p a r l i a m e n t a r y d e b a t e s (hansard) house of … · 2019. 11. 5. · baroness evans...

Tuesday

5 November 2019

P A R L I A M E N T A R Y D E B A T E S

(HANSARD)

HOUSE OF LORDS

WRITTEN STATEMENTS AND

WRITTEN ANSWERS

Written Statements ................................................ 1

Written Answers ................................................... 20

Session 2019-20

No. 14

[I] indicates that the member concerned has a relevant registered interest. The full register of interests can be found at

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Members who want a printed copy of Written Answers and Written Statements should notify the Printed Paper Office.

This printed edition is a reproduction of the original text of Answers and Statements, which can be found on the internet

at http://www.parliament.uk/writtenanswers/.

Ministers and others who make Statements or answer Questions are referred to only by name, not their ministerial or

other title. The current list of ministerial and other responsibilities is as follows.

Minister Responsibilities

Baroness Evans of Bowes Park Leader of the House of Lords and Lord Privy Seal

Earl Howe Deputy Leader of the House of Lords

Lord Agnew of Oulton Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Education

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon Minister of State, Foreign and Commonwealth Office

Lord Ashton of Hyde Chief Whip

Baroness Barran Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport

Baroness Berridge Whip

Lord Bethell Whip

Baroness Blackwood of North

Oxford

Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department of Health and Social Care

Baroness Bloomfield of Hinton

Waldrist

Whip

Lord Callanan Minister of State, Department for Exiting the European Union

Baroness Chisholm of Owlpen Whip

Earl of Courtown Deputy Chief Whip

Lord Duncan of Springbank Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Business, Energy and Industrial

Strategy and Northern Ireland Office

Lord Gardiner of Kimble Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Environment, Food and Rural

Affairs

Baroness Goldie Minister of State, Ministry of Defence

Lord Keen of Elie Advocate-General for Scotland and Ministry of Justice Spokesperson

Baroness Stedman-Scott Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Work and Pensions

Baroness Sugg Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for International Development

Baroness Vere of Norbiton Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Transport

Baroness Williams of Trafford Minister of State, Home Office

Viscount Younger of Leckie Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local

Government

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Written Statements 5 November 2019 Page 1

Written Statements Tuesday, 5 November 2019

Adrian Smith Review

[HLWS91]

Lord Duncan of Springbank: My Rt hon friend the

Minister of State for Universities, Science, Research and

Innovation (Chris Skidmore) has today made the

following statement:

I am pleased to announce that I have today published

the report “Changes and Choices”, co-authored by

Professor Sir Adrian Smith and Professor Graeme Reid.

This report, which I commissioned in March of this year,

provides independent advice on the design of UK funding

schemes for international collaboration, innovation and

curiosity-driven blue-skies research.[1] In the course of

producing the report, Sir Adrian and Professor Reid

issued a call for evidence and engaged in discussions with

the research and innovation community across the UK. I

would like to place on record my thanks to Sir Adrian and

Professor Reid, as well as to all of those who engaged

with them to ensure that the UK continues to be a global

leader in science, research and innovation.

The UK’s world-leading science, research and

innovation sector delivers real economic and social

benefits for communities across the country. International

collaboration allows us to work at greater scale than the

UK could alone – for example to meaningfully tackle

global challenges, such as climate change, artificial

intelligence, cancer, and the future ageing society. In the

Withdrawal Agreement Bill debate on 22 October, the

Prime Minister confirmed that “we will protect, preserve

and enhance” cooperation with European science and

research funding programmes.

Sir Adrian and Professor Reid highlight the importance

of stabilising and building on the UK capability built up

through our international partnerships to date. This

Government has participated in negotiations with

European partners in a positive spirit as Horizon Europe

takes shape - and intends to consider association to

Horizon Europe provided the programme is open to third

country association and offers value for money to the UK.

Any decision about associating to the programme will

need to take place after both the Horizon Europe proposal

and the Multiannual Financial Framework discussions

have been completed in Council.

This Government is committed to ensuring that the UK

continues to be a global science superpower. That is why

we have committed to increasing R&D investment to at

least 2.4% of GDP by 2027 and have announced our

intention to significantly boost R&D funding to provide

greater long-term certainty to the scientific community

and accelerate our ambition to reach the 2.4% target. In

this context, I welcome Sir Adrian and Professor Reid’s

recommendation that the Government should set out a

new vision for international collaboration. The report will

help inform our ongoing ambition to deliver wide-ranging

and effective research and innovation collaborations with

partners around the world.

[1] Adrian Smith Review: Written statement -

HCWS1449

Audit Reform

[HLWS99]


Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial

Strategy (Andrea Leadsom) has today made the following

statement:

The Government recognises the role that audit plays in

the effective functioning of the UK’s financial markets

and broader economy.

To help meet our ambition that the UK should become

the best place in the world to work and to grow a

business, we must take forward reform of audit. This will

include reforming audit, the audit regulator, and the audit

market. Change would affect a large number and a wide

variety of companies, firms, and interests; but it is clear

that there is a need for truly long-lasting and effective

change.

I want to see the UK leading the world in the next phase

of improvement for corporate governance and audit. In

the first quarter of next year - when I have considered Sir

Donald Brydon’s recommendations - I intend to bring

together all relevant elements of reform in order to take

that forward.

I am already working to create the new Audit,

Reporting and Governance Authority, to replace the

Financial Reporting Council. I have started with

appointing new leadership at the Financial Reporting

Council, who are driving a new vision and culture for the

regulator. They are now implementing those

recommendations made in Sir John Kingman’s excellent

report that are not contingent on legislative change.

Future reform will cover not just the function of the

regulator, but also the purpose and function of the audit

market, and audit itself. I intend to bring forward an

ambitious and coherent programme of change that drives

up quality, resilience and choice. It will include proposals

on the function and oversight of audit committees and

new internal control arrangements within businesses; on

the responsibilities of boards and directors; on how both

investors and regulators can better hold companies and

their auditors to account; and to reduce the reliance on a

few large audit firms for the provision of audit.

All of those factors must be and will be assessed and

weighed together, so that the whole package is coherent

and effective. As recognised by the BEIS Select

Committee, whose work on audit I welcome, some reform

will require radical action in order to ensure that it is

meaningful and enduring, and that it fully addresses the

very real concerns that we all share with the current state

of the market.

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5 November 2019 Written Statements

British Indian Ocean Territory

[HLWS87]

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: The United Kingdom is

aware of the proceedings brought by Mauritius against the

Maldives under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea

(UNCLOS). The UK is not a party to these proceedings,

which can have no effect for the UK or for maritime

delimitation between the UK (in respect of the British

Indian Ocean Territory) and the Republic of the Maldives.

The UK has no doubt as to our sovereignty over the

British Indian Ocean Territory (BIOT), which has been

under continuous British sovereignty since 1814.

Mauritius has never held sovereignty over the BIOT and

the UK does not recognise its claim.

As we have made clear previously, we were

disappointed that the sovereignty dispute over the BIOT

was referred to the International Court of Justice (ICJ). By

agreeing to answer the questions put to it by the General

Assembly on behalf of Mauritius, the Court has enabled

Mauritius to circumvent the basic principle that the Court

should not consider a bilateral dispute without the consent

of both States concerned. This sets a precedent which will

potentially have wide implications for other States with

bilateral disputes.

Despite these clear reservations, the UK participated

fully in the advisory proceedings in good faith. We have

also made known our views on the content of the opinion,

including its insufficient regard to some material facts and

significant legal issues. These included the 2015 binding

UNCLOS Arbitral Tribunal Award, which held the 1965

Agreement between Mauritius and the United Kingdom,

in which Mauritius agreed to detachment of the BIOT in

return for benefits including the United Kingdom

commitment to cede the territory when no longer needed

for defence purposes, was legally binding. The opinion

also gave insufficient regard to the reaffirmation by

Mauritius, after independence, of the 1965 Agreement.

