CHOGM, G7 and NATO Summits

Debate between Baroness Evans of Bowes Park and Viscount Waverley

Monday 4th July 2022 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Evans of Bowes Park (Con)]

Certainly; that is a priority of the Ministry of Defence. We have been clear that we need to invest for the long term, and that is what we will continue to do. That is why we have increased defence spending by over £24 billion over the next four years and have said that we will be making further investments to reach 2.5% of GDP being spent on defence by the end of the decade.

[Viscount Waverley (CB)]

My Lords, I think I heard the Leader of the House refer to agricultural investment; as a consequence of the war in Ukraine and the difficulties we all now face, it is right to consider this with a global approach. Moving on, recognising Togo and Gabon as aspirant members of the Commonwealth should, I hope, send a very convincing message to all our friends in La Francophonie that we in the Commonwealth would welcome an in-depth discussion with them. La Francophonie has tremendous opportunity for the UK. On that point—the Leader of the House may not be aware of this—was any attention paid to the situation with regard to Cameroon, which is exercising the minds of many?

[Baroness Evans of Bowes Park (Con)]

Yes, we were very pleased to agree the accession of Togo and Gabon. I do not believe that Cameroon was mentioned, but if that was the case, I will happily refer back to the noble Viscount. As for agriculture, he is absolutely right: as well as the various additional funds I mentioned, we also announced £17.7 million of funding through the FCDO’s green growth centre of expertise to improve the effective use of fertilisers and increase food production in countries including Rwanda, Kenya and Ghana.

Ukraine

Debate between Baroness Evans of Bowes Park and Viscount Waverley

Thursday 24th February 2022 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Evans of Bowes Park (Con)]

The noble Baroness will be delighted to know that my noble friend hotfooted it back from the UN this morning and will no doubt be able to give more information on that in the debate tomorrow.

[Viscount Waverley (CB)]

My Lords, it might be helpful to have an insight from the Government about what is known about Russia’s endgame in this whole arena. Might the Leader be minded to respond to the question from the noble Lord, Lord Alton, about the Cabinet and the President and their safety in Ukraine? I would just counsel that cool heads need to prevail in ensuring that the British media are not kicked out of Russia as a result of tit for tat, otherwise it will probably be less helpful than any other area.

[Baroness Evans of Bowes Park (Con)]

The noble Lord invites me to get into the mind of Vladimir Putin and I am afraid that that is not something I am at all qualified to do, I am pleased to say. I am sorry; I forgot to cover the point from the noble Lord, Lord Alton: the Prime Minister is talking regularly to the President of Ukraine and so I am sure will have discussions around the issues that he raises. He spoke to him first thing this morning and is speaking to him very regularly.

Ukraine

Debate between Baroness Evans of Bowes Park and Viscount Waverley

Wednesday 26th January 2022 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Evans of Bowes Park (Con)]

We are working very closely with our allies. I am sure my noble friend will be aware that, today, there is a political advisers meeting taking place in Paris of the Normandy Format—France, Germany, Ukraine and Russia. Although we were not part of that process because we are not within that group, we actively support France and Germany’s efforts, and are working very closely with them.

[Viscount Waverley (CB)]

My Lords, President Putin might be shooting himself in his foot, because it is conceivable that any external troops might remain in the event of any cross-border activity. That is something that he particularly does not wish to have happen. That said, what are President Putin’s stated suggestions to defuse the situation, and what is his reaction to Ukraine and its allies’ responses to those suggestions? Finally, what note has been taken of the hardliners around President Putin, who are very much in play in what Russia does?

[Baroness Evans of Bowes Park (Con)]

As I have said in answer to a number of questions, we stand ready to engage in constructive dialogue with Russia to discuss mutual security concerns. Last week, for the first time in two years, there was a meeting of the NATO-Russia Council, and there has been an offer of further sessions to discuss arms control, risk reduction and transparency measures. There are, therefore, mechanisms by which issues can be discussed by all parties to try to defuse and de-escalate the situation.

Afghanistan

Debate between Baroness Evans of Bowes Park and Viscount Waverley

Monday 12th July 2021 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Evans of Bowes Park (Con)]

I thank my noble friend. He is absolutely right. As I have said, we are under no illusion about the significant challenges that remain within Afghanistan, but there have been achievements. As he rightly said, our primary objective, when we deployed to Afghanistan 20 years ago, was to ensure it was not used by al-Qaeda as a successful base for further international attacks. In that mission, we have been successful; there has not been a single successful terrorist attack launched on the West since then, obviously notwithstanding what the noble Lord said about terrorist threats in other areas. That has been the achievement of our very brave Armed Forces and the people of Afghanistan, and we must not forget it.

[Viscount Waverley (CB)]

My Lords, Afghanistan and beyond, including the Sahel corridor, must become and continue to remain a priority. Aspects of the Statement’s cautiously optimistic messaging disguise ominous signals on the ground, all underlining these perilous times. Does the Leader of the House remember that it was the lawlessness in Afghanistan that resulted in the original acceptance of the Taliban entering Afghanistan from the Pakistan borderlands, and one of the contributory factors to the lawlessness was heroin production? What was accomplished to stem the industry during our time in Afghanistan, or is the industry carrying on as before?

[Baroness Evans of Bowes Park (Con)]

We have provided mentoring and support to dedicated units in the counter-narcotics police of Afghanistan. Since 2010, these units have seized 18 tonnes of heroin, 70 tonnes of opium, almost 1,700 weapons as well as $3 million and $100 million of assets. So, we have been working with the Afghan counter-narcotics police to tackle this trade and we will continue to do so.

