Crime: Clare’s Law

Debate between Baroness Gardner of Parkes and Lord Taylor of Holbeach

Monday 25th November 2013 Lords Chamber

[Lord Taylor of Holbeach]

My Lords, I am aware of the figures that the noble Baroness has produced. They are indeed horrendous. I willingly pay tribute to Michael Brown. I hope that the actions the Home Secretary has taken today are a worthy tribute to the suffering that Clare Wood endured. I pay tribute to the noble Baroness’s commitment to this issue and share her interest in ensuring that these projects are a success. The Government have ring-fenced £40 million of funding over the lifetime of this Parliament to help front-line organisations tackle violence against women and girls. We see this resource being available to fund both these initiatives and I hope that we all join in wishing them great success.

[Baroness Gardner of Parkes (Con)]

My Lords, is the Minister aware that we are taking part in a study, which this morning had a meeting in the House of Commons and heard from many witnesses? In particular, I mention Professor Liz Kelly, who has written a paper on this very important subject. It brought out that one of the worst situations is coercive control, which is the type of thing we have had with the slavery issue recently. Apparently the most dangerous point with coercive control is when the person who has been intimidated or brainwashed—all sorts of possible things have been used—says that she is going to go. That is apparently when the police record quite a number of deaths. Will my noble friend ensure that Professor Liz Kelly’s paper is taken into consideration in any further studies?

[Lord Taylor of Holbeach]

I happily give my noble friend that assurance. Indeed, I look forward to hearing more from her on this issue. Violence against women is often a matter of revenge. I believe in a society where people should be free to enter into emotional commitments to others and equally free to leave them. Violence should never be used to enforce a relationship.

Citizenship Test

Debate between Baroness Gardner of Parkes and Lord Taylor of Holbeach

Tuesday 26th February 2013 Lords Chamber

[Lord Taylor of Holbeach]

I am sure that the House is very reassured by that.

[Baroness Gardner of Parkes]

My Lords, I have been in this country for almost 60 years. I could not possibly pass that test, although I thought I had assimilated a bit of Britishness while I have been here. My accent remains unchanged, of course. I am concerned about more serious situations in immigration, raised by the Front Bench opposite. With the help of the noble and learned Lord, Lord Woolf, a former Lord Chief Justice, we have managed to obtain a right to be here for someone who has been here now for three years. She was here legally for five years, having come here as an au pair, then illegally for about 20 years. Now she has to wait, and after five years she can apply for citizenship. During that investigation, I discovered that the problem is that when you arrive, you are told that you have to have been here for six years. When you get to five and a half years, they change it to eight years. When you get to seven and a half years, they change it to add another two years. Is it not time that we looked at the prospect of relating the number of years you have to wait to what was in force at that time of your arrival?

[Lord Taylor of Holbeach]

My noble friend has illustrated that the rules on these matters are complex, but we do keep them under review. We really want to facilitate the opportunity for people who want to make a life in this country to settle and to achieve citizenship. That is the purpose of the test.

Thames Tunnel

Debate between Baroness Gardner of Parkes and Lord Taylor of Holbeach

Monday 19th December 2011 Lords Chamber

[Lord Taylor of Holbeach]

My Lords, the noble Lord has great experience in tunnelling and engineering, which I respect, and I share his view that the river is a great London resource that should be optimised and used for such occasions. It is important to emphasise, however, that at the moment the project is undergoing a consultative phase. There are guidelines on the use of rail and river for the movement of waste soil, for example, which are already laid down. I hope that any members of the public who have an interest in this matter will make their views known during the consultation period.

[Baroness Gardner of Parkes]

My Lords, is the Minister able to tell us whether he and Thames Water are aware of the great concern of local residents, many of whom I know, about the constant use of their streets in the area? Will there be limited hours of work? Will they have any respite during this work, which I must say is very important for the future of London?

[Lord Taylor of Holbeach]

My noble friend is right to emphasise that there are local neighbourhood implications in any project of this size. As I have emphasised, the project is at the moment in consultation and it is very important that people who feel they may be affected make their point of view clear. Thames Water has estimated that there will be around 4.6 million tonnes of excavated material generated in the lifespan of the tunnel’s construction. The management of that lies with the principal contractor, who will have to abide by the planning conditions laid down when planning permission is granted.

Localism Bill

Debate between Baroness Gardner of Parkes and Lord Taylor of Holbeach

Wednesday 7th September 2011 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Gardner of Parkes]

My Lords, I am sympathetic to the idea of the need for action on this. I was very distressed this week to meet someone in a studio flat, or self-contained bedsit, who told me it is impossible for her to sleep. The private accommodation units where she resides are listed as being for one person, but immediately above her, accommodation of the same size is shared by five people. She finds it impossible to sleep, or even live there. She is trying to find somewhere to move to in any case, as her small accommodation is going up from £600 per month to £800 per month, but she works as a cleaner and is experiencing great difficulty.

