International Sustainability: Natural Resources and Biodiversity

Baroness Hooper Excerpts

Monday 4th November 2019 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Hooper (Con)]

My Lords, this is indeed a vital and topical issue on which your Lordships’ House can sign off just before Dissolution, not least because the United Kingdom’s commitment to funding overseas development is appreciated throughout the world, especially in the less-developed world. In thanking my noble friend Lady Jenkin for opening the debate in such a comprehensive way, I say to her that I too hate waste of all kinds. Indeed, I was president of Waste Watch, the organisation that did so much to get local authorities going with local recycling schemes.

On a personal level, I was disappointed recently when President Piñera of Chile felt he had no alternative but to cancel Chile’s hosting of COP 25 because of unrest and violent demonstrations. I was due to attend the parliamentary meetings taking place alongside the government meetings. This is all very relevant since the United Kingdom is due to host COP 26 next year—in Glasgow, I understand. We have now heard that Madrid is the replacement venue for this meeting, and I hope my noble friend the Minister will be able to enlighten us as to whether there is any more up-to-date information on whether the agenda remains substantially the same, because a focus of these meetings was to be a climate-smart mining policy.

Mining—I do not mean coal mining; I will exclude that—is needed in order to realise a low or zero-carbon future. A World Bank analysis recently found that a low-carbon future is still very mineral intensive and that mining is essential to mitigating climate change, because key metals and minerals such as copper and lithium are a necessary part of clean technology and the digital age. The burden of extracting them will fall mostly on UK-listed mining companies, which are the world’s largest, with the London Metal Exchange dealing in something like 80% of world metals. It was hoped, therefore, that linking COP 25 and 26 would provide an exceptional opportunity over two years to turbocharge research and development in mining technologies and processes to dramatically reduce the environmental impact of mining—for example, the idea of waterless and tailings-damless mineral processing.

As a global commodities hub for key finished metals and value-added battery automated products such as cathodes, anodes, magnets and so on, the United Kingdom has an important role to play. It is essential to drive investment in mining of the United Kingdom’s own resources for value-added products using free ports and so on, and to develop and demonstrate the use of mining as a force for good in sustainably transforming impoverished nations which contain the vast proportion of the key metals. Developing capacity to enable the world mining sector to work better together is a goal we should welcome.

Reference has been made to Africa as a continent rich in resources. I point out, because of my great interest in Latin America, that Chile, Peru and Brazil are also world players. In fact, I have a note here saying that more gold and copper has been found in Ecuador in the last 10 years than anywhere else on earth, and the world’s largest mining companies are already jostling for position in that country.

There is a lot for us to do, but we cannot be seen to be doing it alone, or even trying to be doing it alone. We have to co-operate. Can my noble friend confirm, therefore, that a climate-smart approach to mining is still on the agenda?

Turning to biodiversity, we all know that the largest proportion of the UK’s biodiversity exists in the overseas territories. I therefore recently tabled a Question for Written Answer, to which I have not yet received a reply. I hope that my noble friend will be able to pre-empt that. My Question was to ask Her Majesty’s Government whether any of the funding for the Darwin Initiative, announced recently by the Prime Minister in New York at the United Nations, will replace the lost European Union funding for wildlife in the Falkland Islands and for other British wildlife in the overseas territories. I look forward to that reply from the Minister, because this move comes after assurances from the Government that EU-funded environmental projects in overseas territories that have already been committed to will be honoured. Crucially, the issue that now arises is that no concrete assurance has been made with regard to replacement funding for new projects following Brexit.

Another question relates to the Small Charities Challenge Fund. We all welcomed the information we were given last year, I think, by my noble friend Lord Bates about the fund tailoring to the needs of small, grass-roots British charities doing outstanding humanitarian and development work. I would be glad to hear how that is progressing.

I wish to refer also to a project in Colombia with which I am involved and which receives funding via the Newton Fund. The aim of BRIDGE Colombia and GROW Colombia is to advance research skills, partnerships and technological self-sufficiency. In doing so, it is bringing together many researchers and creating research exchange programmes.

I have been informed, via my noble friend Lord Bates, that the United Kingdom secured a significant change to the international aid rules in November last year for countries which experience natural disasters. This saw the lifting of restrictions to Britain’s aid support to countries affected by crises and natural disasters which impact on their economy. Can my noble friend say whether there has been much international take-up or co-operation for this?

