their numbers, we like budgets that are ring-fenced by percentages: it has will no longer publish details of our operational nuclear to be done on need and on a changing basis. We see stockpile and deployed warheads and missiles. This is that with the development budget, which so many a significant blow to transparency. The justification so speakers have already mentioned today. I feel, to put it far is thin and unconvincing. The review lacks a compelling colloquially, that our eye is bigger than our belly. We rationale for raising the warhead cap. There is a brief have these objectives, many of which are good, but we reference to an have not matched our financial resources to deliver “evolving security environment, including the developing range them. I ask the Minister, particularly on defence, where of technological and doctrinal threats,”— I hope we will have further opportunities for more a reference to Russia’s new and planned nuclear systems. detailed debate, to bear in mind that with a shrunken No explanation is given for how increasing the stockpile military footprint we cannot deliver what are sometimes will provide a more credible deterrent, improve UK very valuable objectives. security or impress Moscow, whose nuclear force will continue to dwarf ours. Now, we reserve the right to threaten nuclear use if 3.46 pm a threat from chemical and biological weapons or Lord Browne of Ladyton (Lab) [V]: My Lords, “emerging technologies” makes it necessary. What does I declare my interest as vice-chair of and consultant to this really mean? This policy shift is not proportionate the Nuclear Threat Initiative. In the other place, Tobias to the threat and under any circumstances is not credible. Ellwood, anticipating the visit of General Austin, the Would the UK ever use a nuclear weapon against a US Secretary of Defense, said: chemical, biological, or cyber attack? An expanded “our special relationship requires work.” use policy for nuclear weapons is directly counter to Predicting warm words about the special relationship Biden’s commitment to consult with allies about moving and our planned investment in towards a “sole purpose” declaratory policy that the “special forces, cyber and space resilience,”—[Official Report, nuclear arsenal is only for deterring or retaliating against Commons, 14/4/21; col. 395] nuclear attacks. he suggested that, in private, Austin would more candidly Coming weeks after the announcement of the US say our navy is way too small, conventional fighting and Russia agreeing to extend New START and to capability should not be cut and nor should the F-35 engage in successor agreement discussions, this flies in order. the face of this new opportunity to stop the nuclear 2003 Integrated Review of Security Etc.[LORDS] Integrated Review of Security Etc. 2004

[LORD BROWNE OF LADYTON] Helmut Schmidt’s tribute, and seek to rebuild trust. arms race. When its closest ally moves in a contrary The fine words of the review cannot do that for us. direction, it presents a significant barrier for the new Only our actions can. Biden Administration. Will the Minister expand on the joint statement agreed between Ben Wallace and 3.54 pm General Austin? When did consultation take place? Lord Bruce of Bennachie (LD) [V]: My Lords, I draw What was the US response to what is universally now attention to my interests in the register of Members’ interpreted as an inexplicable abdication of the long- interests. standing leadership role on nuclear disarmament by Security, defence, foreign policy and development policy change, counter to Biden’s commitment to reduce should always be co-ordinated, but that does not mean the role of nuclear weapons and his commitment to that they must all be in one department, nor that the sole purpose? existence of DfID for the last 20 years has compromised 3.50 pm the UK’s diplomatic reach. Indeed, I believe that the opposite has been the case. The UK has many strengths Lord Kerr of Kinlochard (CB) [V]: My Lords, I am and we should play to them. We also have weaknesses very glad that the noble Baroness, Lady Armstrong, and we should address them. That said, it is not clear said what she said about Frank Judd. I associate from the review exactly what the UK’s positioning in myself with it and add only that he was an excellent the world will be. Talk of maintaining our commitment Minister for Defence and Development and in the to and engagement with Europe, while apparently also Foreign Office, and always a genuinely good man. wanting to increase our influence on the Indo-Pacific Foreign friends are relieved that the Government’s region, smacks of a yearning for a past that cannot be puzzling new definition of sovereignty,which has obliged recovered. us at such considerable cost to sever economic, commercial The UK is a trading nation but our capacity to and social ties with our European neighbours, apparently trade is weak. Our science and technology, much of does not extend to NATO or United Nations obligations, which is truly world-class, lacks a manufacturing capacity or to the rules-based international order. The review to achieve the export strength that we need. Our shows that rules are okay provided they are not European, success in helping to develop and roll out the Covid which is still a bit puzzling but good news. I welcome vaccines has been achieved through international the linkage of domestic and international aspects of co-operation, something the Government seem reluctant security and the new emphasis on a whole-of-society to acknowledge. Yet co-operation with the EU and the approach to resilience. developing world is essential to eliminating the virus However, I find the hubris grating and mourn the and protecting us against future pandemics. At the death of British self-deprecation. I recall Lord Carrington’s same time, a poor post-Brexit agreement with the EU reaction when Helmut Schmidt, his German Defence has weakened our services base, which has been our Secretary counterpart, told him that what made the strongest suit. The graphic on page 8 of the review is UK crucial to European security was not so much revealing of the blinkered and prejudiced mindset. 55,000 combat-ready troops forward-based in Germany, It states: but German certainty that we could be trusted; if the “The UK has a seat in every major multilateral organisation” balloon went up, the Brits would be there, and there and lists the 10 that it is referring to, but the EU is not was German certainty that Moscow knew that too. one of them. Clearly, it is no longer an international Back then, we did not shout about it. We carried a organisation regarded as major by the UK Government. much bigger stick than we now do, but we spoke much Relationships with China are crucial and delicate. more softly and carried more conviction. How much of a stand are we prepared to make on the Does President Putin, with his troops massing against dismantling of democracy in Hong Kong and the the Donbass, pause to ponder how we might act on exclusion of Taiwan from international organisations, our 1994 commitment to the Ukraine’s security? I not least the WHO? doubt it. Does President Xi, as he contemplates Taiwan, The review presents the UK as footloose global worry about our carrier deployment? I doubt it. A Britain, able to dart in and out wherever our interests rather small gorilla beating its chest risks looking a require it. Yet the decisions that this Government have little ludicrous. The Carringtons and Heaths, the taken will keep the world and UK citizens guessing. Callaghans and Healeys—the generation who knew To have sustained influence requires co-operation, war and understood security—would not have been trust, consistency and respect. Looking at the UK quite so hubristic. Of course, they would have agreed from the outside presents a baffling and confusing that it makes sense to subordinate national sovereignty identity.What cannot be gainsaid is that the Government to allied solidarity, and autarchy to mutually agreed have raised the defence budget’s share of GNI by rules, but they would have warned that what matters 0.2 percentage points and increased our nuclear warheads, most is to retain a reputation for reliability. The noble while, at the same time, official development assistance Lord, Lord Purvis, is right that brutal 50% cuts to has been cut by 0.2 points. The message is clear: the bilateral aid hurt us as well as the world’s poorest, and UK is switching its emphasis from soft power to hard we surely shock the world by passing a law to break power. This is reinforced by the incorporation of DfID international law and tear up a newly minted treaty, into the FCDO, subordinating aid spending to diplomatic gravely damaging global Britain. leverage. One cannot rebuild a reputation by shouting about Prioritising east Africa and Nigeria must also make what one intends. Actions speak louder than words. other African countries wonder where they stand. We must see ourselves as others see us, remember What does that mean for Ghana, Sierra Leone, the 2005 Integrated Review of Security Etc.[22 APRIL 2021] Integrated Review of Security Etc. 2006 newly reborn Gambia, Malawi or Zambia? The cuts in a Labour proposal?” He said, “It is not a Labour aid have sent shockwaves through development NGOs proposal; it is a common-sense proposal. It is a proposal and humanitarian charities. UK aid and development to make the countries better places for the people partners recognise that the aid budget does not exist already living there, and it is a very wise investment of for their benefit, but the Government know that the money.” The Government have been remiss in not reach of our development programmes cannot be achieved carrying on with that. without these partners. Finally, we need to look a bit harder at NATO. For Cuts on this scale, implemented at speed, will be highly a time, I was vice-chair of the European Parliament’s damaging and disruptive not only to the development sub-committee on defence. We discovered that NATO partners but, more importantly, to the beneficiaries. had enormous problems. It could not get its tanks The cuts necessitated by the pandemic downturn, over bridges. If it wanted to cross frontiers within amounting to £2.9 billion, were severe enough, and NATO member states, it had to get permission, and it are only now being felt. To add to those cuts an even was made quite clear to us that, in some instances, that more severe reduction will do incalculable harm. There permission would not be granted. We tried, but what is is a need for more official development assistance, not now needed—HMG could well put some effort into less, if we are to make the world safe from the present this—is to get NATO operable and into a position and future pandemics, rebuild damaged livelihoods, where it can actually do something. At the moment, end absolute poverty and leave no one behind. Toachieve the restrictions on it stop it doing anything. that, the UK will need expert partners, whose capacity will be seriously eroded by such savage and, so far, 4.02 pm unspecified cuts. Such short-term twists and turns are Lord Boyce (CB) [V]: My Lords, the integrated no way to run a long-term aid strategy. This looks review, and its accompanying Defence Command Paper more like a disintegrated review. and industrial strategy paper, have gone some way to addressing the mistakes made in the awful 2010 defence 3.58 pm review and the somewhat less disastrous 2015 strategic Lord Balfe (Con): My Lords, the document read to defence review. What is particularly to be welcomed is me as “how to fight the last war” rather than “how to that the threat has been put very much to the fore, and face up to the future”. I have one or two comments about for that much credit should go to the Secretary of the soft power aspects in particular. State for Defence. We see cyber, artificial intelligence The Council of Europe, of which I am a member, and space being given due and proper attention. has been looking at the 100th anniversary of the The review lays emphasis on global Britain, and in Geneva conventions. Very recently, the European Court so doing recognises that forward deployment and of Human Rights brought in a very interesting judgment persistent engagement need to be essential ingredients which people say has thrown everything into confusion, of the Armed Forces construct. As part of that, a but I think has clarified it. It said that you cannot refreshed maritime strategy is given appropriate apply human rights while a conflict is in progress. It prominence. There is a promising forward shipbuilding throws us back into looking at how the Geneva programme to support this, but in the short to medium conventions will be applied at all, but it is common term, we will see the frigate force shrink below its sense. If you have people shooting at each other in the already emaciated size. Frigates are the key element in street, you can hardly run out and say, “Excuse me, persistent forward presence. Once again, I ask what item 13 says that you must point that this way”. That can be done to speed up the delivery of Type 26 and is one way in which we will have to reclassify how we Type 31 ships currently in build and shortly to be look at how we wage war. ordered. It is incomprehensible that we will not see the Secondly, of course, is the long debate over the aid first of the new ships operational until well into the changes. I think the Government are wrong; they second half of this decade. I hardly need say that any should not have cut the aid. But the aid agencies have sort of attrition—a word, by the way,that is conspicuous had too soft a ride for too long a time. I talked to by its absence in the review and is equally relevant to someone in the aid business about the Oxfam debacle our land and air forces—would be a serious setback. and all they could say was, “Well, Oxfam got found What attention has been given in the review to the matter out, you know, they are all up to it.” Instead of cutting of attrition in general? back the aid budget, the Government should have got Regarding the review’sconcept of forward deployment, to grips with the way in which it was being used and it is encouraging to see the strong manifestation of spent, because that was, and remains, the real problem. this with the deployment of the carrier strike group to But let us not think of it as aid. We think of it as the Indo-Pacific this summer. I hope the Minister will giving pennies to the poor, but it is not. It is investing confirm that, among other things, opportunities will in common sense. I am one of the few people in this be sought to strengthen our alliances out there, such House who are prepared publicly to say nice things as the Five Power Defence Arrangements, the FPDA; about David Cameron, whom I worked for. David to look for ways to create bonds with the Quadrilateral always insisted that the reason for increasing the aid Security Dialogue, the Quad; and not to shy away budget was to make the countries we were assisting from exerting our right to freedom of navigation places where people wanted to live in preference to through the South China Sea. Such things have important being refugees and trying to come to live in our relevance to global Britain. country. He had quite a clear view. I remember when To pick up on the intention set out in the review to the proposal came out to increase the budget. Some increase the ceiling of our overall nuclear stockpile asked—these were the words—“Why are you adopting from no more than 180 warheads by the mid-2020s to 2007 Integrated Review of Security Etc.[LORDS] Integrated Review of Security Etc. 2008

[LORD BOYCE] tells us that sales of arms and military services by the no more than 260 warheads, this measure seems to largest 25 companies totalled $361 billion in 2019. Of have raised alarm in some quarters, but I applaud the course, included in that are our sales to Saudi Arabia, Government’s courage and the wisdom of taking it. a regime with one of the worst human rights records We profess to having the absolute minimum credible on this planet and, of course, a key proponent in the deterrent, but the word “credible” is valid only if the dreadful war destroying Yemen. missiles can get to their target. With the potential Thirdly, I come to aid. I am really quite astonished opposition improving daily their nuclear capabilities, that the Minister chose to highlight the Government’s including anti-ballistic missile systems, this is a necessary prioritising of girls’ education on the day that Save measure. It does not involve building new warheads, The Children concludes that spending on education although a replacement programme in due course is for girls will be reduced by 25% in 2021 compared to under consideration. I remind those who say that this 2019-20. Perhaps the Minister can confirm whether sets a bad example that our good example of reductions that is correct. It is a long-time Green Party policy to in nuclear firepower over the past couple of decades lift that aid figure to 1%—clearly the direction of greater has absolutely not been followed by any nuclear weapons security. state which may be unfriendly. In fact, it is quite the Finally,I come to the astonishing and deeply disturbing contrary: they have all significantly increased their nuclear changes in nuclear doctrine and practice. I associate arsenals and capabilities. myself particularly with the comments of the noble Lord, Lord Browne of Ladyton, and with others who 4.06 pm questioned this. Some observers have pointed out that Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle (GP) [V]: My lifting a cap is not lifting numbers. If this is just an Lords, in many ways the integrated review acknowledges empty gesture, a rhetorical firebrand playing tough to with greater force than we have seen before from a UK a domestic audience in the culture war, then it is a Government the arguments that the Green Party has truly dangerous and immoral one. If it is a real plan to made for decades—that security can be achieved only increase the number of these hideous weapons of mass in a stable environment and that the climate emergency destruction, it is also deeply dangerous and immoral, and nature crisis are a threat to all our futures. That is as is the widening of the doctrine for their use. driven home today with the HadCRUT5 global This review is glancing in a new direction for security, temperature series showing that the average global and yet it firmly continues to wade forward through temperature for 2020 was 1.3 degrees—plus or minus the swamp of inequality, militarism and environmental 0.1 degrees—above preindustrial levels. destruction. Much of the overarching rhetoric of the integrated review could have been written by the intellectual thought leaders in this area: the Rethinking Security 4.11 pm network. But, as many noble Lords have pointed out, Lord McConnell of Glenscorrodale (Lab): My Lords, the text fails to acknowledge or make difficult choices. I should note my entries in the register of interests. I It fails to meet its ambition to set a path for the next would also like to note that this integrated review is in 10 years. many ways a development of the work of British I will briefly pick up three elements the Minister Governments over nearly 20 years, in trying to bring highlighted in his introduction. First, on science and together defence, diplomacy and development policy, technology, the review talks about Britain being a strategy and implementation. It was begun under the world leader and innovator—something that the last Labour Government, under both Prime Ministers, Government frequently major on—but in such a narrow who not only tried to improve the way in which the range of fields. The Minister referred to artificial British Government worked in relation to the integration intelligence and renewables, and I cannot disagree of policy within the UK but spoke out for that with the last one. But ask a farmer, crucial to food internationally as well. It was developed under the security, or an ecologist, crucial to the nature-based Cameron Administration, particularly by the noble solutions to the climate emergency that the Government Lord, Lord Hague, and Andrew Mitchell, as Secretary like to talk about, what science they need, and it is not of State for DfID, and it is welcome that we have those. Protecting our soils, using agroecological systems another integrated review to take this forward. The for food production, managing our freshwaters and disappointment is in the content, not in the concept. seas and understanding the complexity of life on earth While I welcomed this review after the election in are absolutely fundamental to security. There are an 2019, at that time I was also welcoming the fact that estimated 1.7 million undiscovered types of viruses in the new Government were committed to 0.7% of GNI vertebrates. We have brilliant experts in this and many on official development assistance. While one promise other fields; let us celebrate and fund them—not just has been broken, and potentially a law has been broken, to treat the diseases after they have arisen but to in the other case, this review has failed to match the understand the underlying systems. high ambitions that were perhaps initially set for it. Secondly, the Minister spoke in an unqualified way There can be no doubt that in any conflict situation about trade delivering jobs and prosperity.I fundamentally around the world where our security interests are of question that assertion. We have come to the end of a concern, an integrated approach to policy is essential period of a massive explosion in global trade and are in securing investment in development with good, in an insecure, poverty-stricken and environmentally strong diplomacy supporting human rights, democracy trashed world. The harm done by some trade is obvious. and the values that we put forward as a country, The Stockholm International Peace Research Institute alongside the need for military power, or at least the 2009 Integrated Review of Security Etc.[22 APRIL 2021] Integrated Review of Security Etc. 2010 potential for military intervention. Whether we are in troops on Ukraine’s eastern frontier. As the Prime the Sahel or south-east Asia—in Myanmar at the Minister’s first trade envoy to Ukraine—I hereby declare moment—or anywhere else in the world, the integration my interest—I warmly welcome our Government’s of these three approaches is absolutely critical. There wholehearted support for Ukraine’s territorial integrity. can also be no doubt that, in all these situations, We are playing a crucial role in helping Ukraine rebuild conflict and instability is caused by poverty, poor its infrastructure and defence capability. Only three governance and a lack of opportunity. The prevention days ago, our two countries signed an agreement to of conflict and of security threats, has, at its core, expandOperationOrbital,whichprovidesforco-operation dealing with those issues of poverty, lack of opportunity between our Armed Forces. It is, I hope the House will and poor democracy and human rights. It is simply agree, a clear example of the UK putting its money not possible to bomb grievances, ideas and dreams out where its mouth is—in this case, practical action to of people’s heads. We have to deal with the root causes buttress democracy and national sovereignty in a friendly of conflict state. and instability, which is why defence, diplomacy and Given that the integrated review named Russia as development have to go hand in hand. “the most acute threat to our security”, If Frank Judd, the late Lord Judd, had been with us I suggest to the Minister that the dangerous situation today, he would have said that the key word here is not on Ukraine’seastern border urgently demands a twin-track “integrated”but “interdependence”. The interdependence approach to deter aggression—namely, not only a of our world today is seen more clearly in 2020 than naval acte de présence in the Black Sea, but a determined perhaps ever before, in a pandemic that began with a British diplomatic initiative to help our French and virus, almost certainly in China, but ended up closing German friends revive the Minsk II protocol, which is schools in every continent in the world, shutting down today all but dead. trade routes and travel and having an impact far beyond its origins. That interdependence surely leads 4.19 pm us to think again, and I hope to think again about these cuts to official development assistance, where we Lord Hannay of Chiswick (CB) [V]: My Lords, the have invested, as a country, in democratic institutions, review we are debating today is an impressive and human rights and better governance, as well as tackling perceptive analysis of the threats, challenges and the impact of extreme poverty and lack of opportunity. opportunities that this country faces as it charts its The question in 2021 and beyond, and for generations way in a new chapter of its history, following our that follow us, will be to look back and say: were the departure from the European Union, so it should be rich, powerful countries of the world willing to step up welcomed. There are some blemishes, of course, including and bring the global community together after this the silliness of the reluctance to mention the European pandemic, or were we willing to let it fall apart? On the Union except in passing. Less estimable, I suggest, is key issue of development, alongside diplomacy and the fact that the cart of key security decisions—the defence—not two and a half but all three together—this merger of the FCO and DfID, the savage cuts in the review falls short. overseas aid budget and the detail of defence spending over the next few years—has preceded the horse of the 4.15 pm review. Those decisions should surely have been shaped by the review, not have pre-empted it. Baroness Meyer (Con): My Lords, I too welcome the noble Lord, Lord Godson, to this House. He was One overall impression stands out: Britain can no once described as one of London’s most influential longer hope to overcome these threats and challenges people. I look forward to his influencing Members of acting alone. We need allies and partners if we are to this House to like this country as much as he and I do, prevail. In the period following Brexit and four years both of us being adoptive to this country. of alliance disruption and disregard from President I congratulate the Government on the publication Trump’s White House, that is no small order. That of the integrated review. It is thoughtful and challenge is underlined by last week’s decision by the comprehensive. A review drawing together the threads US to withdrawits troops from Afghanistan by September, of foreign policy, defence, national security and best characterised tersely by our own Chief of the Defence international development into a coherent whole was Staff as long overdue. The review has many original features. “not a decision we hoped for”. Its so-called tilt to the Indo-Pacific region has perhaps What should we think about the much-trumpeted attracted the most public attention. We learn from the tilt towards the Indo-Pacific? Leave aside the fact that media that its first manifestation will be the despatch the review does not even give geographical definition to the region next month of a carrier strike group, led to that region. Does it begin in east Africa and extend by HMS “Queen Elizabeth”. Can the Minister confirm to the western coast of Latin America? Does it include that the strike group will be deployed to the South China Pakistan, for example? Is it welcome to our closest Sea to underline our attachment to the law of the sea ally, the US, or would it have preferred us to put more and international freedom of navigation? effort into Euro-Atlantic security and into Africa, It is also reported that, en route to the Far East, a where it has never been deeply engaged? Royal Navy destroyer and frigate from the strike group It is a pity more was not said about multilateral will stop off in the Black Sea to offer support to the peacekeeping by the UN and by regional organisations Government and people of Ukraine, who are yet such as the African Union. With the retreat from again being placed under unacceptable pressure by the coalitions of the willing expeditions, such as those to Russian Government, who have massed over 100,000 Iraq and Afghanistan, there will inevitably be more 2011 Integrated Review of Security Etc.[LORDS] Integrated Review of Security Etc. 2012

[LORD HANNAY OF CHISWICK] Of course, these historic aid cuts follow the senseless demand for peacekeeping if some parts of the world decisionof thedissolvingof theworld-leadingDepartment are not to fall into chaos and insecurity. But that sort for International Development. I have still not heard a of peacekeeping needs to be made more effective and, coherent argument as to why that happened. As the as a permanent member of the UN Security Council, noble Lord, Lord Hannay, said, decisions have been we have a responsibility to provide training, mentoring, made that are shaping the review but which should specialised services, and equipment. have followed the review, not be made before it. The sections of the review on nuclear weapons The Government’s failure to provide details of the policy have been criticised by many others. I suggest impact that aid cuts will have on country-specific that they lack any developed rationale, let alone any programmes means continued uncertainty for the aid justification. Just when the two largest possessors of sector and the vital projects that rely on the UK. The these weapons have frozen their strategic missile arsenals UK should focus its efforts on poverty alleviation, for another five years, we are going to head off in the meeting the SDGs, and multiplier programmes such opposite direction, thus undermining our capacity to as education and nutrition. Above all, the UK needs a pursue the objective of strategic stability at this year’s coherent approach to sustainable development and Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty Review Conference. a clear vision that reflects the values we hold as a The doctrine of “deliberate ambiguity”as to the numbers country. While the review offers a fleeting mention of of our warheads and the purposes for which they a development strategy to be published at a later date, might be used, which has been proudly proclaimed by Ministers have not been able to give any information the Government as a new kind of doctrine, does not on when that will appear. Can the Minister confirm strengthen our security at all. If all nuclear weapon when the strategy will be published, and can she also possessor states practised that doctrine, would we be confirm that the FCDO is fully engaging development less at risk from nuclear war? I rather doubt that. NGOs in the drafting of the strategy? After all, it is In conclusion, the review, if not some of its policy only through meaningful engagement with civil society prescriptions, is welcome but we will soon see whether that government can benefit from those with the best- there is a gap between rhetoric and reality as it is put available knowledge, evidence and expertise on global into practice. I fear there will be. development.

4.23 pm Lord McNicol of West Kilbride (Lab): My Lords, I 4.28 pm will focus my comments on aid and international Lord Craig of Radley (CB): My Lords, recent thinking development. Before I start, I declare my interests as and experience points to a growing third part to our listed in the register. I am a consultant for NDI, the defence and security, that which lies between active National Democratic Institute, which offers training overseas participation and defensive preparation: the and support to fledgling democracies. grey zone of hostile acts that fall short of open warfare When it comes to international development, the but which are nevertheless profoundly troublesome integrated review confirmed many of aid sector’s fears. and which must be countered in that grey zone. By ending the UK’s commitment to spending 0.7% of One aspect of this has been the setting up of the GNI on overseas aid, the Government are abandoning National Cyber Force as an offensive unit. This introduces the world’s poorest and most vulnerable people when a new doctrine of offensive actions as well as, and they need our support most. In doing so, the Government apart from, the traditional role of intelligence gathering are not only breaking their own manifesto commitments in all its methods, from SIGINT to HUMINT. I have but making it more difficult for the UK to achieve its raised this topic before, and the noble Baroness, Lady foreign policy objectives. This benefits no one. Goldie,kindly wrote to me to explain the new arrangement The review talks of the UK being a force for good for control of the National Cyber Force. She said that in the world, but that simply cannot be reconciled with the National Cyber Force commander the decision to slash the aid budget. The cuts will “will report to both Defence and GCHQ. The first Commander mean a reduction of up to 60% of the support we give of the National Cyber Force is currently a civilian employee of to Yemen, one of the worst humanitarian crises in the GCHQ. They are not being named as, while National Cyber world, and by cutting programmes in Iraq and Syria, Force is publicly avowed, it is not public facing.” where the Foreign Secretary has previously accepted There seems to be a distinct lack of a clear chain of that humanitarian work is essential to the security command in this response. Perhaps that is not so efforts to counter ISIS, the UK could now be leaving surprising, since the new force is yet to bring together fertile ground for future insurgencies. and blend what were clearly distinct areas of responsibility As a country, we also have a unique responsibility for two different Secretaries of State. as host of the crucial COP 26 climate summit in Nevertheless, a committee-type structure to run or Glasgow this year to lead the way on tackling the oversee live operations, with all their potential hazards, climate crisis we face together. As Save the Children is a recipe for mismanagement and divided, unclear said yesterday, on hearing the first details of how the responsibility.That is not satisfactory.While I recognise cuts will be imposed, these cuts are that we are at the early stages of setting up this new “slashing aid to communities on the front line of that crisis.” force, I was and still am concerned about the chain of By cutting development programmes we are sending command and responsibilities of the two Secretaries all the wrong signals to our allies and partners. We are of State involved. It might at first blush be reasonable undermining our diplomatic efforts—the polar opposite to assume that the offensive use employed is directly of what the strategic review was intended to achieve. either a defence or a Security Service action. But if it is 2013 Integrated Review of Security Etc.[22 APRIL 2021] Integrated Review of Security Etc. 2014 not already—very soon in cyber strategy terms—such Other reflections include the tilt to the Indo-Pacific—a a distinction will become blurred or non-existent. possible echo of east of Suez. Will it be welcome to the While the examples quoted by the Government for US, or would it prefer us to be closer to the northern offensive cyber action are clear-cut, there could, as Atlantic? A recent poll from the Institute of Southeast capabilities mature, be abilities to disrupt national Asian Studies showed that only 3.7% of respondents infrastructures, for example. While the possible targets saw the UK as their preferred strategic partner after should and must remain secret, the legal, human rights, the US. Will closer links to the Indo-Pacific region ethical and political considerations cannot be ignored. compensate for the loss of influence in Europe? Will the Intelligence and Security Committee be given Some of our values, of course, are in the field of an overwatch role on offensive cyber force operations? soft power, yet there are contradictions, such as the There is surely such a role for Parliament, and this shabby way in which VSO has been treated. We used should be clear from the outset. to pride ourselves on being a bridge between the US and the European Union, and being a gateway for foreign investment into the European Union—no longer. 4.31 pm It is claimed that we have lost an empire and are Lord Anderson of Swansea (Lab): My Lords, I searching for a role. On the basis of this review, we thank the Minister for his very helpful introduction. have left the European Union and are still searching This review is long-awaited and good in parts. I welcome for a role. in particular the establishment of the counterterrorism operations centre and the National Cyber Force. The 4.36 pm review gives a correct analysis of the threat from both Lord Truscott (Non-Afl) [V]: My Lords, when, in Russia and China. Russia is now massing more than 1992, Francis Fukuyama heralded the post-Cold War 100,000 troops at the borders of Ukraine for what it ascendency of western liberal democracy as “the end calls an exercise. China poses the dilemma of how we of history”,hewassomewhatpremature.Globaldemocracy strike an appropriate balance between competition has looked pretty rocky of late, with the latest example and co-operation while being true to our values. being the coup in Myanmar. The western system of However, my first criticism of the review is that, democracy is under attack and being undermined, as despite it being overseen by a professional historian—the the integrated review suggests. A large number of son of the noble Lord, Lord Bew—it lacks a historical millennials in the US, Europe and the UK are questioning perspective.There is no adequate appraisal of our reduced the legitimacy of democracy, just as large numbers of role since 1945 and our limited economic resources, Hong Kongers have fought for it. Around half or with a clear need now to prioritise more carefully and slightly less of the world’spopulation live in a democracy. see where we can add value. In my judgment, the According to the Economist Intelligence Unit’s measure review excessively reflects the personal views of the of democracy, in 2016 the US was demoted from a full Prime Minister,who was unable, both in his introduction democracy to a flawed democracy. to the review in the House of Commons and in his The integrated review is part of our fightback. The foreword to the review itself, even to mention the rise of China does not mean the inevitable decline of words “European Union”, as if it were a four-letter the West and our values. I had the privilege of presenting word. His foreword ends with a typical nostalgic flourish, the European Parliamentary Labour Party’s submission with a paragraph entitled, to the 1998 strategic defence review by the then Defence “British leadership in the world in 2021”. Secretary, now the noble Lord, Lord Robertson of The Prime Minister’s attitude contrasts with that of Port Ellen, whom we heard earlier. The current integrated thenobleLord,LordHague,withhissoftBrexitapproach. review claims to be the most significant foreign policy I noted particularly his article in last week’s Times, and security review since then. where he did not show any visceral hostility, but rather I do not intend to repeat all the points well made by a recognition that, post Brexit, we still need a special many noble and gallant Lords and experts in the field relationship with our immediate neighbours. The Prime today. However, I agree that the integrated review Minister claims a new independence, but this might, in lacks focus and a sense of prioritisation. It is, in a fact, lead us more and more into the slipstream of the sense, too broad and too ambitious. Crucially, it is not US, as we saw in the timing of our exit from Afghanistan. at all apparent, even given the boost in defence expenditure, We need to look more carefully at our strengths and that this will meet the review’s stated aims, some of weaknesses. Until recently, before the controversy over which appear contradictory. the Northern Irish protocol, we could cite our adherence I welcome the Indo-Pacific tilt as a case in point, as to the rule of law as one of our key values. Now, as the a recognition of the region’s growing economic and noble Lord, Lord Ricketts, has argued elsewhere, we geopolitical importance. However, it is not clear how have lost the high ground in our criticisms of China much resource will be allocated to the tilt to make it over Hong Kong. We have a remarkable past, but are meaningful. The Indo-Pacific tilt also has implications no longer in the Premier League, even if we are at the for NATO, which the review says will remain the top of the Championship, with legitimate claims to be foundation of our collective security. Should this not a soft power superpower. result in NATO itself adapting to the new geopolitical Before the publication of the review, which was a reality of developments in the Indo-Pacific? HMS worthwhile exercise in itself, we had the two changes: “Queen Elizabeth” will make its first deployment to the folding of DfID into the FCO and the reduction the region, and that should be an opportunity for the of overseas aid. Both should have been seen at the UK to show its friends and allies in the region, including same time as the review. South Korea, Japan, Taiwan, Australia and New Zealand, 2015 Integrated Review of Security Etc.[LORDS] Integrated Review of Security Etc. 2016

[LORD TRUSCOTT] Later, it says: that we are committed to free navigation in international “Wewill work in partnership with South Africa, Nigeria, Kenya, waters and stand with them against any threats of Ethiopia and Ghana”. aggression. However, there is then very little more in the review. I must say something about cuts to the Army. Africa, as a continent, has huge potential: prosperity Cyber and AI are very important, but they do not in Africa is at its highest ever level, the world’s ten enable us to retake Port Stanley on the Falklands. For fastest-growing cities are in Africa, and African cities some operations you still need quite a few boots on the make up 40 of the top 50. Growing these markets will ground. The tooth-to-tail ratio, or combat-spear element, be essential for the development of global economic has been in decline since the First World War. That openness and security initiatives in the region. Could might result in better logistics, support and care, but my noble friend the Minister outline our strategy for the reality is that only about 20% to 25% of our troops the development of trade relationships and investment, do the fighting. With a force of 72,500, that leaves at where appropriate, in Africa? best 18,000 Armed Forces personnel to do the actual My final comment is on the development element front-line fighting on the ground. That is not enough of the review. I welcome the commitment to supporting to take and hold a small town. emerging nations to become self-sufficient through Finally, the review overstates Russia’s capabilities trade and economic growth, but I ask the Minister to and underestimates those of China. It has been a major consider a two-fold strategy.Our work on How Nations geostrategic error to encourage Moscow and Beijing Succeed found that the most successful examples of to seek an ever-closer union. On Russia, the immediate development came in nations that took responsibility emphasis now should be on all parties implementing for driving their own transformation. This presents a the Minsk agreements and standing down their forces raft of opportunities for the UK to devise a new on the borders, which I believe, in Russia’s case, has approach to cultivating and supporting the development already begun. of prosperity in emerging nations as a new development strategy, which would then allow us to focus our 4.39 pm traditional aid budget on crisis response, which is Baroness Stroud (Con) [V]: My Lords, I congratulate where the British people are so extraordinarily generous the Government on the publication of the integrated in responding. review and on the repositioning of Britain, as we There is much in this review that is outstanding, but begin this next chapter in our nation’s history. I ask the Minister to consider the circumstances in Iapplaudourcommitmenttofacinguptothechanging which we would come off the fence in relation to world in which we find ourselves and the determination China, the opportunities that exist for mutual relationships toemergematchfittofaceamorecompetitiveworld—but with the nations of the African continent, and a new one in which we hold on to our own values of democracy approach to supporting the long-term development of andourwayof life,freedomof speechandourcommitment nations. to the rule of law and voluntary exchange. I also applaud our commitment that these remain the best model for the social and economic advancement of humankind. 4.43 pm However,the review rightly notes that China’sgrowing Lord West of Spithead (Lab): My Lords, the review international stature is by far the most significant rightly identifies that the risks of unsustainable population geopolitical factor in the world today, with major growth, pandemics, global warming and unconstrained implications for British values and interests and for migration are a backdrop to all the decisions that we the structure and shape of the international order. are making. Taken in conjunction with harnessing However, we appear to adopt two independently rapidly changing technological advances, such as AI, competing positions in our response to China. First, we quantum computing, the use of space, hypersonic declare China to be missiles, robotics and unmanned combat vehicles, warfare “the biggest state-based threat to the UK’s economic security.” is clearly changing. However, secondly, we commit to “deeper trade links” The Defence Secretary is right in preparing for future and “more Chinese investment” in the UK. wars, not past battles—but he is being economical with As we witness China’s behaviour in Hong Kong the truth when he calls this the biggest defence investment and against the Uighurs, as we observe the breaking of since the end of the Cold War. Notwithstanding the WTO protocols in ongoing trade wars with our closest much-welcomed four-year uplift to defence spending, allies and as we uncover the threat to our intellectual announced last November, the key driver of this review property, we have to ask whether this is a sustainable has been cost. Talk of strategy. If this is a holding strategy, at what point do “giving us deployable, capable forces, equipped with next-generation the Government believe that this balancing act needs capabilities” to come to an end, and what steps are the Government is not able to disguise a further reduction in our taking to ensure that we are match fit and not vulnerable nation’s overall military capability. Clearly, there needs if the time comes to change our position? If this is a to be investment in technology—space, cyber et cetera, long-term strategy, what action are the Government as I mentioned—but this puts ever more pressure on taking to protect the UK from the “biggest state-based an already overstretched budget. The plan as presented threat” to our economic security? has a great deal of jam tomorrow but pain today. I also draw attention to the review’s approach towards Should there be conflict in the short term—when you the continent of Africa. The review says, look around the world, you see that there might well “We will be active in Africa”. be one—we would have to fight with what we have got. 2017 Integrated Review of Security Etc.[22 APRIL 2021] Integrated Review of Security Etc. 2018