In any event, what is undisputed is that the opinion is

advisory and not legally binding. Moreover, the Court

itself recognised that its opinion is without prejudice to

the sovereignty dispute over the BIOT between the UK

and Mauritius.

As the dispute over the BIOT is a sovereignty dispute,

the General Assembly is not the appropriate forum to

resolve such disputes. General Assembly resolution

73/295, adopted following the ICJ’s advisory opinion,

cannot and does not create any legal obligations for the

Member States. Nor can or does General Assembly

resolution 73/295 create legal obligations for other

international actors such as a Special Chamber of the

International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea. Neither the

non-binding Advisory Opinion nor the non-binding

General Assembly resolution alter the legal situation, that

of a sovereignty dispute over the BIOT between the UK

and Mauritius.

A fundamental principle of international law and the

international legal order is the principle of consent. It

follows that the Special Chamber is not in a position to

pronounce itself on the sovereignty dispute between the

UK and Mauritius without the consent of the UK to

resolve the sovereignty dispute before the Special

Chamber.

The UK remains committed to implementing the 2015

UNCLOS Arbitral Tribunal Award and seeking direct,

bilateral dialogue with Mauritius.

Business Productivity Review

[HLWS89]

Lord Duncan of Springbank: My hon friend the

Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Small

Business, Consumers and Corporate Responsibility (Kelly

Tolhurst) has today made the following statement:

The UK has some of the world’s most productive

businesses and has a strong business environment upon

which we can build. Despite this, the UK has a

longstanding productivity gap with international

competitors. That is why we launched the joint

Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

and HM Treasury, Business Productivity Review to

understand the decisions and actions taken by businesses

that affect their own productivity.

The potential prize is significant. The Bank of England

estimates that if UK firms could move along the

productivity distribution into the next quartile, then this

could see a boost to UK GDP by around £270bn in

today’s prices.

To inform the Review we launched a call for evidence

in May 2018 and received more than 140 written

responses. Meetings were held with 3,000 business

leaders and we also engaged with sector trade bodies and

membership organisations that jointly represent over

500,000 businesses across the UK, including Scotland,

Wales and Northern Ireland.

The Business Productivity Review we are publishing

today identifies best practice used by our leading

businesses and sets out ten key actions that will support

businesses to become more productive these include:

• £20m to strengthen local England Peer to Peer

Networks in England focused on business improvement

so that thousands of business leaders can share

expertise on leadership, business development and

technology adoption.

• £11m to create a Small Business Leadership

Programme in England to provide small business

leaders with leadership training, building on existing

world class training programmes; such as Be the

Business’ Productivity Through People, Lancaster

University’s LEAD and Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small

Businesses Programme.

• £25m through the Knowledge Transfer Partnerships to

allow over 200 more UK based businesses per year to

access the skills and talent to improve their business

performance and productivity by improving how well

they are managed. Today we are announcing that there

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will be a dedicated management KTP round which will

be open on 12 December 2019 and closes on 19

February 2020.

• Work with trade bodies, sector councils and Be the

Business to ensure small businesses have access to

business mentors from the UK’s leading and inspiring

businesses.

• Development of the evidence base on productivity,

including through the recently announced Productivity

Institute and the BEIS Business Support Evaluation

Framework.

• Work with the Behavioural Insights Team to improve

messaging to businesses, and work with trusted

intermediaries (e.g. banks, accountants, trade bodies) to

support small businesses to take action.

• Improve the customer experience for businesses

accessing online Government information and services

for growth domestically and internationally.

• Work with the private sector, such as Be the Business,

to ensure businesses have access to clear advice and the

tools they need to help them both understand and

improve their productivity.

Cobham plc Merger

[HLWS84]




statement:

On 25th July 2019, the boards of Cobham PLC and a

subsidiary of funds managed by Advent International, a

US private equity firm, announced that they had reached

agreement on the terms of a recommend cash acquisition

of Cobham for approximately £4 billion.

On 17th September, following advice from relevant

Government Departments and agencies, I initiated a

public interest intervention under the Enterprise Act 2002

into this merger on the grounds of national security. I

required that the Competition and Markets Authority

investigate the merger and provide me with a report on

the transaction by 29th October, which it has done. The

Secretary of State for Defence has also written to me

about the national security implications of the merger and

the discussions which have taken place with the parties to

propose undertakings to address those implications. I am

grateful for the advice I have received and the

constructive engagement from the parties.

The decision on how to proceed in this case requires

further full and proper consideration of the issues. Having

received these reports, I will therefore have further

discussions with my ministerial colleagues and the parties

to the transaction to inform the decision-making process. I

will update the House in due course so that Honourable

Members can scrutinise the Government’s decision. The

full legal process will continue to be followed throughout

the general election period.

Department for Business, Energy and

Industrial Strategy: Work of the Department

[HLWS96]




statement:

I would like to update the house on some of the key

achievements of the Department for Business, Energy and

the Industrial Strategy since it was created in July 2016.

Leading the world in tackling climate change

Achieving net zero carbon emissions is a key

departmental priority and we have set out actions we are

taking across the economy to accomplish this.

• We committed to set a legally binding target to end

the UK’s contribution to climate change to net zero by

2050.

• We have set out further actions we are taking across

the economy to achieve net zero by 2050. These include

adding around 6GW of clean energy to the grid by 2025

through the Contracts for Difference (CfD) scheme –

enough to power over seven million homes at record

low costs.

• We announced £200m initial funding for a programme

which aims to design and build a nuclear fusion plant

by 2040, looking to exploit the potential for clean, safe

and inexhaustible power.

• We announced £27.8m of government funding to

advance carbon capture, utilisation and storage (CCUS)

technologies in the UK – a crucial step towards the

UK’s net zero emissions.

• We announced investment of up to £1 billion over five

years to boost the production of key green technologies

in the motor industry, including batteries, electric

motors, power electronics and hydrogen fuel cells. This

is in addition to £400 million for electric vehicle

charging infrastructure.

• The UK was nominated to host the COP26 UN

climate talks next year in partnership with Italy,

recognition by world leaders of our strong global on

climate issues.

• UK emissions in 2019 were 42% lower than in 1990,

while growing the economy by 72%. The UK has

delivered fastest decarbonisation in G20 since 2000

according to PWC.

• The UK’s fifth Carbon Budget was passed into law,

equivalent to a 57% reduction on 1990 levels by 2032.

• We committed £5.8bn of international climate finance

from 2016-2021, placing us among the world’s leading

providers of climate finance, in addition to the £3.87bn

we provided from 2011-2016. The Prime Minister later

announced the doubling of international climate finance

spend to £11.6 billion.

• Our international climate finance programmes are

delivering real results on the ground and are catalysing

wider change:



i) Among others, we have built the market for

Concentrated Solar Power (CSP) in developing

countries.

ii) We have contributed £720m to the Green Climate

Fund, financing projects and programmes in a range of

developing countries.

• We published the Clean Growth Strategy: Leading the

way to a low carbon future policy paper. This set out

the strategy for decarbonising all sectors of the UK

economy through the 2020s – benefitting the economy

while meeting commitments to tackle climate change.

• We held the UK’s first Green GB Week in 2018, a

week to celebrate clean growth and raise awareness

regarding how the public and businesses can tackle

climate change.

• We launched the Smart Export Guarantee consultation

which proposed that large electricity suppliers must

offer small scale generators a price per kWh for the

electricity they export to the grid. The scheme came

into force in June 2019.