What worries me is that this is an illegal overcrowding, from what the noble Baroness has said, and yet the tenants are frightened to do anything about it for fear of being put out. I asked her why she did not report it and she said she did not dare because she would be put out and would have nowhere, and until she could find somewhere to go to she could do nothing. This is what worries me about this amendment. It is marvellous to make all these proposals but where is the accommodation going to come from to house all these people?

I come from a very big family and we were fortunate enough to have a house, and space is not so limited in Australia, but if you have a big family would you not rather be somewhere safe and secure, even overcrowded, than nowhere at all? I am very concerned about the impact of being too precise about things. As I say, in theory it is absolutely marvellous but I would really like to know how it is going to work in practice.

[Lord Taylor of Holbeach]

My Lords, I thank my noble friend Lady Doocey for bringing these amendments and indeed the noble Lord, Lord Beecham, and my noble friend Lady Gardner of Parkes for their contributions to this debate. It is an important issue and the Government view overcrowding as a matter of serious concern. My noble friend Lady Doocey mentions the impact it has on the lives of people, children in particular, and we have heard the evidence of my noble friend Lady Gardner.

Overcrowding adds to the stress of people, it damages health, it costs the community happiness and well-being, and interferes with children’s upbringing and education. Despite the previous Government investing, quite rightly, thousands of pounds of taxpayers’ money in helping councils tackle overcrowding, the number of families in overcrowded housing remains unacceptably high. My noble friends have provided a very detailed revised standard in their amendment but I have to tell them that the Government do not believe that changing the statutory overcrowding standard is the answer to overcrowding. It would increase, by definition, the number of families deemed to be statutorily overcrowded but it would not make it any easier for councils to help them, as my noble friend Lady Gardner of Parkes said. We need to provide the right tools so that we can put in place strategies that reduce overcrowding.

I have to assure my noble friend Lord Beecham that the Government are convinced that the reforms we are making to social housing through this Bill will assist this process. Perhaps I can elaborate on them. By taking existing tenants who are not in need out of the allocation rules, councils will be able to help under-occupiers to find a more suitable property, freeing up more family-sized housing for overcrowded households. I am sure that is something that we would all wish to see. By strengthening mutual exchange through the introduction of a national home-swap scheme, it will be easier for under-occupying and overcrowded households to help each other. By enabling councils to make greater use of the private sector to support homeless households, they will have more scope to use social housing to help others in housing need, and by retaining the reasonable preference provisions in allocation legislation, we will ensure that overcrowded families continue to get priority for social housing.

Over the longer term, new flexible tenancies will help councils provide housing that meets households’ needs at the time they need it, but also just for as long as they need it. I am sure that this is the right way forward. We will be looking at the new statutory allocation guidance for local authorities and this will provide an opportunity to encourage all councils to adopt a more modern standard for assessing overcrowding when prioritising social housing. The Government believe that this would be a better way to ensure that families who live in cramped conditions get proper priority for appropriate social housing, rather than changing the statutory standard definition, because it would address the issue of social housing directly. That is the right way to reduce overcrowding and that is why I hope that my noble friends will withdraw their amendment.

Localism Bill

Debate between Baroness Gardner of Parkes and Lord Taylor of Holbeach

Tuesday 19th July 2011 Lords Chamber

[Lord Taylor of Holbeach]

My Lords, in moving the amendment, I thought that it would be useful if I also spoke to the other amendments grouped with it. The need for Amendments 155A to 155C has arisen in the light of case law and difficulties encountered in some recent experiences. Although there is no doubt or disagreement that Clause 109 should be aimed only at the worst cases of concealment—I am sure that all noble Lords know about the case of the house in a barn in Welwyn Hatfield recently decided by the Supreme Court—the Law Society thought that the current drafting could be interpreted more widely. The Government also think that it is important that local planning authorities should be able to reassure landowners who are not responsible for breaches of planning control on their land that they are not in danger of prosecution. My noble friend Lady Hanham has written to noble Lords with an explanation of what the amendments do. Therefore, with the leave of the Committee I do not propose to go into further detail today, but if there are questions, I am happy to write to noble Lords.

Perhaps it would be easier for me to respond to Amendment 156 at the conclusion of the debate on this group. I beg to move.