One of the most striking aspects of the integrated “We will not hesitate to stand up for our values and our review, mentioned by a number of speakers, was the interests where they are threatened, or when China acts in breach change to UK’s nuclear posture. There are a number of existing agreements.” of sensible possible rationales for some of the changes Before the ink has had time to dry on page 63, our but, without doubt, the increase in future holdings of resolve is being tested: when colleagues in this House warheads has huge a diplomatic downside. These changes and the other place are placed on a sanctions list by need to be much more clearly explained. Under Putin’s China,ourvaluesandinterestsareindeedbeingthreatened. direction, Russia has spent billions modernising its I would be very interested to learn from my noble nuclear forces, but of more concern is its development friend the Minister what “not hesitating to stand up of new,more devastating, nuclear delivery systems—some for our values” means in practical terms. The Chinese of them are quite horrifying—ditto China. This nuclear Communist Party’s genocidal policies towards their dimension is of greater concern in view of the collapse own citizens—the Uighurs in Xinjiang—are appalling, of international agreements to limit numbers of warheads, and, as I have stated over and over again, wringing our types of delivery systems and the complex confidence- hands helps no one, least of all those suffering day building measures that used to be in place to avoid the after day. risks of war by miscalculation. Again, this needs to be While on the subject of wringing our hands, on resolved and addressed. 7 December, I spoke to the genocide amendment of The review quite rightly reinforces the commitment the noble Lord, Lord Alton, raising the matter of the to, and importance of, the NATO alliance for UK and five alleged Rwandan genocide perpetrators living freely European security.France’s President Macron is looking in Britain. Once again, I call on the Minister to ensure forward to an entirely new transatlantic “security that this matter is dealt with before CHOGM in architecture” for the 21st century: his vision is an Rwanda in June. Could the Minister explain the delay? all-European defensive collective that is armed up and Rwanda is proud to host CHOGM and values its can act independently and ahead of, in his words, a relations with the UK, but the report states: brain-dead NATO. The idea is delusional and highly “We will partner with the African Union on climate and damaging both to NATO and the security of Europe. biodiversity, global health security, free trade, crisis management, President Biden has made sweeping declarations that conflict prevention and mediation, the Women, Peace and Security Europe and the United States must again “trust in one agenda, and promoting good governance and human rights.” another”, but President Macron’s agenda seems to cross This is a fine list, but if we talk about good governance his bows, and our nation needs to be wary of being drawn and human rights, we should lead by example. into this European army defence quagmire. I am, however, sure that my noble friend the Minister I am delighted that the Government have recognised will be hearing from the co-chairman of the newly the importance of sovereign capability in procurement established all-party war crimes group, led by the and its importance for national resilience and indeed noble Lord, Lord Mendelsohn, and the right honourable the economy. The decision to base our defence and Andrew Mitchell MP, which was set up specifically to security on a maritime strategy is welcomed and absolutely remove this stain on Rwanda-UK relations. the right thing to do. As you can imagine, it was music to my ears to hear the Prime Minister say: The review rightly confirms that our interests and “If there is one policy that strengthens the UK in every values are closely aligned, talking of possible sense, it is building more ships for the Royal Navy”.—[Official “a world in which democratic societies flourish and fundamental Report, Commons, 19/11/20; col. 488.] human rights are protected”. A highly capable and resilient globally mobile military In the light of these fine words, will my noble friend will help to prevent a major world war far better than the Minister confirm that the UK will not attend Durban a heavy division deployed on to the continent. IV? As the right honourable Member for Chipping However, one has to face the stark reality that our Barnet, Theresa Villiers, said in the other place, it is already embarrassingly small frigate force, as mentioned the anniversary of the 2001 UN conference against by the noble and gallant Lord, Lord Boyce, is going to racism, which degenerated into hatred, anti-Semitism shrink still further over the short to medium term. and disproportionate criticism of Israel. When will the next five Type 26 frigates be ordered—we The review rightly argues that poor governance and have been waiting for ages for them to be ordered—and disorder are likely to increase the space for terrorists are we speeding up the delivery programme? The and extremist groups to operate in the Middle East. present programme is glacially slow and dramatically The report, however, says little about the intentional adding to the cost. and malign efforts of the Iranian Government to sow disorder, enrich uranium, destabilise Governments and sponsor extremists and terrorists throughout the region. 4.47 pm The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’terrorist proxy Lord Polak (Con): I refer the House to my interests, Hezbollah continues to hold the people of Lebanon as laid out in the register, and congratulate my noble hostage as their country faces economic collapse. The friend Lord Godson—he is my friend—on his thoughtful IRGC is menacing the Kingdom of Bahrain through maiden speech. I associate myself with the tributes to arms exports to pro-Iranian militias and is prolonging Frank Judd. We sat together on the Justice Committee; the tragic war in Yemen through support for the I am deaf in one ear and he was deaf in both; that is Houthi rebels, who are directly attacking Saudi Arabia. probably why we got on so well. I enjoyed sharing a Does my noble friend the Minister agree with me, birthday with him. May his memory be for a blessing. therefore, that the UK has an opportunity to play a On page 63, the very welcome review states: significant role: to take a lead and bring about a more 2019 Integrated Review of Security Etc.[LORDS] Integrated Review of Security Etc. 2020

[LORD POLAK] is also an exaggeration: the French are there already resilient Middle East by proscribing and therefore with territories, citizens, armed forces and diplomats. marginalising the Iranian revolutionary guard corps? In winding up, therefore, will the Minister commit the Government to informing Parliament about the current 4.52 pm state of the Franco-British defence partnership and plans for its future development? A review that devotes Lord Wallace of Saltaire (LD): My Lords, parts of so much more attention to relations with India than this integrated review read more like a party manifesto with our nearest continental neighbour—Europe’s other than a closely argued analysis of threats and capabilities. military and global power—is not an entirely serious We learn a lot about the Prime Minister’s ambitious document. visions for the future but much less about how they are to be achieved. Some sections invite satirical comment. Page 64 4.56 pm tells us: Baroness D’Souza (CB) [V]: My Lords, the integrated “The UK is the nearest neighbour to the Arctic region.” review is both comprehensive and strategic in its foreign That will surprise the Governments of Norway, Iceland, policy intentions. The emphasis on recognising the Sweden, Finland, Canada and Russia—unless Boris strengths of our allies, and modestly aiming to lead Johnson is planning to imitate Donald Trump by making where the UK is best placed to do so, is welcome. a takeover bid for Greenland. That said, however, there are many potential Like others, I was struck by the many contradictions contradictions and many issues to resolve before the and inconsistencies in the document. It proclaims that strategy can begin to be implemented and we can Britain is a “soft power superpower” which benefits begin to know what global Britain will actually look from the global reputation of the BBC, our world-class like in years to come. There are difficult issues, not universities and the quality of our cultural life. It also least of which is the fact that we should perhaps be a underlines and emphasises the importance of integrating little careful of being welcomed with open arms by all domestic and external policies. In domestic politics, those nations with which we now seek much closer however, Ministers are hostile to the BBC and dismiss relations. and condemn university teachers, artists and writers The Indo-Pacific pivot is predominantly about as the core of the despised metropolitan liberal elite. economic and security aspects. We all know, however, Observers in other countries notice these attacks on that democratic nations prosper better than autocratic such national assets, even if the Prime Minister’s vision ones in the longer term, so if economic growth is to be is too short-sighted to recognise them. achieved in the Indo-Pacific region it has to be under- There is a fundamental contradiction between the pinned by good governance, adherence to the rule of assertionof sovereigntyasacorevalueandtherepresentation law and common international standards. of the UK as a champion of multilateralism, global What might be the threats to these liberal democratic order, human rights and international law. The Chinese values, and how might they be limited? Clearly China are right to say that criticism of their treatment of the and its foreign policies and actions represent a major Uighurs is an invasion of their sovereignty. We defend challenge within the Indo-Pacific area. The PRC’s global values against Chinese sovereignty. The British tactics for gaining influence are many and varied, Empire could both assert its full sovereignty and impose including the belt and road initiative—seen at its most its views on others, but we no longer have an empire aggressive in the purchase of the Sri Lankan Hambantota and we cannot pretend to be world-leading in all the deep-harbour seaport, now owned by the PRC—illegal fields that the Prime Minister fondly imagines that we actions in Hong Kong and Taiwan and military threats can. He should talk more about partnership and less in the South China Sea. about leadership. However, there is as yet no coherent democratic The identification of Russia as the most direct alternative to combat these aggressive developments, threat to British security is undermined by the priority and other nations in the region, such as Laos and given to the Indo-Pacific. Almost the only reference to North Korea, do not even begin to nod towards the European Union—as has been remarked—states democratic norms. The UK will need to encourage that the UK will and establish—urgently, I think—new forums for co-operation, the opportunities for which may well “find new ways of working with it on shared challenges” arise during the UK’s leadership of the G7 and the but it does not tell us what those new ways might be. COP 26 meetings this year. A collective of south and Later, it says: east Asian countries, the US, the UK and other European “We will also look for ways to work more closely with European states should agree on measures to strengthen sustainable partners, including France and Germany.” rules-based order in the Indo-Pacific area, and, in the Ministers should not have to look very far: the UK very near future, provide details of any plans for such has had a bilateral defence partnership with France informal or formal forums and with which allies they since 1998, although Conservative Ministers have done are to be formed. their best not to tell Parliament about it since 2010. Meanwhile, the UK should insist that the democratic Indeed, one Defence Secretary told me directly that he nations in the region continue to demonstrate their accepted close co-operation with France provided that own democratic credentials, such as press freedom, Parliament knew as little about it as possible. protection of minorities and upholding civil liberties, The claim that the UK will become the European and the UK should itself closely follow a dual approach, power with the strongest presence in the Indo-Pacific involving equal measures of cautious collaboration 2021 Integrated Review of Security Etc.[22 APRIL 2021] Integrated Review of Security Etc. 2022 with, and severe criticism of, the PRC. This is particularly important when it comes to health research.Co-operationisthewayforward,notcompetition. 5 pm Lord Davies of Brixton (Lab) [V]: My Lords, this The Deputy Speaker (Baroness McIntosh of Hudnall) has been an interesting and important debate. I just (Lab): The noble Lords, Lord Sarfraz and Lord Walney, want to make a straightforward point on what appears have withdrawn, so I call the next speaker, the noble in section IV of the review, “Strategic Framework”. Baroness, Lady Prashar. Under “Sustaining strategic advantage through science and technology”, the review refers to 5.03 pm “The rapid pace of change in science and technology” Baroness Prashar (CB) [V]: My Lords, this review that is marks a step forward in defining the UK’s role in the “transforming many aspects of our lives, fundamentally reshaping world against the background of geopolitical shifts. It our economy and our society,and unlocking previously inconceivable provides a comprehensive and nuanced framework for improvements in global health, well-being and prosperity.” developing our road map and increasing our influence So far, so good; soft power is of crucial importance in as a force for good. maintaining our security. However, it then goes on to The proposed, so-called Indo-Pacific tilt will inevitably refer to “systematic competition” between states and give prominence to trade, defence and security, but to claims, somewhat tautologically, that be effective it has to be all-embracing. It should include “countries which establish a leading role in critical and emerging greater involvement in the region, through actions on technologies will be at the forefront of global leadership.” climate change, promotion of common values and the The emphasis on the importance of science, and rules-based international order, and initiatives, through health in particular, is correct. We know this from the cultural and educational institutions, to deepen acknowledged success of developing and delivering understanding of countries in the region, particularly the Covid-19 vaccine programme, which is so important India, given its strategic salience in the region. While in our return to anything like a normal life. However, the relationship with India is historic, the time has the emphasis on competition in this context is simply come to recalibrate the relationship. This relationship wrong. Again, we know this from the vaccine programme, should not be seen through an archaic lens but developed where co-operation between actors, public and private, through greater knowledge sharing and brought into from many different parts of the world, has been crucial sync with contemporary realities. to its success. It is a truly international effort, where Advancement of free trade, which is seen as the co-operation, not competition, has been the foundation. centrepiece of global Britain, will require the mobilisation Unfortunately, this is part and parcel of the Prime of all our capabilities, particularly in science and Minister’s global Britain rhetoric—just sound and technology, as fully recognised in the review, and all wind, with no substance. When he attributed the vaccine’s our soft power assets. There is no doubt that we success to capitalism and greed, he was wrong. The idea possess a unique set of capabilities and soft power that private ingenuity and naked competition produced assets, but these need to be mobilised and adapted for the vaccines is a complete fantasy. The infrastructure the demands and opportunities of our modern world. that produced Covid-19 vaccines was nurtured in publicly Our approach has to be based on collaboration and funded universities,public institutes and heavily subsidised mutuality. Again, the review recognises this, but this private labs. will have to be made a reality by ensuring that sufficient The review itself demonstrates this lack of resources and capabilities are available in our institutions understanding of how science works. It claims that the and government departments. We need to use all our UK is already a science and technology power, with soft power tools with skill and make creative use of references to new technologies and talent, if our role in the world as “the UK’s successful S&T base.” a force for good, as envisaged in this review, is to be It then fails to explore the basis for that success in any realised. detail, because to do so would expose the Government’s We must not undervalue institutions such as the mis-steps in this field. British Council, the BBC and other cultural assets. A clear example of this is the Government’s wishful What they bring to the table should be an integral part thinking in the box headed “Attracting global talent to of the thinking in developing our strategy and approach. the UK”. Having the right ambitions, appointing an Over the years, these institutions have helped to build office for talent, and relying on a yet-to-be-revealed, trust in the UK. Currently, we are in the lead as far as points-based immigration system are not enough, in soft power is concerned, but we retain only a slim lead. practice,to provide the reassurance that top talent requires. France, Germany, China, South Korea and Russia are It is not just about Brexit, but that hardly helped. now spending increasingly more on the promotion of The Government also fail to provide the money to their soft power. We ignore that at our peril. back up their claims. Having lofty ambitions is of The other network whose full potential is not nothing when insufficient resources are provided for sufficiently recognised in this review is the Commonwealth, our leading research institutions. The recovery from which provides an effective forum for promoting common Covid will need research, for example on the mental values and the flow of trade. To have credible moral health effects, in order to offer the better treatments authority to espouse the values that underpin liberal and services that are needed. democracies, and to be an effective convener, the UK’s In his introduction, the Minister acknowledged the reputational resilience at home and abroad is vital importance of co-operation in the field of science. to our international influence. Actions must speak 2023 Integrated Review of Security Etc.[LORDS] Integrated Review of Security Etc. 2024

[BARONESS PRASHAR] to amend the law? It simply will not do to reply that it louder than words. The review recognises that, in an all depends on the fiscal situation and what that interconnected, complex and multipolar world, prosperity allows. The Government will be breaking a law enacted and security at home is dependent on how we operate quite recently. on the world stage. The Government’s commitment to There are many examples of aid programmes that restore 0.7% of GNI, and making clear that being a will be decimated by deprioritising development as in leading donor is central to their values agenda, is a the review. Let me just mention a couple. First, over signal in the right direction, but again we need an the years, Voluntary Service Overseas has built for the indication of when this will happen. UK a worldwide reputation on the use of volunteers Post Brexit, we have started the process of developing in development aid. If the cuts the Government are a more positive narrative about our place and role in threatening are imposed, VSO will have to withdraw the world. This will require, as many have said this from many countries in which it operates. afternoon, setting our priorities, leading by example, Secondly,in Yemen, the war has led to a humanitarian shifting the mindset in many of our institutions, having disaster in which millions of children are suffering humility in our approach, developing new capabilities from malnutrition and hundreds of thousands of people and deepening our understanding and knowledge of face famine. There is the strongest possible need to the changing world—and not ignoring Europe. It will, increase substantially our aid to Yemen, not to cut it therefore, be helpful to hear from the Minister what by half. Can the Minister indicate why the Government steps will be taken to set priorities, build on our are doing this? Can she at the same time explain how currents strengths and develop new capabilities within they are integrating continuing support for the Saudi-led government departments and other valuable institutions, coalition in this war with a diplomatic role in the UN which the realisation of this review will require. in brokering peace and providing aid to the civilian population? That does not look like integration to me. 5.08 pm My final questions relate to the proposal to increase Baroness Blackstone (Ind Lab) [V]: My Lords, the greatly the number of warheads in our nuclear stockpile. decision to produce an integrated review of foreign Since our financial position is being cited as reason for policy, defence, security and international development cutting our aid, how can it allow massive expenditure was brave, and it is to be welcomed. The UK’s role in to increase our nuclear capability? Does the Minister the world must encompass all these areas, along with also agree that the timing could hardly be more trade and international economic policies. They require unfortunate? Later this year, the review conference on a strategic framework under which they can operate in the nuclear non-proliferation treaty will take place. a seamless way without inconsistencies and clashes of What will other countries participating make of the objectives. UK’s policies on disarmament—which presumably we Unfortunately, the report does not match up to its are still pressing for—when we are rearming and not ambitions and, therefore, should not be seen as more disarming? It makes a mockery of any claim to political than a work in progress. It requires more refinement as or global leadership in this area. well as more detail about how it can be resourced, particularly in areas such as cybersecurity in a context 5.12 pm of rapid technological change. To implement its aim, Viscount Waverley (CB): My Lords, I noted the it will also require sophisticated cross-departmental carefully crafted messaging in the integrated review collaboration. Before it can be deemed to be a proper with regard to China. I had it in mind to offer a strategy, a rigorous review about what its priorities are contribution today that addressed the challenges and is needed. There is a long list of aims, without assessment opportunities, strategic and otherwise, with that state. of how much importance should be attached to them. However, for reasons that have been well rehearsed in The danger of the something-for-everyone approach this session, I should delay further consideration to is that it can lead to a nothing-for-anyone outcome. the autumn. Suffice it to say at this stage that I believe Further detailed is also needed on the means as well as the review struck an apt approach. the ends, and I hope that this will include working I do not automatically espouse the theory that the with European countries that share our values and are reduction in development aid funds necessarily presents our near neighbours. a doomsday scenario. What is required more than Let me move from these general points to two areas anything is a combination of realism and innovation: where the report either disappoints or is misguided. a new-found approach incorporating zero tariffs and They are development aid and the ratcheting up of the opportunity to trade with the developed world to our nuclear capability. the benefit of all; and a phased adjustment in current The decision to make a binding commitment in law tax and payments to source, rather than for ever to spend 0.7% of GNI on development aid reflected having taxes paid by a corporation where they are our values in wishing to help millions of people around tax-resident is worthy of consideration. A Cross-Bench the world out of poverty, as well as our interests to debate next week will provide an opportunity to expand promote economic growth and technological advances on that theme. in developing countries. This commitment should be Many noble Lords have rightly referred to science seen as a defining element in what it means to be a and technology. It is my pleasure therefore to offer the global leader. It does not come through in the integrated Minister some potential low-hanging fruit. This would review. Development gets short shrift. Will the Minister normally have been the gift of the noble Lord, Lord tell the House how the Government can drop the legal Browne of Ladyton, but he has focused our minds commitment to 0.7% without parliamentary agreement elsewhere, so I shall run with the baton. 2025 Integrated Review of Security Etc.[22 APRIL 2021] Integrated Review of Security Etc. 2026

The Government are not eligible to be a party to On the tilt to the Indo-Pacific, I am so glad that we the International Science and Technology Center— are using that term, because we used to use “Asia-Pacific”. ISTC—headquartered in Kazakhstan, due to the Speaking as a person of Indian origin, “Indo-Pacific” circumstances of Brexit. Association, however, would is the right term from India’s point of view. We are bring the benefit of having an oven-ready partner in talking about the importance of that region, which the arena of non-proliferation in chemical, biological, includescountriessuchasIndia.ThewholeCommonwealth radiological and nuclear threats, in addition to being a makes up less than 10% of our trade, but look at India: useful mechanism to implement the Government’s bilateral trade with India is worth £24 billion; with defence and security policies overseas. Its DG can add Canada,about£20billion;withAustralia,about£20billion; to the storyboard; renewed association would enable and yet trade with China is worth £100 billion. The the UK to be a party to an existing international CPTPP, if we joined it, would be worth £110 billion. organisation for the exercise of non-proliferation and The Prime Minister, in going to India, was going to against world hybrid threats. The ISTC had several announce an enhanced trade partnership to take trade MoD projects that were being implemented and I with India up to £100 billion by 2030 and to make understand that funds are still on account. more of the Commonwealth. The Indian-origin people Countering state nuclear and security threats, in who live in the UK are the living bridge of 1.5 million, addition to having access to over 100 countries’facilities, which the report talks about. When it comes to India, including a worldwide database of institutes and scientists, we need to have a strategic relationship. It is not just with their expertise, would be a useful asset to the about trade and investment, it is about defence and United Kingdom. It would include access to antimicrobial security. India is a member of the Quad with the US, resistance and disease surveillance, and other endemic Australia and Japan. We need to be in those sorts of medical and related threats, nuclear forensics, biosecurity strategic defence relationships with countries such as experience and a useful mechanism to further R&D India. Climate change, health, migration and mobility, and S&T co-operation. Multilateral agreements, at the education and science and technology are important diplomatic level, are in phase for member countries issues. that, when translated, would mean it not being necessary Soon India is going to allow British universities to to negotiate separate bilateral agreements when wishing open there. Our high commission and embassy network to implement a project in any country. The alternative around the world is very strong. We have one of the would be to fund projects that meet our international best networks in the world. It is a great element of our non-proliferation and security objectives on a case-by-case power.Universities are not specifically mentioned enough basis. in the report, yet our universities are one of our strongest elements of soft power. The Deputy Speaker (Baroness McIntosh of Hudnall) The report talks about science and technology. As (Lab): The noble Lords, Lord Hannan, Lord Berkeley president of the CBI, one of my priorities is to get and Lord Desai, have withdrawn, so I call the noble businesses and universities working closely together, Lord, Lord Bilimoria. particularly with regard to science and technology, research and development and innovation. There is no better example than the Oxford AstraZeneca vaccine, 5.17 pm a collaboration between a Swedish-British company, Lord Bilimoria (CB) [V]: My Lords, the integrated Oxford University and AZ, headquartered in Cambridge, review of security, defence, development and foreign in collaboration with the Serum Institute of India, the policy is an excellent document that covers all aspects largest vaccine manufacturer in the world. of the UK’s place in the world. It went beyond the I am proud to be an honorary group captain in parameters of a traditional review, which is wonderful 601 Squadron of the RAF. It is good to see that the news. I welcome my friend—and I will call him my new Space Command, which will be within the RAF, friend—the noble Lord, Lord Godson. It was wonderful has been announced. I think space will be a hugely to hear his maiden speech, but it is so sad about the important aspect in future and I am glad that it is noble Lord, Lord Judd, whom we will miss so much. covered in detail in the review. On the other hand, I am He would definitely have been speaking in this debate. concerned that the Army is going to be cut. We need The review covers geopolitical and economic shifts boots on the ground. There has to be a critical mass. in particular, China and the challenges of climate Do the Government agree? I also see that diversity change, health risks, illicit finance, serious and organised and inclusion are included, which is very important. crime and terrorism, and it requires collective action, To conclude, we are at the top table of the world: so it is spot on. Its emphasis on science and technology NATO and the G7. This is a watershed year as we are is fantastic. It talks about the US being our most hosting the G7 and COP 26, a great opportunity for important bilateral relationship, and the Five Eyes, to the country. We are 1% of the world’s population and which we are glad to belong. It talks about Europe the second largest recipient of inward investment in the and says: world. “The UK in the world: a European country with global Lastly, the report clearly shows that we have the interests”. best combination of hard and soft power of, I think, It says that we have a unique position among European any country in the world. countries. I always say this: we may have left the European Union, but we will never leave Europe. It is 5.22 pm still our largest trading partner by far, accounting for Lord Sheikh (Con) [V]: My Lords, I welcome the 45% of our trade. integrated review and its ambitious vision to make the 2027 Integrated Review of Security Etc.[LORDS] Integrated Review of Security Etc. 2028

[LORD SHEIKH] International Relations and Defence Select Committee, UK a stronger, safer and more prosperous country. on which I serve, I want to drill down into the review’s The UK plays a role on the global stage, and I am glad objective that we will tilt towards the insufficiently to see that the Government will make tackling climate defined Indo-Pacific and how we will constrain the change and biodiversity loss their number one Chinese Communist Party. international priority. As we prepare to host COP 26 The integrated review recognises China’s increasing in November, that is very important as the climate crisis assertiveness as is one of the biggest threats to international security and stability. “the most significant geopolitical factor of the 2020s” and This week, the Government announced that they will put into law the world’s most ambitious climate “the biggest state-based threat to the UK’s economic security.” change target: to reduce emissions by 78% by 2035 It describes China as a “systemic competitor” and says compared to 1990 levels. That is commendable, but the UK what plans do they have to make those targets a “is likely to remain a priority target for such threats”, reality? This year, we have seen the creation of the including “cyber-attacks, disinformation and proxies.” Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, which Yet, conspicuously, the review does not even mention has integrated diplomacy and development, and we Taiwan, which recently recorded its largest CCP air have signed an increasing number of trade agreements. incursion yet. Why not? Combined with Russia’s As someone who is actively involved in promoting opportunistic sabre-rattling against Ukraine, these trade in overseas countries, I can already see the benefits challenges by autocracies pose a serious threat to of this. international order. The Foreign Secretary has described Greater trade and investment and more openness the CCP’s industrial scale violations against the Uighurs with other countries will reap many mutual benefits and we call out China’s violations, including CCP and help to drive prosperity. With that prosperity sanctions on parliamentarians exercising their duties comes growth that leads to new innovations in technology and BBC journalists committed to truth telling. We that will protect people and the planet. Will the Minister say we will stand up for them and for our values but tell the House when the Government intend to restore continue to conduct and increase business. the aid budget to 0.7%, so that we can properly help to I ask the Minister directly: is it licit for a signatory drive prosperity across the world? to the convention on the crime of genocide to do The UK has unique soft power, which has been business as usual with a state credibly accused of incrediblyimportantinbuildingrelationshipsanddomestic genocide?GivenwhatweknowaboutXinjiang’sconcentration ties abroad as well as supporting the economy. I have a camps and slave labour, what changes are we making close connection with, and am a freeman of, the City to our supply chains? What are we doing to make the of London. I know that the City is widely respected UK less dependent on China, especially in strategic and recognised for supporting significant global trade sectors? and investment. Recent reports by Jo Johnson and Civitas warn of We very much appreciate the soft power exercised infiltration of UK higher education, intellectual property by the BBC and the British Council. When I travel theft and worse. In its report Inadvertently Arming abroad, I am told that the BBC provides reliable news. China?, Civitas says that more than half of the 24 Russell In my student days, I stayed for two years in a British Group universities have worrying links with Chinese Council residence. I am a great supporter of its work, military-based institutions, including agencies involved which I have seen in person when I have gone abroad. in developing weapons of mass destruction. It says the The British Council helps to promote common values, UK’s response is understanding and knowledge so that different “a picture of strategic incoherence.” communities can live in harmony with each other. We need to do better than that. As well as soft power, the UK has an impressive security and defence framework, which is perhaps one The threat to our way of life is symbolised by the of our greatest strengths. I am very interested in the treatment of Dr Li Wenliang after he tried to warn the well-being of our Armed Forces, and I welcome the world about Covid and the CCP’s imprisonment of a increase in defence spending to 2.2% of our GDP, courageous young lawyer and citizen journalist, Zhang which is the biggest increase in defence spending since Zhan, tortured for going to Wuhan to expose the the end of the Cold War and makes us the second-highest truth. It is symbolised by the jailing of Hong Kong’s defence spender in NATO. democrats and the genocide of Uighurs. In response, the review rightly emphasises and urges a multilateral response and for the UK to aim to be: 5.26 pm “the European partner with the broadest and most integrated Lord Alton of Liverpool (CB) [V]: My Lords, the presence”. Foreign Secretary, Dominic Raab, rightly says that the What can the Minister tell us of the proposed D10 UK’s ambition should be to emerge as “a force for alliance of democracies and President Biden’s suggested good”, while in his introduction to the integrated review, summit of democracies? What would the UK’s role the Prime Minister says that be? Might potential allies like Singapore and Vietnam “liberal democracy and free markets remain the best model for be excluded by too-narrow definitions? Strengthening the social and economic advancement of humankind.” ties with established Asian democracies, such as Japan, In drawing attention to the all-party groups of South Korea, and Taiwan, and encouraging emerging which I am an officer and to the current inquiry of the democracies, such as Indonesia and Malaysia, and 2029 Integrated Review of Security Etc.[22 APRIL 2021] Integrated Review of Security Etc. 2030 enhancing alliances with long-standing friends such as the initial wave of Covid, it looks like nearly one-third Singapore and India, will be key. of patients caught it in hospital. Waiting lists have We must stand with those fighting tyranny in Burma grown, in some cases to over a year, and death rates and Hong Kong, and those like Australia who are have increased for non-Covid-related causes, which sanctioned for speaking out. Note that China’s threat may be due to people not accessing or being asked to that Five Eyes countries should be careful lest their access diagnosis and treatment. eyes be poked blind—their words—has been followed Will a resilient NHS look to move more diagnosis, by New Zealand’s decision to leave Five Eyes. Toachieve scanning and treatment away from hospitals and into the review’s laudable aims, we must strengthen our the high street and community or even, using the latest alliances, stand with our friends and see how the technology, into our own homes? Will we continue to frequently suborned multilateral architecture, especially rely on a large hospital-based system that creates an at the United Nations, can be salvaged. easy target for enemies, human or non-human in nature, to bring us down? Will we consider creating 5.31 pm perpetual trials to accelerate vaccine and drug development Lord Wei (Con) [V]: My Lords, I am thankful that and to accelerate the adoption of new devices ahead we can have this crucial debate today and I declare my of being hit by sudden and chronic health-related interests in the register. For some time, it has been challenges, where the system would be overwhelmed clear that we are in the midst of an epochal shift, in and might struggle to respond from a standing start? which the old certainties of the post-war era are being What about education or business? How can we eroded. In their place come times that are much more ensure those who cannot work online are able to volatile and unpredictable, and in which our historical continue to operate on-site in safe ways in future approaches may need to be adapted. I welcome the pandemics? Should we encourage people to have both review and the Government’s determination to give digital and physical work skills, so they can still have a birth to a more agile, inclusive and responsive approach job even if their digital or physical work environment to our national security that recognises new threats is compromised? What does a resilient foreign policy and rivalries, and the innovation needed to address them. look like? I want to focus my remarks on the issue of resilience Many other areas like these need looking at further. and the role we can all play to help mitigate some of I believe that, in future, the winners may not just be the shocks on the horizon. There will continue to be those who are big or well-armed, or who have soft power, shocks, as the review correctly highlights, whether but simply those who can survive by being resilient climate-related, a major hack or a drone attack on a enough to fight another day. major city or installation, or indeed another pandemic— manmade or zoonotic. Covid-19 has shown that it 5.35 pm does not require a nuclear arsenal or an army, cyber or The Earl of Sandwich (CB) [V]: My Lords, anyone non-cyber, to effectively shut down large parts of the who follows developing countries will long remember British economy and system; you just have to fill our Frank Judd for his advocacy of poverty reduction and hospitals with patients. sustainable development. Here, we miss him right now What is being done to tackle situations that, without for his eloquence and the determination he would have much initial bloodshed, could bring our economy and brought to this debate. society to its knees, through asynchronous attacks? Like the noble Lords, Lord Wei and Lord Bilimoria, How do we not just build resilience in our major I am generally impressed with the spirit of the review institutions, with the usual contingency plans, resources and the direction of travel, and even by the impatience and responses, but go further to make the structure of with which the Government have raised their flags our government, society and services nearly pandemic, overseas. I do not go with buzzwords like global Britain, drone or weather-proof? It seems that a lot of this has but I welcome their recommitment to the international to be about how we protect the internet from, for and the multilateral. I am pleased that the FCDO example, future quantum-based attacks, and how we wants to be a force for good—soft power is here to use it in future to go beyond Zoom and video calling stay—although without enough visas. There is also a to enable our economy and services to function in a determination to deal with online harms, sexual violence more decentralised away. It is also to do with how and a range of human rights violations, and we see communities can cope if supply chains are broken or new approaches to science and technology, with phrases the internet and power supplies are taken down. What such as “building national resilience”. Some of these guidance will the Government give to civil servants, are either brave promises, far ahead of reality, or they leaders and the public on how to prepare for such are things the Government ought to be doing anyway. eventualities? All this laundry list, as the noble Lord, Lord Ricketts, How can innovation and the private sector play a dubs it, comes at a more positive time, when the new role, enabling more people like Kate Bingham to help US leader, Joe Biden, is back with similar aspirations, reshape our services with the connections and insights scrubbing out policies left behind by his predecessor. they might have to go beyond any groupthink that Climate change, Covid and SDGs are all getting proper might linger? Indeed, in healthcare the response so far attention. Of course, I welcome the recommitment to is admirable, and we must praise those front-line workers aid and the sustainable development goals, but the who have sacrificed so much—including those in my cuts are damaging and unnecessary,and the departmental own extended family here in Britain—to keep us safe. merger blurs the line further between aid, defence and However, tough questions need to be asked about how diplomacy. The Government have ignored their own resilient the NHS and healthcare is in this nation. In aid target and the Minister will, I hope, repeat the 2031 Integrated Review of Security Etc.[LORDS] Integrated Review of Security Etc. 2032