• We are taking action to make sure the UK’s energy

system has adequate capacity and is diverse and

reliable.

i) We gave the go-ahead agreement to proceed with the

first nuclear power station in a generation at Hinkley

Point C to ensure future low-carbon energy security.

Hinkley will provide seven per cent of Britain’s

electricity needs for sixty years. UK-based businesses

will benefit from more than 60% of the £18 billion

value of the project, and 26,000 jobs and

apprenticeships will be created.

ii) We continued to support the Capacity Market

Auctions. The Capacity Market aims to ensure security

of electricity supply by providing a payment for reliable

sources of capacity, alongside electricity revenues, to

ensure the delivery of electricity when needed.

• The department’s ambition is for the UK to have the

lowest energy costs in Europe, for both households and

businesses.

i) The Domestic Gas and Electricity (Tariff Cap) Bill

put a requirement on the independent regulator, Ofgem,

to cap energy tariffs until 2020. It came into force in

January 2019, saving customers on default tariffs

around £76 on average and as much as £120 on the

most expensive tariffs.

ii) As of March 2019, there were over 14.3 million

meters operating under the Smart Meter programme.

Making the UK the best place to work and grow a

business

The Secretary of State has set out her ambition to make

the UK the best place in the world to work and grow a

business. Creating fairer, inclusive workplaces and

unlocking enterprise by cutting the burdens on businesses

are two sides of the same coin and both equally important.

• We announced that the British Business Bank would

expand its venture capital and debt support

programmes. A total of 82,000 smaller businesses have

been supported by the British Business Bank.

• The Brydon Review examined the quality and

effectiveness of the audit market and looked at what

audits should be in the future. It addressed the audit

expectation gap: the difference between what people

think an audit does and what it actually does. It will

also look at the scope of an audit, any changes that may

need to be made to it and how it can better serve the

public interest.

• We consulted on the Competition and Markets

Authority’s far-reaching and ambitious

recommendations to improve quality, resilience and

competition in the Statutory Audit Market. We are

committed to acting on the CMA’s findings and will

respond as soon as possible.

• We established the Office for Product Safety and

Standards to enhance consumer protections.

• We published the Consumer Green Paper, aimed at

responding to the challenges and opportunities of

modern consumer markets via a regulatory and

competition framework. This was followed by

consultation and engagement on the Green Paper.

• We carried out a Smart Data Review and proposed a

set of measures to ensure consumers’ data is handled

with the security they expect, while enabling them to

continue to have access to the best deals available.

• The government asked Matthew Taylor to conduct an

independent review of employment practices in the

modern economy, which was published in July 2017.

We responded to this review with the Good Work Plan.

The plan set out proposals to ensure workers know their

rights and receive the benefits they are entitled to, and

that action is taken against employers who breach those

rights. Proposals include:

i) First-day entitlements to holiday and sick pay;

ii) A new right to payslips for all workers, including

casual and zero-hour workers; and

iii) A right for all workers to request a more stable

contract, providing more financial security for those on

flexible contracts.

• As of 1st 2019 the National Minimum Wage (NMW)

was £7.70, and the National Living Wage (NLW) was

£8.21. The annual earnings of a full-time minimum

wage worker have increased by over £2,750 since the

introduction of the NLW in April 2016. An estimated

1.8 million workers are expected to benefit from this

above inflation increase. By 2020, almost 3 million low

wage workers are expected to benefit directly from the

NLW, with up to 6 million in total potentially seeing

their pay rise as a result of a ripple effect up the

earnings distribution.

• The Parental Bereavement Act entitles parents who

lose a child under the age of 18 to two weeks paid

leave, supporting those affected by the tragedy of

childhood mortality.


• The department consulted on a number of key

employment issues. These include measures to boost

workplace participation and to tackle employers

misusing flexible working arrangements.

• We announced a Tipping Bill, reaffirming our

commitment to delivering employment rights reform to

ensure our employment practices keep pace with

modern ways of working.

Solving the Grand Challenges facing our society

Our Industrial Strategy is built to ensure we focus our

efforts and resources on solving the grand challenges

facing our society. Through this we will increase

productivity and improve lives, as well as helping to make

the UK a science superpower.

• The Industrial Strategy: building a Britain fit for the

future White Paper set out the Government’s long-term

plan to boost the productivity and earning power of

people throughout the UK, provide more opportunities

for young people to find high-quality, high-skilled

work, and spread jobs, prosperity and opportunity

around the whole country.

• We launched four Grand Challenges to put the UK at

the forefront of the industries of the future:

i) Growing the Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Data

Driven Economy

ii) Clean Growth

iii) Future of Mobility

iv) Ageing Society

We are pursuing five individual missions related to

these Grand Challenges. Each of the missions focuses on

a specific problem, bringing government, businesses and

organisations across the country together to make a real

difference to people’s lives.

• We agreed 11 Sector Deals – partnerships between the

government and industry to create significant

opportunities to maximise the potential of each sector.

Each deal will substantially boost the sector’s

productivity, through greater investment in innovation

and skills.

• The Space Industry Act created a regulatory

framework for the expansion of commercial space

activities and the development of the UK space port. It

will enable the first commercial space launch from UK

soil in history, creating the potential for hundreds of

highly-skilled jobs and bringing in billions of pounds

for the economy.

• We launched the AI package for 200 UK doctoral

studentships in AI and related disciplines which could

help diagnose diseases like cancer earlier and make

industries, including aviation and automotive, more

sustainable.

• The ‘Future of mobility: urban strategy’ outlined the

government’s approach to maximising the benefits from

transport innovation in cities and towns, therefore

improving choice and the operation of the transport

system. The strategy aims to make transport safer, more

affordable and accessible to all.

• We launched the West Midlands and Greater

Manchester Local Industrial Strategies, working with

local leaders to boost the productivity and earning

power of people throughout these regions. Local

Industrial Strategies will allow places to make the most

of their distinctive strengths, helping to inform local

choices, prioritise local action and, where appropriate,

help to inform decisions at the national level.

• We announced funding for Strategic Priorities Fund

(SPF) Wave 2 programmes on healthy ageing, clean air

and productivity. These will help us to fulfil our goal of

improving lives and increasing productivity through

high-quality research and innovation. Programmes

include research into care robots that could make caring

responsibilities easier; digitising museum exhibits so

they can be seen in peoples’ homes, libraries and

schools; research into teenage mental health issues and

closing the productivity gap with investment in super

computers and a new productivity institute. The SPF

Wave 2 total programme funding allocation is £496.8

million.

• We set out plans to rewrite the regulation rulebook to

ensure the UK leads the tech revolution and empowers

consumers. The ‘Regulation for the Fourth Industrial

Revolution White Paper’ outlined how the Government

will transform the UK’s regulatory system to free up

businesses and innovators to test their ideas, make use

of the latest technologies and get their products to

market quicker – keeping the UK at the forefront of

innovation.

• We committed to increase investment to 2.4% of GDP

by 2027. The Government is increasing spending on

R&D by £7 billion over 5 years by 2021/22. This will

be the largest increase in nearly 40 years.

Within this funding we have:

i) Allocated £1.7 billion to the Industrial Strategy

Challenge Fund (ISCF) over two waves of investment.

£1bn was announced for Wave 1 in Budget 2017, and a

further £725m announced in the Industrial Strategy

White Paper. These challenges have been developed to

align with the four Grand Challenges set out in the

White Paper. We have announced nine challenges

under the third wave of the ISCF.

ii) Announced investment of £118 million to attract

highly skilled researchers to the UK through a new

Ernest Rutherford Fund, providing fellowships for

early-career and senior researchers.

iii) Committed £900m to the UK Research Partnership

Investment Fund over 2012-2021, which will lever

double from private sources into R&D collaborations

between universities, business and charities.

iv) Committed to developing the UK’s national space

capabilities, including:

• £1m, matched by industry, for innovative new

business ideas that could benefit from a flight to the

International Space Station. These could be anything

from medicines and innovative materials developed in


the low gravity environment, to space-flown consumer

products.

