Women: Developing Countries

Baroness Northover Excerpts

Thursday 27th June 2013 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Northover]

My Lords, I thank my noble friend Lord Loomba for securing this important debate and for his absolutely outstanding speech in introducing it. It was an astonishing overview, with such understanding of the situation of women and girls, whether here at home or in developing countries. Along with the noble Lord, Lord Crisp, I, too, was struck by my noble friend’s point that racial discrimination can count as apartheid but that gender discrimination counts as culture. I thank my noble friend Lord Loomba for all the remarkable work that he has done through the Loomba Foundation to assist widows who, through the double discrimination of being both women and widows, are often in the most marginal of situations. This week, of course, we marked International Widows Day. The fact that this day is marked in the UN calendar owes a great deal to his efforts and those of his foundation. We have heard many powerful speeches today and I thank all noble Lords for their contributions. As I looked across at my noble friend Lady Hamwee during her powerful speech, I noted that we had a class of Muslim girls in our Gallery, and was touched and delighted. It is because of girls such as those that we speak today.

What we have heard bears out why DfID puts the support of women and girls front and centre of its work. In a world where poverty abounds, it is women who are at the very edge. As my noble friend Lord Jones and the noble Lord, Lord Collins, pointed out, women undertake 66% of the world’s work and produce 50% of the food but earn only 10% of the income and own only 1% of the property. We also know that there is much to do in our country. My noble friends Lord Loomba, Lady Jenkin, Lady Hamwee and Lady Tonge, along with other noble Lords, emphasised that there is a lot to do. I note the Private Member’s Bill introduced by Bill Cash and think he should extend it to equality in the United Kingdom as well as in developing countries. I hear what the noble Lord, Lord Collins, said about the action taken within his own party and commend that party for those actions.

On the issue of women worldwide, we know that two-thirds of the 750 million illiterate people in the developing world are women. Reflecting the secondary status of women, one in three women are beaten or sexually abused by a partner in her lifetime. The noble Lord, Lord Parekh, pointed to the use of sexual violence as a method of punishment and control. One in nine girls are forced into marriage before they reach their 14th birthday. Investing in girls and women has a transformative effect on poverty reduction and is critical to building freer and fairer societies and economies. When reading the African Economic Outlook report for the Question earlier today, I noted how greater gender equality went hand in hand with greater economic prosperity. DfID’s strategic vision for girls and women, published in 2011, outlines the department’s commitment to girls and women. It focuses on education, combating violence, trying to improve economic empowerment, and sexual and reproductive health and rights.

Many of the challenges that we have discussed today are woven through the fabric of our societies, as we know, in social norms and attitudes, legal frameworks and institutions of power such as government and judicial systems. Working with men and boys, enabling greater female political participation and leadership, and improving the legal frameworks for girls and women are fundamental to strengthening this enabling environment.

Internationally, DfID recognises that economic and political empowerment is crucial for the status of women. As the noble Baroness, Lady Hayman, the noble Lord, Lord Crisp, and other noble Lords stressed, education is often the critical first step to opening up opportunities for girls and women. More time in education means that girls face a lower risk of sexual violence, marry later, have fewer children and have better health outcomes for the children they do have. As the noble Lord, Lord Crisp, put it, the education of girls is one of the best health interventions. DfID’s Girls’ Education Challenge aims to get an extra 1 million of the world’s poorest girls into school by 2016 and give them a better quality education when they are there.

My noble friends Lady Jenkin and Lady Tonge focused on sexual and reproductive health and rights. As they know, medical complications from pregnancy and childbirth are still the leading cause of death among 15 to 19 year-old girls worldwide. In bringing this forward, my right honourable friend Andrew Mitchell really understood its significance. The London summit on family planning in 2012 committed to increase access to family planning for an extra 120 million girls and women in the world’s poorest countries. We know that this benefits women, their families, societies and the economies of their countries. I have to say that it is absolutely wonderful to be basking in the approval of my noble friend Lady Tonge; I know it is very hard won.

My noble friends Lady Jenkin and Lady Tonge are right to emphasise the importance of this. As they will know, our commitment to family planning of £180 million per year for the next eight years will enable 24 million women in developing countries to access family planning. Echoing my noble friend Lord Jones, I recall that at that summit last year, a west African leader, clearly expecting much acclaim, noted that his contribution to reproductive rights was that he no longer availed himself of young girls. He was somewhat perplexed by the collective intake of breath.

As I have said, where economic and political empowerment is critical, violence against women and girls reflects their current status. Many noble Lords have emphasised this. That is why DfID now has anti-violence programmes for women and girls in more than 20 countries. We have a £25 million research and innovation fund to find out what works. In March my honourable friend Lynne Featherstone announced a new £35 million programme to support efforts to end female genital mutilation in Africa and beyond. My noble friend Lord Hussain and others referred to this important programme. It is the largest ever donor commitment to this issue, and we hope to see other donors support this African-led movement to end this form of violence.

With the right support, FGM could end within a generation. It has been likened to foot-binding in China. We see embodied in that very act exactly how women are viewed: in a role that is subservient to men. As foot-binding moved into the past, so it is up to all of us to make sure that FGM also becomes a thing of the past.

We are working closely with the FCO over our programmes to combat violence against women and girls. As noble Lords have referred to, in May 2012 my right honourable friend the Foreign Secretary launched the Preventing Sexual Violence in Conflict initiative to end impunity for perpetrators of sexual violence in conflict. My noble friend Lady Hamwee and others referred to this.

This newly adopted G8 declaration sets out a further landmark in the international commitment to address violence against women and girls. My noble friends Lady Hamwee and Lady Tonge are right to emphasise girls’ and women’s vulnerability and experience of violence being magnified in conflict. Some 75% of the refugees from Syria are women and children, and they are at particular risk of partner violence, exploitation and forced marriage. We are providing psychosocial care, newborn kits for mothers, reproductive health services and cash assistance for Syrian refugee women in Jordan in Iraq.

My noble friend Lady Hamwee asked me about women and peacebuilding and the disaggregation of data. It is not possible to disaggregate the data on funding in this area, but we recognise that women as peacebuilders are central, as UNSCR 1325 recognises. Recognising women’s unique vulnerabilities and their role as peacebuilders in humanitarian emergencies will be a key theme in the forthcoming call to action on violence against women and girls in humanitarian emergencies, which will be published in the autumn. In this regard, I can assure the noble Lord, Lord Collins, of our key support for UN Women.

The noble Lord, Lord Crisp, asked about the disaggregation of data; there was a mini theme there. Our business plan requires DfID to disaggregate all the commitments made under the strategic vision for girls and women where applicable. In the annual report that was published today, he will see that there is close to 100% disaggregation in our targets on education and sexual and reproductive health. I hope that that reassures him on the direction in which we are going.

The noble Lord, Lord Crisp, also asked about the double disadvantage that girls and women face if they live with disability. He will know that we give core funding to various organisations, and we fully understand the situation of those who suffer that double disadvantage.

My noble friend Lord Hussain spoke about Ethiopia. I flag up the programme to end child marriage that we support there, as well as our programme that seeks to change the way in which society views girls—quite a challenge but a very important programme.

The noble Baroness, Lady Hayman, asked about maternal health. DfID’s strategic vision has a particular focus on that, specifically on trying to ensure that adolescent girls delay marriage. As she knows very well, there are many debilitating complications with adolescents having children, such as fistula, which she referred to.

We have heard a great deal about the challenges that women and girls face, but are there any grounds for optimism? Perhaps we can hope so, and I noted what the noble Baroness, Lady Hayman, said. Examples could include the overwhelming public reaction to the case of the girl who was raped and later died of her injuries in Delhi; the worldwide revulsion at the shooting of Malala, the case that my noble friend Lord Loomba referred to; the outrage at the way in which Julia Gillard has been treated in Australia; or the concern recently expressed about domestic violence very close to home.

In March, when the UN Commission on the Status of Women, the principal global platform for policy-making on women’s rights, met to secure conclusions on violence against women and girls, many felt that the challenges might be too great to overcome. There was a lot of pressure not to agree conclusions, but despite the many differing perspectives, member states reached a consensus on a text that notably did not simply opt for the lowest common denominator but represented real progress for women’s rights.

The UN high-level panel that a number of noble Lords have referred to, which was tasked to propose a new set of development goals for 2015-30, faced similar challenges. Yet the panel delivered an exceptionally strong framework for girls and women in its final report.

My noble friend Lord Jones asked a number of questions. I reiterate that, as I hope he knows, we wish to see a stand-alone goal on gender and mainstreaming throughout and will do all we can to ensure that this is in the final framework. There are a number of targets in what is proposed and our task is to ensure that those are carried through as the proposals are finalised.

This has been a fantastically wide-ranging debate. We referred to the position of women in Britain today. I recall the abuse that the noble Baroness, Lady Hayman, received when she took her new infant into the Chamber of the Commons, but I also note that my honourable friend Jenny Willott had to be separated from her new infant when voting only very recently because an unelected person, even a minute one, could not go through the voting Lobbies. So we still have things to do.

However, even with many challenges, we have made progress, as some noble Lords emphasised. That is why it is so important, as we seek greater prosperity and development worldwide, that we recognise the huge and particular challenges that face women and girls and that we do not let them continue in the situations in which they often find themselves.

