Vol. 812 Tuesday No. 5 18 May 2021 PARLIAMENTARYDEBATES (HANSARD) HOUSE OF LORDS OFFICIAL REPORT ORDEROFBUSINESS Questions Right-to-Work Checks for UK Nationals...............................................................................................................431 Electricity Supplies from Europe ............................................................................................................................433 Railway Industry Association Report .....................................................................................................................436 Size of the House of Lords ....................................................................................................................................440 Osimertinib Cancer Treatment Private Notice Question...........................................................................................................................................443 Skills and Post-16 Education Bill [HL] First Reading ...........................................................................................................................................................447 Health Protection (Coronavirus, Restrictions) (Steps and Local Authority Enforcement Powers) (England) (Amendment) Regulations 2021 Motion to Approve...................................................................................................................................................448 Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 (Cash Searches: Code of Practice) Order 2021 Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 (Investigative Powers of Prosecutors: Code of Practice) Order 2021 Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 (Investigations: Code of Practice) Order 2021 Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 (Recovery of Listed Assets: Code of Practice) Regulations 2021 Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 (Search, Seizure and Detention of Property: Code of Practice) (Northern Ireland) Order 2021 Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 (Amendment) Order 2021 Motions to Approve .................................................................................................................................................448 Anti-Semitic Attacks Commons Urgent Question ......................................................................................................................................449 Covid-19 Update Statement ................................................................................................................................................................453 Queen’s Speech Debate (5th Day)....................................................................................................................................................467 Grand Committee Trade and Official Controls (Transitional Arrangements for Prior Notifications) (Amendment) Regulations 2021 Considered in Grand Committee .........................................................................................................................GC 39 Plant Health etc. (Miscellaneous Fees) (Amendment) (England) Regulations 2021 Considered in Grand Committee .........................................................................................................................GC 52 Corporate Insolvency and Governance Act 2020 (Coronavirus) (Extension of the Relevant Period) Regulations 2021 Considered in Grand Committee .........................................................................................................................GC 53 Warm Home Discount (Miscellaneous Amendments) Regulations 2021 Considered in Grand Committee .........................................................................................................................GC 66 Electricity Trading (Development of Technical Procedures) (Day-Ahead Market Timeframe) Regulations 2021 Considered in Grand Committee.........................................................................................................................GC 77 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/2021-05-18 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 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/. 431 Arrangement of Business[18 MAY 2021] Right-to-Work Checks for UK Nationals 432 House of Lords not been changed in this regard, and we made it clear that we would revert to the full checking regime in line Tuesday 18 May 2021 with the lifting of social distancing measures. But I hope that my noble friend is encouraged by the moves Noon we intend to make going forward. The House met in a hybrid proceeding. Lord Rosser (Lab) [V]: If the temporary measure Prayers—read by the Lord Bishop of Birmingham. has been successful and there is no need for return to physical right-to-work checks, why not continue with Arrangement of Business the temporary measure? We do not really seem to have Announcement had an answer to that question. 12.06 pm Baroness Williams of Trafford (Con): The answer is The Lord Speaker (Lord McFall of Alcluith): My actually quite clear: we need to check the security of Lords, the Hybrid Sitting of the House will now what might go forward. We are undertaking a review begin. Some Members are here in the Chamber, others of the value of using specialist technology, including are participating remotely, but all Members will be identity document validation, in supporting the system treated equally.I ask Members to respect social distancing, of digital right-to-work checks to include UK and and if the capacity of the Chamber is exceeded, I will Irish citizens, as they are not in scope of the Home immediately adjourn the House. Office online checking services. Oral Questions will now commence. Please can those asking supplementary questions keep them no Lord Paddick (LD) [V]: My Lords, not only are the longer than 30 seconds and confined to two points? I Government insisting on in-person physical right-to-work ask that Ministers are also brief in their answers. checks but some parents say they are being asked by schools to produce passports to prove their child’s Right-to-Work Checks for UK Nationals right to education as a result of the UK’s departure from the European Union. Can the Minister confirm Question whether the Home Office is requiring schools to do 12.07 pm this and, if so, on what legal basis? If it is not, will the Minister take urgent steps to stop this practice? Asked by Lord Lucas To ask Her Majesty’s Government what plans Baroness Williams of Trafford (Con): Well, I am they have to end online right-to-work checks for very grateful to the noble Lord for a heads-up this United Kingdom nationals. morning, and it is important to say to him that Brexit has not changed the rights of foreign nationals to The Minister of State, Home Office (Baroness Williams access schools. State schools do not have a role in of Trafford) (Con): My Lords, from 21 June, right-to-work policing the immigration system. Independent schools, checks will revert from the Covid-19-adjusted measures with sponsor licences, do have an explicit duty to have to face-to-face physical document checks for those documents proving the right to stay in the UK. I do who cannot use the Home Office online checking not know the details of the noble Lord’s case, but I service. We are currently evaluating the potential for would be most grateful to have some further detail, introducing specialist technology, including identity and perhaps we can discuss it further. document validation technology, into the right-to-work checking service. This would provide a permanent Baroness Gardner of Parkes (Con) [V]: My Lords, digital option for those unable to use the online checking following the move to more distanced right-to-work service. checks during the coronavirus pandemic via video link, in operation to 21 June 2021, can the Minister Lord Lucas (Con) [V]: My Lords, I thank my noble comment on what measures were taken to check against friend for what has the feeling of being, perhaps, an fraud and abuse of this process? What were the findings? encouraging Answer. The online verification of right to work during Covid has been a huge success for the Home Office. The system works really well; no one I Baroness Williams of Trafford (Con): Well,