Social Media: Use of X by Government Departments
Debate between Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent and Baroness Deech(1 month, 1 week ago)
Lords ChamberRead Full debate Read Hansard Text Read Debate Ministerial Extracts
Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent (Lab)
The noble Viscount is absolutely right. When Iran shut down its internet to try to stop proper, fair protests in that country, we saw how many cybernats and other accounts went down in the UK for people who were seeking to sow division and separation in the United Kingdom. We know that bad faith actors try every day to undermine the very values for which we stand. That is why we have the Government’s media literacy action plan and why we are working at every level of society to highlight these issues. It is also, from my perspective, one of the reasons why we need to work every day to make things clear and to ensure that platforms take their responsibilities seriously.
Baroness Deech (CB)
My Lords, disinformation and propaganda go back hundreds of years. There are some good things to be said about X, but the antidote is as follows. It is very much to be regretted that young people no longer read newspapers. I call on the Department for Education to fund a selection of newspapers in every single secondary school in the country; that is the only way to get young people interested in serious, proper news.
Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent (Lab)
The noble Baroness makes a really interesting point. She is right that misinformation, disinformation, propaganda and counterpropaganda are not new. Last week, my husband wrote an article for his local paper in which he reminded everybody that there is one day of the year when we look at media with a level of cynicism: 1 April. We need to be doing that every single day of the year. The noble Baroness makes an important point, which I will look at. A DCMS consultation is currently out; I will ensure that her point is fed in.
Arm’s-length Bodies
Debate between Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent and Baroness Deech
Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent (Lab)
The noble Lord makes a very important point about the independence of these bodies. The Infected Blood Compensation Authority, for example, has been established outside government to ensure that people accessing the compensation have trust and faith in the service that they may not have in the Government. Independence is key and is one of our core criteria. The ongoing scrutiny is part of your Lordships’ day-to-day work, but there is also a responsibility on the sponsoring department to make sure that work is done effectively and delivers the objectives. I look forward to discussing this in more detail with the noble Lord.
Baroness Deech (CB)
My Lords, will the Government tell the House whether there is a deliberate policy of pausing the process for filling public appointments without any particular reason? I have seen in my own experience, having worked hard on a panel and considered CVs, that the process is halted without any good reason, leaving vacancies on important committees.
Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent (Lab)
The noble Baroness raises an interesting point. It is not something that has been brought to my attention before, and I will speak to officials and come back to her. As far as I am aware, this Government want to make sure we have the right people in the right places to deliver what we need. If there has been a slight pause because of the change of Government, that may be one thing, but there is no official policy that I am aware of.
European Union: Court of Justice
Debate between Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent and Baroness Deech(1 year, 5 months ago)
Lords ChamberRead Full debate Read Hansard Text
Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent (Lab)
I thank the noble Lord for his question and obviously appreciate his expertise in this area. Let me be clear that we have left the European Union. We continue to engage with the European Union as our largest trade partner—it represents £823 billion-worth of trade across the piece—and we will continue to work in the best interests of our nation.
Baroness Deech (CB)
My Lords, does the Minister share my scepticism about the judges of the ECJ? One’s definition of independent judges is unsackability, expertise, fearlessness and long tenure. Many ECJ judges are not even lawyers: in their past careers they were administrators. Their salaries run to something like €300,000, with lots of allowances. They have tenure for only six years and it is then dependent on their Government to reappoint them. That does not shed good light on their independence, because they will be so dependent on the good will of their Government to continue claiming that huge salary.
Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent (Lab)
There are times when I get all the easy questions.
I thank the noble Baroness for her question, but I have to disagree. I would never criticise the independence of any judiciary.