Violence Against Women

Baroness Northover Excerpts

Thursday 20th June 2013 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Howe of Idlicote]

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their response to the report Deeds or Words? by the End Violence Against Women coalition.

[Baroness Northover]

My Lords, the Government are fully committed to preventing and combating violence against women and girls. Our national campaigns try to encourage teenagers to rethink their views about abuse. Government-funded community activity challenges so-called “honour crimes” and new legislation against stalking and forced marriage sends a strong preventive message. However, as this report highlights, there is much more to do. Our updated action plan strengthens our preventive approach, responding to a number of the End Violence Against Women coalition’s recommendations.

[Baroness Howe of Idlicote]

I thank the Minister for that very useful list of activities. However, in view of the report’s considerable concern that the Department for Education has substantially reduced spending in this whole area, how will the Government ensure that every child receives age-appropriate information in schools—for example, about the harmful effects of pornography—not least since a report from the Children’s Commissioner for England, entitled Porn is Everywhere, also underlines the urgent need for such guidance?

[Baroness Northover]

This report emphasises that we face a wide cultural challenge, which needs to be tackled at every level by everybody. The quality of teaching in schools is very important. The Department for Education is providing funding for the PSHE Association to work with schools to support them in developing their own curricula and improving the quality of teaching, which is clearly key. In addition, from September 2014, the new computing curriculum ensures that, for the first time, pupils aged five to 11 will be taught about online safety, including issues such as sexting and cyberbullying.

[Lord McColl of Dulwich]

My Lords, as people generally seem very reluctant to believe the extent of the abuse, is it not time for the Government to broadcast the figures in more dramatic terms? For instance, they could say that millions of men are smashing up millions of women and that millions of men are sexually abusing millions of children. These abusers are normally distributed throughout society, which might account for the fact that so few prosecutions occur.

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[Baroness Northover]

It is, indeed, a widespread problem. Last year, 88 women were killed by a partner, 60,000 women were raped and 400,000 were sexually abused. The report talks about a “watershed moment” in relation to child sexual abuse and other violence against women and girls, as shown by the concern about the Savile investigations, and so on. We have to make sure that it is indeed a watershed moment and that things start to improve.

[Baroness Smith of Basildon]

My Lords, the noble Baroness will be aware of the value of women’s refuges, which allow women to remove themselves from immediate danger of physical or sexual violence towards them or their children. A number of refuges are reporting serious financial difficulties at the moment. Will the Government consider carrying out some kind of review of the impact of local government cuts and of stopping the ring-fencing of financial support so that we can assess that impact and see what can be done to ensure that these refuges have the finance that they so desperately need?

[Baroness Northover]

Across government, we are determined to make sure that we do everything we can to protect the victims of domestic abuse. I know that colleagues across government have looked at this issue. If the noble Baroness has more specific information, I would welcome receiving it.

[Lord Marks of Henley-on-Thames]

My Lords, there is a clear link between domestic violence and sexual abuse and women’s offending, with between 50% and 80% of the women in our prisons being victims. Is this not a sound reason for devoting more government resources, as this report demands, to education and to campaigning in the community to help to bring an end to this dreadful scourge?

[Baroness Northover]

We recognise the challenge posed by female offenders and the fact that they themselves are often at risk of violence and have specific rehabilitation needs, as well as often having high levels of mental health problems. Many of them have indeed suffered domestic violence. The Ministry of Justice has just set up a cross-departmental advisory board on women offenders, chaired by the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State. This group will be looking at more provision in the community, more rehabilitation, a review of the prison estate to raise the profile of women offenders and the factors associated with offending that my noble friend has just pointed to.

[Baroness Gale]

My Lords, does the Minister agree that the level of domestic and sexual abuse towards women and girls in our country is an absolute disgrace? Does she further agree that the daily displays of semi-nude women in the popular tabloids help only to build up disrespect among boys and young men in their formative years? Therefore, will she join me in congratulating the No More Page 3 campaign? More than 106,000 people have already signed its petition, including me. If she agrees to endorse that campaign, perhaps she could sign the petition herself, as I believe that it is one way of combating the disrespect that can build up among boys and young men.

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[Baroness Northover]

Yes. On Monday, on the subject of women on boards, I described a company as being outdated for having no women on its board. I would describe what the noble Baroness has portrayed as also being outdated. Personally, I would indeed endorse the campaign and I am astonished that we are still fighting this battle a number of years down the track. That said, of course we support freedom of speech, but I think it is about time that we made very clear what we find acceptable and what we do not.

[Lord Elystan-Morgan]

My Lords, domestic violence is clearly a loathsome feature of our community. Does the noble Baroness agree that, as so much domestic violence is founded on the exploitation by men of their relative superiority in strength, physically and economically, over women, there is a strong case for either legislation or sentencing guidelines to be considered regarding domestic violence as an aggravated form of violence, to be dealt with, where appropriate, by condign punishment?

[Baroness Northover]

I am sure that the group that I mentioned earlier will be looking at exactly that.

[Lord Avebury]

Does my noble friend think that the leniency shown to Mr Saatchi when he half-strangled his wife set the wrong tone?

[Baroness Northover]

I cannot comment on a particular case. However, I am struck by the media reaction, which is really very interesting. I am struck by the support and sympathy for people who find themselves in such situations and by the fact that these problems go through every level of society.

Badgers

Baroness Northover Excerpts

Tuesday 18th June 2013 Lords Chamber

[Lord Hoyle]

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they still plan to carry out their proposed cull of badgers.

[Baroness Northover]

My Lords, we are using badger culling as part of a package of measures to tackle bovine TB. Two pilots will be undertaken this summer to assess the methodology for delivering an effective cull. This year there will be intensive monitoring of the effectiveness and humaneness of controlled shooting. A panel of independent experts will review the resulting report once the pilots have concluded. Only then will Ministers decide whether the policy should be rolled out more widely.

[Lord Hoyle]

I thank the Minister for that reply, but will she go a little further and say more about the criteria which the Government are using? Why does she believe that it is effective, humane and safe, and when exactly will the culls take place?

[Baroness Northover]

The noble Lord will know the scale of the problem that we seek to tackle and the difficulty of using the various measures that we have. That is why we are using a range of measures. The open season dates take account of the breeding season, so the assessment could happen any time from the beginning of this month on. Operators will be required to follow best practice guidelines, and it will be very carefully monitored. A number of organisations are involved in this.

[Lord Elton]

Will my noble friend remind us how many cattle have had to be slaughtered because of bovine tuberculosis in recent years? Is the number growing and what has been the cost of compensation?

[Baroness Northover]

My noble friend is absolutely right to highlight this. Last year 28,000 cattle had to be put down. Through this cull, we are looking at reducing the number of badgers by 5,000, so noble Lords can see the scale of this. The cost to the taxpayer over the last decade was £500 million for the cattle destroyed, and that could reach £1 billion in the next decade.

[Lord Krebs]

My Lords, as the Minister will be aware, the scientific assessment published on Defra’s website—I declare an interest as I was part of the panel that contributed the assessment—shows that culling badgers has a modest effect in reducing the incidence of TB in cattle; it is estimated to be 16%. Does the Minister agree that rolling out culling as a national policy to control TB in cattle is not really credible? Furthermore, will she tell us what assessment Defra has made of the reasons why 40% of farms in the highest-risk areas of the country do not get TB in their cattle?

[Baroness Northover]

The noble Lord has, of course, huge expertise, having been such a power behind the earlier, randomised controlled trials into this, which established the 16% figure that he has just talked about. That is why, faced with this enormous challenge, we are taking a range of measures, including more cattle testing, greater biosecurity and investing in research in vaccines. I noted his point about the herds that do not seem to be suffering from TB yet are in TB hotspots. I point him to the £250 million fund for new vaccination projects. It is undersubscribed. I suggest that he directs his research students to it, and I look forward to the enlightenment that he and his students bring on bovine TB, in the UK and around the world.

[Baroness Parminter]

Will the data from these trials, alongside the criteria against which free shooting will be judged humane or not, be published at the same time that the Secretary of State announces whether badger culling will be allowed in future?

[Baroness Northover]

The Government expect to be able to announce a decision on the reports in the early part of next year, when the information is in. I can assure my noble friend that the outcome of the monitoring of the pilot culls will be published. In the mean time, of course, other measures to seek to control bovine TB will also be taken.

[Lord Taylor of Blackburn]

My Lords, when the animals are killed, will there will be post mortems on their carcasses to see whether they are carrying TB or not?

[Baroness Northover]

There will be post mortems on the carcasses.

[Lord Soulsby of Swaffham Prior]

My Lords, following what is now known as the Krebs trial, it is quite clear that alternate approaches are now necessary. What are some of these alternate approaches to controlling tuberculosis in wildlife and domestic livestock? This country is well known for its ability to sedate wildlife, take samples and all the rest of it. An approach based on the sedation of badgers, for example, would be a good way in which to approach this issue. One could take samples, vaccinate and all the rest of it. Has the Minister considered any of the approaches that I have mentioned?