Although I may not be a hoopoe, I am a Hooper, and I definitely have a migratory tendency. I am most grateful to the noble Baroness for raising that issue, and I look forward to my noble friend’s answers in due course.

Trade Bill

Baroness Hooper Excerpts

Committee: 3rd sitting (Hansard - continued): House of Lords
Wednesday 30th January 2019 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Kramer]

I assure the noble Viscount that from the perspective of the dollar, far more of the transactions clear through New York. It is a bigger market. I know we often say that we are the largest, but if we look at the table comparisons, New York is frankly bigger. Certainly, dollar dominance is exercised through New York. The yen is less of a controversial player, and there are not a lot of renminbi. If anybody thinks that China is going to allow its currency to develop a real global presence and not be regulated, monitored and supervised by the Chinese state, they have missed any understanding of how China works. We are convenient but temporary, and we need to recognise that.

People talk about the growing market, but essentially the global markets function in the dollar, the euro and—in the future—the renminbi. They will not function in small African or South American currencies. Those are not players; they are minor currencies. Sterling is treated by the industry as a minor currency. There are two, and there will be three, major currencies that essentially underpin global activity. At the moment one is dominated by New York and the other by London—and the one dominated by London is the euro.

What worries me is that the think tanks that have been going through this process have an underlying conceit and arrogance, and imagine that somehow we are fundamentally and in the long-term superior, that no one else will have the capabilities that we have, and that in the end, Europe needs us more than we need Europe. But Europe works on a five to 10-year strategy to gradually bring back choice pieces of that industry—and we can see it.

I have a real question for the Minister in all this. The right-wing think tank came up with a solution called “mutual recognition”, which basically required the European Union to change how it made regulation and to change its legal framework completely. The think tank thought that was entirely reasonable. It was irrational, and has been abandoned. The Government have finally recognised that it was complete nonsense. There is now an idea that third-country equivalence could be the mechanism that will apply. However, we all know that third-country equivalence can be cancelled for no reason at 29 days’ notice. That is a very unstable way to provide access for a key industry.

Various attempts have been made, but little thought, effort, discussion or energy has gone into trying to find solutions. I am exceedingly worried about that. Looking at that global sector that I talked about, as I understand it, the European Union has provided an equivalence ruling for the London Clearing House for 12 months only. I am sure that it will extend the ruling beyond that—but it is a message. I understand that, as of this moment, no equivalence has been put in place for the London Stock Exchange. Again, that may come, and it may come very much at the last minute. But there is a deep message in all this. I make a real plea to the Government to take our amendment seriously and to recognise that they will have to get totally engaged and make some real compromises—I suspect around their own red lines. If they do not, they will be making absolutely sure that, over five to 10 years, significant parts of the industry will be sucked back into very capable hands in Frankfurt, Paris and Amsterdam.

This is not an instant crisis, although there may be some areas of instant crisis. But it is an area where the Government need to move now, and not lock themselves into a position from which they will see this industry, not perhaps disappear altogether, but lose its global leadership, when they could, with more intelligence and flexibility, have provided some degree of protection.

[Baroness Hooper (Con)]

My Lords, I apologise for being tail-end Charlie in this discussion—at least, I hope I am. I agree that this is a very important group of amendments. I shall concentrate particularly on Amendment 39 because that is the overarching amendment giving mutual recognition of qualifications, which has been so important for frictionless commercial activities and relationships throughout our membership of the European Union. I trust and hope that the mutual recognition and—dare I say it?—harmonisation to some extent of professional qualifications will be able to continue, to give the continuity to which my noble friend Lord Lansley referred, but also, for example, in the field of education, where university qualifications and degrees have been based on mutual recognition of qualifications and the ability to work in professional fields in more than one country.

My own interest in this is that as a solicitor I went to work in Paris in 1973, a year after we joined the European Community. Although I did not need a carte de travail—a work permit—at that stage, I still needed a carte de séjour, but that was progress. There have always been particular difficulties for the legal profession simply because of the difference between the common-law system and the civil law system. That has led to a different approach to our understanding of what we have been trying to do within the European Community throughout our membership.