[THE EARL OF SANDWICH] they set out a new approach as to how we will use our assurance that the legally binding 0.7% target will Armed Forces in an era of persistent competition and return next year. The Minister was rightly besieged the rapidly changing nature of warfare. Representing with questions about this this morning and I am sure the most significant evolution of UK military thought he will look forward to the debate brought by the in several generations, it will lead to a fundamental noble Lord, Lord Alton, on this next week. transformation not only of the UK military, but how On the merger, I focus briefly on the Government’s we use it. intention to tighten up the cross-government Conflict, The integrated operating concept articulates a clear Stability and Security Fund. Was the merger really distinction between operating and war-fighting, and necessary, if we already had joined-up arrangements reasons that, while ultimately we need a contingent for that fund? The FCDO claims that the fund will capability for our military to defend the nation and receive £874 million for 2021-22, but Bond, on behalf fight a war, our military should also be out and about of aid agencies, says that the fund has been cut by operating, helping to build alliances and responding £363 million and that aid to conflict-affected states to crises as opposed to simply training as a contingent could be cut by between 50% and 90%. Could the force. The integrated review builds on this approach Minister please confirm these figures? For states such and makes clear that we must be prepared to be enduring as South Sudan and Yemen, a cut on that scale would in our commitment and forward deploy our Armed be devastating. Could the Government not publish a Forces. There is no better example of this being put breakdown of aid cuts by country and sector, so that into action than the recent forward deployment of we can all speak from the same statistics in future? both HMS “Trent” to be based in Gibraltar and HMS We are seeing the relaunch of Britain as a trading “Montrose” to Bahrain. nation, with rollovers and FDAs signed almost every These deployments, along with similar commitments week. The question arises whether the new official from both the Army and Navy, are not just symbolic. enthusiasm for human rights is being properly translated During my time as a Defence Minister,the one consistent into trade deals. The answer is that there is a formula message that I received from our partners across the of words in the explanatory memorandums and in globe was that, while the training and support that we some of these agreements, but we have yet to see offered were viewed as some of the best in the world, consequent actions anywhere. On China, of course, we would be there one minute and gone the next. This we have a difficult and at times impenetrable way is why this move to persistent engagement will be between sanctions on human rights and the benefits of central to defence’s ability to contribution to the global normal diplomatic and trade relations. Meanwhile, Britain agenda. what is happening to the Foreign Office post Brexit? Is Shortly, the carrier strike group led by HMS “Queen it becoming submerged in trade and aid? The letters F Elizabeth”will undertake our most ambitious deployment and O surely need more attention. for two decades, encompassing the Mediterranean, Can we really be global without Europe? Chatham Indian Ocean and east Asia. If the vision the integrated House puts it quite bluntly: the Government’s review provides is that the security of our nation is “longer-term ambitions for relations with the EU are notably where defence meets prosperity meets global influence, thin”. then this deployment, and those that will follow, will We will be living under the shelter of the US again, be flagship events for defence’s contribution to global and our policy towards Ukraine will follow NATO Britain. rather than EU initiatives. We may see reconciliation Despite this sequence of announcements, there is with Iran, but we must, as many have argued this still one aspect of the “means” piece of the jig-saw afternoon, continue to work closely with our European missing, the yet to be published Reserve Forces 2030 neighbours on all these issues, even if we have—blindly, review, and it is on this that I would like to focus my in my view—shut ourselves out of their meeting room. remaining comments. The review is important, as it will address many of the concerns expressed by noble 5.40 pm Lords about the size of the regular Armed Forces. Building on the success of the Future Reserves 2020 review, Lord Lancaster of Kimbolton (Con) [V]: My Lords, which focused on growth and investment in the single I start by declaring my interest both as a member of service reserves, which has seen the size of the reserve the Army Reserve and, with specific relevance to this grow over the last 10 years, the terms of reference for debate, chairman of the Reserve Forces 2030 review. the latest review were different. It is a pleasure to be able to contribute to this timely debate and, in particular, to be able to follow the Rather than looking down and in at the use of thoughtful contribution from noble Earl, Lord Sandwich, reserves by single services, we were tasked with looking much of which I agreed with. up and out. At its heart, the review is about people The announcement of the integrated review has and skills and how defence, industry, government and been long anticipated, but from a defence perspective wider society can share them. This means looking at it is worth highlighting that the scene was set last how the Reserve Forces can provide capability across September with the publication of the integrated operating government departments, deliver networks into industry concept, the first in a series of three announcements, and academia and reinforce national resilience and with the integrated review the second and culminating homeland security,as well as renewing and strengthening most recently in the Command Paper. Taken together, the link with society in general. these represent in grand strategic terms the ends, ways The national experience of the Covid pandemic has and means for defence over the next decade. Together, demonstrated in no uncertain terms how the nation 2033 Integrated Review of Security Etc.[22 APRIL 2021] Integrated Review of Security Etc. 2034 needs to pull together in times of crisis and how Those were very similar to the defects in the government, Parliament, state institutions, industry Government’s policy on Africa, which is allegedly a and the general public rely on each other. The vision strategy but in fact a whole set of disparate issues. the review describes is of empowered Reserve Forces— That is very much a problem with the so-called integrated review. It talks a great deal about ambitions; it raises, slightly heuristically, as the noble Lord, Lord Kerr of The Deputy Speaker (Baroness McIntosh of Hudnall) Kinlochard, pointed out, the Prime Minister’sambitions. (Lab): We may have lost the end of the noble Lord’s It flags up some of the Government’s ambitions on remarks. I call the next speaker, the noble Baroness, defence, diplomacy and development, but it does not Lady Smith of Newnham. allow us to go into sufficient deal. There are lots of ambitions, but do the Government really know how they are going to deliver on those ambitions? 5.44 pm We had a statement on defence expenditure, as the Baroness Smith of Newnham (LD): My Lords, I am noble Lord, Lord West of Spithead, pointed out: a delighted to be able to speak in this debate and, in welcome uplift, but for the next four years. Anyone particular,grateful to the usual channels and the Ministers. who knows anything about defence procurement knows that four years is not very long for procurement. We May I move down slightly? The reason I was trying have had calls to know when the frigates are going to to speak from there was because it is quite useful to be appear. That is likely to be, as we have already heard, able to see the Minister, and I quite like the idea that the late 2020s. So an uplift in defence expenditure for the Minister is able to see me. The last two times I tried four years was welcome, but, as the noble Lord, Lord to speak in the Chamber, because I am so small, where Hannay, pointed out, it is, to an extent, putting the I have been standing I could not be seen. The Table cart before the horse, because it did not enable us to now has five screens and a mobile phone on it. Obviously, understand what defence commitments needed to be. if I was standing where I was not audible that is also In particular, when we heard about an increase in not desirable. It merely highlights the problem that I defence expenditure, nobody had any inkling whatsoever want to start with—other than thanking the Ministers— that the Government were suddenly going to pull a because I want to raise the issue of the hybrid Parliament nuclear rabbit out of a hat and announce that they very briefly. were going to raise the number of nuclear warheads. I thank the Ministers for being willing to have today’s debate. What was happening, before half-term, Almost nobody in this debate has spoken in favour was whole series of very short statements. In particular, of raising the number of nuclear warheads. Only the the noble Lord, Lord West of Spithead, pointed out noble and gallant Lord, Lord Boyce, suggested that that there were a whole set of very short debates in this is desirable. He suggested that for us to have a which we got a minute to speak. So a five-hour debate deterrent, it needed to be credible, and that we perhaps is very welcome. However, even a five-hour debate need more warheads. But the vast majority of opinion meant a time limit of four minutes for Back-Bench in this debate has been quite different. It has reflected speakers. That would be fine, except the rules about the view of the noble Lord, Lord McDonald of Salford, presence in the Chamber mean that several noble that there is a very real danger that we will potentially Lords had signed up to speak and found they were be in breach of international law and our own scratched because they had not worked out how to be commitments under the non-proliferation treaty if the in the Chamber when there were no seats for them. Government think of raising the number of nuclear This debate is going to finish well within the five warheads. So I ask the Minister what assessment she, hours, but we lost 10 people who would have been the Secretary of State and anybody in the Ministry of speaking. It is regrettable that the current situation Defence has given to our commitments under the means that we are not able to debate quite as we would NPT, and whether increasing the number of nuclear like. warheads is seen to be in breach of Article VI or any We are in a situation where we have the integrated other aspect of the NPT. review and, as the noble Lord, Lord Lancaster, has When I asked the noble Baroness the Leader of the just pointed out, a whole suite of other defence-related House a similar question when the announcement on documents that are coming forward. This means that nuclear weapons was made, she said that there was no we have the opportunity to discuss a range of issues on issue in terms of our international obligations. Is that more than one occasion. true legally? Beyond that, have the Government thought The main focus of today is intended to be the about what the ramifications are politically? One of integrated security, defence and foreign policy review, the people who spoke most eloquently at the time of also including development aid—multiple, different the announcement was Tobias Ellwood, chair of the topics, which, as several noble Lords have already Defence Committee in the other place. He pointed out pointed out, is not particularly integrated. It is a that if this Government feel that the security conditions document that covers a huge range of topics, all very are so dangerous and that chemical and biological interesting, not necessarily integrated and scarcely weapons somehow necessitate a situation where the strategic. It is noticeable that the former Minister, the United Kingdom needs to increase its nuclear capability, noble Baroness, Lady Anelay of St Johns, who currently why is that not true for China or Russia? Why is it not chairs the International Relations and Defence Committee, true for Iran, which may wish to have nuclear weapons? on which I had the pleasure of sitting until recently, What messages do the Government think the nuclear pointed out some of the defects in this report. policy sends? 2035 Integrated Review of Security Etc.[LORDS] Integrated Review of Security Etc. 2036

[BARONESS SMITH OF NEWNHAM] contradictions and inconsistencies that have undermined I think the Minister understands that it is very our role on the world stage. In the past year, we have difficult for the Government to get anything through shown ourselves to be a compassionate nation, built this House when the view across the Chamber is almost on community solidarity and co-operation to bring unanimous.ShehasdonesterlingservicetoyourLordships our country through this pandemic—values that the and,Ihope,todecision-makingontheoverseasoperations Government should reflect in their foreign policy. Bill by taking matters such as genocide, war crimes Being a force for good in the world means always and crimes against humanity back to the Ministry of taking a stand against injustices, human rights abuses Defence and the other place, following a sense that we and suffering, even when it is inconvenient to do so. were united. There is a very similar view on nuclear, so Here, I also pay tribute to my noble friend Frank please could she take that message back? Judd. If he had been here today, he would have been Beyond nuclear, money clearly matters in the context making these points most powerfully. He was a man of of development as well. Many noble Lords have focused principle and a good man. on that, including my noble friends Lord Purvis of Tweed, Lord Bruce of Bennachie and Lady Northover, Being a force for good in the world also means putting and they are right. There are serious moral issues. If forward a vision for a more secure and prosperous we want to be global Britain and say that we wish to future, delivering on the UN’s global goals and fulfilling export our values, some of that is surely about what our commitment to the world’s poorest and most we do with our soft power. Saying that we are going to vulnerablepeople.IsaytothenobleLord,LordMcDonald: decimate our bilateral aid, particularly to a country a common strategy does not require a big super- such as Yemen, is completely unacceptable. Have the department—certainly, a strategy involving diplomacy, Government given any thought to the messages they defence and development does not need a big department. are sending by saying that they will increase defence Rather, it needs a commitment to work together across expenditure—which I welcome as our defence Whitehall. In respect of our position of shadow Secretary spokesperson—but are cutting aid at the same time? of State for International Development, one of the What message do the Government think that sends? many reasons the excellent Preet Gill is in the shadow Could the Minister tell us when she believes that the Cabinet is that she will champion, and is championing, 0.5% will go back to 0.7%? I realise that this might be the sustainable development goals—something that I a little contentious within the governing party, but think is missing from our Government at the moment. some sense that we will move back to 0.7% next year One of the issues that has been a theme throughout would be extremely welcome. this debate is the disconnect between the Government’s Beyond development and defence are the questions words and their actions. How can we be the champion of diplomacy. As certain noble Lords pointed out, of human rights while selling arms to Saudi Arabia, that seems rather lacking. We need to hear more about which has contributed to creating the world’s most diplomacy and soft power generally. The Government desperate humanitarian situation? How can we aspire talk about the BBC World Service but spend the rest to be a world leader in international development of their time denigrating the BBC, so what is the while breaking our legal commitment to 0.7%? message? To maintain our enormous influence on the world As we have heard from many noble Lords, this stage and be a moral force for good, we must be review seems in many ways to be disintegrated, not consistent in our approach. That means once again integrated. It seems to send mixed messages—about becoming a champion of the rule of law. The UN is our soft power and about the threats, particularly how almost alone in its popularity as a global institution—this we deal with China. As my noble friend Lord Alton—and is based on its track record of promising and providing I do call him a friend—pointed out, there are questions stability and progress. As the noble Lord, Lord Ahmad, about genocide and how we deal with a country such said in his introduction, we should take pride in our as China. This integrated review,like so many government role as a founder and use our influence to put our statements, appears to send mixed messages. principles into practice. Perhaps trade trumps defence and short-termism We must also stand unwavering in our support for trumps long-termism and our values; I very much NATO and strengthen our bond with our closest hope that it does not, but I would be grateful if, in her security allies. As my noble friends Lord Reid and response, the Minister could tell us what values are Lord Browne and other noble Lords have made clear, most important to this Government. And so that we in increasing the number of nuclear warheads the have a sense of strategy, not a laundry list, could she Government are not only undermining the non- tell us what the Government’s priorities in this review proliferation treaty but recklessly out of step with our will be? NATO partners. The Opposition are fully committed to the renewal of Trident to deter the most extreme 5.55 pm threats to our national security, but we must also use Lord Collins of Highbury (Lab): My Lords, I begin our position as a nuclear power to support multilateral by congratulating the noble Lord, Lord Godson, on controls on these weapons. his excellent maiden speech, a convention I am also As the review acknowledges, we will always be happy to follow. I really do look forward to hearing strongest when we work in tandem with our closest more of his contributions in these debates, particularly partners, including on our international obligations, on international matters. but there is no question that our position as a bridge The review is welcome but, for it to be worth the between Europe and the United States has been put paper it is written on, the Government need to end the under strain over the past decade. Together, the United 2037 Integrated Review of Security Etc.[22 APRIL 2021] Integrated Review of Security Etc. 2038

Kingdom, the United States and Europe can provide Despite the review confirming that Russia poses the an unrivalled united front for the values that we share. greatest threat to our security, the Government still Beyond the US and Europe, we must also deepen our have not fully implemented any of the Russia report’s co-operation with other Five Eyes allies and look to recommendations. I repeat the question I put to the emerging powers that share our world view. noble Lord, Lord Ahmad, earlier: can the Minister explain the Government’s failure to implement any of This includes some in the Indo-Pacific, particularly the Russia report’s recommendations? After all, it is fellow democracies, but this will require more than 18 months since the report was completed and more warm words, and the Government’s plans seem rather than three years since the chemical weapons attack in thin on detail. Do the Government see this as a Salisbury. relationship based on security, regional trade or values? Where are the resources to back up this proposal? Will The Government’sinconsistency towards Russia must the Government request partner status at ASEAN? end, and the same can be said for China. The integrated Do they intend to work within existing structures only? review warns that China “presents the biggest state-based threat to the UK’s economic We must strengthen our ties with civil society too, security”, and there is little of substance on this in the review. yet the Government have refused a complete audit of Women’s organisations, charities, faith groups, trade our relationship with that state. The noble Baroness unions and other organised communities have all and the noble Lord, Lord Ahmad, often speak against demonstrated that their role in geopolitics is indispensable. the human rights violations in Hong Kong, yet the When nations fail in their most important task of Government are reopening two UK-China government providing safety, security and freedom for their people, investment forums that closed when Beijing introduced it is always civil society that leaps first to their defence. the national security law. They are being reintroduced By breaking legislation and a manifesto commitment when that law is not only still there but being enforced, to spend 0.7% of GNI on ODA, the aid budget and people are being put in prison as a consequence of weakens our credibility, as we have heard in this debate. it. It does not make sense. It will strip life-saving support from millions of people. The Foreign Office sanctions officials for their I emphasise that maintaining 0.7% would not have persecution of the Uighur Muslims, but refuses—as avoided cuts—it would still have resulted in cuts to the noble Lord, Lord Alton, said—to back Trade Bill ODA—but it would have helped to maintain the order amendments preventing deals with countries suspected of priorities.That is where this review and the Government of genocide. I hope the Minister will respond to the have got it wrong. When will the Government come to noble Lord’s specific questions on this point. Parliament, present the change to legislation and put I will conclude. If the Government are truly to stand it to a vote? for our values as a nation, their actions must match Our commitment to the world’s poorest and most their words. I repeat what the noble Lord, Lord Kerr, vulnerable also means spending on the right aid projects. said: we need once again to become a reliable and trusted That means supporting multipliers, such as nutrition, voice in the world. cleanwaterandeducation,whichhavemyriaddevelopment benefits.Unfortunately,today’sannouncement has shown 6.08 pm that the Government are cutting these exact schemes. The Minister of State, Ministry of Defence (Baroness As we heard in the debate, analysis by Save the Goldie) (Con): My Lords, we have had another fascinating Children suggests that spending on education for girls—a and thought-provoking debate today on the integrated government priority—would reduce by 25% compared review of security, defence, development and foreign with 2019-20 levels. The charity also estimated that policy. One of the challenges confronting anyone who spending on humanitarian preparedness and response has to wind up on such a debate is that I am confronted would be cut by 44%. As the noble Lord, Lord Purvis, by a fragrant pot-pourri of issues relating to foreign said, on Tuesday the FCDO Yemen development director affairs, international development, defence, global told the Commons IDC that the decision to cut foreign relations, global engagement and response to threats. aid to Yemen by more than 50% was made without It was a wide-ranging debate. I have a heap of notes any assessment of the impact on women, those with here and will try to address some of the major issues disabilities or internally displaced people. We have to that have emerged. assume that these cuts are being made with no coherent As usual, shining through the debate is the expertise strategy or clear understanding of their impact. your Lordships have in this area. In my opinion, the I am pleased to see that the integrated review confirmed House of Lords is quite simply a centre of excellence. that a development Command Paper will soon be This was eloquently recognised by my noble friend published, but there seems to be no timeline for when Lord Godson in his excellent maiden speech. I thank this will appear. Can the Minister confirm when the all noble Lords for their contributions. I am very glad international development paper will be published? that the noble Baroness, Lady Smith of Newnham, As my noble friend Lord McConnell said, the cuts found the debate welcome and that I am visible to her. to ODA will make the world a more unpredictable It has never occurred to me that that was a particularly and insecure place. Notwithstanding the moral and pleasing prospect to anyone but, none the less, if it humanitarian case to alleviate poverty, this continued affords her pleasure, it is certainly always a pleasure to injustice will often manifest itself in national, regional see her. and global threats if not addressed. Inequality can be I will touch shortly on some of the substantive one of the biggest drivers of insecurity. points that have been made. However, I would first like 2039 Integrated Review of Security Etc.[LORDS] Integrated Review of Security Etc. 2040

[BARONESS GOLDIE] security and collaboration. I am pleased to confirm to return to our starting point and remind colleagues that the UK’s tangible dynamism is generating global of the context in which this review has been conducted. interest. I will now try and pick up on some of the As the most comprehensive report into our defence specific and incisive points which have been raised. and foreign policy since the end of the Cold War, our The noble Lord Tunnicliffe, kicked off the debate in review paints a compelling picture of the complex, response to the Minister. I have the greatest affection diverse and swiftly changing pace of the threats our and respect for him, but today I thought he was rather nation faces. I welcome the recognition of the significance more of a glass-half-empty rather than a glass-half-full of the integrated review which my noble friend Lord kind of chap. I felt that his reflection was an unjustifiably Howell, among others, articulated. I also welcome the gloomy perspective. I would just say to him, as the comments made about the review by the noble and noble and gallant Lord, Lord Boyce, pointed out, that gallant Lord, Lord Houghton, and the noble Lords, our whole approach is predicated on threat. That is Lord Robertson and Lord Alderdice, albeit that they what determines what kind of defence capabilities we had questions to ask. I much appreciated the comments need. As I said, we have over £24 billion to reform and on the integrated review by the noble Lord, Lord Hannay. reduce our Armed Forces, the defence budget will I think it is recognised, across the Chamber, that this is grow consistently between 2019-22 and 2024-25, and it a significant piece of work. comfortably exceeds both the 2019 manifesto of a We are living in an age of systemic competition. As 0.5% increase per year and the NATO commitment of events on the Ukrainian border remind us, we are 2% GDP on defence. We are securing jobs, investing in confronting a resurgent Russia, whose threat to our UK industry, buying the next-generation capabilities security goes well beyond the conventional. Contrary and research, especially in cyber and space. I would to what the critics say—that this is an incoherent or a therefore say to the noble Lord, Lord Tunnicliffe, that disintegrated review—it is the very opposite: it is this is an exciting perspective. That is a defence future demonstrably integrated. We live in a world where brimming with optimism and purpose, and this delivers Iran and North Korea continue to destabilise their what we need to meet the threat. regions. An increasingly assertive China is modernising and expanding its military. All the while, globalisation I suspect that the noble Lord, Lord Kerr, was trying and technological proliferation are challenging western to nip at my ankles like a wee Scottie dog. I do not security and paving the way for global competition agree that this is the vision of a small gorilla beating over our trade, values and interests. Gone is the notion its chest. This outlines the vision of a country that reflects that our western scientific edge will always win the a serious global defence contributor. day. Today, cheap technology gives our enemies more The noble and gallant Lord, Lord Boyce, like the options. Gone, too, is the idea that our competitors noble Lord, Lord West, raised the issue of the Royal wage war only in open, large-scale conflicts. Instead, Navy, which is exceedingly important. As they are our adversaries seek to target our values and undermine both aware, our ambition is to grow to 24 frigates and our democracy through insidious activity in the grey destroyers in the 2030s on a continuous drumbeat of zone. Instead of a binary state of peace and war, we shipbuilding, strengthening the union and UK prosperity find ourselves caught in a netherworld of constant to become the foremost naval power in Europe. They competition will be aware of the exciting shipbuilding programme However, as my noble friend Lord Ahmad outlined now in course. so eloquently, the integrated review presents a bold At times I rather felt that the noble Baroness, Lady strategy for British leadership and the domestic renewal Northover, was looking through the rear-view mirror that will strengthen our nation at home and abroad. It rather than gazing through a clear windscreen. She is is a plan to use all the levers of state in unison, with absolutely right: of course the EU is important, and defence playing a vital role. It is a plan not just to we seek a positive partnership with it, both diplomatically protect our people and interests but to invest in science and in respect of defence. We are of course the biggest and technology while using our international networks defence spender in Europe and the second largest and global footprint to exert influence intelligently to spender in NATO. Separately from that, we have deliver an effective impact. strong bilateral relationships with various EU countries Coupled with our integrated operating concept and and we certainly value these engagements. So there is the recent publication of our defence Command Paper, no question that the EU and EU member states matter we have signalled the biggest shift in our defence to us. The security of the EU directly impacts on the policy for 30 years. Backed up by the Prime Minister’s security of the United Kingdom and I wish to make additional investment of more than £24 billion, defence clear that we are very conscious of that and will never will now modernise to meet the dangers and deliver a overlook it. bold vision for the United Kingdom. That vision will The noble Baroness, Lady Northover, among others, see our Armed Forces operating on both sides of the including my noble friend Lady Anelay of St Johns, threshold of armed conflict, and see our people forward my noble friend Lord Balfe, and the noble Lords, deployed, persistently present—my noble friend Lord LordPurvisof TweedandLordMcNicolof WestKilbride, Lancaster rightly emphasised the importance of that—and raised the important matter of overseas development constantly campaigning to protect and promote the assistance. I have to say—I am probably repeating interests and values of the United Kingdom and her information already known to your Lordships—that allies. The noble Lord, Lord Hannay, is absolutely we are having to pitch our ODA spend on the back of a right about the essential role of allies and partners. UKeconomy11.3%smallerthanlastyearandundergoing That is the only route to aggregate improved global its worst contraction for 300 years. The deficit this year 2041 Integrated Review of Security Etc.[22 APRIL 2021] Integrated Review of Security Etc. 2042 is projected to be double its peak during the financial and the actions of potential adversaries. Wewill maintain crisis. Against that backdrop, we have been forced to the minimum destructive power needed to guarantee prioritise public spending, including temporarily—it is that the deterrent remains credible. temporary—reducing ODA from 0.7% to 0.5% of GNI. The modest 15% change to the nuclear stockpile However, we are still spending £10 billion on ODA in ceiling and the decision about how we deploy weapons 2021 and we will return to 0.7% of GNI as soon as the have been taken in the context of a darkening threat fiscal situation allows. It may be worth reminding your picture, and driven by changing judgments on what we LordshipsthattheUKremainsadevelopmentsuperpower need to deliver to achieve the required deterrent effect. because, based on OECD data for 2020, the UK will be So I say to the noble Lord, Lord Browne of Ladyton, the third-largest ODA donor in the G7 as a percentage that as a Government we need to make these judgments of GNI in 2021, spending a greater percentage of our and we do not apologise for doing that. The noble GNI than the United States, Japan, Canada or Italy. Baroness, Lady Smith, specifically raised the issue of On girls, I say to the noble Baroness, Lady Armstrong compliance with the non-proliferation treaty. We are of Hill Top, that this year the FCDO will invest fully compliant with the treaty and we are deeply £400 million in girls’ education in over 25 countries. I, committed to our collective long-term goal of a world too, was conscious of something missing today, which without nuclear weapons under the framework of the is simply Lord Judd, who was her close friend. He was NPT.That is only achieved by multilateral disarmament, an indefatigable contributor to our proceedings and it not by weakening the deterrent. has been clear from the comments made during the My noble friend Lord King of Bridgwater raised an debate just how much he is missed. important issue about communications in these difficult My noble friend Lady Anelay and the noble Lord, times. We certainly live in a very different environment Lord Purvis of Tweed, asked questions about the to what many of us were familiar with some years ago. approach to ODA. The approach marks a strategic We take the crisis communications very seriously. We shift, because it is putting our aid budget to work are confident that our nuclear communications alongside our diplomatic network, our science and infrastructure remains resilient in the current heightened technology expertise and our economic partnerships security environment. in tackling global challenges. That is an important In a slightly different context, my noble friend Lord tandem to observe and will make sure that spend is Wei raised vital matters such as defence, security and more focused and, I hope, more effective in creating resilience against new threats of pandemics and disease. and achieving positive results. How do we respond, and what is our pre-planning? It The noble Lords, Lord Purvis and Lord McNicol, is a vital issue and reaches across several government and others, raised the matter of Yemen. The UK has departments, so I shall look at his contribution in pledged at least £87 million of aid to Yemen, making Hansard and offer to write to him. us the fifth largest contributor in 2021-22. That is a A number of your Lordships raise the important floor; it is not a ceiling. The noble Lord, Lord McNicol, issue of climate change in general and COP 26 in asked specifically about the development strategy. As particular. The noble Lord, Lord McDonald of Salford, he noted, the Government committed to publish a specifically raised this issue and was interested in new international development strategy, building in overseas territories, and the noble Baroness, Lady the priorities set out in the integrated review.The strategy Bennett of Manor Castle, also raised the matter. I will be published this year. noted her comments, but I would argue that the UK is The matter of Afghanistan was raised specifically making major efforts in setting an example and, with by my noble friend Lady Anelay of St Johns. I reassure COP 26, providing a vitally important forum for discussion her that the UK remains committed to supporting later this year in the very attractive city of Glasgow. Afghanistan on its path to a more peaceful and positive My noble friend Lord Sheikh asked about climate future. We are working closely with the United States change. It will be the UK’s highest international priority and with our NATO allies and partners to support a for the next decade, including biodiversity loss. This secure and stable Afghanistan. That is a relationship—and week we committed to set in law the world’s most interest—which endures beyond withdrawal. The focus ambitious climate change target, cutting emissions by now has to be on the political solution and political 78% by 2035 compared to 1990 levels. As I mentioned progress. That is the next phase of Afghanistan’s a moment ago, the noble Lord, Lord McDonald, was development, as the Secretary General of NATO so interested in the particular position of the overseas pertinently pointed out. territories. We have been working closely with all The matter of nuclear was raised by a number of overseas territories in the lead-up to COP 26. We your Lordships, including the noble Lord, Lord Reid regularly meet representatives, and our officials engage of Cardowan, my noble friends Lord Howell and with them, from the overseas territories to ensure that Lord King of Bridgwater, the noble Baroness, Lady their unique perspectives are accurately represented. Smith, and others. A number of issues arose. As a A number of noble Lords raised the issue of China. general observation, I would say that a policy of I thought the noble and gallant Lord, Lord Stirrup, deterrence requires a deterrent which deters. It has to gave a fascinating analysis on China. He rightly identified maintain that ability.That is why an increase in warheads the delicate and difficult balance of maintaining discourse was deemed necessary. In relation to the stockpile of and trade, but calling out wrong, however and whenever warheads, we have consistently stated that we will it arises. That is certainly the approach we would wish both keep our nuclear posture under constant review to pursue. The noble and gallant Lord, Lord Houghton, in the light of the international security environment provided a thought-provoking commentary in relation 2043 Integrated Review of Security Etc.[LORDS] Arrangement of Business 2044

[BARONESS GOLDIE] Secretaries have joint political accountability. Official to the United Kingdom articulating a moral authority. level governance bodies engage the full range of That is a profound and wise observation, and the departmental stakeholders in the National Cyber Force’s integrated review reflects an aspiration by the UK to requirements, delivery and long-term development. demonstrate, articulate and represent our values and The Ministry of Defence is providing the growth principles and be a global leader for positive achievements funding for the cyber force, so the MoD Permanent in that respect. Secretary is the principle accounting officer who sits in The noble and gallant Lord, Lord Stirrup, and my defence and as part of strategic command. There is a noble friend Lady Meyer also asked about our attitude well-integratedawarenessof activityandawell-understood to China. I have to say that we see China’s increasing programme for activity. international assertiveness and scale as potentially the I conclude by focusing specifically on defence issues. most significant geopolitical shifts in the 2020s, but Let us be clear: the threats have moved on and we continued co-operation is vital in tackling the most must move with them. The next decade will bring important international challenges of this generation, unprecedented levels of investment in defence, with from climate change to biodiversity. We will always more than £85 billion spent on new equipment and call out what is wrong. The IR reflects that we need to support in the next four years alone. There will be new adapt to a more competitive world; we are clear that ships and missiles for the Royal Navy, new fighter China is vital to solving global issues, so we must and aircraft and sensors for the RAF and a more deployed will continue to find areas on which to collaborate. and better protected Army. The threat is global; our reach with our allies and partners is also global. At The matter of the Indo-Pacific came up. Specifically, home, our mission to protect our people and enhance the noble Lord, Lord, Bilimoria, echoed by the noble our economy will extend to the very fingertips of the Viscount, Lord Waverley, and the noble Baroness, union. Even as we continue to support British industry Lady D’Souza, had an interest in that issue. I am and security to the tune of billions of pounds, we will particularly grateful to the noble Lord, Lord Bilimoria, keep strengthening our global leadership, shaping the not just for his positive reception for the integrated open international order for the better and remaining review but for his helpful commentary on the language a force for good in the world. we use when we describe it as the Indo-Pacific tilt. I am pleased that that resonates positively with him. Above all in defence, we will continue backing our The Indo-Pacific is critical to the UK’s economy, our people. They are not just this nation’s finest asset but security and our global ambition to support open the best possible ambassadors for global Britain. In societies. By 2030, the Indo-Pacific will represent more the midst of Covid, our brave men and women in the than 40% of global GDP. The noble Lord, Lord Armed Forces have shown their mettle. We will do Collins, asked what the Indo-Pacific tilt means. I would more than give them the skills they need to adapt to a say it is a healthy miscellany of objectives, because it new age. We will do more to look after their families. means a commitment to long-term, integrated engagement We will do more to reach out to every corner of our to ensure that we safeguard UK economic and security country and create a military that truly represents us interests, and that open societies and values are protected. all. Our reforms will create a bolder force for a bolder That requires both a diplomatic and defence endeavour. Britain; a force both resilient and ready to confront the complex challenges of an era of constant competition. My noble friend Lord Risby raised the matter of Russia and how we are responding to Russia. NATO This has been a fascinating debate. I repeat my is the enduring guarantee of our security and we work appreciation of and gratitude to noble Lords who continuously to strengthen alliance capabilities to defend have contributed. It has been an important opportunity and deter threats emanating from Russia. We will for an exchange of information and views and I thank work with NATO allies to ensure a united western noble Lords for their participation. response, combining military intelligence and diplomatic efforts. UK forces have a leading role in NATO’s Motion agreed. enhanced forward presence in the Baltic states to enhance Euro-Atlantic security, reassure our allies and deter adversaries. 6.32 pm My noble friend Lady Meyer asked about Ukraine. WeareunwaveringinoursupportforUkraine’ssovereignty Sitting suspended. and territorial integrity,as we have demonstrated through sanctions on Russia since 2014, and we are monitoring the situation closely. Since 2017, our Russia strategy and cross-government Russian unit has brought together Arrangement of Business the UK’s diplomatic, intelligence and military capability Announcement to maximum effect. It is a working example of the key principles of the integrated review. 7.20 pm I think the noble and gallant Lord, Lord Craig, was the only Member to raise specifically the issue of the The Deputy Speaker (Lord McNicol of West Kilbride) new structure for the National Cyber Force. I seem to (Lab): My Lords, the Hybrid Sitting of the House will have made a poor effort of reassuring him, so let me now resume. I ask Members to respect social distancing. try and do slightly better. It is a partnership between For the Motion on the Diocesan Boards of Education Defence and GCHQ and the Defence and Foreign Measure, the time limit is one hour. 2045 Diocesan Boards of Education Measure[22 APRIL 2021] Diocesan Boards of Education Measure 2046