[Baroness Northover]

I can assure the noble Lord that the Government have considered all approaches, welcome all suggestions and welcome research. Cattle measures are the foundation of our control programme, and ultimately we wish to be able to use vaccination for cattle and badgers. As I mentioned, there is much investment into research. The problems lie in the challenges with the vaccinations; the research that is being conducted at the moment has not produced a vaccine that can be used in the immediate term, either for cattle or for badgers.

[Lord Knight of Weymouth]

My Lords, it is vital that we find a workable solution to the spread of TB from badgers to cattle. The science strongly suggests that a cull is not workable, even if this pilot to test whether a cull is humane is successful. In Wales, an intensive effort to vaccinate badgers looks more hopeful, because vaccination does not risk spreading the disease through the perturbation effect of culling. Given that the vaccination trials in Gloucestershire are being carried out at a third of the cost of vaccination in Wales, is it not time for Defra to reduce the cost of mandatory training for vaccination, so that it is at least as cheap as the training needed to shoot badgers?

[Baroness Northover]

I will, if I may, follow up my previous answer. There is an injectable badger vaccine, to which the noble Lord has referred, which is being used in Wales. He will also know that this has a lot of practical difficulties. It has no effect on already infected badgers, it requires the annual trapping of new cubs to vaccinate them, and so on. We therefore look with interest at what the Welsh Government are doing. We note the enormous cost of that and are aware that an oral badger vaccine, if there was one, would indeed be quicker and easier to use. I therefore refer back to the noble Lord, Lord Krebs, and his students and hope that there will be further research.

Women: Board Membership

Baroness Northover Excerpts

Monday 17th June 2013 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Thornton]

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what plans they have to increase the number of women on boards.

[Baroness Northover]

My Lords, the Government are supporting the voluntary, business-led strategy of the noble Lord, Lord Davies, to increase the number of women in UK boardrooms. At the time of the noble Lord’s latest report of April 2013, women had secured 34% of all FTSE 100 board appointments in the previous year. The UK corporate governance code now requires boards to report on their diversity policy. Headhunters have pledged to ensure that women make up 30% of longlists and, from October 2013, quoted companies will be required to disclose the gender balance at various levels within their organisation.

[Baroness Thornton]

My Lords, this is not what the Cranfield review of women on boards says, which is that that in the past six months, progress in the number of female non-executive directors in FTSE 100 companies has reached a plateau; it is flatlining and stuck at between 26% and 30%. It also says that there has been a lack of progress at the executive-director level of FTSE 100 companies. A rise from 5.5% to 5.8% since 2010 is not impressive. What will the Government do next? It seems that they have got the low-hanging fruit on this issue. If they have set their face against quotas, what does the Minister suggest doing about the abysmal lack of gender diversity, about ageism and about the lack of ethnic diversity in the country’s boardrooms?

[Baroness Northover]

I start by paying tribute to the noble Lord, Lord Davies, the noble Baroness’s colleague, for all that he has done to flag up this issue, and for the way in which he has driven it forward. He in turn has thanked the media for what they have done to make sure that this moves forward. He is absolutely right that we need to continue to make progress. There was an indication of plateauing. The situation now seems to be improving again. Business needs to show that it is making progress—as the noble Lord, Lord Davies, says—so that the Government can say that no quotas are needed. However, they are there as a back-stop.

[Baroness Kramer]

My Lords, my understanding is that the Government put a sword of Damocles over the industry by saying that if voluntary approaches—which I think we would all prefer—were not successful, they would look again at quotas. I believe that that was confirmed by both the Home Secretary and the Prime Minister. Will the Minister give assurances that the sword of Damocles is still in place and that the Government will be willing to let it fall if need be?

[Baroness Northover]

We are indeed pleased at the progress that is being made but the noble Baroness is absolutely right, as is the previous noble Baroness, that progress needs to continue. The Prime Minister said in February 2012 that further action has to be considered as a back-stop and Vince Cable said in April 2013 that the Government would, if necessary, adopt tougher measures. The warning is there. If there is continued progress, that is great. If not, there are sticks.

[Baroness Pitkeathley]

Does the noble Baroness agree that one of the problems is that the boards are not sufficiently flexible in what they see as the requisite experience for serving on boards? For example, many women who hold senior positions in the voluntary and charitable sector are never considered because their experience is not considered relevant.

[Baroness Northover]

The noble Baroness is right, and boards need to take a wider view in terms of the experience and expertise that are there. I should like to quote one of the remaining FTSE 100 companies, Melrose, which still has an all-male board. It is,

“a leading British-based investment company specialising in the acquisition and performance improvement of underperforming businesses”.

There are no women on its board. How is it to ensure that companies are geared to the 21st century if it is so outdated in its own approach?

[Baroness Howe of Idlicote]

My Lords, is the Minister satisfied that enough attention is being given to encourage companies to allow flexible working for both sexes, so that women and men can continue their careers to board level and spend time with their families?

[Baroness Northover]

The noble Baroness is right that flexible working both for women and men is something that companies need to look at to make sure that they do not lose the talent that they have brought forward. Businesses need to encourage all talent to join them and then they need to make sure that they continue to support people right the way through their careers and on to board level at the end.

[Baroness Wheatcroft]

Does my noble friend the Minister agree that it is the job of Government to encourage the sort of changes on boards that we are talking about but that it is not the job of Government to dictate? It is the shareholders who own the business who should decide who sits on the board.

[Baroness Northover]

My noble friend is quite right that the Government, and indeed wider society, should encourage businesses to look at this and to recognise their own self-interest in the 21st century.

[Lord Pearson of Rannoch]

My Lords—

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[Lord Pearson of Rannoch]

Noble Lords may not be aware of it, but it would make them mandatory. Can the noble Baroness tell us how the so-called “yellow card” issued by your Lordships’ House and seven other EU Houses of Parliament against that edict is progressing? Is subsidiarity winning or losing as usual on this one?

[Baroness Northover]

The directive that is potentially coming from the EU is a useful discipline. We need British business to demonstrate that it does not need to be applied in the United Kingdom because we have already made sufficient progress.

[Baroness Gould of Potternewton]

My Lords, I appreciate that the Government are very keen to get as many women as they can on to company boards but does exactly the same position apply to the appointment to public boards for which the Government are responsible? Perhaps she could tell us what is the Government’s strategy to get more women on to public boards?

[Baroness Northover]

The noble Baroness is quite right. We have an aspiration, as she probably knows, that 50% of appointments to public boards should be women by 2015. I have seen the figures that are just being finalised for the current state of affairs, and it is looking encouraging that we are moving in the right direction, but we are not complacent.

[Lord Brooke of Sutton Mandeville]

My Lords, Damocles was a man. Will the Government consider a female sword?

[Baroness Northover]

I look to the noble Lord to come up with one.

[Baroness Scotland of Asthal]

My Lords, how long will the Government wait to decide whether the sword needs to be used?

[Baroness Northover]

That is a very interesting question and I expect to have many more opportunities to discuss it.

Economy: Culture and the Arts

Baroness Northover Excerpts

Thursday 13th June 2013 Lords Chamber

[Lord Maclennan of Rogart]

My Lords, this has been a powerful debate, delivered by those who are highly expert and experienced in the field. I very much hope that what has been said will be taken to heart—as well as into the heads—of those in the Treasury who are no doubt considering future public expenditure problems. Although my vocation has been politics, my passion has always been for the arts. Even year when I played Hamlet and Cinderella at school and had to consider where my future lay, I did not have the guts to pursue what really made me tick. I thank the noble Baroness, Lady Wheatcroft, for her most insightful opening to this debate.

Before I develop my thoughts, I want to draw attention to one or two people who have, through their life’s work and what they are doing now, contributed to a transformation of the possibilities of the arts. Although the field is under pressure at the moment, I agree with those who have said that we are unrivalled in our contributions and in the creative industries. We have been and we have the basis to continue that, but a big change has come about in my lifetime.

I would like particularly to pay tribute to Denis Vaughan, the former conductor-assistant to Thomas Beecham. He was one of those who powerfully advocated that the lottery should be set up and he is still making the case that the money should go more to the arts. I was glad to hear several contributions, including those from the noble Lords, Lord Puttnam and Lord Grade, making that point, which certainly needs to be considered at this time. Another current contributor to the debate is the present lord mayor of the City of London, Alderman Roger Gifford, who decided to make arts and culture one of the central themes of his mayoralty. He has been talking not about the threat to the City from the European Union but about building on what we have. He has committed to establishing the City music foundation, a new charity to support musicians in the early stages of their careers through mentoring and opportunities to perform. It has been claimed on his behalf that the benefits derived from the City’s arts and culture clusters generate a net contribution of £225 million in gross value added and support 6,700 full-time equivalent jobs in the City.

Speaking for myself, in the past I represented a community which could scarcely be more different. It is the least populated part of the United Kingdom: the constituency of Caithness and Sutherland. I am currently presiding over a charity called North Highland connections, which enjoys the patronage of His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales. We set it up with a very clear view of bringing to that remote part of the country the opportunities for individuals to experience and enjoy the arts themselves, to promote tourism and to encourage young artists from all around the country to have the opportunity to display and develop their talents. All these things have come on rather well, although we decided to do it at a difficult time—namely, 2008. We have subsequently demonstrated that it is difficult even for the philanthropic trusts, which are under pressure at this time. Local and central government have been clamping down on the arts but the benefit of such a development is, to my mind, patently clear. I believe that this kind of effort should be given every encouragement to grow all around our country.