Covid-19 Update

Debate between Baroness Evans of Bowes Park and Viscount Waverley

Thursday 7th January 2021 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Evans of Bowes Park (Con)]

As my noble friend will know, primary legislation provides that local elections take place in May. The Cabinet Office is working with election administrators and public health bodies to make sure that everyone can cast their vote safety and securely. I am sure that the whole House would like to thank those authorities for the work they are undertaking to make sure that elections can go ahead in a Covid-secure way.

[Viscount Waverley (CB)]

My Lords, do the Government anticipate approving a programme of digitalisation of all vaccination records when passporting of such becomes a necessary fact of life? Will that include those from abroad, and in a way that counters fraud, which I am informed occasionally happens with PCR test results? In so saying, will the Government consider an immediate mandatory pre-boarding PCR test within 72 hours of travel to avoid the need for self-isolation on arrival, while somehow making provision for in-transit passengers?

[Baroness Evans of Bowes Park (Con)]

We will be, and we are, looking at additional measures for international travel. Pre-departure testing is an option that we are considering for an extra layer of protection, which would be in addition to our mandatory 10-day self-isolation period for countries not on the travel corridor or the test and release scheme. Work is going on in the DfT and an announcement on decisions around that will be made in the coming days.

Covid 19: Winter Plan

Debate between Baroness Evans of Bowes Park and Viscount Waverley

Tuesday 24th November 2020 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Evans of Bowes Park (Con)]

The NHS Medical Director has made it clear that the NHS has carefully planned to make sure that we can deal with additional demand using, as the noble Lord has rightly said, the mobilisation of the Nightingale hospitals and through partnerships with the independent sector. They will ensure that this is rolled out as and when it is needed. I am sure that they will be cognisant of the situation in Blackburn and will be monitoring it very carefully.

[Viscount Waverley (CB) [V]]

My Lords, will the noble Baroness kindly clarify further her response to the noble Lord, Lord Newby? Do the Government plan to relax international travel restrictions to allow for air travel over the Christmas and new year period on the proviso that compliance is upheld in the country of destination? More generally, do the Government anticipate accepting negative test results within any 72-hour criteria being allowed towards the proposed five-day criteria when that test has been taken at an overseas clinic?

[Baroness Evans of Bowes Park (Con)]

On travel over Christmas under the new tier system, people will be permitted to travel abroad, but those in tier 3 areas are being advised to avoid leaving the area for any reason other than work, education or caring responsibilities. The noble Lord may be aware that from 15 December, passengers arriving in England from countries not featured on the travel corridor list will have the option to take a private test after five days of self-isolation with a negative result, releasing them from the need for self-isolation.

Covid-19 Update

Debate between Baroness Evans of Bowes Park and Viscount Waverley

Tuesday 3rd November 2020 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Evans of Bowes Park (Con)]

I think we are all aware that, as I said, we will review the restrictions on 2 December and look to ease them on a regional basis, according to the latest data. The Chief Scientific Officer has been clear that we will not be going back to normal in four weeks’ time—if we can remember what normal is now. My noble friend is absolutely right: we want to use this time to make sure that we provide the drugs that have proved to be quite effective and, as I said, start new pilots such as the one in Liverpool, so that we are able to bear down in a more effective way. We must use this time to bring the R rate down and make sure that we have the tools available to keep it down, so that we do not have to go back to further national measures such as these if we can avoid them.

[Viscount Waverley (CB) [V]]

My Lords, I have a quick thought, having listened to the Mayor of Liverpool this morning, about not counting into the statistics those who have multiple tests and were shown to be Covid-free first time around. Thinking of the future with hope, will the Government press for an expansion of the no-tariffs WTO pharmaceutical agreement and an acceleration of the implementation of the WTO trade facilitation agreement? What are the Government planning in preparation for a fair and equitable distribution of any Covid vaccine worldwide that leaves a positive legacy on the global trading system, particularly in relation to no tariffs on medical supplies and to efficient, digitised customs and borders?

[Baroness Evans of Bowes Park (Con)]

I hope the noble Viscount will be pleased to know that, last week, we confirmed that we will join the global COVAX initiative, with the aim of expediting the discovery, manufacture and fair distribution of a vaccine to 1 billion people.

Covid-19 Update

Debate between Baroness Evans of Bowes Park and Viscount Waverley

Wednesday 14th October 2020 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Evans of Bowes Park (Con)]

I agree that we all want to work together to fight this terrible disease. Your Lordships’ House provides a very good model for how constructive discussions can happen. On my noble friend’s point about the 10 pm curfew, public health directors have reported that compliance with social distancing and enforcement of regulations becomes more challenging later in the evening, after people have been drinking. That is part of the reasoning behind the 10 pm curfew, so that drinking does not continue through the evening.

[Viscount Waverley (CB) [V]]

My Lords, the complexities of getting the balance right are immense. While I sympathise with a circuit-breaker strategy that pulls the nation together in regional endeavour and would resolve confusion, why not thereafter reduce risk by restricting or shutting down hospitality but funding it, keeping manufacturing and construction running as normal, and encouraging or even insisting on working from home?

[Baroness Evans of Bowes Park (Con)]

Each tier—medium, high and very high—has a range of restrictions around all the things the noble Viscount rightly says.