Children: Online Protection

Baroness McIntosh of Pickering Excerpts

Thursday 10th February 2022 Lords Chamber

[Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay (Con)]

I am very grateful for the noble Baroness’s welcome for the new measures. There is agreement at an international level and within the UK that much more needs to be done to create a safer online environment for children, and the noble Baroness has played a significant part in fostering that agreement. The Information Commissioner has an international team responsible for engaging with data protection and information regulators all over the world. He is himself a former privacy commissioner in New Zealand, while his predecessor worked in this area in Canada, and I think that is to the great benefit of international dialogue. The international team works to ensure that the ICO’s regulatory and other priorities are appropriately reflected in international discussions. Through its work in organisations such as the OECD, the Council of Europe and the Global Privacy Assembly, the ICO also influences work on the interoperability of global data protection regimes.

[Baroness McIntosh of Pickering (Con)]

My Lords, I congratulate my noble friend and the Government on introducing the regulatory sandbox.

[Lord Clement-Jones (LD)]

My Lords, I welcome—

[Lord Clement-Jones (LD)]

My Lords—

[Baroness McIntosh of Pickering (Con)]

My Lords, as chairman of the Proof of Age Standards Scheme board, I join the noble Baroness, Lady Kidron, in congratulating the Government on the work they are doing in this area. Can the Minister give us an update on the sandbox trial of technologies and an idea of when those trials might reach a conclusion, so that they can be rolled out? This is something that, for proof of age for buying alcohol and children’s online activities, will be an immensely positive step forward and one that is very welcome.

[Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay (Con)]

I am grateful to my noble friend for her support for the new measures. I am afraid I do not have details of the specific trial to which she refers, so, if she will permit me, I will write to her with those details.

Freedom of Speech

Baroness McIntosh of Pickering Excerpts

Friday 10th December 2021 Lords Chamber

[Baroness McIntosh of Pickering (Con)]

It is a great pleasure to follow the noble Lord, Lord Walney, and I add my congratulations to the most reverend Primate on leading us in this debate today. He eloquently referred to the role of democracy; I would add to that the rule of law. Clearly, during times of war, freedom of speech, democracy and the rule of law are simply swept aside.

My mother was born in Copenhagen, Denmark, in 1920 and lived through German occupation of her country during the Second World War. Many will have heard of Kaj Munk, who was a Danish pastor, a writer and a leading playwright. Through his writings and speeches, Kaj Munk became a symbol of the Danish resistance movement. That led to his assassination by the Nazis in January 1944. Listening to my family and hearing their experiences made me appreciate how Europe came together after the war and how both NATO and, I would argue, the European Union have protected our fundamental freedoms, including the freedom of speech, since that time. At no time has it been more important for us to continue to work with our NATO and European partners, both for our own safety and to ensure the freedom of speech of others. I think at this time of the people of Ukraine, Poland and other parts of Europe, who feel threatened by the active, aggressive presence of Russian troops.

I had the privilege to sit on the Rural Affairs Group of the Church of England under the excellent leadership of the right reverend Prelate the Bishop of Exeter. I pay tribute to the role of the Church in rural communities. At no time was that seen to be more effective then when, during the foot and mouth outbreak of 2001, the then most reverend Primate the Archbishop of York pleaded with the then Prime Minister for a delay to the general election so that those living in the countryside, such as isolated farmers, could exercise their democratic right to vote. I greatly value the work of the Church and in particular the Rural Affairs Group. I make a plea to the right reverend Prelate today to ensure that rural affairs continue to hold a special place in the Church of England. Even though the rural affairs committee may be wound up, I am very conscious of the dwindling numbers, particularly in parochial councils and fundraising.

Sadly, the church where I grew up, attended Sunday school and where my husband and I were married has closed owing to rot and the floor having to be removed. It is a matter of great sadness to me that St Mary the Virgin in Middleton-in-Teesdale, County Durham—it is close to Barnard Castle, which now always gets a laugh because it is so well known in political circles—will most likely never reopen as a church but will become a heritage centre to educate people on the importance of the church and farming life in the countryside. However, I hope that it will continue to be used as a place of prayer going forward.

Finally, I would like to consider the role of social media and online harms, particularly the dangers and risks that they pose for children and young people. I was particularly grateful to the noble Lord, Lord Stevenson of Balmacara, for talking about the work that the committee has been doing, and we look forward to reading its report, which is hot off the press. I hope that the Proof of Age Standards Scheme, whose board I chair, can play its part, particularly in developing a digital standard for proof of age going forward to ensure that children and young people can access the internet safely. As the most reverend Primate put it, balancing privacy and freedom of speech—to which I would add safety of access—has proved to be one of the most difficult contemporary challenges we face.