Another area of the arts with which I have been involved was as chairman of the European Cultural Foundation, when there was a national branch of that Dutch-based organisation. That also, it seems to me, provided for the modern world a huge benefit in bringing to the attention of all our citizenry, and right across Europe, the cultural identities of people who are sometimes developing very differently. However, it enhances the whole and I hope very much that the Government will recognise that that is an important part of being European.

Finally, I pay tribute to PRS for Music which, since 2000, has given more than £16 million to over 14,000 new music initiatives by awarding grants and leading partnership programmes that support music-sector directives. It has been invited by Arts Council England to deliver the new Momentum Music Fund which will inject more than £0.5 million into the music industry over the next two years by a seed-funding investment for emerging acts to help develop the careers of talented artists and bands. I am also impressed by the work of UK Music which is launching Skills Academy. It has drawn my attention to a matter of detail and, as an acknowledgement of the work that has been done by such organisations, I would like to draw attention to what a number of bodies have said is vital at this time and that is copyright. Government plans to modernise copyright could have a detrimental impact on creators, potentially jeopardising the income of British songwriters and composers. There needs to be an exception to copyright for private copying, but there should be a requirement for fair compensation. As it stands, in most EU member states, private copying is legal and any loss of income is reimbursed by systems of compensation. We must bear that in mind and I hope that it will be brought into consideration in the various other forums which are considering these matters.

There is a vital report which was commissioned by the Arts Council and published in May which we should all read. I had hoped, had we had longer, to be able to read some of its conclusions into our debate. This report by the Centre for Economics and Business Research has shown that the generalities that we have expressed in this debate about the contribution to industry and the economy are absolutely justified and I hope it will be studied and read with care by the Treasury.

[Baroness Northover]

My Lords, I remind noble Lords that we are in a time-limited debate and we obviously want to make sure that we have time enough for the Minister at the end and also for the noble Baroness, Lady Wheatcroft, to respond.

--- Later in debate ---

[Lord Puttnam]

Before the Minister sits down—

[Baroness Northover]

There is not time, I am afraid. The Minister must finish and we have to conclude within a minute and a half.

[Lord Gardiner of Kimble]

I apologise to noble Lords. The resounding view from us all is that the cultural sector and all who work within it contribute to the UK economy as well as enriching national life. The arts and culture are part of the route to national recovery. We must grasp every opportunity to allow culture and the arts to flourish and the UK economy to prosper.

Care Bill [HL]

Baroness Northover Excerpts

Wednesday 12th June 2013 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Northover]

My Lords, I thank noble Lords for their contributions to this mini-debate on Amendment 73. We are sympathetic to the view behind this amendment —or what seems to lie behind it—which seeks to ensure that the new chief inspectors will be given a place on the board of the CQC. I echo here the praise of the noble Lord, Lord Warner, for Professor Mike Richards. I know that the professor’s cancer colleagues will miss him in that field.

Noble Lords are absolutely right about the importance of improving quality and in particular of trying to drive up quality within primary care. The Secretary of State announced the appointment of a Chief Inspector of Hospitals as part of the Government’s response to the Francis review into Mid Staffs. As has been referred to, since that time the Government have also announced the positions of a Chief Inspector of Social Care and a Chief Inspector of General Practice. These three chief inspectors will sit within the CQC and lead for it on the inspection and regulation of all registered providers of health and adult social care. They will be high-profile positions—as the appointment of Mike Richards demonstrates—and will speak for the CQC on the quality of care that they find. As such, it is likely, as noble Lords have indicated, that they will have a lot to offer the CQC board in knowledge, experience and leadership.

The noble Lord, Lord Warner, asked about the areas that the Chief Inspector of General Practice might cover and whether the post might be drawn more widely. In some ways, that rather bears out my point: setting this in stone in statute may not be the best way to make everything link up so that the new positions work as effectively as possible. The CQC needs to move this forward so that it can best drive up quality. It will be for the CQC to determine the exact remit of each of the chief inspectors. All providers of registered health and adult care services will fall within one of the chief inspectors’ remits. Perhaps that will reassure the noble Lords, Lord Warner and Lord Hunt. The CQC is working up detailed proposals. No doubt it will pay attention to what noble Lords have said. Broadly, the Chief Inspector of Hospitals will cover acute trusts, including mental health trusts; the Chief Inspector of Social Care will cover providers of regulated adult social care, including care homes and domiciliary care agencies; and the Chief Inspector of General Practice will cover GP and dental practices as well as walk-in centres, private healthcare and independent ambulance providers. Clearly, the CQC will look at how it gets comprehensive coverage.

We have deliberately avoided requiring that these inspectors should have a seat on the board for two reasons. First, the aim of Clause 79 is to give the CQC more autonomy in determining which executive members sit on its board. This is in line with best practice, as no doubt noble Lords will recognise. We would not wish to remove this new autonomy by requiring that any executive, other than the chief executive, must sit on the board. Secondly, we have designed the chief inspector roles to be non-statutory. They are internal to the CQC, and the CQC will have the power to design, shape and adapt the roles in a way that best enables their operational effectiveness. I hope that that helps to reassure the noble Lord, Lord Warner.

[Lord Hunt of Kings Heath]

I am very grateful to the noble Baroness. Does that mean that at the end of the day the chief executive of the CQC can overrule the chief inspectors? That must be the implication of what she said.

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[Baroness Northover]

Perhaps I could carry on. I will come back to that in a minute.

Setting these roles as non-statutory clearly gives the CQC important flexibility to design them to fit their method of regulation in the fast-developing field of health and social care, without the constraints of prescribing the functions of the chief inspectors in statute. As these roles are not mentioned in the legislation, it would not be appropriate to require in legislation that they should have a seat on the board. Having said that, discussions with the CQC chair and chief executive showed them to share the view that chief inspectors will have much to offer the board. Their preference, subject to appropriate board approval, is that when practicable these executives should be appointed to the board. Given the intended importance of these roles, we fully agree with that. In advance of the new legislation coming into operation, I can confirm that the Secretary of State would consider using his current powers to appoint the three inspectors to the board if that was requested by the present CQC chair and chief executive.

The noble Lord, Lord Hunt, asked about Health Education England and the HRA. These will be established as unitary boards, which is to say that they consist of both executive and non-executive members. I can clarify that the chief inspectors are accountable to the chief executive and to the CQC’s board. They will speak for the CQC on their findings when they inspect providers. Having clarified these areas and reassured noble Lords about the significance of these roles and the need for flexibility, I hope the noble Lord will be content to withdraw his amendment.

[Lord Warner]

Clearly the noble Baroness has clarified matters, but whether she has reassured me is another question. I think the Government underestimate the profile of the Chief Inspector of Hospitals in particular. There is no doubt that this will be a very powerful and important post with an enormous profile. The idea that this person can be overruled by the chief executive and the board, as this legislation sets out, poses a problem I certainly want to think more about.

I also think that there is a gap here. Community health services are not clearly in anybody’s remit. I am sure my noble friend Lord Hunt would agree that if we were to identify one black hole where there is not a great deal of data on performance and quality, it would be community health services. It is an area that has not been probed well by independent inspection, and as far as I can see the game plan is to have no inspector looking into that area. Given everybody’s concern about integration, it seems a bit of a missed opportunity for there not to be some linking up there.

I want to consider this much further. It would be helpful if Ministers sent the Committee the job description for the three inspectors they propose. In my experience, it is rather difficult to appoint anyone to anything without a job description. It would be very helpful to our deliberations to have that before Report.

[Lord Hunt of Kings Heath]

It seems to me that unless this is sorted out there will be problems in the future, notwithstanding the calibre of the current leadership of the CQC, which I readily acknowledge. If the chief inspector does not have total operational independence when acting as chief inspector, I see a recipe for potential trouble. We will not reach Report until October, so there is plenty of time. My noble friend and I would be very interested to have at least some discussion about how the CQC will avoid the kind of conflicts that clearly we would rather not have, if at all possible.

[Baroness Northover]

I am very happy to take back to the department the request for further descriptions of the jobs in these cases. We should also bear in mind that the aims of these chief inspectors, as part of the CQC, are to maintain safety and effectiveness and drive up quality. They have shared aims; it is not as if they have different ambitions in this regard.

[Lord Warner]

That is extremely helpful, but my noble friend is absolutely right. Bearing in mind our earlier discussion about warning notices and enforcement, in reality what the chief hospital inspector says in many cases is what will determine whether the CQC goes ahead with a warning notice, which might trigger trust special administration. That is a really powerful position in the public arena. I would welcome, with my noble friend, a discussion with Ministers about this, but in the mean time I beg leave to withdraw the amendment.

--- Later in debate ---

[Baroness Northover]

My Lords, I welcome this very interesting debate which has gone in various directions. We have a number of amendments to consider here.

Amendment 73A would transfer the responsibility for the National Reporting and Learning System from NHS England to the Care Quality Commission. We wish to take the opportunity to underline the importance of the data and information available through the NRLS to the work of the Care Quality Commission. Indeed, a key component of the CQC’s new three-year strategy sets out how it will make better use of intelligence to inform inspections. However, I remind noble Lords that it was only on 1 June that responsibility for the National Reporting and Learning System was transferred to NHS England. This transfer puts patient safety at the heart of the NHS—I heard what the noble Lord, Lord Hunt, said, but I think it is extremely important that it is at the heart of the NHS—and will build on the excellent work of the National Patient Safety Agency. NHS England plans to develop a responsive NRLS that will provide a one-stop shop for NHS clinicians, patients and the public.

