Financial Services Bill

Debate between Baroness Garden of Frognal and Lord Tunnicliffe

3rd reading & Report stage
Monday 19th April 2021 Lords Chamber

[The Deputy Speaker (Baroness Garden of Frognal) (LD)]

The noble Baroness, Lady Bowles of Berkhamsted, has withdrawn, so I now call the noble Lord, Lord Tunnicliffe.

[Lord Tunnicliffe (Lab) [V]]

My Lords, we had a fruitful debate on the issue of parliamentary scrutiny and the regulator’s rule-making powers last Wednesday. Since this amendment was tabled, I have viewed it as an opportunity to tie up any loose ends, rather than being likely to result in a Division.

It is fair to say that nobody is particularly happy with the current arrangements, particularly given the loss of European Parliament scrutiny of new prudential rules, and the glut that will come once the Bill becomes an Act. However, there is little sense in repeating the arguments made in previous debates. I recognise that the Minister was able to make some important additional commitments in his response to last week’s group of amendments. Since this amendment was tabled, we have seen correspondence from the Economic Secretary to the heads of the FCA and PRA, asserting that Parliament, as we have all said in recent months, has and must enjoy a special role in overseeing the regulators’ output. The letter provided what my noble friend Lord Eatwell has long referred to as the final component of a three-legged stool.

Having reached agreement that Parliament should be treated as a significant stakeholder, the key is to now put in place a mechanism for meaningful scrutiny to take place. Our Amendments 45 and 48 envisage the establishment of a dedicated committee of each House, or a Joint Committee of both, and that remains an attractive prospect to us. Therefore, as we move into a new Session, I hope the Minister can assure me that the Treasury and business managers in both Houses will look at making it a reality. We await the outcomes of the future regulatory framework review, which I hope will represent a significant step forward for all strands of oversight. Once we have digested the findings, our task will be to scrutinise a successor to FiSMA, and I repeat our call for legislation to receive the detailed pre-legislative scrutiny it deserves.

Scrutiny has been the central theme of the Bill. The noble Baroness, Lady Kramer, said that we must look forward, and she commented that, in many ways, the theme of scrutiny has crossed parties as an apolitical discussion. I hope it will not be a matter of conflict between regulators and Parliament, and that the opposite will be true, as they must work together to make this scrutiny work. I also hope it will mean that we can have real confidence in the work of the regulators, and a real sense that their actions are fully understood by responsible politicians.

Airports Slot Allocation (Amendment) (EU Exit) Regulations 2021

Debate between Baroness Garden of Frognal and Lord Tunnicliffe

Tuesday 19th January 2021 Grand Committee

[The Deputy Chairman of Committees (Baroness Garden of Frognal) (LD)]

The noble Lord, Lord Berkeley, has withdrawn so I call the noble Lord, Lord Naseby. We do not seem to have the noble Lord.

[Lord Tunnicliffe (Lab) [V]]

He has not unmuted himself.

[The Deputy Chairman of Committees (Baroness Garden of Frognal) (LD)]

Lord Naseby, are you unmuted? Are you going to speak to us? No? In which case, the noble Lord, Lord Mann, has also withdrawn so we will move on to those winding unless the noble Lord, Lord Naseby, is there.

Business and Planning Bill

Debate between Baroness Garden of Frognal and Lord Tunnicliffe

Committee stage & Committee: 1st sitting (Hansard) & Committee: 1st sitting (Hansard): House of Lords
Monday 13th July 2020 Lords Chamber

[The Deputy Chairman of Committees]

We now come to the group beginning with the Question that Clause 13 stand part. I remind noble Lords that anyone wishing to speak after the Minister should email the clerk during the debate. Anyone wishing to press this, or anything else in this group, to a Division should make that clear in the debate.

[Lord Tunnicliffe (Lab) [V]]

My Lords, I gave notice to oppose Clauses 13 and 14 because I did not understand them and felt that their meaning needed clarifying. This is an opportunity for the Minister to explain how they work in simple language. I thank the Minister and her team for the time they have taken explaining the clauses to me. Providing the Minister’s explanations are in line with our discussions, and she reads them into the record for the enlightenment of industry practitioners, I am optimistic that I will not need to take my concerns any further.

[The Deputy Chairman of Committees]

I call the noble Earl, Lord Attlee. We cannot hear the noble Earl. We will move on to the noble Baroness, Lady Kramer, and come back to the noble Earl later.

Armed Forces: Reserve Forces

Debate between Baroness Garden of Frognal and Lord Tunnicliffe

Monday 12th November 2012 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Garden of Frognal]

I think that the noble Lord somewhat misunderstood me; perhaps I was not clear. I said that individual trusts do not necessarily have a note of which of their people are reservists when they are away. However, the overall tally of reservists is monitored for numbers and a note is kept of the numbers we have and how many we will need. We hope that the consultation paper will clarify how we can keep a record of that.

[Lord Tunnicliffe]

My Lords, the use of the reserves is absolutely crucial to achieving military objectives. Can we be more specific on the matter of policy? Command 8475, Future Reserves to 2020, envisages a kitemark with graduated levels from basic to top level, and in Appendix C it envisages an employers’ charter for reservists. Can the Minister assure me that all parts of the public service will achieve the top level in the kitemark and will sign up to the charter?

[Baroness Garden of Frognal]

These matters will be discussed in the consultation paper that has been issued. However, it is not intended that this will be imposed on all employers. We must talk with employers to ensure that the reservists they have on their staff also fit in with their employment needs. Of course, we hope that the kind of employers mentioned by the noble Lord, Lord Touhig, will see all the advantages and will wish to sign up to the highest levels.