African Legal Support Facility (Legal Capacities) Order 2014

Baroness Northover Excerpts

Tuesday 17th June 2014 Grand Committee

Moved by

[Baroness Northover]

That the Grand Committee do consider the African Legal Support Facility (Legal Capacities) Order 2014.

Relevant documents: 27th Report, Session 2013-14, from the Joint Committee on Statutory Instruments

[Baroness Northover (LD)]

My Lords, this draft order covers the ratification of the international treaty agreement establishing the African Legal Support Facility. The order was laid before the House on 6 May.

Since its inauguration in 2009, the ALSF has grown its membership to 57 members, consisting of 46 African countries, five non-African countries and six international organisations. Its primary objective is to support African countries to make the most from their natural resources. It helps countries to combat vulture funds and strengthens legal expertise within Africa.

First, on extractives, Africa as a continent has been unable to capitalise fully on the development and growth opportunities offered by its significant natural resources. In many cases the exploitation of oil, gas and mining resources has helped to enrich the powerful and well connected, but failed to bring about widely shared poverty reduction. Many countries do not have the laws and rules required to create modern extractive industries that share the benefits from resource extraction through fair taxation and job opportunities for local people. Even where sound legislation exists, the capacity to implement it is often woefully inadequate. To make matters worse, poor people and communities often bear the brunt of the negative impacts of resource extraction such as environmental degradation, displacement and, in some cases, conflict.

Bad contracts are often the reason why extractive industries do not work for the poor. Governments in developing countries do not have the legal capacity to match the expertise that investors are able to mobilise through international law firms. This expertise is very expensive and therefore beyond the reach of Governments who do not even have the funds to pay their civil servants or deliver the most basic social services to their people. As a result, they lose out through bad deals.

Over 60% of ALSF’s active and completed projects are therefore assisting countries to negotiate complex commercial contracts, especially in the natural resource and extractive industries, that strike a better balance between host Governments and investors. It is important to emphasise that responsible investors are strongly supportive of the assistance that the ALSF provides because more balanced contracts are less likely to be renegotiated by future Governments.

A secondary objective of the ALSF is to support African countries facing legal proceedings by vulture funds. African Ministers have called on the international community to assist countries facing this challenge, particularly those that have benefited from relief under the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries Initiative. Vulture funds have been and remain a major problem for developing countries. They buy up commercial debt at a discount and then sue for the full amount plus interest. When vulture funds pursue settlement of these debts, they often use aggressive tactics such as seeking court orders to seize physical or financial assets belonging to the sovereign debtor. Vulture funds siphon resources that UK taxpayers and other international donors have pledged through debt relief and aid to African Governments for poverty reduction, and often base themselves in countries that require limited transparency, so it is difficult to restrict their practices. Although they are an important objective for the ALSF, there has been less demand for this service than on extractives. Combating vulture funds represents 22% of the ALSF’s completed and active projects.

Thirdly, the ALSF also provides technical assistance to regional members, to help strengthen their own legal expertise on extractives and vulture funds. Providing training for African lawyers means that they can take the lead for future debt and contractual negotiations.

Ratifying membership of the ALSF helps meet the UK’s commitment made as part of last year’s G8 presidency to support African leaders on making the most of their natural resources for inclusive growth. Membership of the ALSF is also part of DfID’s growing efforts to harness oil, gas and mineral wealth for economic development and poverty reduction. The Secretary of State for International Development has asked the department to scale up work on extractives with a focus on: raising global standards of extractives’ transparency and accountability, for instance through the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative, which the UK helped to launch in 2005; increasing capacity of resource-rich countries to manage their resources better, especially through the department’s bilateral programmes in Africa and Asia; and building partnerships with the private sector to promote transparency, build skills and maximise the impact of their investments on poverty.

I therefore commend the order to the Committee.

[Lord Collins of Highbury (Lab)]

My Lords, I very much welcome the comments of the Minister in introducing this instrument. However, it is a bit unfortunate that it has taken nearly five years from 2009, when the UK signed the agreement for the establishment of the ALSF, to our taking this step today towards fulfilling our obligations under Article 3 of the agreement to grant the facility full juridical personality in the UK. Can the Minister explain that significant delay? I would also appreciate it if she could update the Committee on the status of the other signatories to the agreement fulfilling their obligations under Article 3, particularly the four other non-regional signatories—France, the Netherlands, Belgium and Brazil. I also wonder whether she could highlight whether the delay in obtaining the juridical personality has hampered the operation of the facility since its establishment.

As the Minister highlighted, one of the key tasks of the facility has been and remains to empower African nations in tackling vulture funds. Has she assessed how effective it has been in that role? She mentioned 22% of work in that respect. Given that the UK has introduced legislation domestically to rein in such funds, what steps have been taken to ensure that our experience and expertise gained is shared through the facility and other means? Has the department considered providing financial or material support to the facility to fulfil that role?