Additionally, noble Lords may be aware of the Berwick review of safety—reference was made to it—which seeks to learn lessons from the Francis report. It will report in July on a whole system approach to ensure that there is zero tolerance of harm in the NHS. We will, of course, give full consideration to any recommendations that that review might make on the effectiveness of the NRLS. In view of these important developments and reviews, we believe that reallocating this work now would be unnecessarily disruptive.

Amendment 73B introduces a new clause which would require the CQC to have regard to guidance on staffing numbers and skills mix in carrying out all its functions. I fully understand the sentiment behind this. All noble Lords will agree that high-quality care is dependent on the people giving it. We heard from the noble Lord, Lord Campbell-Savours, about the problems that arise when that breaks down. Clearly, the right staffing in terms of numbers and skills is vital for good care. It therefore follows that staffing levels and skills mix are key considerations for the CQC in regulating quality of care. However, as the noble Lord, Lord Campbell-Savours, says, that is not necessarily sufficient. The CQC’s registration requirements place a clear legal duty on providers to have sufficient numbers of suitably qualified, skilled and experienced staff in place for the services provided. It is the responsibility of individual providers to be accountable for staffing levels and the skills mix of staff in their organisations. Where a provider does not meet the staffing registration requirement, the CQC is able to use its enforcement powers to protect patients and service users. However, I note what the noble Baroness, Lady Finlay, said about this being an issue which is not necessarily best placed in primary legislation. The point is to try to achieve quality, safety and efficacy.

The CQC will shortly review and consult on its registration requirements. We intend to amend the requirements so that they will include fundamental standards. These will set the basics below which standards of care must never fall. We can assure noble Lords that the new chief inspectors that we talked about previously, based within the CQC, will have the power to inspect and assess staffing numbers and the skills mix as part of examining the quality of care and will be able to take any necessary action as they consider appropriate. Noble Lords asked whether NICE might become involved in that. We believe that the current legislative arrangements already require the CQC to assess staffing levels. However, we will work with NICE, the CQC, NHS England and other partners to review the use of evidence-based guidance and tools to inform staffing decisions locally.

Amendments 76B and 77 each introduce a stand-alone duty of candour in primary legislation. We had an extremely interesting debate that demonstrated the complexity of the issue. As the noble Lord, Lord Warner, noted, it is a complicated area. The noble Baroness, Lady Finlay, illustrated that, as did my noble friend Lady Jolly and the noble Lord, Lord Campbell-Savours. He noted that there could be unintended consequences such as unwanted litigation. However, my noble friend Lady Jolly said that often all that patients and their families need is clarity and something being admitted to. All these issues show how complicated the area is. The noble Baroness, Lady Finlay, spelt that out.

The Government share the view that providers of health and care must be open in their dealings with patients and service users. Our response to Robert Francis’s report makes a clear commitment to introduce a statutory duty of candour. I therefore wish to reassure noble Lords that we are doing that. In particular, I should like to reassure the noble Baroness, Lady Masham, on that point. That is what we are doing. The route that we are taking is perhaps endorsed by the nature of this debate. We see this as something that is better taken through by secondary legislation. Let me spell that out. The Government intend to introduce an explicit duty of candour on providers as a CQC registration requirement. This will require providers to ensure that staff and clinicians are open with patients and service users where there are failings in care. I hear the warnings voiced by the noble Baroness, Lady Finlay. In the end, the aim has to be to improve the quality, safety and efficacy of care. I note what she said about confidentiality.

As with all requirements for registration with the CQC, the Government intend that the duty of candour should be set in secondary not primary legislation. There are very strong reasons for that. Using secondary legislation will enable us to expedite the introduction of this duty and provide a degree of flexibility to get the design of the duty right. I am sure that the department and my noble friend Lord Howe will welcome noble Lords’ engagement, bringing their own wet towels if they wish to, as we take this forward. Secondary legislation will still allow for full parliamentary scrutiny, given that the changes to the regulations that set CQC registration requirements will be subject to the affirmative procedure in both Houses. The duty itself will have the same legal power in secondary legislation as it would in primary legislation. There is also the additional advantage that in such a new and important area we can refine this new duty over time, if noble Lords’ warnings prove to be significant. That is why I commend the Government’s preferred approach of setting the new statutory duty of candour through secondary legislation.

Amendment 77A has the effect of removing the power to specify the type of information and the type of care provider within scope of the new false or misleading information offence. This is a different but obviously related area. This would mean that we have a criminal sanction that applies to all information required by legal obligation, including under contract, which would be disproportionate. It is important that the offence does not inhibit providers from sharing information voluntarily, but we also need to keep the flexibility to respond to new information or different priorities for information over time.

We appreciate that noble Lords will be interested in understanding more about the types of providers to which this offence will apply. The Government are still considering the scope of the offence and I am absolutely certain that my noble friend Lord Howe will be happy to discuss this further with noble Lords.

We start from the issues raised in the Francis inquiry. We are therefore clear that the offence will apply to providers of NHS secondary care. This includes NHS trusts, foundation trusts and independent sector providers of NHS secondary care. We are giving further thought to whether the offence should also apply to other types of providers. We will consider whether, for example, there is a case for extending the offence to providers of adult social care, general practice and mental health services. We will consider this, working together with our stakeholders, and we will of course keep noble Lords informed as to our thinking as this moves forward.

[Lord Warner]

I am sorry to interrupt the noble Baroness’s flow, but could I just get her to expand a little bit on the approach on the issue I raised about protecting the employer? I was pleased to hear what she was saying about using the registration process to impose the duty of candour on the employer, but there remains the concern, which I think a number of us have, about how the employee who blows the whistle actually gets protected under the arrangements that she is talking about.

[Baroness Northover]

My noble friend says that they have protection under the NHS constitution. I hope that that clarifies it for the noble Lord but, given the time, I am happy, if necessary, to write to cover that further.

There were a number of questions, but I am well aware that time is pressing and that we are almost at the end of this part, so I will just come to one or two of them. In terms of the individual statutory liabilities in Patients First and Foremost, the Government stated that:

“before we introduce criminal sanctions at an individual level…we would want to ensure that this does not unintentionally create a culture of fear”.

The noble Baroness, Lady Finlay, spoke about that. We are, of course, waiting at the moment for the Berwick review, and no doubt we will be addressing this further in the light of it.

The noble Lord, Lord Hunt, asked about various points in relation to Francis. Francis himself made clear that many of his changes can be taken forward within the existing legislative framework and, as the noble Lord, Lord Campbell-Savours, indicated, they are, at heart, about changing behaviours in organisational cultures. The responsibility is therefore with each and every person serving patients to take action to make the changes needed.

However, we have these reviews coming forward, and we will obviously review what else we need to do. This has been an ongoing, long-standing problem, as noble Lords will be aware. I have listened to many debates in your Lordships’ House where these issues have been addressed, and people are endlessly frustrated in terms of trying to make sure that the quality and safety that you see in certain parts of the NHS is replicated in all parts of the NHS.

I am scurrying on through. If there are issues which I have not addressed, I am sure that—

[Lord Campbell-Savours]

I asked about the circumstances in which a private home took in a single National Health Service patient on a continuing care basis, paid for by the National Health Service. Does that home then come under the provisions of Clause 81? I am talking about one patient. Could that be an impediment to that home being prepared to take on NHS patients? I shall wait for the response to that.

[Baroness Northover]

The noble Lord may wish to bear in mind that his Government extended the inspection to private providers. The scope of the offence is wide enough to capture such providers, and it would first be necessary for such providers to be specified in the regulations made under Clause 81. I hope that that helps to clarify the matter for him but, if it does not, we will be happy to fill in any further details.

--- Later in debate ---

[Lord Hunt of Kings Heath]

Perhaps I may ask my noble friend whether that then comes to the point that the noble Baroness raised earlier about needing to extend this duty to GPs and social care providers. The reality is that if the duty were extended to social care providers, most of those homes would not be viable unless they accepted either local authority-funded clients or clients from the health service. Is not the answer to extend the duty to make sure that we cover GPs, community health and so on?

[Baroness Northover]

In terms of the division that the noble Lord pointed to, if a provider decides that it does not want to take on NHS patients because it will have to reach higher standards than for private patients—which appeared to be part of what he was saying—once that is publicised and becomes apparent, that will not exactly encourage people to use those providers.

[Lord Campbell-Savours]

No. My case is that they could be prosecuted in circumstances where they might otherwise not be prosecuted because they would not fall under the provisions of Clause 81(1)(c).

[Baroness Northover]

It might be better if my noble friend answered. However, I think that it would be best if we wrote to the noble Lord and explained the detail in this regard.

Perhaps I may conclude so that we can move on. I hope that it will reassure noble Lords that the draft regulations will be available for them to consider on Report, giving full details and specifying the type of information supplied or published by providers of NHS secondary care that will fall within the offence that I have just been talking about. Regulations will, again, be subject to full parliamentary scrutiny of both Houses using the affirmative procedure. I hope that that provides reassurance to noble Lords.