I may not be up to speed on all the detail. There may have been discussions, and possibly solutions, about continuing the recognition of professional qualifications, but I am not aware of them. I am surprised that the Law Society, for example, has not provided any briefing in this respect—at least not to me. Still, I would like to hear what the Minister has to say about this. At the next stage of the Bill I would hope that we could be given more certainty about what may happen in future. I am curtailing my remarks because it is a late hour, but I feel that this would be so important, not only to British and Scottish lawyers—I look to my noble friend Lady McIntosh in this respect—but to all the European Union lawyers who have set up offices and are operating in London and other parts of the country, making our commercial activities ever more possible.

Perhaps, as a sort of PS, I might refer to Amendment 48 and the tripartite agreement. I am not sure how this applies to polo ponies. As your Lordships will know, I take a great interest in Latin America and Argentina. Polo ponies are not only from South America and the UK; they have passage rights within the EU. I do not think the tripartite agreement itself applies to polo ponies but I hope that any consideration of this element of the debate could include that important aspect.

[Lord Foster of Bath (LD)]

My Lords, the noble Baroness, Lady Hooper, hoped that she was tail-end Charlie, and I apologise for depriving her of the appellation. In introducing this group of amendments, the noble Lord, Lord McNicol, described them as being about the smooth organisation of business post Brexit, while my noble friend Lord Fox described them as the necessary day-to-day plumbing of post-Brexit life. As we have heard, the amendments cover a wide range of issues, including mutual recognition, not least of qualifications, but also seeking a way to have the maximum continued relationship with many EU bodies, expert groups, agencies and so on. In that regard, Amendment 70 is perhaps the most comprehensive. I share the view of the noble Lord, Lord Lansley, that it is of mutual benefit to ourselves and the European Union if we can find ways of staying as close as possible to many of those bodies. If we fail to do so, there will be some serious difficulties. I believe we need to take positive steps, as is suggested in Amendment 70, for instance, to achieve that close working relationship. If we do not do that, I believe there will be very significant problems.

To illustrate that very briefly, I will touch on two of the bodies that are referred to in Amendment 70: the Body of European Regulators for Electronic Communications—BEREC—and the European Regulators Group for Audiovisual Media Services, or ERGA. It is worth remembering that the telecoms industry in this country has revenues of something like £40 billion a year and our broadcasting industry is probably one of the best in the world; both are critical to the UK’s economy and their success depends to a large extent on close co-operation with the EU 27 countries. That is because, in the case of the telecoms industry, for instance, many of the bodies regulated by our own regulator, Ofcom, are members of subsidiaries which operate in many of those other countries—Virgin Media, Vodafone, Three and Telefónica are very good examples. In broadcasting, we have our own domestic channels, but Ofcom also acts as host to something like 500 channels which are not shown in the UK, but are regulated here and shown in other countries. Therefore, it is very important that our regulator continues to work in a way that allows close alignment with the regulations that will apply across Europe. That means having close involvement with those two bodies, BEREC and ERGA.

As such, my questions for the Minister are about how that will be achieved. I suspect he will reject most of the amendments in this group but that he will say it is important to have close relationships, as the noble Lord, Lord Lansley, said. It is worth reflecting that in the other place, the Minister for Digital and the Creative Industries, Margot James, said that Ofcom intended to “seek observer status” within BEREC. As I pointed out on another occasion, that is no longer possible following changes to BEREC’s regulations in December last year. For us to have observer status in BEREC, it would now be necessary for a formal agreement to be made between the UK and the European Union. I am not entirely convinced that that will be easy under the current arrangements without very active steps being taken by the Government.

In Grand Committee last week, the Minister, the noble Lord, Lord Ashton of Hyde, said he was confident that Ofcom would be able to be part of BEREC. He said that during the transition period,

“the UK will no longer be a member state of the EU but, as is set out in the terms of the withdrawal agreement, common rules will remain in place. That is why we expect Ofcom to continue to participate in BEREC”.—[Official Report, 23/1/19; col. GC 96.]

That is what they are expecting, yet it is in stark contrast to what the withdrawal agreement actually says. In Article 128, it says—I will paraphrase—that with only one caveat, we cannot participate in decision-making or even attend meetings of expert groups or similar entities. The caveat says—again, I paraphrase—that UK representatives or experts may, upon invitation, exceptionally attend meetings or parts of meetings of bodies such as BEREC or ERGA, provided that either the discussion concerns the UK or UK residents or,

“the presence of the United Kingdom is necessary and in the interest of the Union”.