Diocesan Boards of Education Measure majorities in the General Synod. The Ecclesiastical Motion to Direct Committee of Parliament considered the Measure on 23 February 2021 and has reported that it considers 7.20 pm the Measure to be expedient. It has issued a favourable report, which it has laid before the House. I beg to Moved by The Lord Bishop of Durham move. That this House do direct that, in accordance with the Church of England Assembly (Powers) Act 1919, the Diocesan Boards of Education Measure 7.24 pm be presented to Her Majesty for the Royal Assent. Lord Jones (Lab) [V]: My Lords, I thank the right reverend Prelate for his incisive introduction and The Lord Bishop of Durham [V]: My Lords, the acknowledge the quality and helpfulness of the General Diocesan Boards of Education Measure updates and Synod’sbriefing and explanatory notes.I also acknowledge replaces the Diocesan Boards of Education Measure the fine, experienced chairmanship of our committee 1991, which provides the legal framework within which by the noble and learned Baroness, Lady Butler-Sloss. the Church of England’s dioceses engage and work with church schools. One wishes the Measure well. It was interesting to hear from the right reverend Prelate the scale of the Church of England schools are an integral part of Church’s school numbers. I served for some 10 years our state education system. There are currently over as chair of a diocesan board of education and lifelong 4,600 Church of England schools attended by some learning. For the board, our bishop was everything; 1 million children. To put this in context, one-quarter the archdeacon too was always there for us. The small of primary schools and over 200 secondary schools are professional staff was vital. One saw first-hand the Church of England schools, and some 15 million people Church’sgift of schooling to those 19th-century far-flung alive today went to a Church of England school. settlements and communities of the heartland—cefn This Measure is necessary to reflect a number of gwlad. The Church admits the humblest. We pioneered significant changes to the education landscape over a first: a joint Roman Catholic and Church in Wales the past 30 years. The key changes made by the new high school, which remains a success, in an urban Measure before your Lordships’ House reflect the industrial township. One’s education portfolio and current and anticipated future educational environment three administrations in the 1970s were helpful in in which diocesan boards of education are and will be all this. operating. As a diocesan chair, one always paid tribute to lay First, the new Measure makes suitable provision in members. Mostly female, our lay members brought relation to academies and multi-academy trusts to much wisdom, insight, mature judgment and common reflect the development of the school system since 2010. sense—dedication indeed. With them, it was always a Secondly, diocesan boards of education will still be case of “Everything for the child”, for the child’s able to be independent charities and, like other such safety and for their future. There was also a shrewd charities, to be either incorporated or unincorporated. understanding of the teaching force as well. However, the new Measure will also enable a diocesan board of education to be a statutory committee of the TherightreverendPrelatemightagreethatparagraphs101 diocesan board of finance rather than an independent and 102 in the comments and explanations on the right charity. The option to be a statutory committee of the to attend and speak are relevant and of importance. diocesan board of finance regularises the position for The General Synod is illustrative of democracy. In a number of dioceses which, as a matter of practice, paragraphs 127 and 128, under the heading “Final already have similar arrangements in place which they Approval”, we are given the bald, transparent voting have found to be a useful governance arrangement. figuresforallthreeHouses.Withmorethan50Westminster years’ membership, I appreciate good majorities. Thirdly, under the new Measure, each diocesan synod must make a scheme designating a body as the In conclusion, my query to the right reverend Prelate diocesan board of education for the diocese and must as he delivers this Measure is: will he elaborate a little send the scheme to the Secretary of State. This simplifies more on Section 18, which is headed “Guidance”? the current system which requires the Secretary of Here the references to the Archbishops’ Council come State’s approval. The Department for Education has across as perhaps somewhat opaque, so could he please been consulted and supports this change. elaborate? Might he also say a little more about the Fourthly, the new Measure makes express provision right to attend and to speak? That is so relevant and so for joint diocesan boards of education for two or more important. dioceses. Although we do not yet know how many dioceses will pursue this option, it was considered important that the new Measure provides explicitly for how such joint boards should be set up, structured 7.28 pm and, if necessary, unwound, to facilitate more joint Baroness Butler-Sloss (CB) [V]: My Lords, I am boards being set up in future. chair of the Ecclesiastical Committee. As the right The Department for Education and the Charity reverend Prelate has said, this Measure came before Commission were consulted on the Measure and the our committee, and we considered it. It was extremely amendments to it, and any points raised have been straightforward and, without any delay, we deemed it addressed. The Measure passed with comfortable expedient. 2047 Diocesan Boards of Education Measure[LORDS] Cathedrals Measure 2048

[BARONESS BUTLER-SLOSS] Order Paper. The Cathedrals Measure provides a new 7.28 pm statutory framework for the governance and regulation of 41 Church of England cathedrals and will replace Lord Bhatia (Non-Afl) [V]: My Lords, the comments the framework in the Cathedrals Measure 1999. and explanations document produced by the General Synod’s legislative committee explains that: Our cathedrals are national treasures which it is “The Diocesan Boards of Education Measure updates and both a privilege and a responsibility to care for. They replaces the Diocesan Boards of Education Measure 1991 … play a key role in our national life, with some 10 million which provides the legal framework within which the Church of adults visiting them each year and around 330,000 England’s dioceses engage and work with Church schools.” children enjoying free educational visits to them. All Providing further explanation, the committee says: our cathedrals are involved in work in their local “The Measure enables DBEs to be a statutory committee of community, and they contribute around £220 million their Diocesan Board of Finance and provides clarification of the annually to the UK economy, employing some 3,000 existing two options for the constitutional form of DBEs”. people. Above all, however, each cathedral serves its The Church of England has established many schools community as the mother church of its area and the that have educated tens of thousands of students of seat of a bishop, and remains in use for its original all races and faiths. All the schools are charitable purpose. entities and are properly monitored by the charities board. I recommend that these schools should continue Through their presence, worship and varied work, to operate as they have been set up. cathedrals reach out to their local and wider communities in many ways. We have seen examples of this in recent 7.30 pm days when cathedrals have been local centres of prayer, remembering and thanksgiving. It is, therefore, vital The Lord Bishop of Durham [V]: My Lords, I thank that the legislative framework in which our cathedrals the noble Lords who have spoken. The noble Lord, operate facilitates and supports them in functioning in Lord Jones, asked about the Archbishops’ Council. a manner that is fit for purpose in the 21st century. The Archbishops’ Council is the standing statutory body established by the National Institutions Measure As noble Lords may recall, a commission was 1998 to co-ordinate the work of the Church of England established by the archbishops in the 1990s, chaired by more broadly, so it is a very suitable body to give Baroness Howe of Idlicote, whose work laid the guidance. If the noble Lord is content, I will write to foundation for the Cathedrals Measure 1999. However, him on the rights to attend and speak. I assure him, best practice in charity governance, safeguarding and however, that those rights will continue to be upheld. the heritage sector has moved on considerably since I thank the noble and learned Baroness, Lady Butler- then.InJanuary2017theArchbishops’Councilestablished Sloss, and indeed the whole Ecclesiastical Committee, the Cathedrals Working Group, partly in response to a for the work that they have done on this Measure and request from the Bishop of Peterborough following a all the work that they do for us on Church of England visitation at Peterborough Cathedral the previous year Measures. I thank the noble and learned Baroness for that had revealed a number of concerns about cathedral her chairing—indeed, this measure was expedited very governance. speedily when we presented it to the Ecclesiastical The Cathedrals Working Group was charged with Committee. taking a hard look at how the legislation governing I also thank the noble Lord, Lord Bhatia, for his cathedrals was operating and what improvements should kind comments on the Church of England schools be made. It was to have a particular focus on financial and our role in education. The House may be assured management, major building projects, safeguarding, that we are fully committed to maintaining this work accountability,oversight and scrutiny.In its final report in and continuing to improve it in every way that we can June 2018, the working group set out its recommendations while seeking to uphold the very highest standards of for the future of cathedrals. The most significant of education in every area that we are responsible for. these related to the governance, structure and regulation With my thanks to noble Lords for their comments, of cathedrals. The General Synod endorsed the I beg to move. recommendation of the Cathedrals Working Group in July 2018. Legislation was introduced to give effect to Motion agreed. the recommendations that involved legislative change. The result is this Measure. Cathedrals Measure During the progress of the legislation in the General Motion to Direct Synod, those responsible for the Measure listened carefully to the cathedral community and consulted 7.32 pm with the Charity Commission. A number of significant Moved by The Lord Bishop of Durham changes were made to the draft legislation during the synodical process. While the Measure before your That this House do direct that, in accordance Lordships’ House reflects the key recommendations with the Church of England Assembly (Powers) of the Cathedrals Working Group’s report, those Act 1919, the Cathedrals Measure be presented to recommendations have been implemented in a way Her Majesty for the Royal Assent. that is supported by those in the cathedral community. This is demonstrated by the strong support that the The Lord Bishop of Durham [V]: My Lords, I beg to Measure received at final approval, with no General move the second Motion standing in my name on the Synod members voting against it. 2049 Cathedrals Measure [22 APRIL 2021] Cathedrals Measure 2050

The principal changes that the measure will bring an annual income of more than £30 million. It also about are as follows. Cathedrals will be brought within maintains a leading research library and a public art the regulatory jurisdiction of the Charity Commission. gallery with a renowned collection of Old Masters. Cathedral chapters will have a majority of non-executive The chief executive of this hybrid institution is the members. Cathedrals will no longer be obliged to have Dean of Christ Church who, since its foundation by a council undertaking certain statutory functions separate Henry VIII, has had to be a vicar of the Church of from the cathedral chapter. Instead, all trustee functions England. The problem is that, to all intents and purposes, will be held in the same place and exercised by an there is not a dean at the moment, and there has not expanded chapter.The Charity Commission was consulted been for two and a half years, since the relationship on the Measure and on the amendments to it, and any broke down between the present dean and the governing points raised have been addressed. I thank the staff of body of Christ Church, which comprises both the the Charity Commission for their helpful comments cathedral canons and the university academic staff of and prompt responses, particularly given the additional the college. pressures on them during the pandemic. I do not want to get into the reasons for this The Measure, like its predecessor, does not apply to breakdown, which, as the right reverend Prelate just the Cathedral Church of Christ in Oxford, because said, are the subject of ongoing proceedings, but the that cathedral is, uniquely, both a cathedral and a key point in terms of governance is that, after two and college of the University of Oxford. It is also a royal a half years, legal fees now in excess of £1 million and foundation, governed by an entirely different statutory repeated votes of no confidence by the governing body regime in the form of statutes made under the Universities in the dean, who is not undertaking his functions, of Oxford and Cambridge Acts 1877 and 1923, and there is still no resolution in sight, nor even an indication therefore outside the scope of this Measure. Although of who might provide such a resolution. This is because, I am aware that some noble Lords have concerns in under the Christ Church Oxford Act 1867, which still relation to Christ Church, I do not intend to comment applies, while there is a so-called governing body for on these matters, partly because they are outside the the management of the college, that body has no role scope of the Measure. in the appointment of the dean, which lies with the I understand that any proceedings relating to the Crown alone, nor does the governing body have power dean under the Clergy Discipline Measure are not to remove the dean, except in the extreme case of technically subject to sub judice rules, but the Companion conduct deemed scandalous. to the Standing Orders nevertheless states that Furthermore, the dean’s appointment is not term- “it is recognised that Parliament should not generally intervene in limited, and there is no external body that has the matters where the decision has been delegated to others by power to resolve the breakdown between the dean and Parliament itself.” the governing body. Neither the Church of England These matters are subject to a statutory process under nor the University of Oxford has any legal powers of the Clergy Discipline Measure, and I therefore intend intervention, and while the Charity Commission has to say no more about them. regulatory oversight, this does not extend to a power This Measure is vital to provide cathedrals the to resolve disputes of this kind, unless the commission governance structures that they need to support effective deems charitable trustees, who in this case are the safeguarding,healthyfinancesandincreasedaccountability entire governing body of 70, to be in breach of their going forward. The Ecclesiastical Committee considered charitable trusteeships, which is not an issue here. the Measure on 23 February 2021, reported that it We have to hope and, indeed, pray that this paralysis considers the Measure to be expedient and has issued can be resolved quickly and a solution found to the a favourable report which it has laid before the House. position of the current dean, but once that happens it I beg to move. is essential that there is a radical reform of Christ Church so that this byzantine structure does not continue. 7.38 pm I suggest two obvious reforms that should take place before the appointment of a new dean. First, the Lord Adonis (Lab): My Lords, this Measure is cathedral and the college should be divided as institutions. unsatisfactory because it seeks to improve the governance Secondly, both should get modern leadership and of England’s cathedrals but, as the right reverend governance: the cathedral should come under this Prelate the Bishop of Durham has just said, it does governance Measure and the college should become a not apply to the one cathedral whose governance has, conventional university institution that appoints and for the last two and a half years, totally broken down: supervises its own chief executive. The post should not Christ Church, Oxford, which is both a cathedral and be restricted, as now, to a vicar of the Church of a college, and forms a substantial part of the University England, which is deeply inappropriate for a university of Oxford. There is still no end in sight to this governance in the 21st century, as well as contradicting equalities breakdown, and therefore it is essential to draw the legislation. situation to the attention of the House. I am glad to see that the right reverend Prelate the Bishop of Oxford Christ Church, Oxford, is one of England’sworld-class is also in his place. institutions. Its governance has collapsed and it needs sorting out urgently. Christ Church is a complex undertaking. The cathedral serves a diocese of 2 million people across the Thames valley and includes a cathedral school. The associated 7.43 pm college has 700 students, 70 academic staff and a total Baroness Harris of Richmond (LD) [V]: My Lords, staff of 400. It has an endowment of £600 million and my interests in this debate are recorded in the report 2051 Cathedrals Measure [LORDS] Cathedrals Measure 2052

[BARONESS HARRIS OF RICHMOND] policy that protects its clergy from this kind of stalking on the Measure, particularly that I am high steward and obsessive behaviour. The perpetrator posts highly of Ripon Cathedral, which is mentioned in the damaging allegations about this priest on the internet, Measure. I gave notice of my intention to speak when which remain there as the diocese has declined to help. we were in the Ecclesiastical Committee meeting because This priest—like any other I know—simply does not I want to record my particular displeasure about how have the funds to bring an injunction against the the Clergy Discipline Measure, the CDM, operates, person stalking him, so it goes on. and how two priests I know have been treated by There must be many other shocking examples of the Church. Speaking to this Measure is the only way how the Church fails to safeguard its clergy from these I can address my concerns and bring them to your people, yet it has spent a lot of money getting in place Lordships’ attention. a safeguarding policy against its clergy. I believe it The first case concerns a parish priest who was needs to look again at how it supports its own and, at accused, wrongly and maliciously, of taking money least in these two cases, quickly remedy its mistakes. from a parishioner. He was arrested, interrogated and put into a prison cell overnight. This was an absolutely horrendous experience, made worse because he had 7.48 pm absolutely no idea what it was all about. He is still Lord Cormack (Con) [V]: My Lords, I begin with an recovering from it some two and a half years later. To apology.I have been speaking from within the Chamber make matters worse, he was suspended from his ministry, for many weeks now, but because King’s Cross station his home was searched and his bank account frozen. is closed tomorrow and I had to get back to Lincoln, He was without funds, unable even to hire a solicitor. I am here. I thought I would be zooming in on your It later emerged that personal and private details of Lordships. In fact, I am speaking on a telephone his funding were passed between his bishop and because my computer has gone down, so a double archdeacon, the police and something called the core apology. group, which was looking into so-called safeguarding I am tempted to follow the noble Baroness, Lady matters in the case. This in itself is outrageous and a Harris of Richmond, but will not do so, although the breach of data protection guidelines. temptation is all the greater because we have recently My friend’s suspension lasted long after the police had our Bishop in Lincoln suspended for 20 months. decided there was no further action to be taken against He is now back, but as an example of natural justice it him. No charge was ever brought, and by then they does not bear close examination. were pursuing the real culprits of the fraud. It was I want to talk about the Cathedrals Measure. I had many months before he heard what was happening a wonderful compensation for not being with your with his case, and in the meantime he was given little Lordships tonight, because when I went across, as I or no pastoral support from the diocese, in contravention thought, for evening prayer in our glorious cathedral of its own guidelines. I have given the right reverend in Lincoln, we were actually having the first service at Prelate the Bishop of Bristol a full account of this evensong in our marvellous St Hugh’s Choir since incident, as she expressed a willingness to understand early March last year and the first lockdown. It was a what happened. wonderful spiritual upliftment. The President of Tribunals, who was dealing with a I will of course support this Measure. It has had complaint from the archdeacon involving the case, unanimous support in General Synod, a body on dismissed it entirely in November 2020, noting that which I served for some 10 years. But I will raise one there had been serious failures of process and citing or two points and would be grateful if the right reverend particularly the archdeacon but also the “inordinate Prelate the Bishop of Durham would either reply this time” that the diocese safeguarding report took to evening or write to me. produce.This seriously damaged the quality and credibility While I accept the logic of cathedrals coming within of that report, which I understand contains a large the jurisdiction of the Charity Commission, it has not number of significant factual errors. had an easy time of late and I want to be completely I have some questions for the right reverend Prelate satisfied that it will be able to cope with this extra and would be happy for him to write to me if he feels workload. It is a matter that I raised on the Ecclesiastical that is more appropriate. Will this safeguarding report Committee in February, but I remain a bit concerned. be removed from my friend’s blue file immediately? If I am also a little concerned about the abolition, it is not, this injustice continues and could affect the after only 20 years, of cathedral councils. I know they rest of his future ministry; he is still quite a young had a variable record, but some cathedrals relied on man. What are the core group’s terms of reference? To them very much. I would like the reassurance of the whom does it report? To whom is it accountable? right reverend Prelate the Bishop of Durham that The CDM was never enacted in my friend’s case, cathedrals will be able to have councils or their equivalent yet the threat of it has hung over him since March if they so choose. I accept, with regret, that they will 2020 and has only recently been lifted. It is seriously not be statutory, but hope that, where a functioning wanting and needs urgent replacement. council is working well, it will be able to continue, The second case concerns another priest—from the perhaps under another name, if that is the wish of the same diocese, as it happens—who has been and continues dean and chapter. to be harassed and stalked by someone of whom the I am also a little concerned about the senior non- Church is well aware, yet it gives no support to the executive who will chair the wider chapter in the priest. It appears that the diocese has absolutely no absence of the dean. I hope that careful rules will be 2053 Cathedrals Measure [22 APRIL 2021] Cathedrals Measure 2054 put in place to govern the selection of that extremely body now has some role in approving the appointment important person, who could give great help to the of the dean, but I will write to him on that subject to cathedral, but could also be divisive. I say that because confirm. All of these parties and the governing body we in Lincoln were one of the two reasons—Hereford are agreed—and have been agreed for some time—that being the other—for the Cathedrals Measure of 1999, there must, indeed, be a comprehensive review of following the investigation of the Howe commission. governance once a resolution has been reached. The Lincoln had a bad period during the 1990s and I proposals put by the noble Lord, Lord Adonis, though would not like to see the seeds of discord sown in this interesting and relevant to that debate and process, Measure. I hope that the right reverend Prelate the although it is likely, of course, that the different parties Bishop of Durham can make some reassuring comments. will argue for quite distinct reforms. As for delay, it is important that the new Measure On 25 June last year, the Charity Commission comes into force speedily and expeditiously. Many of issued a notice requiring the parties to the dispute in us will look to it to show that the Church of England Christ Church to enter into a mediation process. We can act in a seemly and speedy way, when necessary. await the outcome of that process. The commission The track record at the moment—I referred to the also requested that all parties refrain from public or suspension of our bishop here in Lincoln—is not private commentary while the mediation process takes good, and the noble Baroness, Lady Harris, underlined place. the great deal of concern that there is in the country as I am able to confirm that the excellent work of both a whole over the way in which the Church of England college and cathedral has continued through this difficult conducts itself. period and through the demands of this Covid pandemic. I rest my case there. I wish the Measure every In the cathedral, that is evidenced in the development success and hope that it leads to better governance of of streamed worship services, much appreciated and our cathedrals. They are the glories of our land, the widely taken up across the country and the world as most important group of historic buildings in the well as the diocese, and in a new development with a country. They are priceless and must be maintained school in east Oxford. I pay tribute to all within the for future generations. I again apologise for having to foundation for working so very hard to focus on the address your Lordships’ House over a telephone line. mission of the charity: the advancement of religion, education and learning through the cathedral and the college. 7.54 pm Christ Church is a unique institution, with a long The Lord Bishop of Oxford: My Lords, it is a great and distinguished history in one of the great cultural pleasure to speak in this debate, to be here in person crossroads of the world. I would be very glad to and to give my general support to the Cathedrals continue conversations with the noble Lord, Lord Adonis, Measure, in the hope that it will be commended by and with other Members of your Lordships’ House your Lordships’ House as a significant step forward in during this difficult period in its life. I support the improving the governance of our cathedrals. Measure before us. I will take a few moments of the House’s time to respond to some of the concerns raised by the noble 7.58 pm Lord, Lord Adonis, about the dual foundation of Christ Church in Oxford. In doing so, I declare an interest as Lord Wilson of Dinton (CB) [V]: My Lords, I will the Bishop of the Diocese of Oxford, although I am contribute briefly to this debate in a positive spirit, not a member of the college or its governing body. very much in support of the Measure. First, I declare As has been said, Christ Church is unique as a my own interest: I am chair of the council of Ely cathedral and as a royal foundation, with many similarities Cathedral, one of the bodies which, under Clause 2(3) in its governance and history to the royal foundations of the Measure, is to cease to exist. This cancellation of Westminster Abbey and St George’s, Windsor. The sounds rather dramatic, but I do not object to it in the monarch, rather than the bishop of the diocese, is the least; I think it is the right thing to do. Visitor. For these reasons, it is right that it is exempt When I was honoured by the invitation from the from this Cathedrals Measure. It is a matter of deep right reverend Prelate the Bishop of Ely to be a chair regret that the situation of Christ Church has remained of the council five years ago, I must confess that I was unresolved for so long. I am grateful to the noble not absolutely sure what the council did. Five years Lord, Lord Adonis, for his restraint in commenting on later, I am still not absolutely sure what the council is the details of the situation and I cannot, of course, formally there for. Honestly, that is no reflection on comment myself, save only to say that the hurt and the Bishop or the dean: they are both great men who distress caused to individuals is very significant. do lovely jobs. It is not a reflection on my fellow While the situation has continued for almost three members, who are very involved and active and are a years, which is regrettable, there have been a number source of support, loyalty and activity for the cathedral, of different issues such that this is not a single dispute. which is excellent, and I pay tribute to them. It is not Throughout that period, there has been good liaison the fault of the chapter or of anyone in Ely; it is the between the Church of England, Christ Church, the fault of the 1999 Cathedrals Measure. University of Oxford and the Charity Commission. Although Baroness Howe wrote a report, I do not Each party has been active in different ways in seeking believe that the 1999 Measure actually implemented to bring a resolution. I believe that the description by what that report recommended. The concept of the the noble Lord, Lord Adonis, of the governance council, as it emerged in 1999, was a bit of a fudge—I arrangements is accurate except that the governing should not say that. The result is that you now have 2055 Cathedrals Measure [LORDS] Cathedrals Measure 2056

[LORD WILSON OF DINTON] interest as a Church of England priest and, more bodies that may be useful because of the sort of people importantly, I was a member of the Cathedrals Working that you have on them—they are determined to be Group whose work led to the Measure before us. useful. However, they are in a position of responsibility The group was established because the episcopal without power, which is very uncomfortable and visitation at Peterborough Cathedral, and that at Exeter potentially dangerous, if something is going wrong before it, raised some important questions about the and they can see that but cannot do anything about way cathedrals are governed. We first gathered 25 years it—that is not satisfactory. after the Howe commission had been established in As such, I note the consultations leading up to this, response to problems at two other cathedrals: Hereford which began in 2017—I was involved in them. I was a and Lincoln. Our Cathedrals Working Group was bit pessimistic about this exercise: I thought that there altogether a more modest enterprise in terms of scope, were too many divided views, too many strong differing time and resources, but we had an important job. In opinions and too many cathedrals that were too different the last 25 years, best practice has changed a lot, and from one another. They were like colleges: particular the Measure needs updating. I will not go through the creatures of their own kind. proposals in detail, as they have been scrutinised carefully I am delighted and impressed by this Measure; it is by synod and, even more dauntingly, the Ecclesiastical a remarkable achievement, which has been achieved Committee. by a lot of people. It has very clear structures for The Measure enacts two major changes that we cathedrals, separating governance and management in recommended. The first was a reorganisation to create a very clear-minded way—it will be a big improvement. specifically a separation of governance and management, It makes a good step forward in relation to the role of as recognised by the noble Lord, Lord Wilson of the Charity Commission, which has a lot of work to Dinton. The idea is that the cathedral governing body do—but it has already done a lot of work and found remains a chapter chaired by the dean, but now with a the resources to do it. That is my impression; I am not majority of non-executive members. We proposed close to it. Having it alongside the Church Commissioners removing cathedral councils from the governance system is a very positive step. Ensuring the central importance for clarity, but a way forward has now been found so of safeguarding is important. This is a very sound that councils can continue to operate but without basis for our great, glorious cathedrals to go ahead. A cutting across clear governance lines, which is crucial. lot of hard work has gone into it, and we ought to I know that councils are greatly valued by their deans pause for one moment to say “Well done” to the legal and chapters as they bring a wealth of wisdom and draftsmen, the steering committee and the synod, expertise, often supplied by Members of this House, which were coaxed into doing it, as well as so many such as the noble Lords, Lord Wilson and Lord Cormack. other people who have contributed to this. This way the councils can carry on offering crucial From the noble Lord, Lord Adonis, and others, we advice and support without the constraints and liabilities have heard some really nasty-sounding cases, and I that are brought with formal trusteeship. will not comment on them, beyond one thing. Having The second big change was the registration of been master of a college for 10 years and having seen cathedrals with the Charity Commission by bringing things go wrong in other colleges and other parts of them under the Charities Act. It has been observed life, I know that, sometimes, in small communities that that cathedrals are the only church bodies which do are too cut off from the rest of the world, toxins build not report to a secular as well as an ecclesiastical up, poisons intensify and things go badly wrong. It is authority, even though they are the institutions, in very hard to stop this and put them right once they some ways, most obviously camped on the boundary have gone beyond a certain point, and I have great between Church and state. The noble Lord, Lord sympathy with the Church authorities in trying to sort Cormack, was not alone in asking how well placed these cases out. and resourced the Charity Commission is for this task, The solution is to open the windows, to have outsiders but I think that most concerns have now been alleviated, in there and to blow away the toxins before they chiefly due to the sterling work of the Third Church become too intense and multiply too much. In Estates Commissioner. The Church Commissioners implementing this wise new Measure, it is important are now providing money, expertise and assistance to for cathedrals to have the windows open, to involve support cathedrals to make sure that their governance, outsiders and to use their power to set up not formal safeguarding and any oversight arrangements are all councils as part of their corporate entity but councils up to par even before the Charity Commission registration that support them if they want to do that—or to set process begins. up whatever advisory or other bodies that they want. The working group made a series of other Of course, they should do that and bring in outsiders recommendations about leadership and management, who have a role to play. However, they should not have finance and buildings, audit and risk and, crucially, that as their central muddled governance. safeguarding—proposing bringing cathedrals into the This is a big Measure that will improve the basis of whole-Church approach led by the CofE national the cathedrals. We should pause for a moment to have safeguarding team. I have been hugely impressed at a quiet celebration of it. the willingness of the Church to accept and act on our recommendations. Having all your recommendations accepted is a rather novel experience for anyone serving 8.04 pm on any working group, never mind a Church one, so Baroness Sherlock (Lab) [V]: My Lords, I am delighted those involved in receiving and implementing the report to follow that contribution. I begin by declaring an should be very much congratulated. 2057 Cathedrals Measure [22 APRIL 2021] Cathedrals Measure 2058

Inevitably, not everyone liked every recommendation. with the then dean. I was also the chairman of a I know that concerns have been raised by some members visitation to Exeter Cathedral. As I have already said of the Ecclesiastical Committee, whose deliberations I this evening, I am chair of the Ecclesiastical Committee. have followed with interest. But I think the need for Members of the Ecclesiastical Committee had the most recommendations has been understood. All opportunity, individually, to look at earlier drafts of cathedrals need appropriate financial, operational and this Measure. There were some concerns and we managerial controls, and, of course, there can be no —individual members, not the committee itself—have compromise on the need for good, effective, modern had the most useful discussions with both the Charity safeguarding policies and procedures. Commission, particularly the chairman, whom I thank I have a few questions for the record. Can the right very much, and the Third Church Estates Commissioner, reverend Prelate the Bishop of Durham confirm that who spoke to me in particular and has done an absolutely all the recommendations of the Cathedrals Working brilliant job, for which I commend her. The draft that Group have been accepted by the Church? Are all the passed through synod came to us as the Measure at recommendations which require legislative change the Ecclesiastical Committee. A number of members included in the Measure before the House this evening? of the committee, including two who have spoken this Is there a plan to implement the non-legislative evening, were potentially going to be very critical, but recommendations? More specifically, if in the wake of the Measure, if I may say so personally, is excellent. It IICSA the Church moves to create an independent was very carefully scrutinised over quite a long time by body to oversee its safeguarding practices, would that the Ecclesiastical Committee.Wewere helped enormously cover cathedrals too? by the advice and evidence of the Church of England, Since this marks the end of a long process, I would and we had no difficulty whatever, at the end, in like to record some thanks, if the House will indulge deeming unanimously that the Measure was expedient. me. Thanks are due to the chair of the Cathedrals Consequently, with great pleasure, I commend it to the Working Group, Bishop Adrian Newman, the vice-chair House. —now the right reverend Prelate the Bishop of Bristol— I would add only one more thing. Speaking entirely and the other members; Jacqui Phillips and her team, personally, and not as chairman of the Ecclesiastical who provided such an excellent secretariat; Alex McGregor Committee, I remain extremely concerned about clergy and colleagues in the legal office of the CofE, who discipline legislation. I know that a lot of discussion is kept us on the right side of the law with tact and going on and a number of reports have been written. precision; the Third Church Estates Commissioner, I hope the Church of England will get together to look Eve Poole, for marvellous work; the CofE legal adviser, very seriously at updating what is, at the moment, a Eva Abeles; and all those who have worked so hard to very inadequate system. From what the noble Baroness, advance these reforms. Lady Harris of Richmond, has said, it requires urgent In closing, the working group was full of people reform. I commend this Measure to the House. like me who love cathedrals. Indeed, our report describes them as 8.13 pm “spectacular and wonderful expressions of the mission of God in His world.” The Lord Bishop of Durham [V]: My Lords, I begin So many of them are among the pinnacles of our by thanking all noble Lords and noble Baronesses architectural and cultural heritage. They are at the who have taken part in the debate for all their comments. heart of their communities, hosting wonderful worship Perhaps I should have begun by explaining that my but also everything from graduations to art installations absence from presenting this in person is for exactly and now vaccination centres. the same reason as that of the noble Lord, Lord Cormack: I would have been stuck in London because Cathedrals, like many city centre churches, are also there are no trains out of King’s Cross from tomorrow where people go to take the things that they do not morning until Monday morning. I am very grateful know what to do with: often pain or grief or loss or that the right reverend Prelate the Bishop of Oxford is fear—things we have had so much of in the last year. there. We shall need our cathedrals more than ever in the years ahead, as we move, we hope, out of a pandemic I hope that the noble Lord, Lord Adonis, feels that into a place of recovery and healing. Because they the right reverend Prelate the Bishop of Oxford addressed hold such a unique place in the heart of our nation, it most of his points. The right reverend Prelate has also is crucial that cathedrals are, and are seen to be, well undertaken to write. If there is anything further that managed and safely governed. These reforms are born the noble Lord would like to pursue, I suggest that it is out of a desire to ensure that our cathedrals will be probably most appropriate to do it with the right around and thriving well into the future. reverend Prelate the Bishop of Oxford, rather than me as the one presenting this. We clearly all agree that If we end up with another cathedrals commission radical reform is essential once the current situation in another 25 years, I trust that at least then it will not has moved forward. be down to failures of governance, safeguarding or I thank the noble Baroness, Lady Harris, for saying oversight. I commend this Measure to the House. that she would be happy for me to write. I think it is the most appropriate way of responding to the detailed 8.10 pm comments she made about those specific things. Baroness Butler-Sloss (CB) [V]: My Lords, I was I undertake to write to her. I note and put on the chairman of the first advisory council of St Paul’s. I record about safeguarding work around core groups thought it worked very well, and I worked very closely that revision work is being undertaken at present on 2059 Cathedrals Measure [LORDS] Cathedrals Measure 2060

[THE LORD BISHOP OF DURHAM] way in which some of the recommendations have been how the groups are constituted and how they work. implemented are not quite as they are set out in the That particular point is currently being addressed. report. An example would be that the senior vice-chair I thank the noble Lord, Lord Cormack, for his became the senior non-executive member but, in essence, comments and his support of the Measure. It was very yes, they have been. good to hear that Lincoln Cathedral worship is still Are all the recommendations which require legislative being done so well. I would never have doubted that. change included in the Measure before the House? On his question about the Charity Commission, yes, it Not quite—a small number need to be implemented will be able to cope. As the noble and learned Baroness, by amending the Ecclesiastical Offices (Terms of Service) Lady Butler-Sloss, noted, work has been done on that. Regulations 2009 and so could not be implemented The Charity Commission is very happy that the Church through this Measure. These recommendations are Commissioners have offered some support. There is to fairly minor and relate to the terms of service of be a memorandum of understanding between the residentiary canons. Charity Commission and the Church Commissioners It had been intended to bring amending regulations to support the co-regulation of cathedrals. It is in the to the General Synod in July 2020, to tee up the process of being agreed. The heads of terms of this changes to the regulations, with final approval coming MoU were approved by both the Charity Commission board and the Church Commissioners’board of governors in September 2020. The detailed MoU is now in the process of being drawn up. In addition, the Charity Commission and the Church Commissioners are expected to approve a registration protocol later this month to set out how they work in tandem to support and facilitate the cathedrals adopting new constitutions and statutes and applying to the Charity Commission for registration over the next three years. With regard to church councils, I thank the noble Lord, Lord Wilson, for his sterling explanation of why he believes the changes are so supportive. I hope that that acted as a good response to the noble Lord, Lord Cormack. I note that cathedrals will be able to appoint an advisory body. The great advantage of that is that it will avoid the confusion that the noble Lord, Lord Wilson, pointed to around governance and management. It also means that the advisory council can be made up of key stakeholders and have functions conferred on it by the chapter, which could include non-statutory functions currently undertaken by many councils, including being the critical friend and source of advice to the chapter.The details as to the composition, functions and proceedings of any such body, including accounts, would be set out in the cathedral statutes. This means that the role of an advisory council can be tailored to meet local needs and reflect the circumstances of the cathedral that it serves. With regard to the senior non-exec, the bishop does make this appointment but must do so after conversation and consultation with the chapter, so that it is a collaborative approach. As to speed of implementation, I happen to know that some cathedrals are chafing and are ready to roll as soon as this has Royal Assent. Indeed, the legal advisers told me earlier today that there was more concern that they were running ahead of it having consent, rather than them being slow to implement. I thank the noble Baroness, Lady Sherlock, for her part on the Cathedrals Working Group. For the record, I am the noble Baroness’s bishop. She is not just a priest in the Church of England, she is a priest in my own diocese. To answer her questions: were all the recommendations of the Cathedrals Working Group accepted? The Archbishops’ Council commissioned the Cathedrals Working Group and asked the synod to set it up. All the recommendations in the report were accepted by the synod but because the Measure itself was subsequently amended by the synod, the 2061 Cathedrals Measure [22 APRIL 2021] Cathedrals Measure 2062 later. However, due to the lockdown and its impact on of an independent body are now well under way on an the life of the General Synod, that has been slowed interim basis, ahead of a longer-term, full-scale, down. The amending regulations will now be brought independent set-up. before General Synod for consideration in July 2021. I hope that, except where I have undertaken to If approved by the General Synod, those amending write, I have responded to all the questions raised by regulations are expected to come into force for each noble Lords. I thank them all for the enthusiastic cathedral on the date certified for the adoption of its support given to the Measure. I undertake that concerns new constitution and statutes under the new Measure. raised around the Clergy Discipline Measure and so Therefore, the delay to the amending regulations being on are well heeded. At the July synod, the equivalent considered by synod will have no practical implications, of a White Paper will be presented on what future as no cathedral will have adopted its new constitution changes might be required. Then, assuming that is and statutes before this summer anyway. taken note of, we will move ahead to necessary reforms to the CDM. I note in passing, as one who has to The noble Baroness, Lady Sherlock, asked about the enact the CDM—and, indeed, has been subject to plan to implement the non-legislative recommendations. it—that in most cases it works quite effectively. The They are being and will continue to be implemented difficulty is that on some specific issues, often related through new guidance and template policies and training to safeguarding, all of us concerned recognise that to support the new governance structures. reform is essential. One of the key things there is the rights and the protections of clergy themselves when On the question about the Church moving to create they face false accusations and difficulties. an independent body to oversee its safeguarding practices With all that, and with thanks again for the support in the wake of IICSA and whether this will cover the for this Cathedrals Measure, I commend it to your cathedral sector too—yes, absolutely. It is expected Lordships’ House. that any independent body which oversees safeguarding Motion agreed. across the national Church will provide this function to cathedrals. Indeed, the first steps towards the creation House adjourned at 8.23 pm.