• £20m is being invested to predict severe space

weather events by improving systems at the Met Office

Space Weather Operations Centre and building the

UK’s knowledge on how to forecast and better prepare

for space weather.

To support R&D we have also:

Within this funding we have:

i) Published Higher Education: Success as a Knowledge

Economy (White Paper, 2016). This document set out a

range of reforms to the higher education and research

system, aiming to boost competition and choice in

higher education, and strengthen the way the sector is

regulated, and research is funded.

ii) Passed the Higher Education and Research Act

(2017), bringing together the seven Research Councils,

Innovate UK and research functions of HEFCE into a

single, strategic agency called UK Research and

Innovation (UKRI) to encourage collaborative research

across the sciences, and closer cooperation between

researchers, innovators and entrepreneurs. UKRI was

formally launched in April 2018.

Getting businesses ready for Brexit and the

opportunities beyond

Preparing for all scenarios and delivering a Brexit that

works for business has been the government and the

department’s immediate focus.

• As part of the Government campaign to ensure people

and businesses are ready for Brexit, the Secretary of

State hosted nine business roundtables, including five

regional events, and visited businesses across the UK,

in locations including Belfast, Aberdeen, Cardiff and

Manchester. Businesses participating in the roundtables

included Tate and Lyle Sugars, JCB, Tesco, Unilever,

Laing O’Rourke, Scottish Power and Diageo.

• We ran a ‘Get Ready for Brexit’ roadshow, with 30

events over six weeks across the UK, where 3,132

attendees received tailored advice and support on

preparing for Brexit. We also produced an online

version of the roadshow, which has attracted nearly

6,000 viewers.

• The department launched the Business Readiness

Fund to help Business Representative Organisations

(BROs) and trade associations to support businesses to

be ready for EU Exit. Initially launched as a £10 million

fund, a further £5 million has been made available due

to the Fund’s popularity. So far over £10m in grants has

been issued to support 124 BROs.

• We published 28 of the government’s 106 technical

notices to help the public prepare for Brexit, including

Horizon 2020, state aid, workplace rights, nuclear

research, mergers and trading goods.

• The Nuclear Safeguards Act made provisions for

nuclear safeguards after the UK leaves Euratom,

ensuring the UK meets its international commitments.

ECOFIN

[HLWS93]

The Earl of Courtown: My right honourable friend the

Chancellor of the Exchequer (Sajid Javid) has today made

the following Written Ministerial Statement.

A meeting of the Economic and Financial Affairs

Council (ECOFIN) will be held in Brussels on 08

November 2019. The UK will be represented by Mark

Bowman (Director General, International Finance, HM

Treasury). The Council will discuss the following:

Excise Duties

The Council will be invited to agree the: Directive on

general arrangements for excise duty (recast); the

Regulation on administrative cooperation of the content

of electronic registers; and amendments to the Directive

on the structures of excise duty on alcohol.

VAT Data from Payment Service Providers

The Council will be invited to agree a General

Approach on amendments to: the Directive on the

common system of VAT with regards to requirements for

payment service providers; and the Regulation on

administrative cooperation in the field of VAT concerning

measures to combat VAT fraud.

VAT Treatment for Small Enterprises

The Council will be invited to agree amendments to the

Directive on the common system of VAT in regards to the

special scheme for small enterprises.

Current Financial Services Legislative Proposals

The Finnish Presidency will provide an update on

current legislative proposals in the field of financial

services.

European Central Bank – Executive Board Member

The Council will be invited to adopt a recommendation

to the European Council on the appointment of a new

member of the Executive Board of the European Central

Bank.

Digital Taxation

The Council will be updated on the current state of play

of digital taxation and will discuss the way forward.

European Fiscal Board Report

The Council will be presented with the 2019 Annual

report of the European Fiscal Board.

EU Statistical Package

The Council will be invited to adopt Council

Conclusions on the EU statistical package and to review

progress achieved.

Climate Finance

The Council will be invited to adopt Council

Conclusions on climate finance for the COP25 climate

summit.

Follow-up to International Meetings

The Presidency and Commission will inform the

Council of the main outcomes of the G20 meeting of

Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors and the

http://www.parliament.uk/business/publications/written-questions-answers-statements/written-statement/Lords/2019-11-05/HLWS93/


IMF and World Bank Annual meetings held in October

2019.

Stable Coins

As an AOB, the Presidency will inform the Council

about a joint statement on stable coins to be agreed at

December ECOFIN.

Euratom Exit Strategy

[HLWS88]

Lord Duncan of Springbank: My hon friend the

Minister for Business and Industry (Nadhim Zahawi) has

today made the following statement:

The Government has further advanced its preparations

for the UK’s withdrawal from Euratom and the European

Union.

As made clear in previous statements on the topic, the

UK has concluded all replacement international

agreements required to ensure continuity for civil nuclear

trade for when Euratom arrangements no longer apply to

the UK and confirmed the operability of an existing

bilateral nuclear cooperation agreement (NCA) with

Japan.

Further to this, the UK and the Government of Japan

held formal negotiations on the text of an Amending

Protocol to the existing bilateral Nuclear Co-operation

Agreement (NCA) on 4 June. This Amending Protocol is

not essential for the operability of the NCA or for our

continued trade and cooperation with Japan but completes

the formal legal process to amend the NCA on a

permanent basis. Negotiations on the Amending Protocol

continue.

Implementation guidelines for nuclear operators were

published on 27 June outlining future reporting

requirements on operators related to nuclear cooperation

agreements. These requirements will allow the UK to

comply with its NCAs with Australia, Canada, Japan and

the US, following withdrawal from Euratom.

The UK also continued to make progress in

implementing its new domestic safeguards regime. The

Office for Nuclear Regulation (ONR) remains in a state of

readiness to deliver a state system of accounting for and

control of nuclear material (SSAC) that enables the UK to

meet its international safeguards obligations when

Euratom arrangements no longer apply.

The former Secretary of State prescribed the forms

required by UK industry to notify UK regulators of the

import of sealed radioactive sources from EU Member

States as well as the forms required by UK industry and

UK regulators to apply for, authorise, and notify

transfrontier shipments of radioactive waste and spent

fuel. The use of these forms will only be required from

exit day in the event that the UK leaves the EU without a

deal. A statement notifying Parliament of the use of the

sub-delegated powers exercised to create these forms can

be found in the report accompanying this statement.

Overall the Government has continued to work closely

with industry to address the issues that may affect the

civil nuclear sector in any exit scenario and remains

committed to regular engagement with industry, civil

society, academia, trade unions, and other interested

stakeholders.

Today I will be depositing a report in the Libraries of

the House that sets out further details on the overall

progress on the Government’s implementation of its

Euratom exit strategy, including domestic operational

readiness, legislation and international agreements. The

report covers the three-month reporting period from 26th

March to 26th June 2019 and is the fourth and final

statutory report under section 3(4) of the Nuclear

Safeguards Act 2018.

Foreign Affairs Council

[HLWS85]

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: My Right Honourable

Friend, the Minister of State for Foreign and

Commonwealth Affairs (Christopher Pincher), has made

the following written Ministerial statement:

The Foreign Affairs Council (FAC) will take place in

Brussels on 11 November. It will be chaired by the High

Representative of the European Union (EU) for Foreign

Affairs and Security Policy (HRVP), Federica Mogherini.