The noble Lord, Lord Ashton of Hyde, saw this as a green light, and declared that there was “every reason” the EU would want Ofcom on these bodies because,

“Ofcom is one of the leading telecoms regulators in Europe—if not the leading one. The interchange between Ofcom and other European regulators has been extremely beneficial … There is every reason to think that they would wish to continue that”.—[Official Report, 23/1/19; col. GC 97.]

That is not an interpretation of Article 128 which any rational person can give. It actually says that we can be involved only in a small way, in exceptional circumstances and when it is necessary, so I do not read Article 128 as meaning that we will easily be able to participate in that particular organisation. The same case could be made for all the other organisations which the Government may wish for us to continue to have close relationships with. My question for the Minister is simple: does he agree with my interpretation, or with his noble friend during the debate in Grand Committee? If he agrees with my interpretation of Article 128, are the Government willing to take the positive steps referred to—for example, in Amendment 70—to achieve that close working relationship which is so important?

International Women’s Day: Progress on Global Gender Equality

Baroness Hooper Excerpts

Thursday 8th March 2018 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Hooper (Con)]

My Lords, we have much to celebrate today, as well as the opportunity to point out that there is more to be done in this country and indeed globally. It was good to hear from my noble friend Lady Williams at the outset about the Government’s programme. Looking for a moment at the past, I will say that the United Kingdom can be proud of the fact that we set up the Equal Opportunities Commission in 1975, which achieved a great deal under the inspired chairmanship—or should I say chairwomanship ?—of Lady Lockwood, whose deputy was the noble Baroness, Lady Howe of Idlicote. Not only did this spur on the process of improving the status of women in this country, it served as a blueprint for other countries.

Today’s debate has been compelling and informative and has proved that these issues can bring political parties to work together for the greater good. It reminds me that my late sister Angela, who was then the chief woman executive at Conservative Central Office, had regular contact with her opposite number at Transport House—none other than the noble Baroness, Lady Gould of Potternewton. That was during the 1970s and 1980s, and look how things have moved on since then. I also record my thanks to the Library and all the outside organisations that have sent in really useful briefings on what is happening and what ought to happen in this country, putting forward ideas, for example, to encourage young women and to bring more women into public life.

Local government is an important starting point for many women embarking on a political career. Indeed, looking around your Lordships’ House, one can see that this is obviously a successful route. Although we still form only 26%, I believe, of the total membership of the House of Lords, anyone following our debates or looking at the Front Benches would be surprised, since women Members are so active and contribute so much. We have only to think of my noble friend Lady Trumpington or indeed the first woman Leader of your Lordships’ House, Baroness Young, not to mention my noble friend Lady Williams, to see shining examples of women who have moved from local government to the Front Bench.

I intend to focus mostly on the international aspects of this debate, and will start by continuing with the theme of local government. In developing countries it is certainly a way to encourage women to commit to their local communities and work close to their homes in a way that impacts on their daily lives. Only yesterday I learned that, in Ethiopia, already more than 50% of elected local councillors are women. This has led to some 38% representation in the regional government. Although the federal parliament has a much lower representation, things are clearly moving in the right direction.

Similarly, in Saudi Arabia—much in the news because of the Crown Prince’s visit—the first breakthrough for women came two years ago when women were permitted both to vote in local elections and to stand as candidates. These examples illustrate success and I believe that the United Kingdom should support activities and education in this area through its development aid programme to enable us to fulfil our commitment to the United Nations’ sustainable development goals, and in particular the nine targets of goal 5.

I also draw attention to the valuable work of the IPU—the Inter-Parliamentary Union—and of the CPA—the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association—in this area. Both organisations currently have women chairmen. Gabriela Cuevas, a Mexican senator, now leads the IPU and, only last week, at the pre-CHOGM parliamentary forum, held here in London, the CPA chairman, the Honourable Emilia Lifaka, the Deputy Speaker of the Cameroon Parliament, presided over sessions. Both organisations have ad hoc committees concerned with women’s roles in public life and women’s issues generally. As a member of the executive committee of the British group of the IPU, in a few weeks’ time I shall be at the IPU meetings in Geneva, where we will be considering ways in which the IPU can work to achieve the United Nations sustainable development goals in this respect. I shall be able to quote suggestions from today’s debate in my contribution to those discussions—a rather useful form of recycling.