The Government place great importance on ensuring that the public, regulators and commissioners have an accurate picture of a provider’s performance and can have confidence in the information supplied or published by providers.

I trust that noble Lords will find some reassurance in regard to the actions that the Government are taking, particularly on the duty of candour, the complexity of that, the importance of putting it into secondary regulations and the involvement that they may wish to have as that is taken forward. Even if I need to clarify the specific points that the noble Lord, Lord Campbell-Savours—

[Lord Campbell-Savours]

I have one other point to make. When the reply comes, it might deal with whether that provision applies only to that individual patient who is subject to NHS support, as against the balance of residents in a nursing home.

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[Baroness Northover]

My noble friend says no. I can see that the van advertising litigation probably does not want to encounter the noble Lord, Lord Campbell-Savours, as he comes out of whichever hospital it is.

In the light of what I have said, and anything else that we need to clarify, I encourage noble Lords not to press their amendments.

[Lord Hunt of Kings Heath]

My Lords, we are extremely grateful to the noble Baroness for that reply. There are obviously a lot of issues that we may want to return to, but clearly the main debate is about the duty of candour. It has been a good debate because noble Lords have identified the problems of a statutory duty on individuals. This presents some real challenges, which clearly need to be thought out with great care and attention. I very much accept that there is a real risk of perverse incentives and discouraging staff doing the right thing because of the fear of prosecution.

However, I am puzzled about the duty of candour. I do not understand why the Government have included this offence of supplying false or misleading information in the Bill when the duty of candour, which is clearly much more important, will be relegated to secondary legislation. From the debate and the comments of all noble Lords who spoke, clearly this is not easy. It has to be got right. The best way to get it right is through primary legislation.

The problem with secondary legislation is that, at best, we will have an hour and a half of debate and we are not allowed to amend it. This issue is so complex and important that it warrants more. I strongly recommend that the Government to look at this again and bring back an amendment on Report in the light of Professor Donald Berwick’s recommendation. I think that they will find that the duty of candour is the flagship of the Francis report. Not to have it included in the Bill means that we are missing something. I suspect that patients will miss out in the end.

Having said that, this is a good way to conclude our discussions tonight and I beg leave to withdraw my amendment.

International Development: Budget

Baroness Northover Excerpts

Tuesday 11th June 2013 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Northover]

My Lords, I thank the noble Lord, Lord Empey, for securing this debate and all noble Lords for their contributions. There has been gratifying agreement about the importance of supporting development and support for the UK’s stance in reaching 0.7% of GNI on aid. We are, of course, the first G8 country to do so. I thank noble Lords for that agreement. The noble Lords, Lord Judd and Lord McConnell, the noble Baroness, Lady Tonge, and other noble Lords paid very generous tribute to the Government over that, which we really appreciate.

Especially in a period of austerity, I am very proud of the fact that we have done that and know how important it is morally. Singing, I suppose, in agreement, we have the right reverend Prelates, the Bishop of Chester and the Bishop of Derby, along with other noble Lords. The noble Earl, Lord Listowel, and other noble Lords emphasised that and pointed out what a difference it makes to the poorest around the world. However, it is also in our own national interest that we do this, which has been recognised as well. As my right honourable friend the Prime Minister pointed out on Saturday at the Nutrition for Growth summit:

“We understand that if we invest in countries before they get broken, we might not end up spending so much on dealing with problems—whether that’s immigration or new threats to our national security”.

The noble Lord, Lord Empey, and other noble Lords asked further about the Prime Minister’s position. Earlier this year, in India in February, the Prime Minister said,

“conflict states … haven’t met a Millennium Development Goal between them … it’s obviously true that if you can help deliver security and help provide stability … that is the base from which all development can proceed”.

He made it clear that spending would be compliant with international rules that define aid spending.

The Prime Minister did not say that he was filling some MoD black hole with the aid budget, whatever some decided he might have meant. He was saying that we need to work together to ensure we establish security for people in fragile and conflict-affected states, so that development can be built on. I am sure that the noble Baroness, Lady Tonge, and other noble Lords would agree with that. I note the real sophistication in this House in understanding how security and stability underpin development. As the noble Lord, Lord Judd, said, both the MoD and DfID are about human security and well-being. That was a brilliant encapsulation. They are complementary.

I assure my noble friend Lord Bates that, as he knows, as do other noble Lords, that the rules do not allow blurring. As noble Lords are well aware, and as the noble Lord, Lord Rosser, pointed out, the 0.7% must be spent in line with the definitions of official development assistance—ODA—as set out by the Development Assistance Committee of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. These directives define ODA as flows to eligible countries and multilateral institutions, each transaction of which is,

“administered with the promotion of the economic development and welfare of developing countries as its main objective”.

The right reverend Prelate the Bishop of Derby should find the multiple locks of the OECD reassuring. As noble Lords are well aware, the OECD directives rule out, for example, financing military equipment or services—including helicopters—unless funding is used to cover the additional costs to the military of delivering humanitarian aid.

I assure the noble Lord, Lord McConnell, and the right reverend Prelate the Bishop of Derby, in terms of aid workers being put in danger, that we are clear that humanitarian assistance should be administered impartially and on the basis of need. The protection and expansion of the humanitarian space protects aid workers from being seen as targets, but we are well aware of the general threats to them worldwide. We pay tribute to their efforts.

There is, of course, a wide understanding in this House that DfID, the FCO and the MoD need to work together, as the previous Government agreed, to ensure that we bring together development, diplomatic and defence expertise on the ground. The Building Stability Overseas strategy was produced jointly by DfID, the FCO and the MoD in July 2011 with a strong integrated approach across government at its heart, developing work done by the previous Government. Improving stability and security in fragile and conflict-affected states is vital for development. Conflict and instability undermine our efforts to reduce poverty. No conflict-affected country has met a single MDG. That is why the Government have committed to spend 30% of UK ODA in fragile and conflict-affected states by 2014-15. The noble Lord, Lord Judd, is right to emphasise that.

The UK-led Helmand provincial reconstruction team in Afghanistan is demonstrating how DfID, the MoD and the FCO can work effectively together. There we use the military’s strengths in delivery, access and know-how and the civilian staff’s political access, sector expertise and longer-term focus. This ensures maximum impact from our combined resources and expertise. Civilian and military teams work jointly to plan and deliver infrastructure projects on the ground, building schools, clinics and roads where needed and in keeping with Afghan government plans and capacity. Support for such development would not be possible without the military, which provides the security needed for governance and development to take hold.

Of course, as noble Lords know, this co-operation cannot be funded in such a way as to go beyond the OECD definitions. Therefore, for such operations, a mix of ODA and non-ODA resources is required. The Conflict Pool, to which noble Lords have referred, provides a funding mechanism made up of both resources. This was put in place by the previous Government. The mix of ODA and non-ODA is to give maximum impact. This enables the Conflict Pool to pay for military-led activities that help create stability in the most conflict-affected environments. The Conflict Pool is separate from and additional to departmental budgets.

My noble friend Lord Bates is right to praise the Conflict Pool as a tried departmental mechanism to increase the effectiveness of our programmes. Its aim is to reduce the number of people around the world whose lives are or might be affected by violent conflict. It is jointly managed by DfID, the MoD and the FCO and operates on the principle that all policy and programming decisions are taken jointly.

In 2012-13, £175 million of ODA was available through the Conflict Pool. The MoD spent about £2 million of this. As noble Lords will appreciate, the MoD spends more non-ODA from the Conflict Pool: about £40 million in 2012-13.

Like my noble friend Lady Tonge, I found myself going back a little in time as I was preparing for this debate. In 2009, for example, I submitted Written Questions to the previous Government about transfers from DfID, and I shall give a selection of the detail in the answers from the noble Lord, Lord Tunnicliffe. Noble Lords will find a trail of questions and answers in the months following March 2009, should they wish to look.

In answer to me on 9 March the noble Lord mentioned that transfers from DfID to other departments included £1,650,000 to DCMS for developing sport to do with the Olympics; £300,000 to the MoD; £1 million to the FCO; £6,716,000 to the FCO; £18,899,000 to the MoD for the conflict prevention pool, and so on. There was another transfer of £917,000 to the MoD for stabilisation in Iraq and £1 million to the FCO for police reform in Pakistan. In summary, the noble Lord replied that overall transfers will not significantly affect the UK’s ODA/GNI ratio.

The word “significantly” is interesting. I noted back in my questions that almost all the transfers were in one direction—away from DfID. I hope the noble Lords, Lord McConnell, Lord Rosser, and others, will note that there is a track record for the transfer of funds to other departments from DfID. For example, after the earthquake in Pakistan in 2005, the military supported relief efforts, providing helicopters, engineers and airlift capability. A memorandum of understanding was developed in 2000 between the MoD and DfID which provides the framework for DfID to request the use of military assets where civilian capabilities are either unavailable or inadequate to meet humanitarian needs in accordance with international guidelines.

My noble friend Lord Chidgey asked about the NSC, which has considered the topic of development in conflict, as one would hope it would. This is to ensure that the Government’s efforts are as effective as possible. The MoD recently published a joint international defence engagement strategy with the FCO, and among the four pillars of that are conflict prevention, post-conflict reconstruction and stabilisation.