The FAC will discuss Current Affairs, Afghanistan and

Iran. There will also be a Ministerial lunch with the

Sudanese Prime Minister Hamdok.

Current Affairs

HRVP Mogherini will raise Venezuela. She will reflect

on two international meetings held in Brussels in October.

First, the International Contact Group meeting held on 28

October. Secondly, the International Solidarity

Conference on the Venezuelan Refugee and Migrant

Crisis which took place in on 28-29 October.

HRVP Mogherini will brief Ministers on the follow-up

to the October FAC and European Council conclusions on

Turkey’s actions in North-East Syria and Turkish

hydrocarbons exploration activity. We expect the Council

to adopt a framework for a sanctions regime on the latter.

HRVP Mogherini will also provide an update on the

conflict in Libya and preparations for the leader-level

conference which Chancellor Merkel will host in Berlin

later this year.

Afghanistan

Due to time constraints, the discussion on Afghanistan

at the October FAC was postponed to November. Ahead

of the publication of the recent Presidential election

results, Ministers will focus on the political situation in

Afghanistan. They will review prospects for peace, in

light of recent Afghan and US-led peace efforts. The UK

will underline the importance of completing the electoral

process in an impartial, efficient and transparent manner,

and highlight the importance of momentum in the peace

process.



Iran

Ministers will discuss the EU’s approach to Iran and

Gulf Regional Security. Ministers will focus in particular

on the importance of preserving the Joint Comprehensive

Plan of Action (JCPoA) and the need for a diplomatic

solution to de-escalate tensions in the region. Along with

our French and German partners, the UK will highlight

the importance of Iran returning to full compliance with

its commitments under the JCPoA. All parties need to

engage in comprehensive negotiations - without prejudice

to the JCPoA itself - to address Iran’s nuclear activities

after 2025 as well as regional security.

Ministerial lunch with the Sudanese Prime Minister

Hamdok

Ministers will discuss recent progress in Sudan with

Prime Minister Hamdok. The UK will continue to urge

the EU to be ambitious in the level of support they

provide to Sudan throughout the political transition. This

should be proportionate to needs and include assistance

focussed on economic and social stability, the peace

process, human rights, and democracy and governance.

Council Conclusions

The Council is expected to adopt a number of measures,

including: a framework sanctions regime in response to

Turkish hydrocarbon explorations around Cyprus; the

Annual Review of the Venezuela sanctions regime; and

authorisation to open negotiations with Somalia on the

status of the EU’s training mission for the Somali

Security Forces.

Foreign and Commonwealth Office: Work of

the Department

[HLWS86]

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: My Right Honourable

Friend, the Secretary of State for Foreign and

Commonwealth Affairs (Dominic Raab), has made the

following written Ministerial statement:

The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) uses its

global platform to promote a truly Global Britain and

support the UK’s values and interests – from helping

victims of forced marriage to championing media

freedom to securing market access for British companies.

Its 270 diplomatic posts are invaluable assets in 169

countries and territories. Its leadership within nine

multilateral organisations shapes global agendas and sets

global standards. It supports 31 Government partners,

including Department for International Development,

Department for International Trade and the British

Council.

It is also a diplomatic network with ambitions to expand

influence. By the end of 2020, the UK’s diplomatic

network will have opened twelve new diplomatic

missions across the globe since 2018, recruited 1,000

more staff members and boast more sovereign missions

than any other European country.

The department has also provided extensive support to

the government’s efforts to prepare for Brexit. This has

included contingency planning for a ‘No Deal’ situation,

engagement to influence the EU on negotiation priorities

and an extension to Article 50, providing support to UK

nationals living in and travelling to the EU, and planning

for the UK’s future partnership with the EU.

Since the Strategic Defence and Security Review in

2015, this department has made significant achievements

in the following priority areas.

Protecting our People - Safeguarding our national

security by countering terrorism, extremism, weapons

proliferation, and other state and non-state threats in co-

operation with allies and partners. Assisting British

people living, travelling and working around the world in

times of need.

• In 2018-19, the department provided invaluable

assistance to over 22,000 British people around the

world, and ongoing support to 7,700 existing cases. We

responded to 14 major incidents overseas, from terrorist

attacks and natural disasters to high profile political and

security issues.

• This year, the department partnered with the Civil

Aviation Authority and the Department of Transport to

carry out HMG’s biggest peacetime repatriation

operation of more than 150,000 people following the

insolvency of Thomas Cook. In 2017, 85,000

passengers were returned to the UK after the collapse of

Monarch.

• The department played a vital role in the response to

Hurricanes Irma and Maria in 2017. The response

involved 138 substantive updates made to Travel

Advice for affected countries during the crisis, liaising

with 14 Foreign Missions to answer queries on their

nationals affected by the hurricanes, answering over

3,800 calls to the crisis hotline and deploying 82 FCO

staff to provide support to 11 different countries in the

region.

Projecting our Global Influence - Projecting and

promoting the values and influence of a Global Britain,

strengthening our partnerships and the rules based

international system. Supporting good governance,

democracy, rule of law and human rights; preventing and

resolving conflict; and building stability overseas.

• In 2018, the department helped to ensure a robust

international response to the use of chemical weapons,

following the attempted murder of a Russian dissident

and his daughter in Salisbury using a chemical nerve

agent. As a result, 28 countries and NATO expelled 130

Russian undeclared intelligence officers.

• The UK is proud to have helped train almost 3,000

volunteers for the White Helmets (a volunteer

humanitarian organisation operating in Syria and

Turkey) who have saved over 115,000 lives through

their emergency rescue services in Syria. Through post

in Geneva and in New York, the department has

worked to pressure the regime and its backers to end the

fighting in north west Syria, and has supported efforts

towards greater accountability for those who have

attacked unarmed civilians, schools and hospitals. The



department has continued its strong deterrence

messaging against the use of chemical weapons in

Syria, including through support for the Organisation

for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons and the

targeted and proportionate military response to the

chemical weapons attack in Douma in April 2018.

• UK climate change diplomacy led by the department

helped achieve an historic international agreement to

tackle climate change in Paris in December 2015. For

the first time ever, 195 countries agreed to act together

to combat global warming and reduce carbon

emissions. In 2020, alongside Italy, the UK will host

the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate

Change Conference of the Parties, a clear signal of the

UK’s global leadership on climate change and

commitment to reducing greenhouse emissions to zero

by 2050.

• The UK has been a global leader in the international

fight against the ivory trade, legislating to introduce the

toughest ivory ban in Europe and help bring an end to

the poaching of elephants. In 2018, the FCO-organised

Illegal Wildlife Trade Conference was attended by

1,300 participants, and resulted in significant, ongoing

pledges by several countries.

Promoting our Prosperity -- Promoting our prosperity

by opening markets, driving economic reform,

championing British business, and supporting free trade

and sustainable global growth.

• In calendar year 2018, the department continued to

play a unique role within the Government’s cross-

departmental Conflict, Stability and Security Fund

(CSSF) and make a critical contribution to the CSSF’s

work to tackle instability and prevent conflicts that

threaten UK interests. The department both delivered

the majority of CSSF programmes and co-ordinated

wider cross-government efforts at the country and

regional level, drawing on its deep foreign policy

expertise. For example, in Ukraine FCO-led CSSF

programmes have strengthened peacebuilding and

resilience of conflict-affected communities, assisting

more than 111,000 Internally Displaced Peoples and

supporting increased capacity in key government

ministries.

• The department has led on negotiations on Gibraltar,

delivering an extensive set of agreements, as well as EU

Exit preparations on the other Overseas Territories. The

department has also supported the negotiation of

arrangements for the Sovereign Base Areas on Cyprus,

and prepared for the implications of EU Exit on UK

sanctions policy.