I turn now to Latin America. I am delighted to say—this has been referred to—that women’s parliamentary representation in the Americas has risen to 28.4% overall. The trailblazers were Argentina, with an increase to some 38%, Chile with 22.6% and Ecuador with 38%. It is interesting and important to note that these are countries that devised progressive legislation to promote women’s political leadership, resulting in increased female representation. We have also seen women presidents elected and re-elected in Chile, Argentina and Central America. Between 2013 and 2015, the region boasted the largest number of female heads of state in the world. However, by the end of 2017, there were none. This bears out what my noble friend Lady Jenkin said earlier: namely, that in spite of success the situation still feels very fragile.

We can still say that, in London, we have one of the largest groups of women ambassadors from the region—currently from El Salvador, Nicaragua, Paraguay and Peru. But the fact remains that there are still many women throughout Latin America, particularly from indigenous groups, who suffer from many of the injustices that have been outlined today—particularly well by the noble Baroness, Lady Northover. Health has been emphasised, and I would add land ownership rights to the list, as a means of improving the economic security of women. This is particularly relevant to rural communities.

This leads to my final point. As an example of what can be achieved, I would like to describe a micro-finance project with which I have been involved. It started in Bolivia and has since spread throughout Latin America, with great success. It is called Pro Mujer—for women. Not only do we have a 98% success rate in the repayment of the small loans made to women, who are in many cases a single parent head of household, we have developed the project to offer health checks at the same time as the loan is being processed. This enjoys a high acceptance rate and is a relatively simple way of meeting a huge need.

The world is changing so rapidly that it is easy to see change continuing at an ever-increasing pace—and let us hope so. The important thing in my view is not so much equality but equal opportunity—and, if necessary, equal opportunity to be unequal.

British Overseas Territories: Transport and Infrastructure

Baroness Hooper Excerpts

Thursday 7th September 2017 Grand Committee

[Baroness Hooper (Con)]

My Lords, for people living in remote places, communications are vital. One can only imagine what it must feel like to lose existing air services and links such as Ascension, and anticipated new links such as the airport in St Helena. I have had the pleasure of visiting Ascension to watch the green turtles, before going on to the Falkland Islands, where I have also made a few visits, but I have not yet had the privilege of going to St Helena. I have, however, a long-standing interest and involvement in the overseas territories, going back to the days when they were known as dependent territories. This debate is about helping the overseas territories to remain independent.

The noble Lord, Lord Shutt, has given us a wonderful opportunity to focus on the issues affecting these three tiny territories and has provided a very detailed factual background, for which we must all thank him. This is indeed a timely debate. It is very important to raise awareness of the problems and to seek and suggest solutions, and I look forward to hearing from my noble friend Lord Bates on the Government’s thinking and answers to some of the questions raised. Given that the noble Lord, Lord Shutt, has covered the ground so thoroughly, as indeed have others, I wish only to underline and emphasise certain points.

The airport saga in St Helena has indeed been a saga, but the main assurance needed by the people of St Helena—the Saints—is a guarantee for a transitional period, once the airport finally opens in October, and that the RMS “St Helena” will remain as a back-up service for as long as possible. I understand that the aeroplanes to be used at the new airport have a capacity for some 70 people, which is not very great. RMS “St Helena” can transport some 156 passengers, I believe. Given that the high season for tourism is approaching and hotels and other tourist-related activities need some certainty, it is important that such a guarantee is given urgently. Therefore I hope my noble friend the Minister can give us a positive answer on this subject.

My understanding was that there are no specific issues relating to the Falklands in the Falklands themselves other than issues of access via Ascension, as has been said. As for the issues in Ascension and St Helena, the sooner action is taken the better, since we all know that infrastructure costs always rise with time, and there is the added issue of European Union funding, which will no longer be available in the future. I hope that such resources as are required to meet these issues will not be affected by the current tragedy and needs of those overseas territories in the Caribbean—I would mention Anguilla in particular. I join those who have sent their good wishes to the people who are suffering in those places.

I hope very much that, as a result of this debate, we will get some answers to provide reassurance for the peoples of St Helena, Ascension and the Falklands.