Of course we can understand departments looking across at other departments’ budgets, not only DfID’s, I can assure the House. I am sure the previous Government experienced the same thing. I can assure noble Lords that our commitment to cross-departmental work for development is carried out in accordance with OECD rules. Noble Lords have made it clear in the debate that they fully understand the need to ensure that we work across departments, and that is what we must do. Whether it is the MoD, the FCO and DfID, or DfID, DECC and Defra on environmental issues and climate change, or DfID, DoH and DfE on health, development and education, we must ensure that what the UK Government do has the greatest effect in the relief of poverty around the world.

Noble Lords would expect no less of us. We are clear that the Government are committed to spending 0.7% of GNI on aid. Aid is defined as official development assistance by the OECD. We need to work across departments to achieve as much as we possibly can while we work with international organisations, both public and private, as shown in the nutrition summit. We are all agreed on how important it is to deliver the MDGs and their successors so that we can eradicate poverty worldwide. There is a sophisticated understanding in this House that to achieve that requires working across government.

House adjourned at 8.30 pm.

Women: Rights

Baroness Northover Excerpts

Tuesday 4th June 2013 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Hayter of Kentish Town]

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their assessment of the changes in the rights of women since Emily Davison’s fatal injury at Epsom on 4 June 1913.

[Baroness Northover]

My Lords, I pay tribute to Emily Davison for her extraordinary commitment to women’s rights. Over the past 100 years there has been major progress in securing the rights of women. However, we are acutely aware that there is still much we need to achieve, both in the United Kingdom and internationally.

[Baroness Hayter of Kentish Town]

My Lords, it was indeed 100 years ago today that Emily Davison sought to pin the votes-for-women colours on the King’s horse and died for her pains. I thank the Minister for paying tribute to the sacrifice she made and ask her similarly to honour those who have fought for our rights. Does she agree that, as she has hinted, sadly there is still a very long way to go before women achieve their true place in public life on the boards of private companies, in the earnings league, and in representation in general? Will she outline the government plans to make Emily Davison’s aspirations a reality?

[Baroness Northover]

Thinking about this Question, it seemed to me that Emily Davison would not be totally satisfied by any means, but that she would be very pleased at certain things that have happened. That a female Member of the House of Lords is asking this Question to a female member of the ministerial team is a case in point. The fact that the noble Baroness and I have both been able to vote throughout our adult lives; the fact that both of us were admitted to degrees in our universities; the fact that both of us were able to secure PhDs and have careers are all tributes to Emily Davison and the suffragettes. However, I recognise that there is still much more that we need to do.

[Baroness Hussein-Ece]

My Lords, my noble friend will be aware that currently only 22% of MPs in the House of Commons are women. However, is she aware that only 35 women have ever held Cabinet positions in this country, and that since 1918 only 369 women have ever been elected as MPs? Finally, has the Minister noticed, as I have and as many noble Baronesses have mentioned privately to me, that of the 95 speakers who have put their name on the list to speak in the current debate on equal marriage, only 16 are women? What do these figures tell us about the current progress in the mother of all Parliaments?

[Baroness Northover]

I note what the noble Baroness says about the number of women MPs and Cabinet Ministers. It is also worth bearing in mind that until 1958 there were no women in this House of Parliament. There was universal suffrage in 1928, but that did not mean that there were women in both Houses of Parliament. She is right about those numbers, and most of them have come in recent times. The first thing is to make sure that we get women into Parliament. I pay tribute to the party opposite for the efforts it has made and to the parties on this side for moving ahead in this regard. This is extremely important, and by getting women in, we get them to all levels of government.

[Baroness Gale]

My Lords, since the days when Emmeline Pankhurst and Emily Davison campaigned for women to get the vote, progress has been very slow. As has been mentioned, since 1918, 369 women have been elected as opposed to 4,538 men, making 8% of the total. Does the Minister agree that the biggest problem lies with local members of all parties, who are reluctant to choose women candidates, unless special measures have been put in place, such as the all-women shortlist, which Labour uses, or the A-list, which the Conservatives use? To get gender equality or balance in the House of Commons, does she agree that much more work needs to be done?

[Baroness Northover]

I pay tribute to the noble Baroness for what she has done in Wales. She knows how difficult it has been. She will also be aware that there is a better gender balance in the Welsh Assembly, the Scottish Parliament and the European Parliament. All of them have a proportional electoral system. That was put to the British electorate and they decided against it for the House of Commons, but she knows that it is more difficult on a first past the post system to get gender balance—and she will know that from looking around the world.

[Baroness Gardner of Parkes]

My Lords—

[Baroness Gardner of Parkes]

Is the Minister aware that this country was one of the first to pass an equal opportunities Act, but it was a long, slow process to move on from there to change the culture and attitudes not only in this country but world wide? Female genital mutilation is an example. Does she not think that progress is being made?

[Baroness Northover]

It is a long, slow process and we have much to do here. As noble Lords are well aware, their disproportionate responsibility for children, caring for elderly parents and so on hold women back in this country. We must make sure that men and women, families and society as a whole ensure that those responsibilities are shared. We are fortunate in many regards in comparison with women around the world. She flags a problem, which my honourable friend Lynne Featherstone is tackling, which afflicts girls in this country and, particularly, overseas and is an indication of the status of women.

[Lord Morgan]

My Lords, can the Government assist in the process by furthering a correct account of the death of Emily Wilding Davison? It was not a reckless act of suicide but, as my noble friend observed, a constructive act of peaceful protest that deserves the respect and gratitude of us all.

[Baroness Northover]

That sounds like a very good idea. Given that the noble Lord taught me history, perhaps he will take it forward.

[Baroness Williams of Crosby]

My Lords, I thank my noble friend and the noble Baroness, Lady Hayter, for their spirited responses in this brief discussion. I want to ask about one area where, sadly, the move towards equality has been extremely slow—the finance sector. Perhaps my noble friend can say something about what steps are being taken and how successful they are in increasing the proportion of women on the boards of major banks and other finance-sector companies.

[Baroness Northover]

We are pushing very hard to increase that. I note that the number of boards in the FTSE 100 that have no women on them has fallen to six, down from 21 in 2011. We are acutely aware of this.

Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria

Baroness Northover Excerpts

Tuesday 4th June 2013 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Northover]

My Lords, I, too, thank my noble friend Lord Fowler for securing this important debate and, like others, I pay tribute to his leadership in this field. Both he and the noble Lord, Lord Collins, are right to say that this debate follows a stunning endorsement of our commitment to equality and fairness for all. The noble Lords, Lord Lexden and Lord Fowler, and others flagged the difficulty of tackling disease and explained how stigma, criminalisation and lack of equality hold us back.

The United Kingdom Government are strongly committed to the fight against these three diseases, which represent some of the leading causes of mortality and morbidity in developing countries, posing the largest threat to achieving the health-related MDGs. They also slow economic activity, widen inequality and cause severe financial and emotional strain on affected households. We heard from my noble friend Lord Chidgey and the right reverend prelate the Bishop of Derby about the individual human impact of these diseases.

As we have heard, the global fund plays a key role in the fight against these diseases, and we recognise that its results to date have been very impressive. In a little over 10 years it has enabled a significant and sustained response that has changed the course of these diseases around the world, as my noble friend Lord Fowler highlighted. Thus, Bangladesh has seen a 92% reduction in malaria deaths. In Cambodia, TB prevalence has declined by 43% and malaria deaths have declined by 80%. In South Africa, life expectancy has risen for the first time in a decade from 51 years in 2005 to 60 years in 2010. In HIV there have been huge gains, as my noble friend Lord Fowler and others noted, with 700,000 fewer infections globally in 2011 than in 2001.

Challenges remain, however, such as the growth of drug-resistant TB and HIV epidemics driven by drug injection, as the noble Baroness, Lady Masham, pointed out. From 2001 to 2010, the number of people living with HIV rose 250% in eastern Europe and central Asia, again a problem flagged by my noble friend Lord Fowler.

We are currently the fund’s third largest contributor. As the noble Lord, Lord Collins, pointed out, in 2007 the United Kingdom committed up to £1 billion from 2008 to 2015 for the fund. Europe generally is also an active supporter. Taken together, the European Commission and the EU countries that contribute to the fund account for well over 40% of its receipts.

A year ago, my right honourable friend the previous Secretary of State Andrew Mitchell confirmed to the International Development Committee that the United Kingdom would contribute £128 million to the fund in the years 2012 to 2014. He also said that the United Kingdom would consider increasing that commitment depending on progress with the fund’s crucial reforms, to which the noble Lord, Lord Collins, referred.

DfiD Ministers have indeed increased or accelerated our funding to help the fund through short-term difficulties. In 2010, we advanced a payment so that all the proposals under the fund’s 10th round of applications could be approved, and in 2011 we brought forward another payment so that these same grants could be signed off. Because of this, we are on track to meet in full and one year early our £1 billion pledge, even before any increase. The United Kingdom also continues to be an active and engaged member of the fund and its committees in Geneva.