• In 2018-19, FCO-delivered Prosperity Fund

programmes, worth a combined £850 million from now

until 2023, began to deliver expertise and assistance in

sectors and countries where there is high potential to

support the inclusive economic growth needed to

reduce poverty. Programmes initiated included a £45m

Global Anti-Corruption programme, and £34m ASEAN

economic reform and low carbon programmes. The

Prosperity Fund programme promotes economic

reforms and remove barriers to trade, reform key

sectors such as infrastructure, energy, financial services,

future cities, education and healthcare, and tackle

corruption.

• In 2018, BAE Systems (BAES) won the tender to

design and build nine future frigates for the Royal

Australian Navy. It followed the department playing an

important role supporting the cross-Whitehall effort,

and leading the campaign’s co-ordination in Australia.

This outcome is a significant export boost for the UK as

we prepare to leave the EU. It will secure around £2

billion of direct exports through British designed and

manufactured components like engines (Rolls Royce)

and Sonars (Thales UK and Ultra). It also opens doors

to UK SMEs and secures approximately £10 billion

worth of exports through the life of the programme. The

whole of life sustainment win for BAES as a National

Shipbuilding Enterprise partner is likely to generate

another £40 billion.

• In 2018, the department hosted the largest ever

Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting, with

46 Heads of Government and 49 Foreign Ministers. As

Chair-in-Office, the department has since been working

to strengthen the Commonwealth with delivery of

ambitious commitments on prosperity, security, fairness

and sustainability with a focus on supporting small

island states. Moreover, the department has achieved

Foreign Ministers’ agreement to reforms that will

improve the governance of the Commonwealth

Secretariat.

Immigration

[HLWS95]

Baroness Williams of Trafford: My rt hon Friend the

Secretary of State for the Home Department (Priti Patel)

has today made the following Written Ministerial

Statement:

I am announcing today the conversion of the Prisons

and Probation Ombudsman (PPO) investigation of Brook

House immigration removal centre to a statutory inquiry,

in accordance with the Inquiries Act 2005. This Inquiry

will investigate the mistreatment of detainees at Brook

House immigration removal centre broadcast in the BBC

Panorama programme ‘Undercover: Britain’s

Immigration Secrets’ on 4 September 2017.

The Government takes any allegation of mistreatment,

and the welfare of immigration detainees, very seriously,

and I want to establish the facts of what took place at

Brook House and ensure that lessons are learnt to prevent

these shocking events happening again.

Sue McAllister, the Prisons and Probation Ombudsman,

had appointed Kate Eves to lead their special

investigation into Brook House. Following conversion of

the special investigation into an inquiry, Sue McAllister,

as Ombudsman, was automatically appointed as the chair.

However, to ensure continuity with their investigation I

have agreed that Sue McAllister will recuse herself and

Kate Eves will take up the position of inquiry chair. Kate



Eves is an experienced and highly qualified investigator

within custodial environments.

I have consulted with both Sue McAllister and with

Kate Eves to confirm that the inquiry will have a similar

scope to the PPO special investigation.

From today, the Inquiry will have statutory powers to

compel witnesses and establish the truth of what took

place at Brook House.

I wish Kate Eves and all at the Inquiry every success in

taking forward this important piece of work.

The Inquiry’s Terms of Reference are set out below:

Purpose

To investigate into and report on the decisions, actions

and circumstances surrounding the mistreatment of

detainees broadcast in the BBC Panorama programme

‘Undercover: Britain’s Immigration Secrets’ on 4

September 2017.

To reach conclusions with regard to the treatment of

detainees where there is credible evidence of

mistreatment contrary to Article 3 ECHR; and then make

any such recommendations as may seem appropriate. In

particular the inquiry will investigate:

1) The treatment of complainants, including identifying

whether there has been mistreatment and identifying

responsibility for any mistreatment.

2) Whether methods, policies, practices and

management arrangements (both of the Home Office and

its contractors) caused or contributed to any identified

mistreatment.

3) Whether any changes to these methods, policies,

practices and management arrangements would help to

prevent a recurrence of any identified mistreatment.

4) Whether any clinical care issues caused or

contributed to any identified mistreatment.

5) Whether any changes to clinical care would help to

prevent a recurrence of any identified mistreatment.

6) The adequacy of the complaints and monitoring

mechanisms provided by Home Office Immigration

Enforcement and external bodies (including, but not

limited to, the centre’s independent monitoring board and

statutory role of Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Prisons) in

respect of any identified mistreatment.

Scope

For the purpose of the inquiry, the term “complainants”

is used to refer to any individual who was detained at

Brook House Immigration Removal Centre during the

period 1 April 2017 to 31 August 2017 where there is

credible evidence of mistreatment of that individual.

“Mistreatment” is used to refer to treatment that is

contrary to Article 3 ECHR.

The Inquiry should in particular include investigation in

to the mistreatment of complainants known (in the recent

Brook House litigation) as MA and BB.

The Inquiry may wish to draw upon the evidence and

findings of the previous special investigation in to the

events at Brook House, conducted by the PPO, before it

was converted to a statutory inquiry.

Method

As a statutory inquiry, the Inquiry will operate within

the legal framework provided by the Inquiries Act 2005.

As such, the procedure and conduct of the Inquiry are to

be directed by the chairman.

Report

The Inquiry should be undertaken with sufficient pace

to enable resulting recommendations to be implemented

as quickly and effectively as possible. It is expected, on

the basis of current information, that the Inquiry will

make its best endeavours to complete work and produce a

final report to the Home Secretary, setting out their

findings of fact and recommendations, within 12 months.

Principles

The Inquiry will have full access to all the material it

seeks.

The Inquiry will bear the legal expenses for any

individuals designated as core participant status by the

Inquiry chairperson.

It is not part of the Inquiry’s function to determine civil

or criminal liability of named individuals or organisations.

This should not, however, inhibit the Inquiry from

reaching findings of fact relevant to its terms of reference.

Intimidation in Public Life

[HLWS97]

Earl Howe: My Rt. Hon. Friend the Paymaster General

and Minister for the Cabinet Office (Oliver Dowden) has

made the following statement to the House of Commons:

In July 2017, the then Prime Minister commissioned the

independent and respected Committee on Standards in

Public Life to undertake a review into abuse and

intimidation in elections. This followed concerning

evidence from many Parliamentary candidates – across

the political spectrum – on their experiences during the

2017 general election.

For those in public life, it has become harder and harder

to conduct any political discussion, on any issue, without

it descending into tribalism and rancour. Social media and

digital communication – which in themselves can and

should be forces for good in our democracy – are being

exploited and abused, often anonymously.

It is important to distinguish between strongly felt

political debate on one hand, and unacceptable acts of

abuse, hatred, intimidation and violence. British

democracy has always been robust and oppositional. But

a line is crossed when disagreement mutates into

intimidation.

Left unchecked, abuse and intimidation will change our

democracy and mean that the way Members interact with

constituents will need to change. Increasing levels of

threats directed at those in public life is a worrying trend

that will require a coordinated and thorough response



from government, the relevant authorities, businesses and

the public themselves to address.

As the general election campaign commences, I want to

update the House on the actions that the Government has

taken to tackle intimidation, and the steps that the

Government is taking in this specific election.

Prosecution guidance

We have worked with the Law Officers to publish new

guidance from the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) for

the legal authorities on the laws on intimidation, and the

wide range of areas in which intimidation can be

prosecuted under existing laws. This has been

complemented by guidance to the police from the

National Police Chiefs Council.