International Development (Official Development Assistance Target) Bill

Baroness Hooper Excerpts

Friday 23rd January 2015 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Hooper (Con)]

My Lords, it is a great pleasure to voice the congratulations and welcome of the whole House on the excellent maiden speech of my noble friend Lord Fox. His background and successful career in industry—and in communications in particular —mean that his contributions to our debates will be practical, well informed and persuasive, as was his speech today. We look forward to hearing from him on many occasions in the future.

I also wish to associate myself with the tribute paid by my noble friend Lord Fowler to the late Lord Brittan, whom, I, too have known as a contemporary since university days.

I support all that has been said concerning the purpose of the Bill and the need to embed the spending target in law to ensure that the commitment that has been made by this Government will be continued into the long-term future, as my noble friend Lady Chalker explained. I am proud that we are one of the few countries to have complied with the target, and I certainly feel the warm glow that was referred to by the noble Baroness, Lady Flather.

Much has already been said about the importance of development assistance, and examples of projects and success stories in many parts of the world have been quoted. I congratulate the noble Lord, Lord Purvis of Tweed, on his lead and on his splendidly comprehensive introduction. I do not need, therefore, to underline the importance of clean water, emergency food assistance, education, access to financial services or the health benefits brought by this funding and the work of NGOs in the field, save only to highlight the example of the fight against malaria. Deaths of young children in Africa have more than halved since 2000. This work must be sustained.

The economic development and the welfare of developing countries are of prime importance in today’s world of interdependence. Ethical and humanitarian considerations apart, it is plain common sense to try to help people and countries to avoid catastrophe and to build themselves up to be economically, as well as politically, independent.

Of course I acknowledge the need for precautions voiced by my noble friend Lord Tugendhat in particular. Of course there must be good, clear and transparent administration of any fund, but the problem of economic refugees taking dangerous means to transport themselves to developed countries has to be averted. If all European Union countries met the 0.7% target, that would make a huge difference to the countries of, for example, sub-Saharan Africa, and prevent some of the tragedies and loss of life resulting from the attempts made by the poorest of people to reach European shores in order to find jobs and security.

I recognise that the part of the world with which I am most involved—Latin America—is outside the overseas development funding criteria. Most countries are now considered to be middle-income or high-income countries. The noble Lord, Lord Cashman, made some important points about this. I assume that it was as a result of the peer review process. I also recognise that some funding to that region may get through on a multilateral basis via the European Union, the IMF and other agencies.

However, there are still pockets of poverty—others have mentioned this—even in the middle-income and high-income countries. There is an issue over the waste and hardship caused when existing country programmes are terminated—or were terminated in the case of Latin American countries—abruptly. Will the Minister tell us whether any direct funding still goes to any Latin American country? Is any thought being given to creating a smoother transitional arrangement for projects in countries that are deemed no longer to require official development assistance?

In general, I hope that the United Kingdom will continue to give a lead in this area and work to persuade other countries in the European Union and, indeed, in the Commonwealth—I think of Canada, Australia, New Zealand and India—to reach the targets. My noble friend Lady Williams of Crosby made some very interesting suggestions in this respect which merit further exploration. The passing of this Bill and the arguments and ideas put forward in today’s debate will, I hope, help to ensure this, and I feel confident that it will have a safe and successful passage through your Lordships’ House.

BBC World Service and British Council

Baroness Hooper Excerpts

Thursday 10th July 2014 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Hooper (Con)]

My Lords, I, too, welcome this debate and thank the noble Lord, Lord Alton, for introducing it so thoroughly. Because they operate overseas and mainly to overseas audiences, both the BBC World Service and the British Council—particularly the latter, perhaps—are not widely understood and appreciated in this country. More should be done to raise their profiles with the taxpayers who fund them.

Given the number of excellent and informative contributions today and the quantity of briefing that has been put together, as well as the Select Committee report on soft power, there is clearly plenty of evidence of the valuable roles that these institutions play in promoting the United Kingdom and its values and interests worldwide. So I do hope that this debate is well reported. It may be that the British Council’s cultural programme for the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow will also be helpful in bringing its role to the attention of the British public.

As a member of the all-party group on the British Council, I intend to focus on this side of the debate. The all-party group which is chaired by the noble Lord, Lord Bach, has given us, in both Houses of Parliament, the opportunity to hear from a series of regional directors who operate in the Middle East, China, Latin America, Afghanistan and elsewhere. From these meetings, the way in which the British Council’s educational role, in particular the teaching of English, visibly supports the UK efforts to maintain and increase trade and commerce is made very clear. Sadly, these meetings are not always well attended by Members of Parliament, which suggests that many do not perhaps consider this area of their work as a high priority. I think that is terrible. It means in turn that when budget and funding issues arise, there may be insufficient champions of these institutions in the other place. Perhaps after the next election we can do something about that.