[Baroness Gardner of Parkes]

I shall speak briefly to Amendment 156 concerning the removal of time limits on enforcement. I am not sure whether this is exactly what I was aiming for because I certainly would not want to do anything which would make the enforcement last forever. However, I am quite shocked by the enforcement procedures that have been put in place close to where I am in London. The council has put an enforcement order on a conservation area, but nothing has ever happened. The people have put in French windows and large terraces, and the council was successful in getting an enforcement order. I do not know whether the owners live abroad and I do not know why it has not been possible to get anything done about it, but I wonder whether it might be that despite having the orders, you run out of time and nothing can be done. Perhaps the Minister could clarify whether all those enforcement orders last for ever or only for the time limit within which you can apply for enforcement against something. I am concerned that if a breach has occurred and enforcement action is taken but no result is achieved, the person concerned will get away with it.

Census

Debate between Baroness Gardner of Parkes and Lord Taylor of Holbeach

Monday 13th June 2011 Lords Chamber

[Lord Taylor of Holbeach]

A short interview on the doorstep is available and a form can be filled in if people prefer to do that. People may well wonder why they are doing this when they have already completed a census form, but we seek to ensure statistically that the figures which the census is delivering are an accurate representation of the household. This is a valid statistical exercise which complies with quality assurance as defined by the United Nations and is international practice. It is worth investing a little extra effort to ensure that the census really does achieve its objectives.

[Baroness Gardner of Parkes]

Will the Minister clarify this for me? I had thought that it was an either/or situation and that if you completed the form you did not have to be interviewed on the doorstep. However, from what he has just said, it sounds as if a certain number of people are still to be interviewed even if they have completed a form. Is that correct? How is it assessed which people who have completed a form should be interviewed?

[Lord Taylor of Holbeach]

This is done on the basis of postcodes. The measure is designed specifically to include those postcodes where information has been difficult to obtain and to ensure that the information returned is valid. I thank my noble friend for pointing this out: the actual households may or may not have completed a form in the first place. This measure is designed to ensure that the information that is available is correct.

Census Day

Debate between Baroness Gardner of Parkes and Lord Taylor of Holbeach

Monday 7th March 2011 Lords Chamber

[Lord Taylor of Holbeach]

I think that the noble Lord has made that point before when we were discussing other matters, and I appreciate his contribution on this. I am sure that he will agree that getting accurate information is important for proper and effective government.

[Baroness Gardner of Parkes]

Does the Minister accept that there is a certain lack in the census? There is no way of taking into account illegal immigrants—the “invisible” people, of whom it is estimated there are many hundreds of thousands in this country—if they cannot be identified in any way, and do not wish to be.

[Lord Taylor of Holbeach]

My Lords, it is a household census; therefore the head of the household is responsible for accounting for the people within it on census day. When the Government examine the future of the census, the points that my noble friend has made will be borne in mind.

House of Lords: Peerages

Debate between Baroness Gardner of Parkes and Lord Taylor of Holbeach

Monday 19th July 2010 Lords Chamber

[Lord Taylor of Holbeach]

The noble Baroness rather underestimates herself; she is a formidable articulator of both health issues and the humanitarian issues in which she takes a great interest. I am sure that the House wishes her noble friend Lady Emerton well. Although I understand the point that the Question makes, there are other Members from across the House who have a nursing background—my noble friend Lady Cumberlege is one—and who, together, form a remarkable group. Indeed, we have just had a Question showing how strong the House is on these very issues.

In March this year the Appointments Commission received a report from the Constitution Unit at University College London analysing the make-up of the House. This is a fascinating document which noble Lords can now find in the Library. It shows that 4 per cent of the House, totalling 27 Members, have a primary or secondary interest in a medical or healthcare background. I might add that the number is far higher here than it is in another place.

[Baroness Gardner of Parkes]

My Lords, is the Minister aware that the noble Baroness, Lady Platt of Writtle, has just sought leave of absence from the House because she does not feel able to continue to come? In her nearly 30 years here, she has done a tremendous amount for Women into Science and Engineering. Although I do not approve of selecting people because of their professions, some expertise or knowledge can be of great benefit to the community as a whole. Does the Minister agree?

[Lord Taylor of Holbeach]

My Lords, I agree with my noble friend. One of the great successes of this House is the expertise that comes in through the Cross Benchers. One has only to look around at the Cross Benches, in particular, to realise the variety of walks of life from which they come. That adds greatly to our debate and I hope that that tradition will continue. The House should pay tribute to the Appointments Commission. Three noble Lords will be retiring this autumn: the noble Baroness, Lady Dean of Thornton-le-Fylde, the noble Lord, Lord Dholakia, and the noble Lord, Lord Hurd of Westwell. Their contribution has been remarkable. One has only to look to see the end product.