My final point is very much to welcome the decision to award £7 million to the facility over the next three years to provide legal support for the negotiations that the Minister highlighted about extractives contracts. Given the number of such contracts being negotiated in Africa over the coming years, does she believe that the planned split of the funding, with just 15% going towards the building up of domestic legal capacity, is adequate to build self-sufficiency in the sector?

[Baroness Northover]

My Lords, I thank the noble Lord, Lord Collins, for his interest in this facility and also for providing me with his questions prior to this debate, which was extremely helpful.

This organisation clearly has significant potential impact. We are well aware that the rich mineral resources across Africa offer the potential for accelerated progress in poverty reduction. On the other hand, as the noble Lord indicated, there is a risk associated with that as well, and we have to make sure that the advantages of that richness in mineral resources benefit the people in these countries right across their societies. That is why we are taking forward our support for this organisation, which was initially begun under the previous Government and I pay tribute to them for that.

The noble Lord asked why it has taken five years to get this far, given that the United Kingdom signed the agreement in 2009. I reassure him that the slow ratification process has no direct impact on the operations of the African Legal Support Facility and the United Kingdom’s engagement with it. Ratification of an international treaty can take a very long time, as many official entities in the United Kingdom and elsewhere need to be involved, and a number of processes took longer than expected. In order to ensure inclusion and transparency, this necessarily included, for example, lengthy consultation with the overseas territories and Crown dependencies through the Ministry of Justice regarding their inclusion in the ratification of the agreement. Nine overseas territories and three Crown dependencies will, I am pleased to say, be included.

The noble Lord asked for an update on the status of other signatories in fulfilling their obligations under Article 3. I am very happy to provide those details for the noble Lord in writing.

He also asked about reviewing the effectiveness of operations and how that is looking at the moment. The ALSF governing council regularly reviews the effectiveness of its operations. While there were concerns about its value in initial years, new leadership has transformed its effectiveness. UK government officials maintain good links with the ALSF to exchange lessons, and DfID support forms part of a package of assistance from a wide range of donors. The ALSF agrees priorities for the use of these funds on an annual basis.

The United Kingdom is represented on the ALSF’s governing council, which obviously helps us to be well aware of exactly how it is moving forward and how we can best make sure that it benefits the communities that we are talking about here. Other organisations are also involved, including the World Bank, the Natural Resource Governance Institute and international senior lawyers. They have all helped in providing capacity building, and no doubt that is also helping the organisation to move forward.

Having paid tribute to the previous Government for initiating this process, I hope that the noble Lord and other noble Lords are reassured on those points.

Motion agreed.

Sudan: Meriam Ibrahim

Baroness Northover Excerpts

Tuesday 10th June 2014 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Northover (LD)]

My Lords, my right honourable friend the Prime Minister and other senior Ministers have condemned the sentence against Meriam Ibrahim in the strongest terms. We have raised our concerns with Sudanese Ministers and formally summoned the Sudanese chargé d’affaires in London. We urge Sudan to uphold its international obligations on freedom of religion by reversing this decision.

[Lord Alton of Liverpool (CB)]

My Lords, I thank the Minister for that reply. In a week in which we are focused on violence against women, is not the cruel treatment of Meriam Ibrahim—sentenced to 100 lashes to be followed by execution, and shackled while giving birth—emblematic of a regime which, from Darfur to South Kordofan, systematically murders and mistreats its own people? While I greatly welcome the Prime Minister’s condemnation of those medieval and tainted laws, is it not time that we exposed the hypocrisy of countries such as Sudan that sign up to the 1948 declaration of human rights, especially to Article 18, yet honour it only in its breach and treat their citizens in this barbaric way? Should we not be offering Meriam Ibrahim and her two little ones immediate refugee status, unequivocally demonstrating the value of a civilised country and a humane society?

[Noble Lords]

Hear, hear.

[Baroness Northover]

The noble Lord is absolutely right to highlight this case, and I thank him for highlighting the global summit taking place this week. This case shows how important that summit is.

As I mentioned, my right honourable friend the Prime Minister condemned the sentencing. He stated that he was absolutely appalled by the decision and called her treatment barbaric. The Foreign Office has called on the Government of Sudan to respect the right to freedom of religion and belief, a right which, as the noble Lord said, is enshrined in international human rights law, as well as in Sudan’s 2005 interim constitution. My honourable friend Lynne Featherstone also raised this case on 20 May with the Sudanese Foreign Minister. It is a case, above all, about freedom of religion and belief, and the noble Lord is quite right to highlight it.

