The Lord Privy Seal (Baroness Evans of Bowes Park) (Con)
My Lords, it is a pleasure to follow the noble Baroness, Lady Smith, and the noble Lord, Lord Newby, and I join them in congratulating my noble friends Lord Bates and Lady Sanderson. Like all of them, I pay tribute to Her Majesty the Queen.
Over the past 17 months, this House has passed more than 40 government Bills, and with each one, your Lordships demonstrated the expertise in scrutiny for which we are rightly known. I am confident that the House will continue to perform its important role as we examine and debate legislation through this Session.
I have spoken in previous Queen’s Speech debates, and I thought that legislating for our withdrawal from the European Union would be the most challenging task your Lordships’ House would face for many years, but little did I know what was to come. The Covid pandemic has had a huge impact on all our lives and, of course, on our ways of working, and over the past 14 months, this House has risen to the challenge of working remotely and—largely successfully—navigating the now all too familiar mute and unmute buttons. Despite these immense challenges, we have continued to pass and debate the legislation that we needed to, to help the country deal with the pandemic: putting in place measures to protect millions of jobs, through the furlough scheme; supporting the most vulnerable; and investing record amounts in the NHS. I pay tribute to all the front-line workers who have played such a vital role in tackling the pandemic. I know, as we have already heard, that the House will join me in remembering all those who have, sadly, lost their lives.
However, we could not have done our job without the support of the staff of this House: from the clerks to the catering team, from the doorkeepers and cleaners to the broadcasting team. I know I speak for us all as I thank every member of staff for their professionalism and commitment to making sure that the House has been able to function under these exceptional circumstances. On a personal note, I am very grateful to Victoria Warren, Ben Burgess and Anishaa Aubeeluck in the Government Whips’ Office; to Phil Lloyd, Isabelle Tombs, Max Bull and Johnny Bland in my private office; and to my special advisers, Annabelle Eyre, Yasmin Kalhori and Hannah Ellis. Without their incredible work and resilience over the past year, I certainly could not have done my job.
I thank the noble Baroness, Lady Smith, the noble Lord, Lord Newby, and the noble and learned Lord, Lord Judge, for their co-operation and help in setting up and working within our temporary arrangements. During a time when all norms seemed to go out of the window, it was only thanks to their willingness to work together and find a way through an unprecedented situation that we have just about, I think, managed to keep the show on the road. For that, I am extremely grateful to them all. As we continue along the Covid recovery road map, I look forward to working with them, and indeed the whole House, to restore our pre-pandemic ways of working and, I hope, return to the normal that we have all missed so much. Finally, it is a pleasure to congratulate and welcome the new Lord Speaker to his place for the first time.
I am delighted to add to the congratulations others have expressed to my noble friends Lord Bates and Lady Sanderson, who have so ably proposed and seconded the Motion for the humble Address. We heard from my noble friend Lord Bates an uplifting speech in which he drew on his experiences of growing up in the north-east of England and attending a comprehensive secondary school in Gateshead at the same time as my noble friend Lord Callanan. I suspect their then headmaster, who also happened to be a Labour councillor, would not have predicted at the time that his school was producing two Conservative Ministers, nor indeed that they would be Members of this House, but we are delighted that they are, and I am sure he is too.
My noble friend’s enthusiasm for campaigning is legendary and has remained undimmed for the 30 years he has been involved in the party, no matter how good or bad the prospects. Of course, he applies that same enthusiasm to his other passions: walking and raising awareness of the biggest issues of the day. Striding across Latin America, China and Europe, as we have heard, he has raised over £1 million for charity, which is incredibly impressive.
I also congratulate my noble friend Lady Sanderson, who has had a very productive lockdown. In addition to helping out regularly on the Government Benches as a Whip, she has been busy training her new puppy, Tess. Your Lordships would have to ask her whether she draws any parallels between those two experiences. I shall leave them to decide that for themselves, or perhaps they should talk to her afterwards.
However, on a more serious note, noble Lords know of the important work that my noble friend does supporting those affected by harrowing experiences—from working with the families impacted by the Grenfell tragedy to the survivors of sexual abuse and those affected by the contaminated blood scandal. As she has already mentioned, she brought her compassion and desire to give people a voice to the recently passed Domestic Abuse Act—an Act that was strengthened, as she rightly said, during its passage in your Lordships’ House.
In the last Session, this Government delivered on their manifesto commitment to implement the 2016 referendum result and leave the European Union. This has now paved the way for us to move forward in this Session to deliver on the domestic priorities we promised in our manifesto. As we recover from this pandemic, the Government will build back better across our four nations by investing in the public services we all rely on. We will support the NHS through the health and care Bill; give police the powers they need to protect vulnerable victims through the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill; and help increase opportunity with the skills and post-16 education Bill. We will create a new domestic framework for asylum claims that strengthens our borders; improve animal welfare through the animal welfare sentience and kept animal Bills; and create a subsidy framework that reflects our strategic interests and national circumstances with the subsidy control Bill.
The remarkable work of the Vaccine Taskforce has given us renewed hope and optimism, and the basis of that pioneering work has been that of our scientists. That is why we are determined to support our world-class science sector by creating a new agency through the Advanced Research and Invention Agency Bill to pursue transformative research.
When it comes to tackling global challenges, the Government lead by example. Our commitment to reduce emissions by 78% by 2035 will be enshrined in the Environment Bill, and, looking forward to COP 26, this will be a landmark piece of legislation symbolising global Britain.
At home, as a Government we are committed to levelling up and have already started to transform communities through the £3.6 billion towns fund. In this Session we will provide access to home ownership for millions by creating a simpler, more modern planning system through the planning Bill, and we will introduce rigorous safety standards for the construction industry in the building safety Bill.
Throughout the country, children and young people have had an immensely challenging year trying to keep their learning and academic progress on track. We will support these hard-working students by providing the help they need to fulfil their potential through the education recovery plan, and we will provide increased opportunities for young students. Through the Turing scheme, young people, particularly those from disadvantaged backgrounds, will have the chance to study globally and expand their horizons.
We have an ambitious programme that will improve the lives of citizens across our four nations, and I know that noble Lords across the House will work assiduously to scrutinise and improve the legislation before us while respecting the mandate of the Government and the will of the elected House.
In conclusion, I pay tribute to all the Ministers and Whips on the Government Front Bench. They have carried out their work under the most challenging of circumstances, both in their departments and in this House, and I am very proud to lead such an excellent team. I also put on record my sincere thanks to my noble and learned friend Lord Keen and my noble friend Lady Sugg, who stepped down in the last Session. They served their departments, the Government and this House with distinction and we are fortunate to have their experience on our Back Benches.
Since March 2020, in unusual times, we have welcomed to our Benches my noble friends Lord Grimstone, Lord Greenhalgh, Lord Wolfson of Tredegar, Lord Frost and my noble and learned friend Lord Stewart of Dirleton, as well as many Peers across the House. As we return to our normal way of doing business, I very much look forward to seeing noble Lords across the House again in person soon.
I support the Motion.