The CPS guidance can be found at: Responding to

intimidating behaviour: Information for Parliamentarians

(https://www.cps.gov.uk/sites/default/files/documents/pub

lications/Responding-to-intimidating-behaviour-04-

2019.pdf ). The National Police Chiefs Council (NPCC),

CPS, College of Policing and Electoral Commission have

also issued Joint Guidance for Candidates in Elections

(https://www.electoralcommission.org.uk/sites/default/file

s/pdf_file/Joint-Guidance-for-Candidates-in-

Elections.pdf), which is distributed by the Electoral

Commission.

Supporting local councils

We have passed legislation to remove the requirements

for candidates running for local government, parish

council, and local mayoral elections, to have their

addresses on their ballot papers.

We have written to Local Authority Chief Executives,

to raise awareness about the sensitive interest provisions

in the Localism Act 2011 which protect the personal

addresses of councillors in England, ensuring that

monitoring officers are aware of the guidance published

by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local

Government.

New legislation to tackle intimidation

We have consulted on our Internet Safety Strategy

Green paper, and we published the world-leading DCMS-

Home Office Online Harms White Paper in April 2019.

This set out a range of legislative and non-legislative

measures detailing how we will tackle online harms and

set clear responsibilities for tech companies to keep UK

citizens safe. It established a government-wide approach

to online safety, delivering the Digital Charter’s ambitions

of making the UK the safest place in the world to be

online, whilst also leading the world in innovation-

friendly regulation that supports the growth of the tech

sector.

The White Paper set out the Government’s intention to

introduce a new mandatory ‘duty of care’, which will

require relevant companies to take reasonable steps to

keep their users safe and tackle illegal and harmful

activity on their services. It stated that the new regulatory

framework will make clear companies’ responsibility to

address the harm of “online abuse of public figures”. The

White Paper also included ambitious measures to support

education and awareness for all users and to promote the

development and adoption of new safety technologies.

The Cabinet Office has undertaken a public

consultation entitled ‘Protecting the Debate: Intimidation,

Influence and Information’. From that we committed to

legislate to introduce a new electoral offence, clarify the

electoral offence of undue influence of a voter, and

introduce a digital imprints regime.

Digital imprints

We recognise the important arguments in favour of

having a digital imprints regime in place as soon as

possible, but it was not possible to legislate for and

implement a regime in advance of a December election.

Technical considerations would need to be addressed, for

example to avoid the need for individual candidates and

campaigners to publish their home addresses as part of an

imprint. Moreover, for a digital imprints regime to work

properly, political parties, campaigners and others would

need to understand on what material they are required to

include an imprint. Rushing into a new regime - that

could have proved unworkable - could have led to

significant issues, including confusion, unintentionally

stifling democratic debate or to people unknowingly

committing an offence.

The Government is committed to implementing a

digital imprints regime as soon as it can - but it must be a

workable regime.

Defending Democracy Programme

On 22 July 2019, the Government announced the

Defending Democracy programme that will help maintain

the integrity of our democracy and electoral processes.

This cross-government programme, led by the Cabinet

Office, has been set up to:

• protect and secure UK democratic processes, systems

and institutions from interference, including from

cyber, personnel and physical threats;

• strengthen the integrity of UK elections;

• encourage respect for open, fair and safe democratic

participation; and

• promote fact-based and open discourse, including

online.

Earlier this year, this Government committed to

publishing a consultation on electoral integrity, which will

look at measures to improve voters’ confidence in our

democracy.

Protection of candidates

The Parliamentary Liaison and Investigations Team

(PLAIT) and the Members Security Support Team

(MSSS) will continue to support Members once they

become candidates after dissolution. Personal security

advice and guidance has been provided to all Members,

and there is a package of security measures available for

homes and constituency offices.

• Local police forces are chiefly responsible for the

security of candidates. As such, they have been briefed

on their responsibilities regarding the delivery of

protective security measures. The Home Secretary

https://www.cps.gov.uk/sites/default/files/documents/publications/Responding-to-intimidating-behaviour-04-2019.pdfhttps://www.cps.gov.uk/sites/default/files/documents/publications/Responding-to-intimidating-behaviour-04-2019.pdfhttps://www.cps.gov.uk/sites/default/files/documents/publications/Responding-to-intimidating-behaviour-04-2019.pdfhttps://www.cps.gov.uk/sites/default/files/documents/publications/Responding-to-intimidating-behaviour-04-2019.pdfhttps://www.cps.gov.uk/sites/default/files/documents/publications/Responding-to-intimidating-behaviour-04-2019.pdfhttps://www.cps.gov.uk/sites/default/files/documents/publications/Responding-to-intimidating-behaviour-04-2019.pdfhttps://www.electoralcommission.org.uk/sites/default/files/pdf_file/Joint-Guidance-for-Candidates-in-Elections.pdfhttps://www.electoralcommission.org.uk/sites/default/files/pdf_file/Joint-Guidance-for-Candidates-in-Elections.pdfhttps://www.electoralcommission.org.uk/sites/default/files/pdf_file/Joint-Guidance-for-Candidates-in-Elections.pdfhttps://www.electoralcommission.org.uk/sites/default/files/pdf_file/Joint-Guidance-for-Candidates-in-Elections.pdfhttps://www.electoralcommission.org.uk/sites/default/files/pdf_file/Joint-Guidance-for-Candidates-in-Elections.pdfhttps://www.electoralcommission.org.uk/sites/default/files/pdf_file/Joint-Guidance-for-Candidates-in-Elections.pdf


wrote to Chief Constables on 21st October 2019, and

the Security Minister wrote to PCCs, to ensure that they

prioritised tackling the intimidation and abuse of

Members and candidates.

• Local police forces also have a dedicated point of

contact for candidates who can be contacted for security

advice. All urgent concerns, or contact outside of office

hours, should be directed to police control rooms, who

have been briefed to provide suitable guidance and

support.

• Recognising that intimidation can take a number of

forms, the Cabinet Office will coordinate with the

Police, the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) and

others to issue a package of security guidance,

including how to report it. Following the dissolution of

Parliament, this guidance will be sent to all Returning

Officers, to be issued to all candidates in every

constituency.

The Cabinet Office, in its cross government

coordination role, has set up an Election Cell which will

meet regularly during the election campaign period and

whose attendees include organisations responsible for the

safety of candidates.

Advice to candidates regarding abuse online

Social media helps Members and candidates connect

with the public and can and should be a force for good in

our democracy. However, there have been worrying

trends of abuse and threats directed towards Members of

all parties, and particularly female and BAME Members.

The Government believes this is completely unacceptable.

Illegal activity online should be treated in the same way

as illegal activity offline, and reported to the police.

Social media companies, such as Facebook and Twitter,

have also developed guidance and dedicated mailboxes

for reporting abuse and intimidation against candidates

during an election. Today, the Home Secretary, Secretary

of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport and I have

written to social media companies asking them to work

together during this election to provide clear advice to

candidates in one place so candidates know what content

breaches their terms and conditions, where to report

suspected breaches and what they can expect once a

report has been made. We have also asked that they work

together to identify where abusive users towards

candidates are migrating between platforms and to

encourage more proactivity on this. A copy of this letter

has been placed in the House of Commons Library.

Democracy is a fundamental British value and one

underpinned by respectful, vibrant and robust debate. But

this freedom cannot be an excuse to cause harm, spread

hatred or impose views upon others - a line is crossed

when disagreement mutates into intimidation, violence or

abuse.

Our politics will be the poorer if talented potential

candidates - people who just want to stand to represent

their peers and stand up for their areas - decide not to get

involved out of fear for their or their loved ones safety. If

fewer candidates put themselves forward, then voters will

have less choice at the ballot box.

The Government will take all necessary steps to protect

the debate, have put in place measures to support

candidates with their safety for this election and have

ambitious plans to tackle online and offline abuse of those

in public life beyond.