[Lord Anderson of Swansea (Lab)]

Would it not be appropriate if Muslim leaders in this country—perhaps throughout Europe—who benefit from our freedom of religion, were to make an appeal to the Sudanese authorities, perhaps with international organisations such as the OIC? Have the Government encouraged British Muslim leaders to make such an appeal?

[Baroness Northover]

One of the features about this case—there are others—is the international outcry. A striking thing is the way that it has affected the Government of Sudan, who were taken aback by it. That shows that this kind of campaign—as the noble Lord will know, a lot is going on through social media—can be effective, and that all voices need to contribute.

[Lord Chidgey (LD)]

My Lords—

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[Baroness Berridge (Con)]

My Lords, I am grateful to my noble friend for giving way. The UK taxpayer gives millions of pounds each year to fund work in Sudan, including specifically funding the education and training of 20,000 young people. What assurances can my noble friend give to the UK taxpayer that such education and training by NGOs enhances freedom of religion and belief, pluralism and the right to change one’s religion in Sudan?

[Baroness Northover]

Education is extremely important, and my noble friend is right to highlight our commitment to it. The United Kingdom Government raise human rights with the Government of Sudan. We are very much involved with human rights lawyers and organisations. We are training the human rights commission and trying to ensure that the majority of people in Sudan can follow their chosen religion and have freedom of religion and belief, and that those who are in minorities are not discriminated against.

[Baroness Cox (CB)]

Is the Minister aware that Meriam’s firstborn son, Martin, only about 18 months old, has been kept in prison with his mother because the authorities regard him as a Muslim and will not allow him to be raised by his Christian father, and that, if her death sentence is upheld, custody of her children will be granted to the Government because her husband is a Christian? Therefore, will Her Majesty’s Government raise with the Government of Sudan the issue of what is being done to assess the well-being of Martin, the little boy, while he is in prison, whether it is true that the children’s father will not be allowed custody of the children and whether that is in accordance with Sudanese law or an imposition of Sharia law?

[Baroness Northover]

We are keeping a close eye on the welfare of not only the mother but the children—I asked about this as I was being briefed—and we are in close contact with the defence lawyers. One of the striking things in this case is the application of an older law, which is not in keeping with the 2005 interim constitution or what Sudan has agreed under international human rights obligations. We are urging the Government of Sudan to undertake a comprehensive review of their penal code in the light of this, so that they now keep not only to what they have agreed within Sudan but to their international obligations. What is important is that the majority should be protected. We have an individual case here which highlights things; we must not forget the other cases, too.

[The Lord Bishop of Norwich]

My Lords, can the Minister inform the House what conversations Her Majesty’s Government have had with Mr Barroso and Mr Van Rompuy, who are meeting international faith leaders in Brussels tomorrow to press for united action in this case?

[Baroness Northover]

I will have to write to the right reverend Prelate in this regard to fill him in on that. However, I can tell him that we are keeping this case under close review and working with a number of different people.

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[Baroness Kinnock of Holyhead]

My Lords, is the Minister aware that a number of courageous and remarkable Sudanese women will be in London this week to attend the summit on ending sexual violence? These women have dared to speak out against widespread sexual violence, the near total impunity for its perpetrators and cruel and degrading treatment such as the public flogging of women. Can the Minister therefore assure the House that, as well as continuing to press for the release of Meriam Ibrahim, the UK will work to ensure that a review takes place of the Sudanese criminal code, which permits torture and the denial of fundamental rights?

[Baroness Northover]

As I mentioned just now, we are seeking to have the Government of Sudan review their penal code in the light of the obligations that they have made. The noble Baroness highlights the global summit this week and we are very pleased that women from civil society in Sudan are there. There is also a faith meeting there and, in answer to an earlier question, it is highly likely that this case will come up during that.

Afghanistan: Quarterly Statement

Baroness Northover Excerpts

Wednesday 14th May 2014 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Northover (LD)]

My Lords, with the leave of the House, I will now repeat a Statement made by my right honourable friend the Secretary of State for International Development in another place. The Statement is as follows.

“With permission, Mr Speaker, I should like to update the House on Afghanistan. First, I should like to pay tribute to the six service personnel who have died serving their country in Afghanistan since the last statement on Afghanistan was delivered to the House by the Defence Secretary on 10 February. They include Sapper Adam Moralee, who was killed on 5 March while preparing equipment for redeployment out of Afghanistan as part of our military drawdown. On 26 April, five UK service personnel—Captain Thomas Clarke, acting Warrant Officer Class 2 Spencer Faulkner, Corporal James Walters, Flight Lieutenant Rakesh Chauhan and Lance Corporal Oliver Thomas—were tragically killed in a helicopter crash south of Kandahar. A full investigation is under way into the incident but there is currently no indication of enemy activity being a contributing factor. It was the third biggest single loss of UK life since 2001.