GC 361 Arrangement of Business [22 APRIL 2021] Body Mass Index GC 362

Grand Committee “You are not light enough to receive help for that eating disorder, because you don’t hit a certain point Thursday 22 April 2021 on the graph.” Regardless of what that person’s frame or exercise patterns have been, by taking that decision, The Grand Committee met in a hybrid proceeding. one is actually making someone’s medical condition more difficult to treat because somebody is looking at Arrangement of Business the guideline and saying, “This is where you should Announcement be.” This is a difficult situation for everybody. Certain medics will be better at this than others. 2.30 pm Here, I should probably say why I took an interest The Deputy Chairman of Committees (Baroness Healy in this issue in the first place. According to this measure, of Primrose Hill) (Lab): My Lords, the hybrid Grand I, like everybody I played rugby with, was dead a while Committee will now begin. Some Members are here in ago. As somebody who once had somebody put a hand person, others are participating remotely,but all Members on his shoulder and say, “You were born to play prop will be treated equally. I ask Members in the Room to forward,” I possibly have a bit of an axe to grind. To respect social distancing. If the capacity of the Committee use myself as an example, I once had a neck injury Room is exceeded or other safety requirements are and a chap—he became best man at my wedding and I breached, I will immediately adjourn the Committee. was best man at his—looked at me and said, “You’ve got a neck injury? What neck?” We have to carry a bit Body Mass Index of this. Question for Short Debate This approach does not work for people like me. 2.30 pm We are constantly told to lose weight. I remember being told by a doctor when I was having a check-up Asked by Lord Addington for some insurance, “Well, according to this, you are Toask Her Majesty’sGovernment what assessment too heavy,” and in the same week being shouted at by a they have made of the effectiveness of Body Mass Index coach, “You’re not eating enough for my exercise as a medical guideline. programme.” Of the two, I know which one I listened to. But if you take this type of information that pays Lord Addington (LD): My Lords, this is a subject of absolutely no attention to physique or exercise pattern, which I have spoken in the past, but what inspired this you will get bad answers, which do not help with any debate in my name was the report and subsequent form of general public health pattern. You cannot say, publicity from the House of Commons Women and “This is what you should be.” Equalities Committee, chaired by Caroline Nokes MP. The report points out that on an arbitrary line with an I know that we are trying to move slightly away from ideal point in the middle, when it applies to people, this approach. I have heard people say, “Take certain most are not at that middle point. When that is used to measurements and get the relationship across.” If you identify health, you are effectively saying that a lot of do a calculation like that, you are still going to get it people are not healthy. That idea is suggested as a good wrong, even if it is slightly more accurate slightly more guide to what one should be—I have spoken about it in often. Medical professionals should be looking at the past. However, not everyone is in the middle. The somebody individually.If they cannot do that, they should guide says that one should be X height and X weight. withhold an opinion. I know that it is more convenient The report spoke about the damaging effect of body to look at a chart and say, “You are X height, you should image, predominantly among the female population, be X weight,” but it does not work. It never has. particularly the young. It is yet another thing that says, I have done some work on this in the past. This “This is what you should weigh, look like and be.” But approach was invented in the late 1950s, I think, it should not be just like that. It is worth remembering although the noble Lord may have better information. that in the current environment this applies also to It was thought that it would do as a general guideline. males. It is increasingly applied to all young people We have got bigger since, with higher protein diets, and, indeed, the whole population. There is an accepted and are slightly taller and bigger-framed. It is out of norm. The internet has exacerbated a situation that date even for an active person who is not carrying any has always been there. muscle mass. If you are any form of athlete or taking Most of us in this debate will have spoken about any form of physical activity, you will acquire some retouching photographs and making sure that they are muscle mass and muscle is much heavier than fat. Get idealised versions of people. That is now taken to a a person healthy and fit and make sure that they do new level. Some of the work that we have been doing not hit your medical targets: why do we still have this? was referred to in a debate on a Private Member’s Bill It does not seem to work at any conceivable level. It is last week regarding restricting plastic surgery. These telling people to attain to something and repeating the issues are adding to the problems, but if this approach messages, “Nobody is perfect”and “Do something else”. is taken as a medical guideline, you are getting the It encourages damaging behaviour. It gives wrong wrong information on which medical procedure might information to medical professionals, who often look be taken. Given the information that is put out, along at somebody and say, “Ignore it.” Why are we still using with the press coverage, we should be worried. it? Can we not just take it out and ask for assessments? I wish that I could have given some of my time to An assessment is looking at somebody and assessing other noble Lords taking part in this debate. With their activity patterns.Otherwise, we are going to continue conditions such as anorexia, someone can be told, to have these problems. GC 363 Body Mass Index [LORDS] Body Mass Index GC 364

[LORD ADDINGTON] BMI data has been fundamental in the rollout of the This is either wasting printing paper or slowing QCovid population risk assessment, which identified certain people down from getting the help and treatment 1.7 million people at increased risk of hospitalisation that they need. Adhering to it makes it more difficult and death from coronavirus and enabled them to be to get early treatment for eating disorders. Everybody added to the shielding list in March 2021. Without the knows that you must get in early, establish the patterns use of BMI, that kind of population-based intervention of behaviour and convince that person to change would not have been possible and many lives would those patterns of behaviour. Anything working against have been put at risk. I argue that we must retain what that should be removed. we have at the moment until something better is I could go on at length, but the danger of being found. totally self-indulgent is looming towards me, so I will conclude my remarks by asking the Government just a 2.43 pm couple of questions. First, if this was proposed to the Baroness Jenkin of Kennington (Con): My Lords, I Government now, would they use it? Would they take am grateful to the noble Lord for introducing the and use an arbitrary level that does not correctly debate. BMI is used globally as a tool to assess a person’s assess anything other than for a small percentage of size. It is a quick and cheap way to make estimations the population? Secondly, if the Government would about an individual’s potential risk of disease or poor not take on something like that now, what would they health. However imperfect a measure of health it is, I recommend to doctors to assess health and well-being doubt that our discussion here, or the Select Committee’s in the general population? Would it be easier to administer report, will change the way doctors measure their patients or not? The answer is probably not, but a bit of effort and the risks to their health. The overall message of might help us to get a better public health outcome. the report, however, drawing attention to the damaging nature of weight stigma and the consequences it can 2.39 pm bring, is of course important. Lord Brooke of Alverthorpe (Lab): My Lords, I am Whatever measure used, what is also important is grateful to the noble Lord for tabling the Question. We for healthcare professionals to feel able, without may be debating some of these broadly related issues embarrassment, to discuss patients’ health and weight in even greater depth in the future, because the facts of with them and, by using appropriate language, explain life are that we have one of the unhealthiest populations the long-term consequences of an unhealthy lifestyle. in the whole of Europe. Wenow have some opportunities People need knowledge, support and encouragement, to review what we have been doing and what we might as well as a healthier environment, to make the changes need to do in the future to improve our health. I have necessary to improve their own lifestyles and thus take been given a good briefing by Diabetes UK, and I pressure off the health system. express my gratitude to it because I am one of those Excess weight is one of the few modifiable factors on the cusp of developing type 2 diabetes. That has for Covid, and our high obesity figures are one of the been identified by two factors: a blood test and a BMI reasons why this country has been so badly hit. But measurement with my doctor. even before the virus, it was clear that the unhealthy Without any doubt there are problems for those lifestyles so many in this country now lead were resulting with eating disorders, and we need to address them, in preventable diseases such as type 2 diabetes, liver but we must be careful to ensure the right balance in disease, heart disease, some cancers, arthritis, the wearing dealing with the country’s health problems. The reality out of hip and knee joints, and the discomfort of is that we have a greater problem—the numbers are general ill health. Many of these conditions can be much bigger—with people with excess weight than reversed by changing to a healthy diet. People need—and with those with too little weight. polling of up to 80% approval shows that they want— While we acknowledge that there can be challenges informed choices. The Government’s population-wide in using and interpreting BMI as a measurement, as Better Health agenda is crucial to providing this. I the noble Lord pointed out, the call for it to be scrapped commend them for the bold approach in the obesity could negatively impact on the care of those such as strategy and urge them to stick to it. myself who are at risk of diabetes. Used appropriately, Advertising works. If it did not then the food BMI can provide valuable information for care focused industry, particularly the ultra-processed and fast-food on individuals that does not discriminate against anyone. industry, would not do it. A KFC “Mighty bucket for It is important that healthcare professionals take a one”, apparently the perfect meal for one person, person-centred approach to discussing weight and health, contains 1,155 calories—over half the suggested intake. use appropriate language and consider the use of BMI It is currently advertised everywhere. Young people based on individual circumstances. There are instances are bombarded by paid influencers via social media. where the use of BMI may not be appropriate, so This needs to stop for their health’s sake. healthcare professionals should take a person-centred Calorie labelling is crucial to success. Most people approach to weight and health. We hope that the are unaware and polling shows that they want to integration of care outlined in the White Paper will boost know. Surveys show that 80% of adults do not know the role of personalised care. the calorie content of common drinks,which is substantial. BMI is also an important tool for monitoring the A large glass of wine,for example,has around 200 calories, population’soverall health and informing policy decisions. about the same as a doughnut. Unless people are If we do not have that, we have to know what the supported and encouraged to move to a healthier alternative is to be able to make such assessments lifestyle—and BMI is an important tool in the journey— about the state of the nation’s health. Most recently, with a better diet, a healthy weight and regular exercise, GC 365 Body Mass Index [22 APRIL 2021] Body Mass Index GC 366 it will not just be Covid which affects them because the Much was made at the time of the case of the two NHS, already under strain, will be unable to cope with finest Olympians this country has produced. Sir Matthew the tsunami of obesity-related health issues coming Pinsent would not have been admitted to the ranks, as down the track. he weighed more than 17 stone, because, standing 6 foot 4 inches, his BMI would have been above the 2.46 pm limit of 28. Sir Steve Redgrave—five times rowing Baroness Wheatcroft (CB) [V]: My Lords, I am grateful gold medallist in an exceptionally tough endurance to the noble Lord, Lord Addington, for introducing sport and in my opinion the finest athlete this country this debate and delighted to follow the noble Baroness, has ever produced—would only have sneaked in under Lady Jenkin of Kennington. She takes food extremely the bar, with a BMI of 27.6. Ray Stevens, winner of a seriously. I remember going to dinners with her when silver medal in judo in Barcelona in 1992, would she took her own meagre dinner with her, because she definitely not have qualified at 6 foot and 15 stone, was raising funds for charity by living on a very small despite being able to bench press for 25 reps and run amount to demonstrate not only that it is possible but competitive half marathons. It is therefore not surprising the miserable lives that so many lead. that the English Institute of Sport discounts the outdated When we think of that sort of poverty and lack of BMI test in favour of a more sophisticated method, food, to think of people in this country deliberately such as skinfold callipers which squeeze subcutaneous starving themselves is particularly difficult. Nevertheless, tissue, and dual energy absorptiometry and body scanners BMI is only part of identifying eating disorders. It is, measuring bone density. however, a very important public health measure, and Of course, we should place BMI in context, which, I agree with the noble Lord, Lord Brooke of Alverthorpe, with slight variations over time, is your weight in that we should not throw out a measure which works pounds times 703 divided by your height in inches helpfully as a public health guide. For instance, the squared. Being based simply on height and weight, it shielding during Covid that was brought into play for takes no account of body fat percentage, muscle mass, those who had a particularly high BMI has proved bone thickness or genetic disposition to a certain effective. frame. It assumes that everyone has the same percentage Nevertheless, when GPs or other specialists use of lean tissue and fat tissue and it takes no account of BMI it should be only part of an armoury of tools at those athletes who clearly have much more lean muscle their disposal. It is certainly not the only way in which mass than the average person. These facts seriously eating disorders could or should be discovered. What challenge the base assumptions behind the BMI formula. is painfully clear is that people with anorexia are It exaggerates thinness in short individuals and fatness obvious just on sight; no GP needs to look at a BMI in tall and muscular individuals. The higher muscle reading to spot anorexia. All too often, though, I fear content—in other words, lean mass—in athletes skews that GPs are reluctant to diagnose eating disorders, in BMI, as lean mass is approximately 22% denser than part because of the lack of services to deal with those fat tissue. conditions quickly when they need to be dealt with Although BMI has been adopted by the WHO as immediately. Anorexia is one of the most, if not the an international measure of obesity, it lacks a theoretical most, pernicious forms of mental illness and extremely basis, and empirical evidence suggests that it is not hard to treat, but it is better caught early, as with so valid for all populations. What can be said in its favour many diseases. Doctors use judgment and have to be is that it is simple: it is a rough and ready calculation relied upon to use it when wielding BMI as part of to an indirect health indicator of obesity or being their armoury of tools. overweight. I would expect the use of BMI to decline Most important, though, is coping with the outbreak as a useful test and new measures such as the Bod Pod of obesity that has now hit this country, as the noble and hydrostatic weighing to take prominence, not least Baroness, Lady Jenkin, pointed out. Excess weight is a by the World Health Organization. huge problem and really needs to be dealt with as a Having heard my noble friend Lord Addington’s matter of urgency for this country. It was highlighted speech, I have no doubt that all his points, and those by Covid but it will become much worse, as many have made by other speakers, will be taken into consideration put on weight during the lockdowns. BMI will be part by the Government. I look forward to hearing from of the measures for dealing with that. the Minister. 2.49 pm 2.52 pm Lord Moynihan (Con): My Lords, the noble Lord, Lord Addington, will not be surprised if I turn to Lord McNally (LD): My Lords, when I entered this sport to assess the effectiveness of BMI as a medical House, 25 years ago, it was my noble friend Lord guideline. Ashling O’Connor, one of the finest sports Addington’s body mass that aided the House of Lords journalists of her day, wrote at the turn of the century in becoming unbeatable in the annual tug of war with about the need for the Ministry of Defence to take the House of Commons. I am very pleased about that. note of modern sports science after its long-held Yesterday’s Question Time in the Lords gave us a physical standards for new recruits were excluding dry run for some of the issues being raised in today’s exceptional candidates, including top rugby players. The debate when the noble Lord, Lord Robathan, drew Army’s weight limit, based on the BMI classification, attention to a report by the World Obesity Federation was based on a calculation that divided height in linking obesity and deaths from Covid. The full range metres squared by weight in kilograms. That would of the debate about obesity was on show, from those have discounted many Olympic gold medal winners. advocating making obesity not socially acceptable to GC 367 Body Mass Index [LORDS] Body Mass Index GC 368

[LORD MCNALLY] particularly with additional nutritional and calorific the noble Lord, Lord Bethell, making it clear that it labelling on the front of packaging in our supermarkets, was not the Government’s intention to shame those cafés, restaurants and takeaways. Let us not forget all who are overweight. those highly calorific soft drinks,which must be addressed. If obesity is the health challenge that I believe it is Weneed stricter guidelines regarding rules on advertising. then we need to get the science right. We have heard Evidence shows that children who are already classed from my noble friend Lord Addington and the noble as obese or overweight eat more in response to advertising. Lord, Lord Moynihan, reasons why we should give Weight loss has been shown to bring undeniable credence to the advice of Caroline Nokes and the health benefits, so does the Minister agree that, in any Women and Equalities Committee on not using the new plans, front-line services should provide obesity body mass index for weight shaming and recommending support in all the right cases? that it should be scrapped. But as the noble Lord, Finally, I support BMI measurements in the context Lord Brooke, indicated, we have also had advice from of them being used for informed, holistic and person- Diabetes UK, which says, centred care where appropriate and where they can “while we acknowledge that there can be challenges in interpreting provide valuable information for care. and using BMI as a measurement, the call for it to be scrapped could negatively impact on the care of those living with or at risk of diabetes.” 2.58 pm So the Committee will be interested to hear the Minister’s Baroness Parminter (LD) [V]: My Lords, I thank assessment of the validity of BMI in assessing weight the noble Lord, Lord Addington, for his passionate and health risks. introduction to this debate. I would also be interested in the Minister’s response I applaud the Women and Equalities Committee’s to the challenges raised yesterday and today regarding work highlighting the impacts of the use of BMI on poverty and obesity in both parents and children as eating disorders and people’smental health by disrupting well as the problems caused by the promotion, particularly their body image. Eating disorders are not niche. The to young women, of unrealistic ideals of body image, 2019 NHS health survey found that which all too often can lead to anorexia and other “16% of adults … screened positive for a possible eating disorder”. health harms. We must not lose sight of the fact that Covid has increased the pressure on eating disorder obesity brings with it ill health and threats to life, but services hugely,with referrals across the country increasing countering it requires sensitivity and understanding as by 75% on average. well as practical help based on sound science. It is a There is still an overreliance on BMI by GPs when difficult path to tread. I look forward to hearing about diagnosing eating disorders to determine who is unwell that in the Minister’s reply. enough to access treatment. Hope Virgo’s “Dump the Scales” campaign has literally hundreds of people, 2.55 pm mainly young women, sharing how damaging it was to Baroness Redfern (Con) [V]: I thank the noble Lord, be told that they were not thin enough for treatment. Lord Addington, for introducing this short debate on It drives them deeper into this pernicious illness, which the effectiveness of the body mass index. I am pleased I know about from our family’s experience. Indeed, to have the opportunity to contribute. the evidence shows that early intervention is far better and offers the best hope of recovery. My focus will be to highlight the effect of childhood The Government and the NICE guidelines are clear: obesity, which we know is significantly increasing. BMI should not be used on its own as an arbiter of This is where the Government urgently require further whether to offer treatment, yet GPs are still doing this. action in tackling significant inequalities in physical Why? First, there is inadequate training for GPs and and mental health outcomes. It also represents a major other health professionals about eating disorders. The challenge for the Government’s levelling-up agenda issue was identified by the Parliamentary and Health with regard to opportunities and outcomes for our young Service Ombudsman in his report on eating disorder people. services in 2017, in the follow-up report by the Public The effects of weight bias and obesity stigma can be Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee particularly severe for children. They can experience a in 2019, and in the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough greater chance of being bullied, leading to low self-esteem coroner’s prevention of future deaths report last month, and poorer academic performance, which can severely to which the Secretary of State has to respond formally affect their life chances. It is tragic, too, that many by next Wednesday. Will the Government now lead a children growing up will also have associated health strategy to improve eating disorder education in the risks, such as type 2 diabetes, cancer and heart disease. medical profession, including embedding it in the When used appropriately, body mass index can curriculum? For GPs already in surgeries, a screening provide valuable information for care focused on tool should be produced to ensure that, instead of individuals that does not discriminate against anyone. relying on BMI, they ask the right questions of patients, It is important that healthcare professionals take a with clear guidance on the language to use. person-centred approach to discussing weight and health, Secondly, GPs are using BMI to ration access to use appropriate language and consider the use of BMI services as demand hugely outstrips supply. I welcome based on individual circumstances. the Government’s recent investments in mental health There are also clear opportunities for highlighting funding, but it is mainly for children and young people, the contents of food. Retail outlets also must step up and only one in six eating disorder patients is under and support a move towards much clearer food labelling, 18. Given the rise in demand, significantly exacerbated GC 369 Body Mass Index [22 APRIL 2021] Body Mass Index GC 370 by Covid, without ring-fenced funding BMI will continue public and to encourage providers to offer both healthier to be used to limit access to eating-disorder services, options and perhaps—one element that is little talked resulting in further unnecessary deaths. about—reduced portion sizes. Curtailing the promotion of foods high in fat, 3.01 pm sugar and salt is essential. A recent survey cited by Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth (Con) [V]: My Lords, Diabetes UK in its helpful briefing reports that 74% of it is a great pleasure to follow the noble Baroness, the public support not showing advertisements for Lady Parminter, who spoke cogently on this subject, junk food before 9 pm, on TV or online. Why only as she always does. I also congratulate the noble Lord, 9 pm? Why should such foods be promoted for adults? Lord Addington, on securing this important debate. Type 2 diabetes is one of the fastest-growing health problems. It accounts for 10% of NHS spending already, The past year has highlighted the importance of and obesity accounts for 80% to 85% of the risk of health and, specifically, of weight as a determinant of getting diabetes, with 12.3 million people estimated health. Just yesterday, as the noble Lord, Lord McNally, already to be at risk. reminded us, the Minister stressed the importance of combating obesity and the historic challenge we have As others have said, Covid carried particular risks in our country in tackling obesity. Apart from age, it is for people who were obese. There are significant other the single most important factor in tackling Covid-19, health risks as well, including heart conditions, some for example. cancers and respiratory problems. BMI may be a handy starting point, a quick and cheap way for estimating I also welcome the broader message that the Minister the number of those at risk of health problems. It is has given out on more than one occasion about the crude—the noble Lord, Lord Addington, and my importance of preventive healthcare and the accent noble friend Lord Moynihan are correct that sports we should all place on a healthy diet, an exercise people will have particular muscle mass and bone regime, such as walking and cycling, and maintaining density advantages which turn into disadvantages when a healthy weight in so far as one can. I welcome any measured on a BMI basis—but this issue needs to be rebalancing of our approach to health in this way for built on. As we know, BMI is just one basic measure. the future. I think that is important and welcome. It does not account for individual differences. I appreciate, as others do, that BMI is not a perfect Of course, body image issues contribute significantly guide to a healthy weight—far from it. For example, as to mental health and well-being. They can bring on or we know, muscle is denser than fat, so somebody who reinforce a sense of inadequacy. Fat shaming, anorexia has a muscular build will be heavier than somebody and bulimia tend to be indicative of mental health who does not, and different people may be susceptible problems. BMI therefore needs to be supplemented by to some diseases and so on. BMI clearly needs to be blood pressure, ECG, cholesterol and muscle mass used alongside other factors—that is crucial. assessments,as well as,crucially,mental health assessments However, from the perspective of getting the basic that can spot problems that may otherwise soon lead message across, there is no doubt in my mind that in to health issues. tackling obesity the use of BMI is the right call to arms, although I accept we need to be very much alive 3.08 pm to the mental challenge of the eating disorders that Lord Thomas of Gresford (LD) [V]: My Lords, I confront many people. It is undoubtedly the case, as congratulate my noble friend Lord Addington on the noble Baroness, Lady Parminter, has just said, that securing this debate. Having played rugby with him—and pressure from Covid-19 has increased problems in you cannot get closer to the noble Lord than being in relation to finding treatment for eating disorders. I the second row pushing against his noble backside— would welcome the Minister saying something on this I suppose that, according to his opening remarks, when he sums up. I should be dead. I also look forward to hearing from the Minister I share my noble friend’s concern about the misuse about what specific actions Her Majesty’s Government of and over-reliance on the BMI. To create a lifestyle are looking at around whether to nudge people with that is dependent on staying within its limits is a incentives, or at least opportunities, to exercise across mistake. It depends where your fat is stored. If your the country; whether to take action to influence diet, weight is around your waist disproportionately, you for example, through school meals, hospital meals and may well be within the BMI range but nevertheless at meals in other institutions; how we are going to control risk of heart disease, diabetes and other conditions. excess sugar and salt in our diets, possibly through Studies instituted by Mark Hamer at Loughborough restrictions; and how we are going to control the University some three or four years ago demonstrated advertising of unhealthy foods and drinks. These are that waist-to-hip ratio was a far better body indicator important issues that we need to confront for the of health and longevity than the BMI. future and one of the lessons that we can clearly learn from the Covid pandemic. I thoroughly agree with the views expressed by the noble Lord, Lord Moynihan, and the expert research to which he referred. It shows, in short, that if you 3.04 pm need braces as well as a belt to keep your trousers from Baroness Altmann (Con): My Lords, I too congratulate slipping below your knees, you are in trouble—which I the noble Lord, Lord Addington, on securing this know, because that was my condition before I was debate. I also support calls from the Obesity Health diagnosed with Hodgkin lymphoma a couple of years Alliance to extend calorie counting information to ago. I have just now returned from my daily 7,000 paces cafes, restaurants and takeaways, both to inform the with four inches off my waist and no braces. I cannot GC 371 Body Mass Index [LORDS] Body Mass Index GC 372

[LORD THOMAS OF GRESFORD] fundamental in the rollout of the Covid population wait to get back on the water in a rowing eight—I hope risk assessment, which identified 1.7 million people at that the noble Lord, Lord Moynihan, will share my increased risk of hospitalisation and death from desire. coronavirus.Without that use of BMI, a population-based Life expectancy is increasing, but that does not intervention would not have been possible. necessarily mean an increase in healthy life years; it The challenge for the Minister is how to reconcile these may be extra years of chronic ill health. The Scottish issues. I look forward to hearing his answer. health survey published in the British Medical Bulletin in 2011 showed that, in the 10 years between 1998 and 3.15 pm 2008, waist circumference increased by 5 to 10 centimetres in both sexes at ages between 50 and 70 years without TheParliamentaryUnder-Secretaryof State,Department a corresponding increase in BMI. It was thought to of Health and Social Care (Lord Bethell) (Con): My indicate an unfortunate circumstance of gain in visceral Lords, I too am enormously grateful for the successful fat mass and loss of lean tissue. Both are major efforts of the noble Lord, Lord Addington, in securing determining factors of ill health in the elderly. this important and insightful debate. Any debate on The Women and Equalities Committee in the other our weight, health and fitness is extremely personal place was right to find that BMI has turned into a and bound to arouse emotions. It certainly does in my justification for weight shaming and body image anxiety household, and so it does in this Room. I very much among the young. But, as I have said, it can be equally welcome, though, a national conversation about these misleading as a guide to a healthy old age and, for this issues. It is the right time to be having it. reason as well, the use of BMI as a measure of healthy As noble Lords have pointed out, we face two weight should stop. major challenges. The first is that too many people are overweight or living with obesity. I have already spoken 3.12 pm this week about this grave challenge faced by this country, which was clearly outlined by the World Baroness Thornton (Lab): My Lords, I congratulate Obesity Federation report on Covid death. That is a the noble Lord, Lord Addington, on this debate, which real wake-up call. The Government have already swung has already raised many interesting issues. Indeed, the into action to a degree. More is planned. We are trying report of the Women and Equalities Committee into our hardest to address the knotty problem that few body image is not new. Over 40 years ago, Susie Orbach countries have ever completed successfully. wrote Fat is a Feminist Issue; she challenged body mass index as a measure of—as she said—“nothing useful”and The second issue that the country faces is that too pointed out how it affected women’s self-image. On the many people have eating disorders that make their 40thanniversaryof FIFI,asmanyof usknowit,shesaid: lives a misery and threaten their health. I am grateful to noble Lords who have spoken movingly on this “When you grow up absorbing the idea that food is quasi- dangerous, it is hard to know how to handle it. There are no end subject. Although she did not speak this afternoon, I of experts selling their wares whose books and products end up reference the noble Baroness, Lady Bull, who recently generating enormous profits … So, too, with other food and diet arranged a stakeholder session with me that gave me fads. The desperation that exists to be at peace and dwell in our first-hand testimony from those seeking to address these bodies clashes with the knowledge that such schemas promote or important issues. reinforce confusion about appetite and desire.” The fact is that, 40 years on, it is still pretty grim: I fear that poor old BMI, the much-maligned metric and subject of this debate, has in some ways become a “It’s a story of … destabilising the eating of many western women and exporting body hatred all over the world as a sign of surrogate and a scapegoat in a battle between two modernity”, groups that see these two big issues—obesity and as a way of medicalising and pathologising eating disorders—as somehow in conflict with each “people’s relationship to food and bodies so successfully that vast other. I do not want to take sides in any such battle. industries would grow up to treat problems that these industries While I always welcome policy dialectic and the battle had themselves instigated.” of ideas to hammer out the most sensible policy on What is clear from this short debate is that it should complex issues, I do not think this should be a zero-sum come as no surprise that BMI as a single measure game with winners and losers on opposing sides. Instead, would not be expected to identify cardiovascular health I would like to work towards finding a way through, or illness; the same is true for cholesterol, blood sugar because it is imperative that, as policymakers, government and blood pressure. As a single measure, BMI is clearly Ministers understand the impact of our policies in one not a perfect measure of health, but it is probably a area on our policies in another area and somehow find useful starting point for important conditions when a a way of tackling them both in a complementary person is overweight or obese. fashion. The Select Committee said that it was Before I try to do that, let me say a few words in “not satisfied with the use of BMI as a measurement to evaluate defence of the poor old maligned metric, BMI. It is, as individual health.” noble Lords have pointed out, a very simple calculation— On the other hand, as other noble Lords have said, body weight divided by the square of height. It has Diabetes UK says that it provides been used by the National Institute for Health and “valuable information for care focused on individuals that doesn’t Care Excellence, the World Health Organization and discriminate against anyone.” countless health organisations around the world for I dispute that, but it also goes on to say that it has been decades as just this: a simple first step to establish if an important tool for monitoring the population’s individuals might be carrying too much or too little health and informing policy decisions and has been body fat for their long-term good health. To answer GC 373 Body Mass Index [22 APRIL 2021] Body Mass Index GC 374 the noble Lord, Lord McNally: as risk assessments go, with obesity. That is why we are acting. To answer my BMI has proven value year after year, study after noble friend Lord Bourne, we are tackling the nation’s study, in countries around the world, for predicting obesity with a new strategy. Published in July last year, premature death and many chronic diseases, including it set out measures to get the nation fit and healthy, type 2 diabetes, some cancers and some heart disease. protect against Covid-19 and protect the NHS. As my noble friend Lady Jenkin rightly pointed out, it is simple to measure and highly reproduceable. It does As my noble friend Lady Jenkin pointed out, there not require specialist equipment or clinical training, unlike are many nudges in shops, on TV, on computers and many methods of assessment noble Lords mentioned. on phones that encourage us to buy less healthy food. The Government are committed to restricting further None the less I recognise, as the noble Lord, Lord the advertising of less healthy food on TV, and we are Addington, pointed out, that it is not perfect for all considering online restrictions on the promotion of people. Muscly athletes are considered too fat, and it less healthy food in shops. We are also committed to is problematic for the very old. It is not unique, and, as calorielabellinginrestaurantsandimprovingfront-of-pack the noble Lord, Lord Thomas, pointed out, a measuring labelling on pre-packed foods. These actions are about tape around the waist is also very insightful. But it helping people to make healthy choices. works for most people very well. The reality is that most people who have a high BMI are also at risk of ill At the same time, there is another issues that we health and premature death. When establishing an must face: the national crisis around body identity and individual’s health risk, the noble Lord, Lord Brooke, self-confidence, which, in some, manifests itself as is right: health professionals must use follow-up measures extreme eating disorders or as mental health challenges. and assessments as well, such as waist circumference. The Women and Equalities Committee report put it NICE is crystal clear about this and, as my noble extremely well. Acute anorexia is a particularly distressing friend Lady Wheatcroft pointed out, BMI is just the mental health condition that can ruin lives and cause recommended first step in the assessment pathway. horrible worries for the families of those concerned. That is why our mental health recovery plan is putting I hear the noble Baroness, Lady Parminter, loud £500 million into work to ensure that we have the right and clear. I have read the stories to which she referred. support for people with mental illness, and I am I am extremely disappointed by them. It is not right encouraging further policy on positive body imagery. and it is not recommended in the eating disorder commissioning guide. I agree that we need to listen to I want to make my point clearly: I am concerned patients much better. I agree completely with my noble that there is a perception that these two agendas are friend Lady Altmann that, in such cases, mental health somehow at odds with each other—that if we put assessments are absolutely essential. Similar safeguards calorie counts on menus, we will somehow trigger apply to assessing whether someone is underweight, mental health episodes for those with eating disorders and of course it is absolutely true that conditions such or reinforce a damaging body image culture, or that if as anorexia and other eating disorders require specialist we push our message on healthy lifestyles too much, assessment. NICE is looking at ways to improve the we will stigmatise those with sensitivities about their metric for ethnicity and other factors. None the less, body image. I simply do not accept that this needs to given the large international evidence base underpinning be the case. While I do not discount people’s lived BMI, its simplicity and its wide international use, I do experiences, it is important that we know what we are not see it as likely that there will be wholesale change. buying. The calorie count of everyday food available BMI is an essential tool in our battle against obesity. in fast-food chains is often absolutely shocking. The We have a huge problem in this area: six out of food we grab on the go or have delivered to our homes 10 adults and more than one in three children aged is now a big part of our diet, yet there is huge ignorance between 10 and 11 are overweight or living with obesity. about what that food contains. In my briefing, I have page after page on the impact of Collectively,we need to somehow work a way through obesity on the lives and futures of British families. It this. The maths of it are really simple: there are has a huge impact on the NHS, the causes of cancer 725,000 people with eating disorders in the UK. That and the causes of diabetes. It has an impact on women: number may be higher, as I recognise that some struggle obese women are 12.7 times more likely to develop to seek support and are not included in the figures. We type 2 diabetes and three and a half times more likely must do everything we can to bring them the clinical to have a heart attack than women who are a healthy support they need to address their significant mental weight. I could go on and on. health issues, so that they can live resilient lives and As the noble Baroness,Lady Redfern, rightly explained, deal with the stresses of everyday living. At the same it is children who are overweight or living with obesity time, there are millions of schoolchildren and young who are sometimes affected the most. In particular, people living with poor mental health. My DCMS many experience bullying, low self-esteem and a lower colleagues are doing everything they can to address quality of life. They are more likely to continue to be the challenges of social media in their lives. overweight or living with obesity into adulthood, which In addition, there are 28.9 million adults in England in turn increases their risk of type 2 diabetes, cardio- who are either overweight or living with obesity.Somehow, vascular disease and other chronic illnesses. We must we need to inspire those people to take on board a do something to address this issue. healthy lifestyle, which means changing their diets and As the noble Lord, Lord Brooke, and my noble taking more exercise. These are tough decisions that friend Lady Jenkin rightly said, during the pandemic people can only make for themselves. It is not our we have seen a stark illustration of the impact of living business to deal in shame; we are dealing in honesty. GC 375 Body Mass Index[LORDS] Alcohol Harm Commission: Report 2020 GC 376