I congratulate the most reverend Primate the Archbishop of Canterbury on introducing today’s debate. Given the contemporary challenges to freedom of speech that he so eloquently addressed, at no time could this be more appropriate. Each of us in your Lordships’ House has a part to play, starting with the oath we take on being introduced to this House, when we are given a voice to speak up on behalf of others. It is incumbent on each of us to use that voice wisely and to speak up on behalf of those who have no voice in Parliament or our counsels and assemblies. I welcome this debate and the opportunity for us to consider the contemporary challenges to freedom of speech, and I look forward to hearing the rest of the contributions today.

Gambling: Children and Young People

Baroness McIntosh of Pickering Excerpts

Monday 6th December 2021 Lords Chamber

[Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay (Con)]

I assure the right reverend Prelate that the Gambling Act review is taking a close look at the rules regarding advertising on social media. We want full use to be made of all the scope that technology offers when it comes to targeting adverts appropriately.

[Baroness McIntosh of Pickering (Con)]

My Lords, as chairman of the Proof of Age Standards Scheme board, I ask my noble friend: will he look carefully at our proposals for an online verification proof of age scheme to ensure that underage children are not accessing gambling on the internet?

[Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay (Con)]

As I have said, there are already strict rules on the targeting of adverts relating to children but, as part of the Gambling Act review, we will certainly look at the evidence that my noble friend cites.

Football: Casey Review

Baroness McIntosh of Pickering Excerpts

Monday 6th December 2021 Lords Chamber

[Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay (Con)]

As ever, we need both speed and thoroughness. The noble Baroness achieved both in her report and it is incumbent on everyone responding to it to do the same. I am pleased to say that the heads of FIFA and UEFA have reassured us that the incident in July should not have an impact on the outcome of any current bidding processes. As I said, the UK has a strong track record of staging international sporting events, and it is a record of which we are rightly proud.

[Baroness McIntosh of Pickering (Con)]

My Lords, if that is the case, what reassurance can my noble friend give the House this afternoon that families who take their young children to what should be a joyful sporting event will be safe and will not be exposed to the same dangers as happened on that day?

[Lord Callanan (Con)]

My noble friend makes an important point. It was families with young children, or people who were there with friends or family with disabilities, who were targeted by some of the people trying to get into the stadium. The noble Baroness’s report looked into some of those instances and came forward with recommendations on how to ensure that minorities intent on doing harm do not mar such important days for others.

Independent Fan-led Review of Football Governance

Baroness McIntosh of Pickering Excerpts

Monday 29th November 2021 Lords Chamber

[Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay (Con)]

My Lords, as I say, while we are considering the review’s recommendations, it is clear from Tracey Crouch’s report that there is a significant opportunity to tighten up and strengthen the current owners’ and directors’ test. We will look at that very seriously and come forward with our response to the report in due course.

[Baroness McIntosh of Pickering (Con)]

My Lords, will my noble friend commend the report by our honourable friend Tracey Crouch for being so bold? I support the point made by the noble Lord, Lord Addington; 62 insolvencies of lower-league clubs have occurred. Will my noble friend’s department use every good office to ensure that—while not harming the Premier League in the long term—more money will filter down to the lower levels?

[Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay (Con)]

My Lords, I join my noble friend in reiterating my thanks to our honourable friend Tracey Crouch for the work that she has done. Football has had many opportunities to get its house in order but has not taken them, and that is why this report is such an important and timely one. In the past, football’s failure to reform itself has had an injurious impact on many clubs, as we saw with the proposals to set up the closed shop of a European super league. That is why we have taken the action of commissioning this fan-led review and why we will respond to it thoroughly.

Gambling Commission: Data

Baroness McIntosh of Pickering Excerpts

Wednesday 20th October 2021 Lords Chamber

[Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay (Con)]

The noble Baroness is absolutely right to point to the impact of the pandemic which, in this area as in so many others, will have definitely had an impact. A lot has changed in the 15 years since the Gambling Act, which is why we are reviewing it in the way that we are. The commission is setting out the next steps that it will take to make sure that operators are submitting high-quality and accurate data to inform that review.

[Baroness McIntosh of Pickering (Con)]

I declare my interest as chair of the Proof of Age Standards Scheme. Will my noble friend welcome and note the willingness of the industry to co-operate in providing this data and to work with the Government and the Gambling Commission? Will he also ensure and give a commitment today that gaming, betting shops and casinos will not be disadvantaged in relation to their online counterparts in the provision of data?

[Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay (Con)]

I certainly welcome the engagement that we have had, and continue to have, from the industry in this important area. As part of our review, we called for evidence on the changes to the legislation governing casinos and we are looking at those responses. Making sure that we have an equitable approach to online and land-based regulation is an important objective of our review.

Gambling Reform

Baroness McIntosh of Pickering Excerpts

Tuesday 29th June 2021 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Barran (Con)]

On the noble Lord’s second point, he will be aware that our call for evidence on loot boxes closed on 22 November. We had over 30,000 responses; we are reviewing that evidence and will set out our response in the coming months. I cannot give the noble Lord an idea of timing for legislation, but we will be publishing our response to the Gambling Act consultation later this year, and we also intend to publish a White Paper.

[Baroness McIntosh of Pickering (Con)]

I refer to my interest on the register, as the chair of the Proof of Age Standards Scheme board. My noble friend will be aware that there are positive economic benefits from betting shops in market towns and on high streets. Are the Government looking particularly at how to balance the contribution that these shops make, in employing local people and to the local economy, while safeguarding the health and welfare of those who gamble?

[Baroness Barran (Con)]

My noble friend puts it very well. We are trying to balance the harm that gambling can cause in certain instances, while looking also at the economic impact—including in market towns.

Digital Identification Protocol

Baroness McIntosh of Pickering Excerpts

Thursday 20th May 2021 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Barran (Con)]

I absolutely agree that a secure and trusted digital ID framework can help reduce data breaches, identity fraud and some of the problems to which the noble Lord referred.

[Baroness McIntosh of Pickering (Con)]

My Lords, I remind the House of my interest as chair of the Proof of Age Standards Scheme board. I congratulate my noble friend and welcome the moves that the Government are making in this direction. However, mindful of the fact that digital identity verification is fiendishly complicated, I urge the Government to consult as widely as they can, to embrace the consequences for rural as well as urban areas and to ensure that any such framework is fit for purpose and will, as my noble friend says, be used safely and appropriately.

[Baroness Barran (Con)]

My noble friend makes an important point on which I absolutely agree. That is why we have taken this very transparent approach with the publication of the trust framework alpha. A second iteration will be published this summer and then, as I mentioned, further work towards legislation later this year.

Audiovisual Media Services (Amendment) Regulations 2021

Baroness McIntosh of Pickering Excerpts

Tuesday 13th April 2021 Grand Committee

[Baroness McIntosh of Pickering (Con)]

My Lords, I welcome my noble friend the Minister to her place and thank for the very clear exposition of and background to the regulations before us. I declare my interest as on the register as chairman of the Proof of Age Standards Scheme board.

I will make two points and ask my noble friend a question on each. Is she in a position to give us the timetable for the online harms Bill, in particular as regards identifying and proving the age of minors to ensure that they are not subject to harmful images and content online? What discussions has she had with her opposite number in the Home Office, in particular my noble friend Lady Williams, with whom we have been working closely at PASS in this regard, to establish a digital ID and to verify how proof of age for the purposes of such a digital ID for young people can be set up? It is extremely important that these departments co-operate and work very closely together in this regard. I would welcome an early meeting with my noble friend if that is potentially helpful.

Secondly, on the issue raised by the noble Lords, Lord Blunkett and Lord Foster, and others who have spoken so far, all making the same point, how do the Government intend to resolve the question of jurisdiction and the potential for video service providers to escape the control of Ofcom, although offering services in the UK? What provision do the Government intend to make in that regard?

Finally, paragraph 7.2 on page 4 of the Explanatory Memorandum says:

“The references in the transposing Regulations which are being fixed include amending and substituting references to EU legislation with references to domestic law”.


The duty on Ofcom to co-operate with the European Commission, and presumably other member state bodies, is therefore being replaced with powers for it to co-operate with EU regulators. How does my noble friend expect that these changes will be made? Personally, I regret that there is a downgrade from a duty to powers for it to co-operate. I will follow this very closely.

EU: Musicians

Baroness McIntosh of Pickering Excerpts

Thursday 28th January 2021 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Barran (Con)]

The Government meet regularly with the Musicians’ Union and find it an extremely valuable stakeholder in this discussion.

[Baroness McIntosh of Pickering (Con) [V]]

My Lords, the UK has benefited from and supported greatly the European Union Youth Orchestra and the Chamber Orchestra of Europe. Will my noble friend look favourably on exchanges such as that developed bilaterally between the UK and Denmark, Praktik i udlandet, where business students on both sides can benefit from business placements? If we are going down the bilateral route, can we proceed as positively and as swiftly as possible?

[Baroness Barran (Con)]

I cannot comment on the specific that my noble friend cites as an example but, as I have said, the spirit of this is working with the sector to understand what it needs, and we will continue to do so.