The Statement includes the following attached material:

Letter to Social Media Companies [Letter to Social Media

Companies.pdf]

The material can be viewed online at:

http://www.parliament.uk/business/publications/written-

questions-answers-statements/written-

statement/Lords/2019-11-05/HLWS97/

Learning Disability and Autism Training

[HLWS94]

Baroness Blackwood of North Oxford: My Hon.

Friend the Minister of State for Care (Caroline Dinenage)

has made the following written statement:

The Government has made improving the care and

treatment of autistic people and people with learning

disabilities a priority. Society is rightly judged on the way

it treats its most vulnerable citizens.

Health and social care professionals have a crucial role

to play in helping people with learning disabilities and

autistic people lead longer, heathier and happier lives. We

know there is good practice out there and excellent

examples of staff working incredibly hard and supporting

individuals and their families to receive the best possible

care. However, staff can often lack the training or

experience to deliver effective and compassionate care,

resulting in significant health inequalities for people with

learning disabilities and autistic people and poorer health

outcomes.

In February this year, my Department published a

public consultation to obtain views on how best to ensure

that staff working in health and social care receive the

right training to understand the needs of people with

learning disabilities and autistic people and develop the

skills to provide the most effective care and support. The

consultation ran for 10 weeks, closing on 26th April 2019.

I am pleased to say there was an excellent response to

the consultation. We received over 5,000 responses from

a range of key stakeholders as well as individual members

of the public and I am grateful to those who took the time

to respond to the consultation. I am also pleased to

confirm that the overwhelming majority of responses

were supportive of the principle of mandatory training.

Today, we are publishing the Government response to

the consultation, confirming our intention to introduce

mandatory learning disability and autism training. A copy

of the response will be placed in the Libraries of both

Houses.

Our vision is that in future all professionals will, before

starting their career or through continuing professional

http://www.parliament.uk/business/publications/written-questions-answers-statements/written-statement/Lords/2019-11-05/HLWS97/http://www.parliament.uk/business/publications/written-questions-answers-statements/written-statement/Lords/2019-11-05/HLWS97/http://www.parliament.uk/business/publications/written-questions-answers-statements/written-statement/Lords/2019-11-05/HLWS97/http://www.parliament.uk/business/publications/written-questions-answers-statements/written-statement/Lords/2019-11-05/HLWS97/http://www.parliament.uk/business/publications/written-questions-answers-statements/written-statement/Lords/2019-11-05/HLWS94/


development, undertake training which covers a ‘common

core curriculum’ for learning disability and autism so that

we can be confident there is consistency across education

and training curricula.

We are committing to work with all professional bodies

and the Devolved Administrations to agree a common

core curriculum based on the Core Capability

Frameworks for Supporting People with a Learning

Disability and Autistic People. We recognise that it will

take time to ensure that all training is aligned with the

Frameworks; with periodic updates to syllabuses and

training requirements, but we will work with the

regulators to ensure the closest possible alignment at the

earliest opportunity.

Like everybody across the House, I have been moved

by the personal stories about how care and treatment has

been experienced by people with learning disabilities and

autistic people, which in some cases has resulted in the

worst possible outcomes. Cases like that of Oliver

McGowan, whose story captures why learning disability

and autism training is so important. I can announce that

we will be developing a high-quality training package that

will be named in Oliver’s memory.

I am also pleased to confirm that we are committing

£1.4m to develop and run a series of trials across both the

NHS and social care setting, so that we better understand

the impacts before implementation and a wider roll out.

To make the training mandatory we are proposing a

number of actions, recognising that different approaches

are required for different staff groups. Further detail on

this, and the proposals above, is set out in the consultation

response.

We need to ensure that those who work in health and

social care understand the needs of people with learning

disabilities and autistic people, how their needs can differ

from the general population and for staff to be able to

respond to those needs appropriately and positively. I

believe the action we intend to take will do just that and

ensure that everybody with autism or a learning disability

receives the high-quality care they have a right to expect.

MHCLG Update

[HLWS98]

Viscount Younger of Leckie: My Rt Hon. Friend, the

Secretary of State for the Ministry of Housing,

Communities and local Government (Robert Jenrick) has

today made the following Written Ministerial Statement.

Boosting Home Ownership and Getting Britain

Building

Getting more much-needed homes built

• Since 2010 we have delivered over 1.3 million homes.

• In 2017, we published our ambitious Housing White

Paper, and set an ambition to increase the delivery of

homes to 300,000 a year by the mid-2020s. In 2017/18

over 222,000 new homes were created, the highest

number in all but one of the past 31 years.

• There was a net increase of 232,800 in the number of

domestic properties with a council tax band in England

between March 2018 and March 2019.

• We are also ensuring that people have access to high-

quality, affordable homes, having delivered over

430,000 affordable homes since 2010.

• In 2018, we launched a new national housing agency

– Homes England – to increase the supply of new

homes, bringing together money, expertise, planning

and compulsory purchase powers.

• We have invested in overcoming the barriers to

building.

o In 2017 we launched the £5 billion Housing

Infrastructure Fund, to provide infrastructure in areas

where housing need is greatest. At Budget 2018 we

increased the funding by another £500 million – taking

it to £5.5 billion in total, which will potentially unlock

up to 650,000 homes. Over 3 billion has now been

allocated to Housing Infrastructure Fund bids (25

Forward Funding projects and 110 Marginal Viability

Fund projects) to unlock up to 297,100 homes, with

more expected to be allocated over the coming months.

o In 2018 we launched the £1.3 billion Land Assembly

Fund to acquire land needing work, making it less risky

for developers to invest in. We also launched the £630

million Small Sites Fund to help public landowners or

local authorities speed up getting the right infrastructure

in place to support stalled small sites.

o In total, the government has provided financial

support for housing of at least £44 billion since the start

of this Spending Review period to 2022/23. This

includes £15 billion allocated at Autumn Budget 2017.

• We have released land from the public estate for

109,000 homes through the 2011-2015 Public Land for

Housing Programme, exceeding its 100,000 target. We

have launched a successor programme, which aims to

identify and release land for 160,000 new homes.

Boosting home ownership

• In total, we have helped over 566,000 households into

homeownership since 2010 through government-backed

schemes including Help to Buy and Right to Buy. The

number of first-time buyers is at an eleven-year annual

high and has increased by 84% between 2010 and 2018.

• Since its introduction in 2013, the Help to Buy

scheme has helped over 221,000 households to get on

the property ladder. In August 2019 we closed a

loophole in the scheme, giving people the freedom to

reduce their monthly mortgage repayments. This has

opened up the Help to Buy re-mortgage market for

more lenders, giving customers more choice and

potentially paving the way to more competitive deals.

• At the Autumn Budget 2017, we introduced Stamp

Duty Land Tax relief for first-time buyers, which will

help over 95% of first-time buyers who pay the tax,

benefitting a total of 401,900 households so far and it is

expected to benefit over a million households in the



first five years. To date, this has saved first time buyers

an estimated £955 million.

• We have launched two pilots of Voluntary Right to

Buy – one in 2016 and one in 2018 – giving thousands

of housing association tenants the opportunity to buy

their homes.

• In 2019, we announced plans for a new national

model for shared ownership, which will help thousands

of lower earners to step onto the housing ladder.

Improving people’s experience of the housing market

• In 2010 we scrapped Home Information Packs,

removing unnecessary regulation and making the

process of selling homes easier and less costly.

• In August 2018 we published the Social Housing

Green Paper, which set our ambitions for a new, fairer

deal for social housing residents, including making it

easier for residents to progress into home o

p a r l i a m e n t a r y d e b a t e s (hansard) house of … · 2019. 11. 5. · baroness evans...

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