[LORD BETHELL] them five times more likely to develop eating disorders That is where the BMI comes in, because it is a simple, and three times as likely to consider suicide. Some unequivocal and, for most people, accurate predictor children are harmed even before they are born. Exposure of risky lifestyles. to alcohol in the womb can cause foetal alcohol spectrum It is not beyond our intellectual capabilities to find disorder, a lifelong developmental condition found in a way through this conundrum. I am hugely grateful up to 17% of UK children. to the noble Lord, Lord Addington, for bringing us The links between alcohol, violent crime and anti-social the opportunity to debate these sensitive subjects, and behaviour are strong. Alcohol fuels almost 40% of I hope very much that we can work together to find an violent crimes and half of domestic violence. Drunk- answer to this challenge. driving causes almost 9,000 casualties and 260 deaths a year. Police Sergeant Mick Urwin told us that The Deputy Chairman of Committees (Baroness Healy “delivering a death message to a parent, brother, sister, son or of Primrose Hill) (Lab): The Grand Committee stands daughter to inform them that someone has been killed by a drink adjourned until 3.30 pm. I remind Members to sanitise driver is not something I ever got used to”. their desks and chairs before leaving the Room. The burden falls on all society, particularly public services. There are 1.26 million alcohol-related hospital 3.26 pm admissions annually and alcohol costs the NHS £3.5 billion. The cost of alcohol-related crime is even Sitting suspended. higher,at £11.4 billion per annum. That is why sentencing to alcohol abstinence and monitoring is so important, Arrangement of Business with its high compliance rate allowing people to face Announcement and tackle their harmful drinking, and it has been shown to decrease repeat offending. 3.30 pm The extent of these harms is truly shocking but is The Deputy Chairman of Committees (Baroness Healy no surprise, as alcohol is ubiquitous. That is why we of Primrose Hill) (Lab): My Lords, the hybrid Grand titled the commission’s report It’s Everywhere—a quote Committee will now resume. Some Members are here from a witness. We heard how alcohol is all around us: in person, others are participating remotely, but all at social gatherings, on TV,in supermarkets, card shops Members will be treated equally. I ask Members in the and the workplace, and at all times of day or night. Room to respect social distancing. If the capacity of People told us they could not escape from alcohol; theCommitteeRoomisexceededorothersafetyrequirements “relentless” was a word we heard repeatedly. Although are breached, I will immediately adjourn the Committee. national consumption has fallen from 2004’s historical If there is a Division in the House, the Committee will high, especially as more young people abstain, the adjourn for five minutes. increases in measures of harm and deaths persist. Alcohol’s harm is often hidden in plain sight, leaving Alcohol Harm Commission: Report 2020 people to deal with it alone, unsupported. The stigma Question for Short Debate of harmful drinking makes people conceal their problem. Children instinctively understand that they are expected 3.31 pm to keep quiet about their parents’ drinking. To quote another witness: Asked by Baroness Finlay of Llandaff “Families and children like us didn’t and won’t discuss it for Toask Her Majesty’sGovernment what assessment fear of being separated, being taken away from parents, being they have made of the report by the Commission singled out ... feeling embarrassed, scared of repercussions and on Alcohol Harm 2020 ‘It’s everywhere’—alcohol’s fear of retribution”. public face and private harm, published on 14 September Thealcoholindustry’s“personalresponsibility”framing 2020. blames individuals for their drinking. Stigmatisation makes it harder to seek help. Blame lies within the Baroness Finlay of Llandaff (CB): My Lords, I had product itself: alcohol is addictive. It can turn people’s the privilege of leading a group of 16 experts to lives upside down, as anyone listening to “The Archers” investigate one of the most pressing issues of the day: at the moment will know. It warrants careful regulation, the harm caused by alcohol. I extend my sincere hence the commission’s recommendations. thanks to each of those 16, who gave their time and First, we call for an alcohol strategy. The last was expertise so generously in their dedication to reducing almost 10 years ago. Revision is urgently needed—last alcohol harm. The findings of the Commission on year, alcohol deaths reached their highest level since Alcohol Harm were stark. One cannot overstate the records began. The updated strategy needs to include sheer scale of the harm caused by alcohol every day to evidence-based policies to reduce the affordability, individuals, those around them and society. Alcohol is availability and marketing of alcohol. These tools, linked to 80 deaths every day across the UK and, most recommended by the World Health Organization, proved worryingly, it kills people when they are young. Alcohol effective at tackling tobacco use. Let us look at each is responsible for more years of working life lost than in turn. the 10 most frequent cancers combined. Alcohol harm and price are directly linked. The However, the commission found that alcohol harm alcohol duty system is inconsistent and perverse—white extends beyond health. We heard a great deal about cider at 19p a unit feeds addiction. Affordability has the impact on families: 200,000 children are estimated grown significantly in the last four decades, driven by to live with an alcohol-dependent parent, making low prices in off-trade settings. Cuts to alcohol duty at GC 377 Alcohol Harm Commission: Report 2020[22 APRIL 2021] Alcohol Harm Commission: Report 2020 GC 378 the annual Budget have not helped—beer duty is now 3.41 pm 21% lower than in 2012-13 according to the Institute Lord Brooke of Alverthorpe (Lab): My Lords, I am of Alcohol Studies. We urgently need minimum unit most grateful to my noble friend Lady Finlay for her pricing in England, as already introduced in Scotland powerful introduction. I declare an interest as one of and more recently in Wales. Tax should be proportionate the members of her commission, which she so admirably to the harm caused. steered to producing such a wonderful report. The commission heard from witnesses how the In the limited time that we have, I want to focus on constant availability of alcohol affects those who drink. calories. I have been banging on about calories since One individual told us: the Labour Government were in power and about the “My dad can’t help drinking. Every day we need bread, milk need for calories to be shown on labels for alcohol. etc from the shop next to our house. When he goes in, the Why is the drinks industry exempt from telling people temptation is too much for him. It’s not his fault when it’s staring what they are consuming and what it might do to him in the face. Maybe if we didn’t live near a shop he wouldn’t be them? able to get drink as easily.” I am pleased that we are starting to make some Local authorities told us that they struggle to reduce progress. There is a firm recommendation in this report availability under the current licensing regime. The and I hope that the Minister will be positive. One of UK Government could follow Scotland to allow local the old excuses for why we could not do anything was authorities to consider public health as a distinct that we were in the European Union and legislation licensing objective when assessing licensing applications. and regulations there prevented us from acting unilaterally. Advertising and marketing set the tone for our We have now come out of Europe and we now have relationship with alcohol. The alcohol industry spends the freedom to do as we choose. I look to see whether hundreds of millions of pounds on advertising, much the Minister will take sides on this issue, now that he of which can be seen by children and vulnerable has the freedom to do so, if required. individuals, such as those with addiction. Children’s I had a useful conversation this morning with Sir Keith exposure to alcohol marketing makes them more likely Mills, who has been appointed by the Prime Minister to consume alcohol and to start consuming it at an to review the way in which incentives might be used to earlier age. Opinion polling carried out for the Alcohol encourage people to reduce their weight and exercise Health Alliance showed that 75% of the public support more. He is looking at new technologies; there are reducing children’s exposure to alcohol advertising. some developments taking place that are of some Many countries, such as France, restrict such marketing significance. I see that the Minister is nodding in to better protect their populations. We should follow agreement, so perhaps when he comes to respond he suit. might say a little more about that. A change would Consumers have a right to know what they are allow an app, on our mobile or on our wrist, to tell us, drinking. It is bizarre that currently there are fewer for all items that have calories marked on them, just legal requirements for information on a bottle of wine what we are purchasing. We would know what is in than on a carton of orange juice. Unlike soft drinks, our shopping basket while still in the supermarket. alcoholic drinks do not have to list their calories or That would be a big change. We should not permit the sugar content or ingredients. Consumer information is drinks industry to be exempt from that change. grossly inadequate, as there is no statutory requirement I hope that the Minister will assure us that the for drinks to carry a health warning, warnings about consultation will be concluded soon and the Government alcohol in pregnancy, or the weekly guideline for will come out with a strong indication that, for the low-risk consumption. Without label information, first time ever, we will have formal labelling on alcoholic consumers are unaware of the risks and cannot make drinks. informed decisions. Time does not allow me to cover the toll on the 3.43 pm NHS and social care, where the burden of alcohol Baroness Randerson (LD) [V]: My Lords, I declare harm ultimately falls. Suffice it to remind your Lordships an interest as co-chair of the All-Party Group on that alcohol is the leading risk factor for death, ill Liver Health, for which this is a very relevant debate. I health and disability in 15 to 49 year-olds in England. thank the noble Baroness, Lady Finlay, for all her work It was causal in almost 12,000 cancers in 2015—that is in this field. 33 people a day—particularly cancers of the mouth, What do we need to make inroads on this problem? pharynx, oesophagus, larynx, breast, bowel and liver. Obviously, first, we need better access to treatment. It is also a factor in over 200 other diseases and Secondly, Scotland’s minimum unit pricing saw a net injuries, including hypertension, heart disease, stroke, reduction in off-trade sales by 4% to 5% in its first year. gastrointestinal disorders, brain damage and mental That is worth while, but it is not enough in itself. illness. Deaths from alcohol liver disease have increased Recent research by Cardiff University—I declare 400% since 1970. an interest as chancellor of that university—has The Government have tackled tobacco harms and demonstrated the link between food purchases and shown in their recent obesity strategy a willingness to alcohol purchases. Buying the food for our meal literally take bold action to protect the public’s health. With an prompts us to pick up the bottle of wine or beer from estimated 1.6 million adults in England having some the next aisle of the supermarket. This research suggests degree of alcohol dependency,I hope that the Government that food and alcohol sales need to be separated and will show the same boldness and heed our report’s not part of the same trip to the till. Many other recommendations. countries do this. I recall that in Australia the same GC 379 Alcohol Harm Commission: Report 2020[LORDS] Alcohol Harm Commission: Report 2020 GC 380

[BARONESS RANDERSON] be a forceful, effective education policy to alert everyone, supermarket sold both sets of items, but you went to a especially the young, to the dangers of unwise drinking. totally separate section and paid a separate bill for the I had two goddaughters who died of alcohol harm, alcohol. Finland, Sweden, Canada and some parts of and my mother-in-law, who was an alcoholic, also the US apply similar rules. The Government should died early. I spent many years working with young explore this. offenders and alcohol was one of the problems involved We need further controls on the advertising of their lives. Alcohol causes so much violence and family alcohol. Finally, we need more information on labels stress. and when we buy alcohol in the pub. If we buy a Recently, university students have died after rugby lemonade or crisps or a bar of chocolate, we know the initiation drinking games. It appeared that they did calories and contents. When we drink a glass of wine, not know of the dangers associated with drinking we deserve to have access to the same information on large amounts of alcohol over a short period of time. calories and the number of units. There should be far more forceful warnings about the dangers of excessive alcohol consumption across the 3.45 pm country if we want to save lives. I thank my noble friend Baroness Jenkin of Kennington (Con): My Lords, as Lady Finlay of Llandaff for this report and I hope that another of the commissioners, albeit a rather absentee the Government respond positively. one, I am grateful to the noble Baroness for instigating this debate and to all those who participated in the 3.49 pm report either as witnesses or by taking evidence.Its findings The Lord Bishop of Carlisle [V]: My Lords, I too were powerful and worrying. congratulate the commission on its work in highlighting The noble Baroness, Lady Finlay, and I worked the harm caused by the abuse of alcohol. I wish to together in 2011 to persuade the Government to legislate focus my brief remarks on the relationship between for compulsory sobriety tagging for alcohol-related crimes. alcohol and domestic violence. The alcohol abstinence and monitoring requirement, The statistics make this clear. Home Office figures which checks offenders’ intake every 30 minutes, was indicate that alcohol is involved in up to 50% of cases piloted successfully and is now rolled out across the of domestic abuse, as we were informed earlier by the country.There is a clear connection between problematic noble Baroness, Lady Finlay. Though not necessarily alcohol consumption and crime, particularly heavy a direct cause, it is frequently a significant contributary drinking or binge-drinking and violent crime. The factor. What is more, when alcohol is involved, the most recent findings, from the Crime Survey for England abuse affecting children, as well as adults, is more and Wales in 2018, estimate that the proportion of likely to be serious, increasing the risk of physical, violent incidents where the victim believed the offender emotional and psychological harm. This has, of course, to be under the influence of alcohol was 39%. The been a particular problem during the last year with the estimated total social and economic cost of alcohol-related various restrictions that have been imposed to counter harm in 2018 was £21.5 billion. the coronavirus pandemic. The commission’s findings Reducing alcohol-related crime will mean fewer on this, as well as several other types of harm, must victims, save taxpayers’ money and have a positive surely cause Her Majesty’s Government to rethink the impact in communities and on individuals.The legislation statement made in January 2020 that they to introduce this solution to alcohol-related crimes “are not planning a stand-alone strategy”—[Official Report, 21/1/20; took more than 10 years from conception, when Boris col. 1043.] Johnson as Mayor of London first asked for it, to final for alcohol. It would complement, rather than cut implementation. It is a common-sense, effective, value- across, proposals made in the NHS Long Term Plan. for-money solution. Why did it take so long? The commission strongly recommends a strategic In the time I have left, I, like others, commend the approach that would not only address the link between Government for their commitment to calorie labelling alcohol abuse and domestic violence but take into of alcoholic drinks as part of the obesity strategy. account some of the factors that frequently accompany Polling shows that the UK public are overwhelmingly harmful alcohol consumption. These factors include supportive of health and nutritional information on educational exclusion, social deprivation, financial distress, alcohol labels. It is clearly absurd that alcohol-free employment worries and psychological pressures. I beer, for example, shows nutritional information but wholeheartedly commend the commission’s proposal ordinary beer does not. This has to change. It is that the domestic abuse commissioner role, which is another common-sense, effective policy and I urge the being created as part of the Domestic Abuse Bill, must Government to stick to their plans. have a duty to have regard to the link between alcohol and domestic abuse in its work. 3.47 pm Baroness Masham of Ilton (CB) [V]: My Lords, 3.51 pm I chaired a committee for the Home Office in 1987 Lord Rennard (LD): My Lords, introducing minimum on young people, alcohol and crime. Many of the unit pricing for England was a key recommendation of recommendations in this report, ‘It’s Everywhere’ - the commission. A strong evidence base for this was Alcohol’s Public Face and Private Harm, are similar to provided by a wide range of organisations, including those in the 1987 report. the Children’s Society, the Association of Directors of After the report in 1987, I learned that advertising Public Health, Cancer Research UK, the British Medical for the alcohol industry is powerful, vigorous and Association and several local authorities.A 50p minimum effective. To balance that, it is vital that there should unit price in England has been estimated to lead to GC 381 Alcohol Harm Commission: Report 2020[22 APRIL 2021] Alcohol Harm Commission: Report 2020 GC 382 almost 22,000 fewer hospital admissions and 525 fewer reason continues to fund it. The problem caused by deaths per year when in full effect. This would save the this type of nonsense advice is that it helps create a NHS £1.3 billion annually. As hospitals deal with the sense that all advice on alcohol consumption is nonsense. consequences of Covid-19, freeing up capacity is essential. It undermines sound and sensible advice given by People who live in poverty are more vulnerable to the Governments and related health industries. Yes, of effects of alcohol abuse. It is estimated that nine in course overconsumption of alcohol is unhealthy, but 10 lives saved by minimum unit pricing would be from our modern-day temperance movement needs to temper low-income groups. Yet the spokespeople for some creating fear and to start acknowledging that most people business groups and right-wing organisations oppose have common sense and just enjoy a modest drink. minimum unit pricing, citing their previously rarely expressed concerns about poverty,when their real concerns The Deputy Chairman of Committees (Baroness Healy are simply about profits. We need to remember that of Primrose Hill) (Lab): As the noble Baroness, Lady alcohol has a major impact on the public’s health. Boycott, has withdrawn, I call the next speaker,the noble Alcohol can cause over 200 conditions including Baroness, Lady Fox of Buckley. cancer, heart disease, liver disease, stroke and mental health problems. When I asked a Question about this 3.56 pm issue three years ago,the noble Lord, Lord O’Shaughnessy, Baroness Fox of Buckley (Non-Afl): My Lords, there then the Health Minister, cited evidence that is always a danger when addressing lifestyle choices “in 10 years, minimum unit pricing could on an annual basis that policymakers indulge in overreach. The relentless reduce alcohol-related deaths by 356, alcohol-related hospital war on alcohol emanating from public health over admissions by 28,515, and crime by 34,931 crimes.”—[Official recent years is no exemption. This can mean the state Report, 28/2/18; col. 654.] trampling on individual agency, a point well made by But we were told to wait for more evidence from the noble Lord, Lord Bethell, in yesterday’s Question Scotland and elsewhere. We now have that evidence. on obesity. There is another danger when reports are The policy is working in Scotland; it is being introduced commissioned to look at harms: that they see only in Wales. We should not have to wait any longer in harms and see harms everywhere. This can mean a England. disproportionate focus on risk and a loss of balance. My concern about the direction of this report is 3.54 pm that it moves away from the sometimes exaggerated Lord Smith of Hindhead (Con): My Lords, I add my health harms of individual alcohol use into the broader thanks to those offered to the noble Baroness, Lady social and economic realms. In doing so, it may deploy Finlay, for initiating this debate. I refer the Committee guilt by association by linking alcohol and drinkers to my interests as set out in the register. with reprehensible behaviours such as domestic abuse, I want to make just one quick point today: my family neglect, crime and child suicide and with a belief that we need to be more careful about how we financial burden on public services. There is also the talk about the negatives of consuming alcohol and the danger of conflating causation with correlation. This need to be balanced in the advice given. Throughout can mean that harms associated with a small minority this pandemic, we have seen the effects which lower are projected population-wide. Indeed, the proposed socialisation has had on people’s health and mental illiberal solutions, such as minimum pricing, treat health. I have always believed that a society which everyone as a potential problem drinker and alcohol socialises together is stronger and healthier. Although per se as a harmful substance. alcohol does not have to be integral to a healthy social Surely we need balance. Alcohol is a legal and life, moderate alcohol consumption undoubtedly plays enjoyable part of human engagement and relaxed a large part in British culture and the social lives of sociability for millions of people. The direction of this many millions of people who enjoy pubs, clubs, bars, report could disproportionately penalise and unfairly restaurants or indeed entertaining at home. demonise the vast majority of those who drink responsibly. It is widely acknowledged that the comments made Finally, can we remember the hospitality industry? by the previous Chief Medical Officer, Dame Sally With lockdown, some 10,000 pubs, clubs and restaurants Davies, when she said that women should think about were forced out of business in 2020. That awful loss of the risk of breast cancer every time they reach for a jobs and livelihoods looks set to continue. We have glass of wine, were misjudged. They were ultimately seen curfews and pubs open but with alcohol banned rebutted and reworded, but the horse had already in Scotland and Wales. This smacks of a joyless bolted. Another,more recent example is from Drinkaware, puritanism. I appreciate that I am almost a lone voice which advised people getting their Covid-19 jabs not here, but there is no democratic mandate for “Temperance to drink in the two days before the jab and for up to UK”. Policy interventions should be targeted, discreet, two weeks afterwards. That advice then had to be and aware that alcohol can be harmful but usually is dismissed by Ministers and the UK’s Medicines and not, and that grown-ups should be free to choose how Healthcare products Regulatory Agency,not least because they use alcohol regardless of risks. not one study has tested any correlation between alcohol and the efficiency of either of the vaccines on 3.58 pm offer in the UK today, a fact that even Drinkaware Baroness Walmsley (LD) [V]: My Lords, alcohol acknowledged. harm requires a cross-departmental response because Questions should be raised with Drinkaware about of the range of harms that alcohol can cause. That is how this irresponsible advice could ever have been why I support the call of the noble Baroness, Lady given, not least by the drinks industry, which for some Finlay, for a coherent, cross-government strategy. GC 383 Alcohol Harm Commission: Report 2020[LORDS] Alcohol Harm Commission: Report 2020 GC 384

[BARONESS WALMSLEY] campaign that focused on the impact of smoking on The commission says, “It’s everywhere”, and it is. children. We must now apply those lessons learned to Drama can often explore complex issues in real life. alcohol. Will the Government take note of the WHO The writers of Radio 4’s “The Archers” know that, recommendation for the enforcement of comprehensive hence their recent storyline about Alice’s struggles restrictions on alcohol marketing and apply them in with alcoholism. the UK? There are parallels with the obesity crisis, and there the Government have at last recognised that regulation 4.03 pm has a part to play. The same goes for alcohol. We live Baroness Jolly (LD) [V]: My Lords, for such an in an obesogenic and alcogenic environment, and excellent report, two minutes will not do it justice. The regulation can help. For example, people often do not commission report that we are debating does not pull know how much they are drinking or how strong a its punches and I would have been disappointed if it drink is. I have been asking for two decades for all did. “It’s everywhere”—walk through any town or city alcohol to have its calories and alcohol units clearly centre in the UK from midday onward and it is labelled, but that still does not happen. I hope that will difficult to miss those sitting on benches, amiable but change now. often addicted to alcohol, drinking their cheap booze, Services are thin on the ground. When police are which is often cider. At just over £1 for a litre of a called to an event of domestic violence, they should be supermarket’s own brand, that is a cheap way to get able to link the perpetrator to therapeutic services and drunk. For the most part, they make no trouble early the children to social services. But this does not happen on; later, they can become rowdy and, after closing, because the services are not there. This is crazy because, violent. Local authorities license outlets—pubs, corner putting aside the human cost, money could be saved if shops and supermarkets. Is it really necessary to have they were. Are GPs and antenatal clinics confident to five outlets within a three-minute walk for a town with ask questions and refer people to alcohol services, a population of just over 9,000? where appropriate? Probably not. This all comes at a cost, but, for many, after time, Finally, the report says that, in Scotland, deprived there will be an impact on their friends and families. groups are six times more likely to be admitted to Addicts are not easy to live with and relationships acute hospitals and 13 times more likely to be admitted suffer. Health suffers too. Service providers need to be to psychiatric hospitals for alcohol problems than the aware that primary services for those dependent on least deprived groups. So the matter is often related to alcohol need to be fairly close to places of work or poverty. However, poor people can afford alcohol— home for those who need them. Funding for services because it seems to make things better; it is an escape for addicts is from local authorities. Can the Minister from the misery of people’s lives. If we banish poverty, guarantee that local authority public health services introduce minimum pricing and provide services, we will still be funded through the future health and can go a very long way to solving alcohol harms. social care Bill? To move addiction services to the NHS would be a retrograde step. 4.01 pm There is also a woeful lack of psychiatrists training Lord Ribeiro (Con) [V]: My Lords, I declare an in addiction psychiatry in England. Can the Minister interest as a fellow commissioner on the Commission confirm that there is a nationwide drive to attract on Alcohol Harm. trainees? We are all too aware of the impact of alcohol on I realise that there is no instant fix, but how successful adults and the increase in liver disease and premature are the Government in encouraging young health deaths as a result. But it is important to recognise that professionals to train in these areas? the genesis of this addiction to alcohol may start with the very young. Our focus should therefore be on the 4.05 pm negative effects of alcohol advertising on children. Baroness Thornton (Lab): My Lords, I thought I Professor Yvonne Kelly of the department of would read out all the recommendations very quickly. epidemiology and public health at UCL looked at They are: social media and its impact on alcohol consumption “1. A new comprehensive strategy… 2. Alcohol harm should in 6,700 British youngsters. Among 10 to 15 year-olds be a specific part of the remit of the new Domestic Abuse it was found that those who log on for one to three Commissioner … 3. All professionals who have regular contact hours daily were 44% more likely to drink alcohol, with children and families must have a core competency to while those who log on for more than four hours per intervene and provide support in cases where alcohol harm is … day were 89% more likely to drink often. But those evident 4. Action to prevent, identify and support Foetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder … 5. Reduced price promotion of with no social media profile were 59% less likely to cheap alcohol through increased alcohol duty and minimum consume alcohol than those using social media, even prices with regular reviews of prices in relation to inflation and those using it for less than one hour per day. Professor income … 6. Restrictions on availability of retail alcohol through Kelly noted that reduced hours of sale and reduced density of retail outlets … 7. “the pattern…among 10 to15 year-olds in our study is particularly Comprehensive restrictions on alcohol advertising across multiple striking, given that the purchase of alcohol for this group is media, including restrictions on sponsorships and activities targeting young people … 8. Alcohol labelling to provide consumers with illegal, coupled with the potential problems associated with the … introduction of alcohol from an earlier age.” information about alcohol harm 9. Treatment and care for alcohol use disorders and co-occurring conditions … 10. Brief More must be done to protect children from alcohol psychosocial interventions for people with hazardous and harmful promotion, including online and via sport sponsorship, alcohol use, with appropriate training for providers at all levels of as has been done successfully with tobacco advertising—a healthcare … 11. Action to reduce drink driving”. GC 385 Alcohol Harm Commission: Report 2020[22 APRIL 2021] Alcohol Harm Commission: Report 2020 GC 386

Almost every one of those has been mentioned in addiction strategy is still being developed, so this debate some way or other during this brief debate, so I hand is most timely as we consider what more can be done them all over to the Minister, asking whether the to protect people from alcohol-related harms. Government agree with them. Will they enact them, On alcohol labelling, the Government completely and in what timeframe? agree with the noble Baroness, Lady Randerson, that people have a right to accurate information and clear 4.07 pm advice about alcohol and its health risks to help them to make informed choices. We have worked with the TheParliamentaryUnder-Secretaryof State,Department alcohol industry to ensure that alcohol labels reflect of Health and Social Care (Lord Bethell) (Con): That is the UK Chief Medical Officer’s low-risk drinking a tremendous challenge by the noble Baroness. I will guidelines. The industry has committed to complying do my best, but before I do, I congratulate the noble with this requirement, and we are closely monitoring Baroness, Lady Finlay, on securing this important progress. As part of the Government’s latest obesity debate. I commend her on her commitment to reducing strategy,we committed to consulting on the introduction alcohol-related harm and I pay tribute to her and her of mandatory calorie labelling on pre-packed alcohol teamforspearheadingtheexcellentreportof theCommission and alcohol sold in the on-trade sector. This consultation onAlcoholHarm.Iwelcomethereport’srecommendations will be launched this summer. and the opportunity to debate them. Before I make My noble friend Lady Jenkin raised the shocking progress, I shall make a disclosure that my wife is a statistic on alcohol-related violence, and I completely director of the company Diageo. agree with her analysis. It is shocking to me that I acknowledge the report’s emphasis on wanting to between 2016 and 2018 alcohol was a factor in 66% of change the conversation within society about alcohol violent incidents that took place in the street, pub or and challenge alcohol’s position in our culture. Alcohol club and on public transport; this compares with is not something which affects only the “weak” or 30% of violent incidents in the home. Between 2017 “irresponsible”. It affects many people. We know that and 2019, one in five homicide suspects is recorded as most people drink responsibly. I take on board the being under the influence of alcohol at the time of the warnings of the noble Lord, Lord Smith, and the homicide, as is a similar proportion of victims. I have a noble Baroness, Lady Fox, that we must be careful deep wad of statistics that make extremely grim reading about overstating the specific dangers of alcohol or on this matter. demonising those who drink responsibly. There is On the specific issue of domestic abuse, we are making some good news in this area: we are seeing an overall progress. We know there is frequent co-existence of decrease in the amount of people drinking, especially domestic abuse, mental health problems and the misuse young people, which is highly encouraging. But we of drugs and alcohol. Research indicates that in 34% of cannot avoid the fact that there are still those who incidents of domestic violence, the victim perceived drink at very harmful levels and where alcohol misuse the offender to be under the influence of alcohol. The leads to significant harms for the people involved and Domestic Abuse Bill will see better protections for victims their families. I speak as one whose mother died of her and more effective measures to go after the perpetrators. alcoholism when I was of a young age, and I know We will reflect the importance of joining up domestic from personal experience the huge impact that alcoholism abuse, mental health and substance misuse services in has on those concerned and their families. the supporting statutory guidance. One action of this We recognise that there is still much work to be important Bill is to establish in law the office of the done. I completely agree with the rapporteurs that domestic abuse commissioner, with strong powers to alcohol has large impacts on society that include costs tackledomesticabuse.Thedescriptionof thecommissioner’s to health, lost productivity and poor quality of life. role states that they must adopt a specific focus on the Excessive alcohol consumption is the biggest risk factor needs of victims from groups with particular needs, attributable to early mortality, ill health and disability which could include mental health or substance misuse. among 15 to 49-year olds in the UK—full stop. It is My noble friend Lord Ribeiro asked about restrictions considered to be the third-largest lifestyle risk factor on alcohol advertising. I remind him that there are for preventable diseases in the UK, after smoking and already substantial restrictions on the advertising of obesity. alcohol, but we are working to review and improve The Government are committed to supporting the them. The Government are working with industry to most vulnerable at risk from alcohol misuse. We have address concerns over irresponsible promotions, an existing agenda on tackling health harms from advertising and marketing relating to alcohol. Material alcohol, and I would like to touch on some of that in the Committee of Advertising Practice and Broadcast today. Committee of Advertising Practice codes relating to I completely hear the call of the noble Baroness, the advertising and marketing of alcohol products is Lady Finlay, for a new government alcohol strategy. extremely robust already,recognising the social imperative The Government have committed to publishing a new of ensuring that alcohol advertising is responsible UK-wide, cross-government addiction strategy. This and, in particular, that children and young people are will consider a range of issues, including drugs, alcohol protected. None the less, the Government are reviewing and problem gambling and will involve many departments how online advertising is regulated in the UK, taking at the same time. While each comes with its own set of into account the many serious points made by my issues, there are large amounts of common ground noble friend Lord Ribeiro and looking at how well the and significant benefits in tackling addiction in a current regime is equipped to tackle the challenges comprehensive and joined-up way. The scope of this posed by the development of online advertising. GC 387 Alcohol Harm Commission: Report 2020[LORDS] Covid-19: Poverty and Mass Evictions GC 388

