Falkland Islands: Fisheries Exports Tariffs
Debate between Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent and Lord Bellingham(5 days, 4 hours ago)
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Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent (Lab)
I will take it away, but I promise I will also come back.
Lord Bellingham (Con)
Obviously, the overseas territories and the Crown dependencies are an integral part of the British family; they are part of Britain. Surely the lesson here is that, when it comes to future UK free trade deals, they should always be included.
Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent (Lab)
I wish the noble Lord had had that conversation with the previous Government, but he is right. I have been to the Falkland Islands—I went in 2018—and it is an incredibly important part of the British family in terms of its sovereignty. As regards what happens next, a key point in our conversations with the American Administration has been on the impact of tariffs, which is why I am so pleased that only today they have paused the tariff that would have had an impact on the Falkland Islands economy. We are working with the Falkland Islands Government at every opportunity, as we are with all of our overseas territories.
Public Sector: Working From Home
Debate between Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent and Lord Bellingham
Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent (Lab)
My noble friend knows how inordinately fond of him I am, and I am aware that it is always a bad idea to disagree with him. On that basis, I will have all those conversations.
Lord Bellingham (Con)
Does the Minister agree that there is a big difference between those civil servants who are working as researchers or analysts and those who are public facing; for example, in HMRC, the Passport Office and the DVLA? She will be aware that HMRC has underperformed in terms of answering telephones and dealing with the public. Can she tell the House how it is getting on at the moment?
Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent (Lab)
I thank the noble Lord for his question. He is right to raise it. In 2023-24 HMRC answered only 66.4% of phone calls when customers wanted to speak to an adviser. I can update the House that, according to the most recent figures we have, in quarter 3 of last year handling was 85%, so we are making significant advances. One of the things that has been most effective is that we are now giving the majority of people an answer on their first call and 80% of customer correspondence is now being issued within 15 days.
High-speed Rail Services: West Coast Main Line
Debate between Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent and Lord Bellingham(10 months, 1 week ago)
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Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent (Lab)
My apologies: I believe that this is a question for the Conservative Benches.
Lord Bellingham (Con)
I thank the noble Baroness very much. I declare an interest as a former member of the Select Committee on HS2, which spent nearly two years hearing copious evidence from many different experts. The one underlying recurring theme was the crucial importance of getting the link through to central London and Euston. Without that, we will not be able to solve a capacity issue.