At country level, the United Kingdom provides a range of complementary funding and other support to national plans and global fund-supported programmes, as well as through in-country governance bodies, most notably the country co-ordinating mechanisms that manage global fund grants. However, as noble Lords have flagged, there have been some recent challenges; the noble Lord, Lord Collins, referred to this. The fund invites scrutiny and is a highly transparent organisation. In 2011, the Global Campaign for Aid Transparency ranked the fund fourth in their “Publish What You Fund” data, and in 2012 the global fund ranked joint third. That is very encouraging. As my noble friend Lord Chidgey and others have noted, we rated the fund as providing very good value for money in the multilateral aid review.

However, press reports in 2011 claiming fraud and corruption caused the fund to examine its systems and procedures. It became apparent that the reports were exaggerated and extrapolated from audits that the fund itself had published. None the less, they triggered a series of events, including the cancellation of the fund’s 11th round of applications for funding. A high-level independent review panel was established to look at the fund’s fiduciary controls and oversight mechanisms. The panel concluded that the fund’s purpose was right and that it had achieved significant results, but that it had outgrown its original structures and was in urgent need of reform, including changes to its business model.

The fund responded in full to the panel’s recommendations. Subsequent reforms have been rapid and far-reaching. It has changed its business model and practices and made significant and strategic senior appointments so that the senior management team is even stronger than before. It has redirected staff towards active grant management and working more closely with high-burden countries.

My noble friend Lord Chidgey asked about an incident in Djibouti. We and the fund take a zero tolerance approach to fraud and corruption, which he will not be surprised to hear me say. We have supported the fund in appointing a chief risk officer, undertaking a grant-by-grant and country-by-country assessment of risk and strengthening the secretariat to manage risks better. The fund is further improving its audit investigation units, and recovery of any and all fraud is being vigorously pursued.

A new funding model, intended to ensure that the fund improved its performance and better met the needs of poor people affected by the three diseases was agreed late last year. I reassure my noble friend Lady Chalker that the secretariat is focusing in particular on the 20 high-impact countries in Africa and Asia that account for 70% of the burden of the three diseases and 54% of the fund’s grants. We are very glad that the global fund appears to be back on track and even stronger than before. On 28 February this year, it allocated £1.9 billion to 50 countries to test its new funding model, and on 15 May we learnt that the first five country concept notes have passed their review stages and will be recommended to the board for funding later this year.

I was asked a number of questions, and I shall go through some of them. The right reverend Prelate the Bishop of Derby asked about civil society involvement and emphasised the significance of that, and of course that is right. Roughly 33% of global funding grants go to civil society recipients in parallel to Governments. My noble friend Lady Chalker asked about the training of health workers. As she probably knows, the global fund supports health workers, including through general health system strengthening and through the countries’ own national programmes. She was concerned that there should be better targeting on prevention, which the noble Lord, Lord Fowler, emphasised, and we agree. Clearly, the 310 million bed nets—again the noble Lord, Lord Fowler, referred to this—are a demonstration of what can be done.

Various noble Lords emphasised the reduction of stigma, including my noble friends Lord Lexden and Lord Fowler. My noble friend Lord Fowler interestingly linked that to vaccines. We agree that the support for the development of vaccines is very important and we have increased funding. As part of a package of interventions, even an inefficient vaccine can have its uses.

My noble friend Lord Lexden suggested that we needed to work closely with private sector foundations and individual contributors, and we agree. We are doing that generally across DfID. He will note that Bill Gates will be joining us on Friday and Saturday at the hunger summit, for example, outside this debate.

The noble Baroness, Lady Masham, asked about diagnostics. I assure her that DfID is providing £6.5 million to the Foundation for Innovative New Diagnostics to develop new diagnostic tests for a range of diseases. She is absolutely right about the importance of that. She and my noble friend Lady Jolly emphasised the importance of TB research and taking this forward. DfID supports a range of research, including £23.3 million to the Global Alliance for TB Drug Development and various other projects.

We liaise closely with our colleagues on the fund’s board, including those from the United States, France, Germany, Japan and the EC, and—I hope this reassures the right reverend Prelate—with those from civil society. We recognise President Obama’s request to Congress of $1.65 billion for 2014 as a strong vote of confidence in the fund and its reforms. Like the noble Lord, Lord Fowler, we pay tribute to the United States’ record here.

Our own reform priorities are to reduce transaction costs levied on recipients and on partners, as flagged by my noble friend Lady Chalker; to gain even better value for the money spent; to continue the focus on the poorest and most vulnerable; and to develop the longer-term sustainability of global fund-supported programmes. Clear, positive developments have already been made and we are seeing early signs of the impact of these reforms. The multilateral aid review update for the global fund, which will be published in the summer, will help to provide further important evidence.

I welcome the interest of all noble Lords in this area. The focus is to make sure that in a period of global austerity, when we all face major health problems, such as those resulting from HIV/AIDS, malaria and TB, resources are used as effectively as possible. The global fund has an impressive track record and it is vital that such international players, whose reach is far wider than that of individual countries, are as efficient as possible as we seek to combat poverty and disease around the world.

India: Aid

Baroness Northover Excerpts

Wednesday 15th May 2013 Lords Chamber

[Lord Harries of Pentregarth]

To ask Her Majesty’s Government, in the light of United Kingdom aid to India being phased out in 2015, and the high proportion of that aid being targeted at the Dalit or Scheduled Caste communities, what information they have about how those aid programmes will be replaced.

[Baroness Northover]

My Lords, faster and more inclusive development, including for Dalits, remains a priority for the Government of India. India’s own development efforts have lifted 60 million people out of extreme poverty in the past five years. After 2015, we will support India’s poverty reduction efforts through technical assistance and private sector programmes.

[Lord Harries of Pentregarth]

I thank the Minister for her reply. As she knows, despite the growing wealth of the Indian middle class, poverty in India still exists on a horrendous scale. It is worse than all the African countries put together, with 500 million people living on less than $2 a day. One of the great advantages of DfID aid, as the Minister knows, is that it was focused on the poorest of the poor. Can she spell out—or, at least ask DfID to spell in more detail and set down on paper—what particular practical arrangements are being made for the continuation of these projects? On a government visit to these projects last year, of which I was a member, we saw the extraordinary and valuable work being done. Can we have something in writing about the practical arrangements to ensure that these projects will continue?

[Baroness Northover]

I thank the noble and right reverend Lord for his tribute to the work conducted by DfID in India. I am happy to write to him with a great deal of detail on what is happening. I think the noble and right reverend Lord saw the Odisha project for girls; boys are also being brought into secondary schools, initially supported by DfID. That is being taken over by the government there. DfID is in talks with both central and local government about how best to take forward the various projects in which it is involved, with the intention of carrying forward looking after the poorest and most vulnerable in India.

[Lord Bilimoria]

My Lords, to build on what the noble and right reverend Lord, Lord Harries, has just said, we own the only factory and brewery in Bihar. I work closely with the government there, and they appreciate so much the work that DfID does on the ground, helping the state to be more efficient, such as the Right to Public Service Act and the BLISS programme to help teachers learn and teach English. Will this work carry on? It is generally appreciated. This is not just aid, it is goodwill being generated. Do the Government agree?

[Baroness Northover]

I thank the noble Lord for his tribute. The British Council will continue to be supported in India, and some of the programmes the noble Lord mentioned may well fall under that. DfID will continue to be in India. It will have a hub of expertise there and is working closely with the Indian Government on the nature of that. It will be giving technical support. I remember visiting India and seeing how DfID acted as a lever for access to other funds, such as the Global Fund, and a great deal can happen in that regard.

[Lord Avebury]

My Lords—

--- Later in debate ---

[Baroness Northover]

I can assure my noble friend that we are talking to partner state governments about sustaining the benefits of DfID support once UK financial aid ends. DfID projects in these states are already aligned to the large government schemes and in most cases will be taken forward by the Government of India. However, in spelling out the details I am very happy to write to both noble Lords.

[Baroness Kinnock of Holyhead]

My Lords, is it not clear that the decision to end aid to India, as well as to South Africa, neglects the reality that three-quarters of the world’s poorest people now live in middle-income countries? Thirty-nine per cent of South Africans live below the poverty line, while India is home to one-third of the world’s poorest people. Is it not time, therefore, to end the simplistic and misleading reliance on national averages, which so severely undermines efforts to eradicate poverty?

[Baroness Northover]

The noble Baroness needs to bear it in mind that it is through economic development that you lift people out of poverty and that India has lifted 60 million people out of poverty. The changes in the UK’s aid arrangements reflect India’s rapid growth and development process. We will continue to be involved with it in how this is taken forward.

[Lord Tugendhat]

Does the noble Baroness not agree that as India is one of the most rapidly growing economies in the world, with a very substantial space programme, a foreign aid programme of its own and an ambitious defence programme, the responsibility for dealing with its very considerable social problems rests with the Government of India? The purpose of British aid should be not only to help very poor people but to help very poor people in poor countries that do not have the means at their disposal which the Indian Government have. The Indian Government choose to spend money on space, foreign aid and defence, and that is their right, but it is not the responsibility of Britain to fill the gaps.

[Baroness Northover]

The two noble Lords may want to have a conversation in the margins of the Chamber. I would point out that the Government of India have been putting an increasing amount of money into education, higher education, access to finance, comprehensive village development, and so on. There is a range of areas where India is taking forward the kind of programmes that both noble Lords would wish to see.