[LORD BETHELL] Covid-19: Poverty and Mass Evictions The noble Baroness,Lady Masham, spoke so movingly Question for Short Debate about children and family life. The evidence is absolutely clear that growing up in a family affected by parental alcohol dependency can cause significant harm to 4.30 pm children’s well-being and their long-term outcomes. Asked by Lord Bird Thanks to the personal testimony and campaigning of many noble Lords in the Grand Committee today, the Toask Her Majesty’sGovernment what assessment Department of Health and Social Care and the they have made of the risk of mass evictions resulting Department for Work and Pensions have together from COVID-19-related poverty; and what steps invested £6.5 million on a package of measures, over they will take to prevent such evictions. three years, to improve outcomes and support for children whose parents are alcohol-dependent. Lord Bird (CB): My Lords, I am grateful for this The noble Lord, Lord Rennard, asked pressingly chance to talk about something which has caused me a on minimum unit pricing. There are no current plans lot of sleepless nights. Thirty years ago, I started the to implement MUP in England. MUP has been in Big Issue. In the past 30 years, including through the place in Scotland for less than three years and the Covid period, we have been working with in the region Scottish Parliament will not consider its extension of 7,000 to 9,000 homeless people a year. With some until April 2024, when much more will be known notable exceptions, they are people who were socially about the overall impact on consumption. We will prepared, almost from birth, to fall into some kind of continue to monitor the evidence as it emerges from crisis. The most common thing among them—apart Scotland and Wales. In the meantime, we are committed from the fact that a lot of them have depression, drug to reducing alcohol-related harm and so have already and drink problems, social problems such as the banned alcohol sales below the level of duty plus VAT. breakdown of relationships or come from the working This means it will no longer be legal to sell a can of poor, the long-term unemployed or broken homes—is ordinary lager for less than 40p. that they did very badly at school. We have 7,000 to I close by reiterating the Government’s commitment 9,000 people. It used to be a bit more in the days of to supporting the most vulnerable at risk from alcohol Mr Cameron, but it seems to have gone down a bit, misuse. We already have a strong programme of work which is a good sign because I do not want one vendor under way to address alcohol-related harms, and the of the Big Issue, to be quite honest. Those people have new UK addiction strategy will provide an important been socially prepared, and I mean that in the nicest opportunity to consider what more can be done. This sense of the word; I am not blaming anybody. I am activity will be informed by the best available evidence, just saying that if you meet them you know that their including the report from the noble Baroness, Lady circumstances are often wretched but they come from Finlay. I thank her very much for pushing so hard on wretchedness. Often their family are working poor this important issue and securing such a thoughtful, and their grandparents were working poor and all interesting and passionate debate today, and I thank that, so you could say they have been socially engineered all noble Lords who have taken part. to become the army of people who are homeless. Last year, when in the region of 35,000 people were The Deputy Chairman of Committees (Baroness Henig) taken in from the streets it was wonderful—absolutely (Lab): My Lords, the Grand Committee now stands marvellous. It was enough to make you cry, and I say adjourned until 4.30 pm. I remind Members to sanitise that with full sincerity. The way that the Government their desks and chairs before leaving the Room. put their arms around homeless people was incredible. I have never known anybody do that in such a large 4.17 pm and manifest way. The figures were that something like 3,000, 4,000 or 5,000 people were expected but it Sitting suspended. turned out to be nearer 35,000 people. If you look at the profile of where they come from, you can expect the result that could lead to the streets. As an ex-street Arrangement of Business person, I was socially prepared from a very early age. Announcement This does not mean that everybody born into poverty has to end up as a John Bird sleeping rough and in the prison system and all sorts of things like that, but a 4.30 pm majority of people come from that profile. The Deputy Chairman of Committees (Baroness Henig) Covid-19 has introduced us to a much more frightening (Lab): My Lords, the hybrid Grand Committee will reality. We have those people—quite a small number now resume. Some Members are here in person, others in the region of 50,000 to 60,000—who are rough are participating remotely, but all Members will be sleepers throughout the United Kingdom but there treated equally. I ask Members in the Room to respect are in the region of about 250,000 to 300,000 people social distancing. If the capacity of the Committee who fall into what is called homelessness, whether they Room is exceeded or other safety requirements are are sofa surfers, in hostels or temporary accommodation, breached, I will immediately adjourn the Committee. with a small cohort to be found on the streets. So you If there is a Division in the House, the Committee will could say that there is in the region of about 300,000. I adjourn for five minutes. The time limit for this debate am not one of those persons who is going to stick with is one hour. any figures because I have heard contradictory figures GC 389 Covid-19: Poverty and Mass Evictions[22 APRIL 2021] Covid-19: Poverty and Mass Evictions GC 390 from all sorts of people and organisations. If you I and all the other people working in homelessness believe some of the figures, you get up to nearly prevention will do whatever is necessary to help the 300,000; if you believe another lot, you would think Government through this sticky situation. I know, and that it was 500,000. Anyway, the point I am trying to everybody knows, this is not easy. We have to keep make is that you have socially prepared people who people in their homes, we have to pay their rent or have failed at school and failed in many ways. They mortgage and we have to support them through the have all sorts of problems around drink and drugs—a emergency. The emergency might be over in three cocktail of problems. weeks, it might be over in three months, it might be over in three years, but we have no alternative. Otherwise, Covid-19 has thrown up a completely new group of the cost will double and treble because it is sometimes people. If 2 million people are expected to lose their four times more expensive to keep people in homelessness jobs—we know that the Government are trying to do than to prevent it. That is what I am asking the wonderful things there—and a large amount of people Government to do. fall into homelessness because of Covid-inspired evictions, you have a completely different group of people. In I realise that a lot of people will say that we cannot many senses, it will include middle-class and professional dump this cost on the future generation. I was born in people—people who have had all sorts of support in 1946, and I, with many of my contemporaries, finished their lives and should never have become homeless but paying for the Second World War in 2007. Let me tell for the problem of Covid-19. Now, not the socially noble Lords: this is very similar to the Second World War. prepared people—the people I come from; you could 4.41 pm say that we kind of half expected it—but people who are not prepared, and whose families and children Baroness Andrews (Lab) [V]: My Lords, I congratulate have fallen into depression, are in this group. the noble Lord, Lord Bird, on securing the debate and on the uniquely powerful way he has introduced it. The Government’s response, especially in moving The Government will have a lot of help on hand to the goalposts, so to speak—that is, moving the eviction answer the first question the debate raises: the assessment ban back to the end of May—has been a series of of the risk of mass evictions. In all the statistics we stopgap actions. We all know that we are in the middle have from the many agencies in the field, the Government of an emergency; we are not out of it yet. When point to the cliff edge, which has been postponed yet working in an emergency and trying to move on, another month to the end of May. Much of what I say saying “We’re going to do this for a bit longer, we’re will build on what the noble Lord, Lord Bird, said. going to do that for a bit longer” actually undermines The National Residential Landlords Association the well-being of the people who as yet have not estimates there will be 800,000 people in arrears,the people manifested as homeless and presented themselves as the noble Lord described, who have never contemplated such. or imagined homelessness.They now face a real possibility We will potentially have hundreds of thousands of of eviction for failure to pay rent. Fifty-eight percent homeless people. If we take the 400,000 people living of them have never had rent debt before, and almost in rented accommodation, not to mention the people one-fifth have debts of more than £1,000. Most at risk who are behind with their mortgages and have had a are the 11% of private renters who are now unemployed. number of mortgage holidays, and the nearly 400,000 As we know, Covid has hit the youngest hardest, people who are at least nine months behind in their taking their jobs and job prospects away. They will feel rent—if they pay £1,000 a month, they are £9,000 behind the full force of homelessness. The lucky ones will be —we could have hundreds of thousands people presenting able to retreat to the safety of the family home or themselves as Big Issue vendors. I certainly could not squash in with friends, but there will be many who will handle an enormous amount of people like that. not be able to do that. It is significant that the NRLA has made common We have to move beyond the emergency. We have to cause with housing charities. They have urged the have a road plan from the Government because it is Government to prepare a long-term strategy, rather unnerving people who are caught in this position. We than fight fires month to month. The NRLA estimates also have to take account of the fact that 60% of that about one-third of landlords will leave the market people who live in rented accommodation are renting anyway or reduce their holdings. The Minister for Justice from people who have only one or two flats or houses, said on Monday in this House that it was nothing to and letting is their pension or income. All the big do with him and that it is a housing problem. Of course, landlords cover the other 40% but it is mainly backbone it is, but it sits urgently within a long-term structural people in the community and all that. problem of a failing housing market that can be solved Today, we have launched a campaign. We are making only by making a priority of affordable and social a film for the 30th anniversary of the Big Issue and it housing. I am sure the Minister will tell us how much will be about this crisis. We hope the crisis does not money has gone into supporting tenants and mortgages. happen, but we have to find a way of convincing the Very well done, but it is absolutely the right thing for Treasury that, for all the money it has spent, if it does the Government to spend their money on. not spend money now on preventing people falling The second exam question today is: what next? What into homelessness, the cost could be anywhere between is the long-term plan? What will it consist of? How will £20,000 and £100,000 per person who does. The cost it address housing needs and costs and welfare benefits? to the National Health Service if we let hundreds of When will it be announced? These are the answers the thousands of people slip into homelessness is untold. House of Commons Housing, Communities and Local So, now is the time for the Government. Government Select Committee has asked for. It has asked GC 391 Covid-19: Poverty and Mass Evictions[LORDS] Covid-19: Poverty and Mass Evictions GC 392

[BARONESS ANDREWS] at that time, which was the first time that I met the for a strategic, resilient exit plan for the sector to transition noble Lord, and it is a pleasure to join forces with him out of the pandemic into stability and, specifically, for again this afternoon in the campaign to prevent a modest financial package of discretionary housing homelessness. payments of between £200 million and £300 million. This debate follows on closely from Monday’s debate I therefore have a few questions for the Minister. on the prevention of eviction order, answered by my When do the Government plan to respond to the noble friend Lord Wolfson. When he replied to that Select Committee report and this proposition? When debate, he very modestly said that he was a humble will the Government make a decision on the future of Justice Minister and that many issues raised were for the £20 weekly uplift to child benefit? When will the MHCLG, hence the welcome opportunity to follow Government bring forward their long-anticipated renters up those issues this afternoon. reform Bill? If the Government still do not know what to do, will they make a start by following the example I welcome the Government’s decision to extend the of Wales and creating longer term security for tenants? ban on most evictions in effect until mid-June, which aims to strike a balance between the needs of tenants 4.44 pm and those of landlords. I also welcome the generous Lord Shipley (LD) [V]: My Lords, I should remind support that the Government have extended to renters: the House that I am a vice-president of the Local the LHA increase, the UC uplift, the one-off payment Government Association. This is the second time this of £500 and the increase in discretionary housing week that we are debating this matter. On this occasion, payments. These will enable the majority of tenants to it is an opportunity to discuss government policy cope, with some forbearance from their landlords. approaches, or rather the absence of them, because However,as noble Lords have said, when the temporary just extending the temporary ban on evictions once arrangements come to an end, there will be a problem. again, as was agreed on Monday, is not sufficient, and Of course, each time the Government for understandable I thank the noble Lord, Lord Bird, for enabling us to reasons extend the eviction ban, the greater the amount keep pointing out the need for workable solutions of arrears that are likely to build up. This is a particular from the Government. problem for the 56% of families with arrears who are The noble Baroness, Lady Andrews, has drawn not in receipt of benefits and therefore are precluded attention to the report of the House of Commons from discretionary housing payments. Housing, Communities and Local Government Select The noble Lord, Lord Shipley, had some estimates. Committee, and I want to quote a little more from it. Roughly one-quarter of a million social tenants and On 31 March, the Select Committee said that: the same number of private renters were estimated by “The Government will eventually have to come up with a policy response, because it cannot keep extending the evictions the Resolution Foundation to be behind with their ban forever more.” rent in February. This poses a particular problem for It went on to say: the courts, which are already under pressure due to the “Wecall on the Government to deliver a specific financial package pandemic backlog, but much more important is the —we prefer discretionary housing payments—to support tenants problem for families facing eviction. to repay rent arrears caused by covid-19, in consultation with the I know that Scotland and Wales are different, but Local Government Association and appropriate bodies representing renters and landlords. We received an estimate that this package the problems that confront private tenants with Covid- will likely cost between £200 and £300 million. Given the number related arrears are basically the same wherever they of potential evictions this would prevent, it would likely save the live. The Welsh scheme was launched last autumn. The Exchequer a substantial amount in homelessness assistance.” tenancy saver loan scheme is repayable over five years What is the Government’s response? with interest at 1% and is operated by credit unions. It The Resolution Foundation has estimated that the is paid direct to the landlord, and is available only if rates of rent arrears across all tenures were the credit union believes it is affordable. Once tenants “at least twice the level of arrears observed going into the crisis.” have applied for the loan, they can access support and It further estimated in January that more than 750,000 advice services to help them manage their financial families were behind with their rent. situation. It was welcomed by housing charities and The Secretary of State committed a year ago that landlord representatives alike. In Scotland, they have a no one would be forced out of their home because very similar scheme, launched last September. Its tenant they had lost income as a result of coronavirus. He hardship loan fund offers interest-free loans to those also said that no landlord would face unmanageable unable to access other forms of support for their debts.Landlords’organisations and renters’organisations housing costs. have come up with a plan for a government-led rent I know there is an argument for grants rather than relief scheme. The Select Committee has come up with loans. They are simpler to administer and avoid adding a plan too. Many thousands of tenants and landlords to debt, but they are more expensive for the taxpayer are now extremely worried, so when will the Government and unfair to those tenants who made sacrifices to pay decide what action to take? their rent while their neighbour next door, who made no such sacrifice, may get a grant to wipe out the debt. 4.47 pm Loans avoid that moral hazard. I do not expect the Lord Young of Cookham (Con): My Lords, I am Minister to change government policy when he winds grateful to the noble Lord, Lord Bird, for initiating this up, but will his department carry out a quick review of short debate. He mentioned that it was 30 years ago that the Welsh and Scottish schemes to see whether there he launched the Big Issue. I was the Housing Minister are any lessons which we might learn in England? GC 393 Covid-19: Poverty and Mass Evictions[22 APRIL 2021] Covid-19: Poverty and Mass Evictions GC 394

4.50 pm financial support they needed through the welfare system. For example, Sovereign Housing, which operates in Lord Loomba (CB) [V]: My Lords, this is an important the south-east, has retrained 75 members of staff to debate and I thank the noble Lord, Lord Bird, for help residents who are facing a drop in income. It has securing it. The lockdowns and the shutdown of economic partnered with local businesses to help these residents activities caused a loss of income for many workers find employment. Unfortunately, such initiatives alone and were especially difficult for those whose livelihoods will not be enough. Many families now stand on a cliff depend upon daily wages. At the start of the March 2020 edge. What will prevent them falling off? lockdown, the Government put in place a package of emergency housing measures to keep people safe in As the country’s economic and social recovery starts, their homes during the pandemic. The Housing Secretary, we must not leave people who are already struggling Robert Jenrick, pledged even further behind. The eviction ban is, of course, not sustainable in perpetuity but I hope the Minister will “no renter who has lost income due to coronavirus will be forced out of their home”. acknowledge that we face a real and present danger of unravelling the complex support system that is keeping Figures from the Ministry of Housing, Communities people’s heads above water. We must learn the lessons and Local Government indicate that rent arrears have from this crisis—that a safe, affordable and decent tripled to affect almost 700,000 over the course of the home, with effective government support where needed, pandemic. Hundreds of thousands of renters have is the bedrock of a compassionate society. fallen into rent arrears. Sadly, many of these people are widows and partners who have lost the breadwinner With strong government action and leadership, we in the family as a result of Covid-19. They have no can prevent hundreds of thousands of people facing income and cannot afford to pay rent for their long-term financial hardship. Can the Minister commit accommodation. Under the current regulations, evictions to preventing those families falling off that cliff edge are paused but will resume from June onwards. Therefore, by keeping the support packages currently in place, will the Government provide financial support to these including the £20 increase in universal credit? Can he women, who have lost their spouse or partner as also tell us what assessments his department and the a result of Covid-19 and have no source of income, to Government have made of the implications of save them from being evicted from their homes? withdrawing this package for the housing situation of Furthermore, will the Government clear their debts individuals and families? built up during the pandemic? I am afraid that these 4.56 pm vulnerable women will otherwise become not only homeless but the victims of many heinous crimes. Baroness Gardner of Parkes (Con) [V]: My Lords, I was shocked to read that Citizens Advice had published 4.53 pm a report which said that 58% of those who have now fallen behind on their rents were not in arrears before Baroness Warwick of Undercliffe (Lab): My Lords, the Covid pandemic. Total arrears in January 2021 were I declare an interest as chair of the National Housing estimated at £360 million. This has a knock-on effect Federation, the trade body for housing associations in on landlords, with 60% of them saying that they have England. I congratulate the noble Lord, Lord Bird, on lost income. Many are reliant on that rent as their only securing a most timely debate. income. I declare my interests as set out in the register. The Government took speedy and decisive action I have repeatedly welcomed the ban on evictions as to bring in the ban on evictions, introduce the universal introduced by this Government because it is of critical credit uplift and deliver the “Everyone In” initiative. importance during such uncharted times that people That was well done. This package undoubtedly saved retain their homes, as that gives them stability and lives and prevented people losing their homes and confidence when they face such uncertainty. In the being plunged into poverty at this most difficult of latest renewal of the protection from eviction regulations, times. The Minister knows that the worst impact of I queried with the Minister whether 31 May 2021 was the pandemic has not been evenly distributed across too early. I appreciate that there needs to be a balance our society. People on lower incomes have had higher for the landlords who are carrying the burden of contraction and mortality rates. Many of them have non-payment of rent because they are not bankers lost jobs or are stuck in precarious employment. Things and, in many cases, are suffering hardship themselves for them have got worse in the past 12 months, and the through non-payment of rent. However, I doubt that future is not looking bright. mass evictions will help either tenants or landlords. Research from the National Housing Federation Logic tells me that there needs to be further help or shows that since the start of the crisis the number of the courts will be bombarded with eviction hearings, social rented households in England claiming the housing while local authorities will find that they are forced to element of universal credit has increased by 39%. In help rehome people who have lost their homes. In addition, around 60% of households that claim universal effect, the problem is merely being shifted to local credit are in rent arrears. This picture is just for the councils, which will often be forced to used unsuitable housing association sector,which has put in place robust temporary accommodation. Can the Minister outline measures to support residents. For people in the private what range of measures the Government are looking rented sector, the situation must be a lot bleaker. to introduce that will help meet the arrears, even if Housing associations pledged from the start that only in part, avoid the rush to the courts for evictions no one would be evicted because of financial hardship and help local authorities not to be swamped with caused by the pandemic. They set up schemes across homelessness cases? Without those measures, it is a the country to help residents get access to the vital bleak picture ahead for those in arrears. GC 395 Covid-19: Poverty and Mass Evictions[LORDS] Covid-19: Poverty and Mass Evictions GC 396

[BARONESS GARDNER OF PARKES] Lastly, the Government should invest in a new There is emotional turmoil for tenants in losing their generation of social housing to lift thousands out of homes. The stresses and strains from being in rent homelessness and poverty into affordable, permanent arrears pale into insignificance when compared to the homes. emotional breakdown of being evicted. To be able to In conclusion, it should go without saying that any seek local authority help, a tenant has to go through premises offered for private rent should be, at the very all the heart-wrenching court proceedings of being least, fit for human habitation. It is a matter of utter evicted in order to produce a court order to prove that shame that any private renter lives in premises that fall they have been made homeless. below that standard. I know that myriad suggestions have been made—from loans to help meet arrears, to hardship grants by local 5.02 pm authorities. While not ideal, perhaps there should be some form of wiping the slate clean arrangement, Baroness Greengross (CB) [V]: My Lords, during whereby landlords are provided with some compensation the Covid-19 pandemic, the eviction ban was an important for rent arrears while keeping the tenant in place, thus measure that the Government were right to take as avoiding mass evictions, with housing benefit to cover. part of the national response to this public health I should add that the local housing allowance needs to emergency. We know that, without it, many thousands be retained at the 30th percentile or increased. of people would have been evicted from their rental I commend the noble Lord, Lord Bird, for bringing this properties with nowhere to go. The ban was always a debate to the Committee as I know that he has done temporary measure that would inevitably come to an much to help the long-term homeless and speaks from end, but this should not mean that, when it ends on the heart in seeking to avoid yet more homelessness. 31 May, things should return to how they were before His contribution to this House and on the street, the pandemic. particularly with the Big Issue magazine, has been I thank the noble Lord, Lord Bird, for his introduction enormous. to this debate. He is a tireless campaigner on these issues. Evictions from rental properties are an issue of intergenerational fairness—a policy area in which he 4.59 pm has been very active. I declare my interest in the Baroness Blower (Lab) [V]: My Lords, I welcome register as chair of the Intergenerational Fairness the opportunity to speak in this short but important—and, Forum. indeed, urgent—debate secured by the noble Lord, According to 2020 figures from the ONS, adults Lord Bird. I am grateful to Generation Rent and Shelter aged between 35 and 45 are three times more likely to for their excellent briefings, on which I will draw in my rent and not own a home than they were 20 years ago. remarks. According to Generation Rent, the number of people The package of support put in the place by the in rent arrears has tripled since the start of the Government in March 2020 was of course welcome, as pandemic, with one in 10 renters now behind on their the noble Lord, Lord Bird, said. It clearly helped to rental payments. With more than 700,000 eviction keep people safe. However, over the course of the notices issued since March this year, we risk a real pandemic, many have fallen through the net. Thousands crisis once the eviction ban is lifted at the end of next of renters are now in arrears, private renters have been month. evicted illegally, and those with no recourse to public At the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, the Government funds who have lost their jobs through no fault of took steps to find accommodation for all homeless their own have no safety net at all. people, but homelessness is something that we have I believe there are five things that the Government grown to accept in recent years. The crisis of the past could, and should, do. The first relates to benefits, year has proved that we can house the homeless when which have been mentioned. The Government should there is political will. With the increase in remote remove the benefit cap, make the uplift in universal working during the pandemic, we know that many credit payments permanent and unfreeze the local office blocks will sit empty for the foreseeable future. housing allowance. Given both these points, it would be unacceptable for The second measure would be to put in place a the number of homeless people to increase after the funding package to help to clear rent arrears that have ban is lifted. built up over the pandemic—the “wiping the slate We also know that homelessness is not the only risk clean” idea mentioned by the speaker immediately once the current eviction ban is lifted. Overcrowded before me, the noble Baroness, Lady Gardner. Then, and substandard living situations are a concern, especially of course, the Government should urgently bring forward as we continue to live through a public health emergency. a renters’reform Bill to end Section 21 no-fault evictions. We know that housing is a public health issue, and any The third measure would be to suspend the no increase in homelessness or in the number of people recourse to public funds condition, which has pushed living in crowded and substandard accommodation many into homelessness and destitution. This condition will put at risk our actions to stop the spread of should be suspended for at least the remaining period Covid-19. The evictions ban must inevitably come to of the pandemic. an end, but it should not mean a return to how things Fourthly, local councils must be funded to resource were prior to the pandemic. We have an opportunity tenancy relations services. This would help to prevent to rethink our housing policies and, specifically, our unlawful evictions, which have continued to occur and policies regarding rental accommodation. Let us do so remain at a high level. as a matter of urgency. 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5.05 pm On Monday, in this very Room, we debated the Lord Whitty (Lab) [V]: My Lords, the noble Lord, latest piecemeal approach to evictions—or “stopgap Lord Bird, in his unique way of introducing this actions”, as the noble Lord, Lord Bird, described debate, has drawn to our attention the fact that many them. While there is a stay on bailiffs enforcing evictions of the invisible victims of the pandemic are private at present, it is the mere tip of the iceberg. According sector renters. They have been hit badly. They are to Generation Rent, as the noble Lord, Lord Whitty, twice as likely to have lost their jobs; they are twice as just said, around 700,000 people have received an likely to have reduced income, and most of them have eviction notice since March 2020. Can the Minister never been in serious arrears before. He was right that tell us what information he is using to ensure that only this could become a new phenomenon if we do not the most egregious cases are currently ending in eviction? prevent some of these evictions. When Tim Farron MP asked for a process, such as a register of evictions from landlords, he was told that The Government of course recognised the plight of that was not an option. Why not? these people and introduced a block on evictions, but they did not block the deeply anxiety-inducing process Gemma Marshall, who lives in the West Country, of notice that can eventually lead to eviction. Generation has recently been served with her second Section 21 in Rent estimates that nearly 700,000 Section 21 processes two years. She has an autistic son aged nine who have been started over this last terrible year. That struggles with change. She and hundreds of thousands means that, when the protection ends, a potentially like her have been forced to move during this pandemic. huge number of people will for the first time in their What advice does the Minister have for those tenants, lives face homelessness. and when will we see an end to this arbitrary eviction Of course many of the solutions mentioned today process? are necessary. We will need to extend the ban on Finally, arrears are now one of the most significant evictions beyond the end of next month and to provide challenges for both tenants and landlords, as we heard legislation which changes the ease with which people from the noble Baronesses, Lady Warwick and can be evicted. We also need to address the problem of Lady Gardner of Parkes, and the noble Lord, Lord their short-term and long-term security through our Whitty. Citizens Advice tells us that it would take an social security system. average of seven years for the people who come to it to However,as the noble Baroness, Lady Blower,hinted, pay off their debts. They desperately need a financial there is also a longer-term problem here, and that package; I support the noble Lord, Lord Young of reflects the colossal strategic failure of housing policy Cookham, in asking for an investigation into the in general over the past few decades. We have reverted viability of the kind of packages that we have seen in to a situation which existed at the beginning of the Wales and Scotland. As the noble Baroness, last century, when a large proportion of the lowest- Lady Andrews, and the noble Lord, Lord Shipley, said paid, lowest-income families lived in private rented in reference to the Commons Select Committee, this accommodation. With the lack of access to owner- modest financial package of between £200 million and occupation and the loss of so much council housing, £300 million pales into insignificance in comparison this is likely to increase. Unfortunately, though there with the subsidy for home owners during this period. are very good landlords and very good institutional As the Resolution Foundation has pointed out, the landlords, there are also serious problems in respect of majority of tenants now in arrears do not qualify for small landlords who do not really have the resources the current system of DHP support. By the way, on to provide decent homes and decent accommodation DHP, the £180 million has not been increased since for those several hundred thousand people. The landlords the pandemic began. face a problem themselves, in that they are operating We will hear some arguments about balance between at the economic edge brought about by this pandemic. landlordsandtenantswheretheGovernmentaresomehow Unless we see this issue as part of a longer-term acting as the honest broker. I dispute that because, as problem, the short-term fixes will not help. We need to the National Residential Landlords Association says, restore the security of tenure that proper social housing this Government are clearly breaking their promise used to provide, yet we have cut the net number of that council homes and the net amount of social housing “no renter who has lost income due to coronavirus will be forced and reduced access to it. We need to address the out of their home.” immediate problems, but also to reverse the direction It is time to fulfil that promise and, as the noble Lord, of much of the development of the wider housing Lord Bird, said, deliver a long-term plan. market—and to do so now. 5.09 pm 5.12 pm Baroness Grender (LD): My Lords, I congratulate Baroness Wilcox of Newport (Lab) [V]: My Lords, I the noble Lord, Lord Bird, on his moving opening speech, refer to my entry in the register. I add my thanks to on securing this all-important debate and on his work those of other noble Lords to the noble Lord, Lord Bird, during this pandemic, in particular the Ride Out for securing this important debate.I also thank Generation Recession Alliance. As he rightly said, the greatest danger Rent and the LGA for their excellent briefings. of homelessness is among people leaving the rented Evictions are paused but will resume from June sector, particularly the private rented sector, but I align onwards. To prevent a spike in evictions from June, the myself totally with the comments of the noble Lord, Government must provide financial support for tenants Lord Whitty,and the noble Baroness, Lady Blower,about who have lost income due to coronavirus and permanently the all-important safety net of housing for social rent. end Section 21 no-fault evictions; the protections end GC 399 Covid-19: Poverty and Mass Evictions[LORDS] Covid-19: Poverty and Mass Evictions GC 400

[BARONESS WILCOX OF NEWPORT] notice periods and worked with the judiciary to implement on 31 May. Tenants with more than six months of rent a six-month stay on possession proceedings. Legislation arrears are not covered by the ban. This is despite remains in place until 31 May to ensure that bailiffs do Robert Jenrick’s pledge in March 2020 that not serve eviction notices or enforce evictions, except “no renter who has lost income due to coronavirus will be forced in the most serious circumstances. Landlords are still out of their home.” required to provide six months’notice, except in the most Since the pandemic hit, rent arrears have tripled, serious cases. This means that tenants served notice now which risks driving evictions. There is no doubt that will not have to leave their homes until October 2021. the effect on household finances will exacerbate this To ensure that our measures are working, the further unless we see urgent action. Government have commissioned robust assessments We came into this crisis with a staggering 253,000 on the risk of evictions resulting from the pandemic. people in England homeless and living in temporary For example, the English Housing Survey’s household accommodation. This includes almost 130,000 homeless resilience study was set up specifically to investigate children—almost double what it was in 2010. The truth household resilience in the light of Covid-19, with the is that, after a decade of this Government weakening wave 2 data published only yesterday.Wedo not consider the very foundations of our economy and eroding home that there will be mass evictions. The data continues to security, at the start of the pandemic, way too many support this: the vast majority of private renters—91%– families were already on that precipice. The Government were up to date on their rent when surveyed in November have not been nearly quick enough to confront the and December last year. These figures are similar to issue or respond to how the pandemic has exacerbated the NRLA’s. The key is that these data also show that, the threat of homelessness. The current ban on evictions of those in arrears, the vast majority have arrears of is not working; loopholes mean that hundreds of less than two months’ rent. In fact, the NRLA data people have already been evicted during lockdown. also showed that, on average, the arrears were in the I reiterate what some of my noble friends have order of magnitude of £251 to £500, and that only already said in this debate. We need a Government 18% had rent arrears of more than £1,000. who will end Section 21 no-fault evictions and update We continue to encourage landlords and tenants to reporting mechanisms to provide a better picture of manage rent payment obligations sensibly so that they homelessness and rough sleeping across the country. do not become an avoidable burden or cause avoidable They must end the debt crisis and bring forward the disputes.Weare grateful to landlords for their forbearance renters’ reform Bill to prevent a rise in evictions, in supporting tenants during this time, and our together with raising the local housing allowance to interventions are preventing evictions. I know that cover median local rents; this would prevent shortfalls some data has been presented by Generation Rent; occurring and prevent debts building up. They should we do not have official data, however. Ministry of scrap the household benefit cap, ensure that families Justice statistics show that reported applications to the are able to access the higher LHA rates and create a courts for possession by private and social landlords Covid rent debt fund to clear tenants’ debts built up in between October and December 2020 were down the first wave of the pandemic. Before the pandemic, 67% compared with the same quarter in 2019; and renters spent around a third of their income on rent; that only 548 repossessions were recorded between these arrears will take seven years to pay off. April and the end of December 2020, compared with The Government must introduce the renters’ reform 22,444 over the same period in 2019. Bill and permanently end no- fault evictions, as pledged The Government are collecting, publishing and in April 2019, to ensure that all renters have access to a assessing robust statistics on homelessness, which include stable and secure home. Without these measures, the prevention and relief duties carried out under the Housing Government’s promise that nobody will lose their home Act 1996. Statistics published today show that there has because of coronavirus is utterly meaningless. If we been a 40% decrease in households owed a homelessness can do it in Wales, why can you not do it in England? duty due to the end of a privately rented tenancy, compared with the same quarter last year. The number 5.15 pm of families in temporary accommodation is now at the lowest level it has been since 2016. The Minister of State, Home Office and Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government Overall, there has been a reduction in the number (Lord Greenhalgh) (Con): My Lords, I thank the noble of people needing support from statutory homelessness Lord, Lord Bird, for securing this important debate. I services. This is driven by a reduction in the number of express my gratitude for his continued dedication in families threatened with homelessness as a result of seeking to prevent homelessness,as well as for highlighting the action that we have taken to protect renters. Our the risk of Covid-19-related poverty faced by our protections are working, and they strike the right communities. The noble Lord was poignant in outlining balance between supporting tenants and landlords. the drivers of what causes people to sleep rough on They provide assurance to tenants but also support our streets. I also thank noble Lords for their thoughtful landlords to progress the most egregious cases, such as contributions.I am glad to have the opportunity to update anti-social behaviour, more quickly. your Lordships on the Government’s assessment of the The noble Lords, Lord Bird and Lord Shipley, the risk of mass evictions and our action to support renters. noble Baroness, Lady Andrews, and my noble friend The Government have taken unprecedented action Lord Young all want to know: what next? As we move to protect renters from eviction and homelessness along our road map to recovery, we are considering during Covid-19. In March 2020, we introduced longer the best way to transition out of these emergency GC 401 Covid-19: Poverty and Mass Evictions[22 APRIL 2021] Arrangement of Business GC 402 measures, taking into account public health advice, I thank my noble friend Lord Young for raising and we will provide more detail shortly. The noble what we can learn from Wales and Scotland, as did the Lord, Lord Bird, has rightly raised the financial pressures noble Baroness, Lady Wilcox. I will encourage my faced by tenants during the pandemic, highlighted by officials to look at what we can learn from the devolved the Big Issue’s Ride Out Recession Alliance campaign. Administrations, though I would say that there is a I am heartened by the shared commitment that we all choice around whether it is right to offer loans, which have to preventing such hardships wherever possible. in effect provide additional debt for an individual, as opposed to what we have tended to prefer, which is to To this end, the Government have supported workers widen our financial support. There is a choice and you so that they remain in employment, with the job cannot necessarily do both, but we will look at that in retention scheme extended until the end of September. some detail. The Government have also provided billions of pounds The noble Lord, Lord Loomba, my noble friend in welfare support to help people pay their housing Lady Gardner of Parkes, and the noble Baroness, costs. This included £1 billion to increase local housing Lady Blower, all raised various forms of direct financial allowance rates last year, so that they cover the lowest support measures to pay rent arrears, which is not 30% of market rents, as mentioned by my noble friend currently government policy. I do not propose to Lord Young. These rates are being maintained in cash introduce government policy in this debate, but I have terms throughout the current financial year until 2022, to say that everybody who they mentioned is eligible meaning that claimants renting in the private rented for the support that I have outlined—it is open to sector will continue to benefit from the increase. them. In response to the noble Baroness, Lady Andrews, I With regard to no recourse to public funds, which say that the Government have also extended the £20 a was raised by the noble Baroness, Lady Blower, the week uplift in universal credit until the end of September rules have not changed. Eligibility is determined by and provided a one-off payment of £500 to eligible local authorities, which have to use their judgment in working tax credit claimants. For those who require assessing what support they may lawfully give to each additional support, the discretionary housing payments person on an individual basis. We do not propose to are available. We have made £140 million of funding change that at this point. for discretionary housing payments available to local I assure noble Lords that the Government will authorities this financial year to support renters with continue to support renters affected by the pandemic. housing costs in the private and social rented sectors. The measures that I have highlighted are in addition This builds on the £180 million available in the last to existing commitments to deliver a fairer and more financial year. effective rental market for all. I am grateful to the noble Lord, Lord Bird, for raising this important matter on For those who become homeless or find themselves the 30th anniversary of the founding of the Big Issue, at risk of homelessness, we are providing local authorities which he can rightly be proud of, and I extend my thanks with £310 million through the homelessness prevention to the considerable number of noble Lords who have grant. This funding represents a £47 million increase participated in this debate. on the previous year’s funding and can be used to offer financial support for people to find a new home, to work with landlords to prevent evictions, or to provide The Deputy Chairman of Committees (Baroness Henig) temporary accommodation to ensure families have a (Lab): My Lords, the Grand Committee now stands roof over their head. adjourned until 5.30 pm. I remind Members to sanitise their desks and chairs before leaving the Room. Looking to the future, and when the urgencies of the pandemic have passed, the Government are committed to introducing reforms to deliver a fairer and more 5.26 pm effective rental market. This will be achieved by legislating Sitting suspended. to remove Section 21 of the Housing Act 1988—as we have pledged as a Government and as the noble Baroness, Lady Wilcox, mentioned—to provide tenants with more security, but also to strengthen the grounds for Arrangement of Business eviction to ensure that landlords have confidence that Announcement they can gain possession when it is fair to do so. This will represent a generational change to tenancy law in 5.30 pm England, so it is only right that such legislation is balanced and properly considered to achieve the right The Deputy Chairman of Committees (The Earl outcomes for the rented sector. of Kinnoull) (Non-Afl): My Lords, the hybrid Grand Committee will now resume. Some Members are here May I refer to some of the specific points that have in person, others are participating remotely, but all been raised this evening by noble Lords? The noble Lord, Members will be treated equally. I ask Members in the Lord Shipley, and the noble Baroness, Lady Andrews, Room to respect social distancing. If the capacity of mentioned the HCLG Select Committee report. All I the Committee Room is exceeded or other requirements can say is that we will respond in due course to the are breached, I will immediately adjourn the Committee. committee’s report on Protecting the Homeless and the If there is a Division in the House, the Committee will Private Rented Sector:MHCLG’s Response to Covid-19; adjourn for five minutes. The time limit for this debate I am afraid I have no news on that. is one hour. GC 403 Biodiversity Emergency [LORDS] Biodiversity Emergency GC 404