In the few minutes that remain, I would like to revert to an issue that I raised with your Lordships on other occasions. As has been said, the British Council does valuable work overseas in promoting British universities and other educational establishments in selection processes for fellowships and scholarships, and also in encouraging the formation of student alumni associations in various countries in order to maintain the links that have been formed. I am particularly aware of this in Mexico, because there are significant numbers of Mexican students who come to this country and many of them become leading figures in the political world and in industrial fields. Maintaining that link is important and valuable.

I believe there is also a role for the British Council in this country. In the old days there was a British Council presence in most university cities—my noble friend Lord Sheikh referred to this. The British Council provided a centre not only for overseas students to meet and relax but also where they could meet British people. Too often nowadays students come to this country and remain in an international grouping, having little or no contact with British people or the British way of life. It is not likely that we will be able to return to the concept of a British Council house in every university city, but if the British Council were to take a lead in providing co-ordination in this area, I ask my noble friend whether the Government would be prepared to support it.

Arts and Culture: Economic Regeneration

Baroness Hooper Excerpts

Tuesday 29th January 2013 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Hooper]

My Lords, it is a great pleasure to follow the noble Baroness, Lady Quin. We worked together in the early days of the directly elected European Parliament in a number of areas, when she represented Tyne and Wear and I represented the great City of Liverpool. I congratulate her on securing this debate on a topic which is close to my heart.

In the European Parliament and later as a member of the delegation to the Council of Europe, I took a great interest in cultural heritage and arts issues and I have no doubt about their relevance and importance to economic regeneration. It will come as no surprise that I intend to use Liverpool as an example of what can be achieved. As a former trustee of the National Museums Liverpool, I have always been aware of the wealth and diversity of what is on offer there, from the traditional Walker Art Gallery to the very modern Tate and from the Maritime Museum to the International Slavery Museum.

Michael Heseltine’s initiative after the Toxteth riots, way back in the 1980s, the garden festival and various other events led up to 2008 when Liverpool won the bid to become European Capital of Culture. Liverpool is one of the great old industrial cities, which has had to come to terms with its past in order to transform itself and to find a new image and identity. As we saw when Glasgow was the European Capital of Culture, there can be no doubt that the effect on Liverpool and the wider north-west region has been substantial. Apart from the many jobs that were created in preparing the infrastructure, thousands of jobs have proved to be long lasting. The Museum of Liverpool project was a physical result of that year, although it was not completed by 2008. However, since it opened fully in July 2011, more than 2 million people have visited it. Those numbers are way ahead of the projection.

I believe that Liverpool’s transformation into an educational and academic centre of learning, with its four universities and other institutions, owes much to its cultural and arts heritage and the way in which that was highlighted during the Capital of Culture year. Certainly the tourist figures are well up and now the port is beginning to revive with cruise ships calling in and finding so much of interest virtually at the foot of the gangway, in terms of the city’s artistic and cultural heritage.

This year, building on that experience, Derry—Londonderry—is the first UK City of Culture and a nationwide competition has been announced to find the UK’s City of Culture for 2017. I hope that my noble friend the Minister will be able to give us more information about these two events and their impact to date on Derry.

I think that we all still share a very warm feeling about the success of last year’s Olympics and Paralympics, and indeed of the Cultural Olympiad, which, apart from anything else, led to the regeneration of Stratford and has an ongoing legacy. I was delighted to learn, as a result of participating in this debate, that the Lord Mayor of the City of London has decided to make arts and culture one of the central themes of his mayoralty and is even now publishing a report on the economic, social and cultural impact of the City’s arts and culture cluster and its effect not only on the City but on the surrounding boroughs. However, I agree with the noble Baroness, Lady Quin, that the importance of government policies must reflect not only what London has to offer but the wider nation and the regions.

Funding is of course important, and the noble Baroness has pressed my noble friend on this score. Much is being done and I hope will continue to be done—and said—to support the work going on in many of the regions. I look forward to hearing the views of other speakers in this debate and, in particular, hearing what my noble friend has to say about future government policy in the area.