Biodiversity Emergency understand that challenge. Part of that has meant that Question for Short Debate it has overshadowed biodiversity. My opinion is that it is an emergency and we have to declare it, because we 5.31 pm have to say that it is important and the rest of the world has to notice. Asked by Lord Teverson My fourth reason for declaring an emergency is that To ask Her Majesty’s Government what plans it needs to drive government policy. We have seen how they have to declare a biodiversity emergency. this is working well, and I give credit to the Government today on climate change, our various objectives and targets and the way they are supposed to guide the Lord Teverson (LD): My Lords, I declare my interest action of all ministries and departments. We need that as chair of the Cornwall and Isles of Scilly Local similar drive for biodiversity. At the moment, it seems Nature Partnership. One thing that I cannot take any to be only Defra that takes an interest. I give the credit for is the fact that this debate has landed up on Treasury all credit for the Dasgupta report, but it does Earth Day,which is incredibly useful and quite appropriate not seem to have been particularly excited by it. I hope because it is about is one of the crises of our planet. to be proven wrong when we finally get a response to it The Question is straightforward: what are the Government from the Treasury. doing about declaring an emergency on biodiversity? I am going to give the reasons why they should do just My fifth reason for an emergency is that this is that. much more complex than climate change. I could put First, obviously, it is because there is an emergency. my tongue in my cheek and say that climate change is We often think about this as a global issue. One may dead simple because all we have to do is reduce greenhouse be away from the shores of the United Kingdom, gas emissions. We can measure them, and we know all particularly if regarding the rainforests of South America, the solutions. The only problem is doing the road map large mammals such as tigers, or coral reefs and coastal to get there. Climate change is straightforward but mangroves. There is a crisis throughout the globe but biodiversity is much more difficult. We do not know it is equally so here in the United Kingdom. If we look all the answers, we certainly find it difficult to find at the various reports there have been around the state suitable measures and metrics to follow and, even if of nature, we will have seen that some 40% of species we know them, to measure them is also difficult. It is are in decline, 15% are under threat of extinction and, complex and we need to concentrate far more on it. the one that struck me most, there has been a 13% fall My sixth reason is that it is the twin of climate change. in the abundance of nature since 1970. I can remember They are both emergencies; one cannot be solved that year and since then our volume of nature has without the other.Wecannot solve biodiversity challenges declined by over 10%—by 6 % in the past six years. without climate change action—and without climate What also struck me in a report that came out earlier change action, biodiversity will continue to decline. this week from the Woodland Trust was the great news We have that common agenda on, in particular, nature- that forest cover in the UK had doubled since the based solutions and carbon sequestration. They work beginning of the last century. That is taken away from together and we cannot have one without the other. by the fact that only 7% of that forest and woodland is What is my seventh reason? I have only three more in good order and, even there, biodiversity has greatly to go. My seventh is that it needs a global champion, declined. Of the 20 Aichi targets adopted back in 2010 to be frank, and the UK could and should take on that at the Convention on Biological Diversity in Japan, the role. We have the biodiversity conference—COP 15—at UK missed 14 of them. NGOs would suggest that we Kunming in China, now happening in October. This is met only one. Globally, none of those targets were the big opportunity for the United Kingdom to take a met, sadly, but that decline in nature is continuing. lead globally, give real profile and exercise the other That is why we have an emergency on this planet and powers that are coming to that conference so much in this country. more. At the moment, all the targets of the big conference The second reason why we need an emergency to be back in 2010 have not been met. declared is because biodiversity is vital. Those many services provided by nature, often called ecosystem Eighthly, it is the right time. Covid-19 and the crisis services—I was trying to avoid saying that during this showed us so well how when people need to get out debate because the world outside would look blankly and enjoy the outside when it is so restricted nature at me—include genetic pool, pollination, soil fertility, and biodiversity are important to them. That is recognised clean air and water, the food chain, protection against much more now than it has been in the past. We need disease and protection against pests. Indeed, we have to build back better, and part of that needs to be found over the past year, so important during the through the biodiversity emergency. I believe we would Covid-19 emergency, that there is a help to the mental have far more public backing than ever before. The health and well-being of human beings. Without those time is ripe now. ecosystem services, mankind will not survive. Lastly, now is the right time for an emergency. It My third reason for an ecological and biodiversity should be declared because we have the opportunity to emergency is that the world outside this building has do so in the Environment Bill. We have waited a long to notice it. At the moment, there is little recognition time for that Bill to come to this House. That Bill or understanding of it outside. If we compare it to could become even more credible when it becomes an climate change, it has taken perhaps two decades for Act if a biodiversity emergency was declared as part the world, and the wider population of its citizens, to of it. GC 405 Biodiversity Emergency [22 APRIL 2021] Biodiversity Emergency GC 406

Those are my reasons. This is a true emergency and and fragmentation of habitats and pollution. Nature will something that Britain could lead on if it wishes to, always find a balance but, often, it is not the balance and it should. Will the Minister say who will represent that we want and leads to a reduction in biodiversity, the British Government at the Kunming conference? as the noble Lord, Lord Teverson, and the noble More importantly, will he ensure that now or, as the Baroness, Lady Young, said. Environment Bill becomes an Act, we as the United Take, for example, Auchnerran farm in Aberdeenshire, Kingdom will declare a biodiversity emergency? owned by the Game & Wildlife Conservation Trust and managed for biodiversity.This year alone, two-thirds 5.39 pm of the lapwing nests have already been destroyed by Baroness Young of Old Scone (Lab) [V]: My Lords, badgers. This is a property that is farmed for biodiversity. I declare my interests as chairman of the Woodland Similarly,at the trust’sproperty in Allerton, Leicestershire, Trust and president or vice-president of a number of there have been no hedgehogs for seven years and no environmental charities. waders for 10 years because of predators. The noble Baroness, Lady Young, mentioned trees. As the noble Lord, Lord Teverson, said, the biodiversity Of course, trees are suffering hugely from a deer emergency is a real threat to our economy, our ability problem. Deer are notorious browsers and are bad for to meet climate change targets and our very survival coppicing. They reduce the understory, which is bad globally. The Woodland Trust’s recent report, State of for nightingales, primroses, primulas, nesting birds, the UK’s Woods and Trees 2021, is a startling indictment butterflies and other species. Of course, it suffers from of the perilous state of our native woodlands and their grey squirrels too. biodiversity. As the noble Lord said, despite increasing tree cover over the past 100 years, only 7% of our We have a severe problem, not an emergency, but native woodlands are in good ecological condition we can solve that problem if we and the Government and woodland wildlife species are in steep decline. get our policies right. Defra’s2020 biodiversity indicators report for England 5.44 pm shows a chilling wider picture of decline: farmland The Earl of Devon (CB) [V]: My Lords, happy Earth and wetland birds are declining and the percentage of Day. Many thanks to the noble Lord, Lord Teverson, water bodies in good ecological condition is declining, for securing this important debate. to name but a few. The only things that are increasing are invasive non-native species and the rate of importation As a land manager responsible for biodiversity in a of plants and trees from abroad—both of which are small part of Devon, I am interested to know what the bad—so it is official: there is a biodiversity emergency declaration of a biodiversity emergency entails. What here in the UK. is the geographical extent of this emergency? Should we declare a global emergency or a UK emergency or, If the UK is to show that strong international as environmental policy is devolved, should we consider leadership that the noble Lord, Lord Teverson, talked only England? Given that we have competence over about, it has to be exemplary here at home. It must only England and our overseas territories, should that start in the Environment Bill with those legally binding not be the limit of our ambition? To pronounce wider biodiversity targets. The soon-to-be-published English and beyond our jurisdiction smacks of imperial overreach. tree action plan must be bold and ambitious in tackling the challenges outlined in the State of the UK’s Woods Secondly, what are the implications of such a and Trees report, including by creating incentives for declaration? What impact would it have on policy? effective woodland management. Investment in the Given the huge upheavals under way in agriculture UK and Ireland saw the UK and Ireland sourced and and environmental land management, yet further changes grown assurance scheme, the expansion of UK tree could be confusing and mix up the message. nurseries for safe trees and legislation, at long last, for Thirdly, by what metrics is this emergency to be statutory protection for ancient woodland. This is an assessed? Is there a common standard that the emergency. Government would apply? Speaking from personal experience only,I am not convinced that 2021 constitutes such a biodiversity emergency in England. 5.41 pm To some embarrassment, I grew up with middle The Earl of Caithness (Con): My Lords, for biodiversity name Peregrine. I remember being given a painting of to be diverse and flourish in the UK, it needs habitat, a peregrine as a child and being told that it was the species protection where appropriate, the provision of only likelihood of me ever seeing the bird as they did winter food for birds and animals and sensible predator not exist in southern England. Now we see them control. Given all the protection and proscription that regularly off the red cliffs of Dawlish. Similarly, we we have enacted over many years for habitats and now see ravens, goshawks and egrets, which were never species, one must ask why biodiversity is still in decline. present in my youth. I vividly recall camping out at Clearly our policy has failed. We are not good at night to see a rare badger in the woods. Now, dead providing winter food due to farming methods and badgers litter the roadside and the hedgehogs have efficient modern farm machinery. Hopefully ELMS gone. We have a hedgerow at home that was about the will help with that. More importantly,we are increasingly only place in England to see the Jersey tiger moth in bad at management, including sensible and humane the 1980s. Now, they are common across the south-west. predator control. Finally, as we have heard, on a macro scale, we have Mankind has changed the environment in which all seen considerable reforestation of our country since species live. There has been the removal of apex predators, the nadir of the First World War, albeit that much of it the introduction of alien species, the loss, degradation is admittedly coniferous monoculture. GC 407 Biodiversity Emergency [LORDS] Biodiversity Emergency GC 408

[THE EARL OF DEVON] matters that they do their bit too, that they let this The point I seek to make is that, on many metrics, GCSE through and let us start the process of getting through responsible land management, biodiversity children back in touch with nature. That is where, over has increased in recent decades while continuing to the long term, we can make a difference to this. If we provide cheaper food to an ever-expanding population. all live in cities with our backs turned to nature, we are The declaration of a biodiversity emergency now might never going to want to spend the money and time that ignore that important work. will make the difference.

5.46 pm 5.50 pm Lord Jones of Cheltenham (LD) [V]: My Lords, I thank my noble friend for initiating this debate. We are Baroness Jones of Moulsecoomb (GP) [V]: My Lords, in the midst of a sixth mass extinction, the only one happy Earth Day. Well done to the noble Lord, caused solely by mankind. Since 1970, the worldwide Lord Teverson, for getting this debate. We have passed human population has doubled, yet at the same time legislation in the past year at the most incredible rate; species have been wiped out faster than ever. What is a year ago, we would have said that it was impossible, this Government’s policy on population? unconstitutional or just plain ridiculous. Parliament and the Government have shown that they can act fast Up to one million species, plant and animal, are in an emergency. Covid has been an interesting case at risk of extinction due to human activities. study, because it shows how fast we can move. We have David Attenborough is right when he says that we are declared a climate emergency, and it is self-evident the invaders affecting plants, animals, insects, oceans that an ecological and biodiversity emergency is ravaging and ecosystems all over the planet. Half of our pollinators the world. We have to act on that as well. are in decline, and that is a real threat to food supply. If apple tree blossom is not visited by bees or other This Queen’s Speech, I believe, is the fourth time pollinators, there will be no apples. That is why it is that the Queen will read out that we are going to have vital to make biodiversity a priority of our lifetimes. an Environment Bill. That shows the lack of urgency in the Government’s response, which is a real problem. We know that well-planned and generously funded When we compare it with the speed, volume and sheer conservation and restoration projects work. I ask the intrusiveness of the dozens of pieces of Covid legislation Government to work with other countries where that have passed in the last year, it reaches a point of endangered animals and plants exist. Pangolins— embarrassment. However, I know that the Minister beautiful, gentle creatures—are under threat because understands the problem as well as I do and possibly some idiots think their scales contain health-giving better. I would like to know how much longer the properties. These same people think the same about Government will let the emergency roll on before they rhino horn, which is made of the same substance as finally respond. human toenails. Let them set up a toenail industry and leave our rhinos alone. More than half of people in Targets are great, and I welcome better and higher some Far Eastern countries think that ivory is a mineral targets, but they are not met without a plan. It is not rather than the teeth of living, sentient, intelligent enough to talk. We must act. The Dasgupta Review animals, now poached in such numbers that elephant and the Climate Change Committee’ssixth carbon budget deaths exceed births. It is our duty to make amends for have given us a pathway to doing exactly that—to the generations of mankind who, often through ignorance, declaring a biodiversity and climate emergency, acting have exploited and persecuted wildlife and ravaged on it and reducing our impact on the natural world. landscapes to destruction. Plus, of course, there is the Climate and Ecological Emergency Bill, which was introduced by Caroline Extinction is permanent. Once a species is lost, it is Lucas MP in the other place last year. That offers the lost for ever. Let us not lose any more. UK an unparalleled opportunity to provide much-needed global leadership. I very much hope that the Government 5.48 pm will take those options and make life better for all Lord Lucas (Con) [V]: My Lords, if we are to make of us. a difference to the trend in biodiversity, we need to make a difference to all our children. We need interest in biodiversity, familiarity with biodiversity and the 5.52 pm value of biodiversity to be things that our children Lord Sikka (Lab) [V]: My Lords, the Climate and grow up with. At the moment, they are leading much Ecological Emergency Bill annual risk report for 2020 more restricted lives than we did—certainly, very much ranks biodiversity loss as the third most impactful risk more restricted lives than our parents did—in their facing the global economy and the fourth most likely ability to interact with nature and to get a real to actually occur. The Intergovernmental Science-Policy understanding and appreciation of what nature is and Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services estimates what humans can get from a relationship with it. that between $235 billion and $577 billion in annual At the moment, there is a proposal from OCR for a global crop output is at risk as a result of pollinator natural history GCSE that has been in the DfE’s inbox loss. Bee populations are declining because of pesticide for about six months. I know that the DfE is busy, but use, habitat degradation and reduction, global warming, everybody in this climate and biodiversity emergency agricultural practices and a lack of floral diversity. A has to make their contribution. I hope my noble friend recent red list showed that out of a total of 1,101 species will be able, at some quiet moment, to emphasise to his of bee in the EU, about 15% are threatened with colleagues in the Department for Education that it extinction or near-extinction. GC 409 Biodiversity Emergency [22 APRIL 2021] Biodiversity Emergency GC 410

The Government need a joined-up approach to we are to have environmental land management, we dealing with the impact of biodiversity loss. Section 172 will need people to analyse, measure and make sure of the Companies Act 2006 requires directors to that the targets and remedies are correct. In 2017, promote biodiversity.Business performance measurement when I asked the Government about the number of models are distorted by a focus on shareholder wealth soil scientists, there were just five professors in the whole maximisation and environmental degradation and neglect of the UK working on soil science and 25 academic of biodiversity by companies. This neglect is further staff in total. Can the Minister tell me what the perpetuated by the Government’s current consultation situation is now? We will need to assess the biology of paper on corporate governance reforms, which clings the soil. If there are so few experts, who is to do so? to a shareholder-centric model of corporate governance. Those advising farmers and selling products to A first step for dealing with the challenges is for the them—agronomistsandagriculturalproductretailers—are Government to promote a stakeholder model of corporate good on chemical analysis and telling whether the soil governance so that diverse voices are empowered. is compacted, but they are not so good on soil biology. Hopefully, the Minister will give us that commitment If we are to transform our terrestrial biodiversity, we in his response. must be able to recognise that good soil, in all its richness, is a food source to those higher up the food 5.55 pm chain as well as a means of producing food for ourselves. Lord Cameron of Dillington (CB) [V]: My Lords, I declare interests as a retired farmer, a landowner and 5.59 pm chair of the UKCEH. Baroness McIntosh of Pickering (Con): My Lords, We do have a crisis. We have made a total Horlicks regardless of whether there is a biodiversity emergency, of this issue over recent years. It will take decades to there is a crisis of nature. We are seeing species put it right. It will not be easy. However, we have to step disappearing, even in our own land. We need to keep back. These days, good land managers provide many species under constant review and achieve a balance in outputs and services: food to keep us healthy and our the ecosystem. Badgers, bats and grey squirrels need nation secure; landscape and access for tourism and to be kept under control, and other species that are healthy exercise; renewable energy; buildings for rural dwindling need to be promoted. businesses; timber for carbon capture and storage, and for buildings; and, yes, habitats and wildlife management In responding to the debate today, will my noble for the biodiversity that we desperately need. In doing friend the Minister give a guarantee that farmers will all this, we have to minimise our carbon footprint. be given a role to play in nurturing wildlife, flora and fauna, in particular through the environmental land It is a tough call to maximise the services from your management scheme that other noble Lords have spoken piece of land and still stay in business, but we must about, but with a proviso that tenant farmers will be never again prioritise one output at the expense of all enabled to benefit? Farmers, and tenants in particular, the others, which is what we have been doing. We must understand that they are close to nature and best get everything in perspective and take a balanced view placed to promote and nurture it. of what the land can produce. Every piece of land will have its own solutions. We will need to carry out Turning to marine life, will my noble friend give a research as well as prod, train and incentivise all land further assurance that the biodiversity of our marine managers, both urban and rural. environment, in particular of the North Sea, will not be substantially damaged by the building of offshore On our Somerset farm, we have a 50-acre solar wind farms? We are effectively seeking an urbanisation park. Some 10 years in, our FWAG officer visited the of the sea through offshore renewables, raising issues site and said that he had rarely seen 50 acres with more of energy generation at sea. We need to take every biodiversity, with every kind of insect and butterfly, opportunity to ensure that our sea and marine life— voles, field mice, hares, barn owls, kestrels, partridge, including mammals such as dolphins, porpoises and plovers and even hen harriers. My point is that land others—are protected. I hope he will agree that it is for can be multi-purpose. However, we need the research, the industry which benefits from this form of energy training and incentives to maximise the possible outputs generation to contribute to the research on how to on all our land. protect our marine life going forward. 5.57 pm 6.01 pm Baroness Miller of Chilthorne Domer (LD) [V]: My Lords, I congratulate my noble friend Lord Teverson Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick (Non-Afl) [V]: My on securing this debate on Earth Day. I want to talk Lords, I congratulate the noble Lord, Lord Teverson, about earth, but the sort of earth that is under our on submitting this Question on the biodiversity emergency feet: the soil. for debate today. Like him, I believe that the climate A healthy soil is full of living things, including emergency is the twin of biodiversity and that there is microbes, bacteria, amoebas, mycelium and invertebrates. a symbiotic relationship between them, because one I remember the late Lord Peter Melchett, a great has an impact on the other. They cannot be addressed champion of the soil, talking about the soil food chain in isolation and require urgent and immediate attention. and saying that moles are to the soil what lions are to Every Government, every business, every organisation the Serengeti. Given that soil is so much the base for a and every individual must play a part in reducing healthy ecosystem, has the situation improved with greenhouse gas emissions; assisting in the adaptation regard to the number of academics working on soil? If to climate change; halting biodiversity loss; and restoring GC 411 Biodiversity Emergency [LORDS] Biodiversity Emergency GC 412

[BARONESS RITCHIE OF DOWNPATRICK] 6.05 pm habitats and species through changes in laws and Baroness Bakewell of Hardington Mandeville (LD): regulations, policies, behaviours and lifestyles at local My Lords, I thank my noble friend Lord Teverson for and national levels. In my own local area, there is one securing this debate and for his passionate introduction. company doing that through one individual at True I am currently reading James Rebanks’s book, English Harvest Seeds, which is looking to ensure that the Pastoral: An Inheritance. The Rebanks family have local, indigenous seeds of the island of Ireland are farmed in Cumbria for over 600 years. His latest book protected and allowed to germinate. It is trying to deal details the massive change in farming practices and with a lot of the invasive species that are destroying the devasting effect that such change has had on our local biodiversity. biodiversity. The removal of stone walls, destruction This is an extensive subject and I hope that the of ancient hedgerows and accelerated use of chemical Environment Bill will give the Government the fertilisers and weedkillers have all taken their toll on opportunity to deal with biodiversity loss and plants, insects and birds. the biodiversity emergency. I would very much like to The Government have produced numerous plans to see the Minister give us answers today about the future remedy the loss of biodiversity.In 2011, Defra produced content of the Environment Bill. Can he also indicate a strategic plan for England, Biodiversity 2020. An what actions will be taken to ensure that the national evaluation in 2019 showed insufficient progress against infrastructure bank is pivotal in facilitating the financing its targets. In January 2018, the 25-year environment of nature restoration and nature-based solutions to plan appeared. December 2020 saw the development climate change? of a new strategy for nature to replace Biodiversity 2020. The Environment Bill’s First Reading in the Commons The Deputy Chairman of Committees (The Earl of was in January 2020; it will eventually arrive here. In Kinnoull) (Non-Afl): I call the noble Lord, Lord Bradshaw. March 2021, the Prime Minister said that tackling Lord Bradshaw? No. I regret that we will have to go on climate change and biodiversity would be his number then. I call the noble Baroness, Lady Jones of Whitchurch. one international priority. For all this rhetoric, there has been no actual progress. 6.03 pm The Woodland Trust has produced a report on the state of our woods and trees which finds that only Baroness Jones of Whitchurch (Lab) [V]: My Lords, 7% are in a good ecological condition. However, some I thank the noble Lord, Lord Teverson, for tabling this local authorities have risen to the challenge. Bristol timely and important debate. As has been said, it City Council has declared an ecological emergency fittingly coincides with Earth Day, when global citizens and has a plan to redress the decline by 2030. We hope are taking a stand right across our world on the that others will follow suit. climate and biodiversity emergency. It is estimated that 75% of the world’s land surface Today, noble Lords have provided a depressing and 66% of the ocean has been significantly altered indictment of the Government’s record on biodiversity. and degraded by human activity. One million species We are now more aware than ever of the fragility of are threatened with extinction. Are we going to wait our own ecosystems. By their own admission, the until we, as humans, are also threatened with extinction Government are failing to meet two-thirds of the before we take this matter seriously? Will the Minister biodiversity targets agreed at the Convention on Biological press the Government to declare a biodiversity emergency Diversity in 2010, while 41% of our species are in now and take stringent action? decline and 10% face extinction. But here in the Lords, we have a real opportunity not just to talk about The Deputy Chairman of Committees (The Earl of biodiversity but to act upon it. Kinnoull) (Non-Afl): My Lords, we have been able to Amendments to the forthcoming Environment Bill reconnect with the noble Lord, Lord Bradshaw, whom could allow us to introduce legally binding targets to I therefore call. halt and reverse declines in nature by 2030. The Bill could allow us to set meaningful baselines against 6.08 pm which progress could be measured but also enforced. Lord Bradshaw (LD) [V]: Thank you, Lord Chairman. It could enable us to determine that biodiversity net I wanted to say that all of us, I think, are members of gain should be a fundamental principle running through the National Trust, wildlife trusts, national trails, the all future government investment, without exception. CPRE or the RHS. I implore of the Minister that, It would enable us also to put the biodiversity crisis on whatever new arrangements are brought into being in an equal footing to the climate crisis, recognising that the Environment Bill, the huge army of volunteers in action and resources on both are necessary to deliver a all those organisations can be empowered. This needs sustainable planet. some money and some professional leadership, but if If we take these actions now,and provide the resources that is provided, a lot more work will be done, much of to make them happen, we can go to the CBD in China it to restore biodiversity. later this year with credibility to ask others to follow The other subject that I wanted to raise, of which I our lead and deliver a radical global programme for gave notice, is the horticultural use of peat, about action. I hope that the Minister can confirm that he is which I am still extremely worried. I have raised this indeed ready to deliver a more radical version of the with the Minister before. I am anxious for there to be a Environment Bill which can reverse the decline in goal of stopping the use of peat for horticultural nature and produce bold new targets and deliverables purposes. It is not good practice, but it is very expensive by 2030. I look forward to his response. at the moment to use anything else. GC 413 Biodiversity Emergency [22 APRIL 2021] Biodiversity Emergency GC 414

6.10 pm £500 million blue planet fund, for example, which will The Minister of State, Department for the Environment, help to protect fragile marine ecosystems, and we are Food and Rural Affairs and Foreign, Commonwealth and growing our magnificent “blue belt”of marine-protected Development Office (Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park) areas around our overseas territories, which now (Con) [V]: My Lords, I thank noble Lords for their cover a protected area the size of India. There is a new thoughtful contributions to this hugely important debate. £100 million landscapes fund to link threatened It should not need to be said, but we cannot reasonably ecosystems, providing safe passage for wildlife and expect to be able to destroy the natural world in the green jobs for people. We are trebling funding for our manner that we are without paying a terrible price. extraordinary Darwin Initiative to £90 million. With There is no doubt that that is what we are doing. I will other donor countries, we are developing right now an not rehearse all the facts and figures of destruction, as offer for forest protection that exceeds anything that noble Lords will be depressingly familiar with many of we have seen so far. them, but it is worth reminding ourselves that we are We are also investing £30 million to protect species currently losing around 30 football pitches-worth of from the grim illegal wildlife trade, which I hope forest every single minute; that a million species face reassures the noble Lord, Lord Jones of Cheltenham, extinction, including two in every five of the world’s who made this point very clearly. I share his concern plants; that the grim illegal wildlife trade is now the about pangolins and was delighted—as I am sure he fourth biggest criminal sector; and that, just as we are was—when the Chinese decreed recently that pangolins stripping the ocean of life at a terrifying rate, we are can no longer be used in traditional medicine. He may filling it with trash just as quickly. And all this against also be pleased to know that, in addition to funding the backdrop of an increasingly destabilised climate. via the Illegal Wildlife Trade Challenge Fund, the UK There is an abundance of science telling us that we played a defining role in getting proposals past CITES are heading for disaster. But you do not need to be a in 2016 that ensured that all eight species of pangolin scientist to understand that these trends cannot continue received the highest possible level of protection from without appalling consequences. When ecosystems fail, international trade. so too do the multitude of free but hopelessly undervalued We know that change is possible and that nature services that nature provides—services that each and protection works. It works for people and it works for every one of us depends on. Turning this trajectory the planet. Look at Costa Rica: it has doubled its around is, without a doubt, the most important challenge rainforest in one generation, putting more than half that we face by far. the country under canopy and growing its economy To some extent, that is already happening in relation alongside its nature. We are leading global alliances to to the low-carbon revolution. The cost of renewables protect at least 30% of the world’s land and oceans by has tumbled, and zero-emission vehicles are on the 2030, and we are pursuing an ambitious new UN cusp of going mainstream. Who would have predicted treaty to establish mechanisms to protect ocean beyond that the cost of solar would fall by 90% in the 12 years national jurisdiction. since the banking crisis? To be clear, I am not suggesting In answer to a question put to me by the author of complacency: we are asking every country in the world this debate, the noble Lord, Lord Teverson, we are to ramp things up as we head towards COP 26. When working as closely as possible with the Chinese as it comes to attaching a value to nature and a cost to its hosts of the next biodiversity conference in Kunming. destruction, we have barely left the starting blocks, Although our representation will be confirmed closer and that has to change because technology alone will to the meeting, we are doing more heavy lifting than not save us. perhaps any other country. We are pressing hard for To put it simply: there is no pathway to tackling the highest possible ambition and, crucially, we are climate change that does not involve protecting and pushing for inclusion of mechanisms to hold Governments conserving nature on a massive scale. Nature-based to the promises they make, which currently is lacking. solutions, like trees and mangroves, could provide a We know that public money alone is not going to be third of the most cost-effective solutions we need to enough, so Governments need to identify and use the mitigate climate change, as well as helping species powerful levers that they uniquely hold to remove the recover and helping communities to adapt to become perverse incentives that drive environmental destruction. more resilient to the impacts of climate change. But Consider, for example that the top 50 food-producing despite that huge contribution, nature-based solutions countries spend $700 billion a year supporting often currently receive less than 3% of total global climate destructive land use. That is four times the world’s aid finance. That makes no sense. budgets combined. Imagine the impact if that public It is right that we in this country have put nature at support could be redirected to help farmers transition the heart of our response to climate change, domestically to climate-friendly, nature-positive land management. and internationally, through our presidencies of both In a world first, that is what we are doing in the UK, the G7 and COP 26. We are leading by example. Very and we are building alliances of countries committed soon after entering Downing Street, the Prime Minister to doing the same. committed to doubling our international climate finance Commodity production is responsible for the vast to £11.6 billion. More recently, just a few weeks ago, majority of deforestation, so we are building a global he committed to spending nearly a third of that—around coalition of countries committed to cleaning up £3 billion—on nature-based solutions to climate change. commodity supply chains. We are also calling on the Weare encouraging other donor countries to do similarly. large multilateral development banks to nature-proof On the back of that commitment, we are rolling out a their entire portfolios. There is no point in having bits pipeline of ambitious new programmes. There is a new of investments here and there in nature if the rest of GC 415 Biodiversity Emergency [LORDS] Biodiversity Emergency GC 416

[LORD GOLDSMITH OF RICHMOND PARK] We are switching our land-use subsidy system so the portfolio is taking us in the opposite direction. that the payments are conditional on good environmental That point was made well by the noble Lord, Lord Sikka, outcomes, just as we are asking the world to do. That, in relation to the private sector, where the point stands too, is a world first. Incidentally, the noble Baroness, just as strongly. We are pulling every lever we have to Lady Miller of Chilthorne Domer, raised the get private finance flowing, including by accelerating underappreciated but hugely important issue of soil progress towards high-integrity carbon markets. health. I can tell her that soil health has been identified There is no doubt in my mind that we are driving as a priority for our environmental land management the agenda internationally, and that is recognised by scheme. My noble friend Lady McIntosh of Pickering other countries around the world. However,as a number asked if the scheme would support farmers to play of noble Lords have said, we need to get our own their role in reversing nature decline. Absolutely. That house in order. We have seen shocking biodiversity is the entire purpose of the environment land management loss in recent decades. Last year’s State of Nature system. review found that 41% of UK species are declining. In another world first, we are legislating to require We have seen an increasing intensity of flood damage big companies to remove deforestation from their caused at least in part by poor land use. We know that commodity supply chains to help shrink our international meeting our net-zero emissions obligation will require footprint. Again, we are asking other countries to do heavy lifting on a scale that we have never seen before. the same. We know that to meet net zero we need to I know that the noble Earl, Lord Devon, questions establish record numbers of trees, so we have committed the need for us to declare an emergency but I hope that to planting 30,000 hectares a year across the UK by my opening remarks, as well as this bleak picture of 2025, using the new £640 million Nature for Climate declining biodiversity in the UK, persuades him otherwise. Fund. We want to unleash the extraordinary power of I could add that our indicator of pollinator distribution natural regeneration as well. Anyone who has seen the has fallen by 30% since 1980. Our indicator of farmland wonders of NEP will know why that matters. bird abundance has fallen by more than 50% since 1970. In answer to my noble friend Lord Caithness—the That case was made extremely well by the noble Baroness, noble Baroness, Lady Ritchie of Downpatrick, also Lady Young of Old Scone. As the noble Lord, raised this—we will be investing in methods to control Lord Cameron of Dillington, said, no matter what we deer and grey squirrel numbers as part of our efforts do now, improvements will take time to materialise. In to protect new and existing native woodlands. To answer to the noble Earl’s question, biodiversity is further protect them, and in answer to my noble friend devolved; however,all the regions are in broad agreement Lord Lucas, we will be emphasising the huge and on the need to act. That is a good thing. critical importance of not only species diversity but We have a packed agenda. The noble Baroness, genetic diversity. Incidentally, he raised the importance Lady Jones of Moulsecoomb, asked for precise targets of educating children, and I could not agree more. and a clear plan, a point also made by the noble Alongside our tree commitment, we have committed Baroness, Lady Bakewell of Hardington Mandeville. to restoring 35,000 hectares of peatland. The noble The recently published Dasgupta review provides an Lord, Lord Bradshaw, asked about the use of peat in extraordinarily important backdrop, and we will be horticulture. I can tell him that we are committed to responding to it properly and thoroughly soon. Our phasing it out in England. We told industry that if we plans to boost biodiversity and improve the environment had not seen enough movement by 2020, we would within a generation are set out in the 25-year environment look at further measures that could be taken. We are plan. We set the world’s most ambitious climate change now considering those future measures. We also have target into law to reduce emissions by 78% by 2035, ambitious plans to protect our threatened pollinators, compared to 1990 levels, an announcement made just a point made well by the noble Lords, Lord Jones of a couple of days ago. Cheltenham and Lord Sikka. All this goes alongside We are setting out plans for a bold net-zero strategy plans to greatly improve the health and protection of to demonstrate how we will cut emissions and create new our precious marine environment. jobs across the whole country.Our upcoming Environment It is often said that we need to weave the environment Bill will deliver improvements in waste, air quality, into our economics but, as Professor Dasgupta’s seminal water,nature, biodiversity and more.It lays the foundation study explained, that is the wrong way round. Ultimately for the nature recovery network and creates duties and all economic activity is derived from nature. Without incentives, such as biodiversity net gain for all new nature, we have nothing and we are nothing. Reconciling developments, which is also a world first. The Bill our lives and economies with the natural world on establishes spatial mapping and planning tools to deliver which we all depend is really the defining challenge of nature recovery, creates new nature covenants for the our age. I am absolutely convinced that this can be the long-term protection of land—another world first—and year that change begins in earnest. creates a new body to hold government to account. The noble Baroness, Lady Jones of Whitchurch, asked about biodiversity targets in the Bill. It creates a The Deputy Chairman of Committees (The Earl of power to set long-term, legally binding environmental Kinnoull) (Non-Afl): My Lords, that completes the targets, and we will want to ensure that for biodiversity business before the Grand Committee this afternoon. these targets at least align with international targets to I remind Members to sanitise their desks and chairs be set through the CBD. We are continuing work on before leaving the Room. that suite of targets, including in the priority areas of biodiversity and improving the state of nature. Committee adjourned at 6.22 pm.