These deaths are a timely reminder that our troops continue to risk their lives in Afghanistan every single day. Their legacy is realised in the fact that Afghanistan is now neither a safe haven nor a launch pad for terrorists who seek to destroy our way of life. The tens of thousands of Afghan security forces who they helped to mentor and who are now securing the country’s future are a testament to that. The sacrifice of our servicemen and women will never be forgotten.

I should also like to reiterate my deepest sympathies for those affected by the tragic landslide in Badakhshan province. Relief efforts are under way to help the more than 4,000 people displaced. The UK is closely monitoring the situation and stands ready to provide further assistance. Our recent £10 million contribution to the UN’s Common Humanitarian Fund will ensure that additional relief supplies can be delivered as required.

While the scale of the challenge cannot be underestimated, we are seeing some extraordinary progress in Afghanistan. Last month, Afghans took part in provincial and presidential elections. These elections were organised by Afghans, run by Afghans and security was provided by Afghans. The latest estimates from the preliminary results on voter turnout show that nearly 7 million people voted, 36% of whom were women. This is particularly impressive given Taliban threats of violence across the country. With very little support from ISAF, the Afghan security forces secured the vast majority of polling centres across the country and helped prevent any high profile attacks from occurring. Their professionalism and bravery were evident throughout, and their confidence has been boosted by this operational success.

A constitutional transfer of power from President Karzai to his successor will be a milestone for the Afghan people. Until 10 years ago, Afghans had never had the right to choose their leader. Now they are getting a choice and the UK Government are supporting that democratic process. We continue to support Afghan institutions in making sure that the elections are credible, inclusive and transparent. DfID is providing £20 million to the UN’s ELECT II programme, which ran a voter registration top-up exercise in Afghanistan. This has led to more than 3.8 million new registered voters, more than one-third of whom are women. ELECT II also trained almost 7,000 election commission officials, more than 2,000 of whom are women. That includes gender officers for each of Afghanistan’s 34 provinces.

Women’s political participation has been a priority for the UK Government in the past year, and it was impressive to see so many women exercise their democratic rights as voters. Although there were no female presidential candidates, it is a sign of how much Afghanistan has changed that three women stood as second vice-president on presidential tickets, and 297 women contested provincial council elections. The Government’s support for women voters and candidates—through the UN and through DfID’s own programmes—will continue through to the parliamentary elections in Afghanistan in 2015.

We have made clear that our commitment to Afghanistan extends beyond the time that UK combat forces have returned home. The UK has committed to its current level of development funding until at least 2017. However, in order for us to continue our co-operation with Afghanistan for the long term, it is important that the bilateral security agreement and the NATO status of forces agreement are agreed as quickly as possible, and we will expect to see clear progress and further reforms from the new Afghan president and his Government.

Afghanistan’s economy remains fragile and vulnerable to shocks. Although economic growth and tax revenues have increased substantially over the past decade, uncertainty ahead of the elections, alongside the impact of the drawdown of international forces, have led to an economic slowdown in recent months. DfID’s continued support to Afghanistan’s economic growth and private sector development in the years ahead will seek to remove barriers to investment, particularly in the agriculture and extractives sectors, and create economic opportunities for women. The UK will also continue to support greater regional economic integration through infrastructure development and trade.

We hope that the new president will prioritise increasing domestic revenue collection and strengthening the economy, including passing key economic legislation. That is the best way to ensure that the country’s long-term future is not reliant on aid from other countries. At an early stage, the UK will be encouraging the new Government to take further steps on reforms that the international community wants to see, including tackling corruption and ensuring that gains made on women’s rights are strengthened. Some of the bravest Afghans I have met have been women’s rights defenders. These people risk their lives daily, fighting for rights that men and women take for granted in this country. The UK Government will continue to support their efforts to secure a better future for Afghan women and girls.

We cannot do that alone and Afghanistan’s future depends on many international actors playing their parts alongside the work that Afghans are doing themselves to secure their country’s future. Afghanistan will inevitably be a key feature of the NATO summit, which will take place at the Celtic Manor in Wales in early September. Plans and preparations are well under way to deliver that important NATO event, and the UK Government will co-chair a development conference on Afghanistan in the months after the new Afghan Government are formed. This will be a timely opportunity to focus both Afghan and international attention on the long-term economic, social and political challenges that Afghanistan must address.

The turnout for last month’s election shows the will and determination of the Afghan people to secure a brighter future, but they need our support. By continuing our essential development work by working together, we can create a stable country where Afghan children have opportunities that were denied to their parents. That will be a fitting and lasting legacy to the service of our troops, both those who are now returning to their families, and those who, tragically, do not”.

My Lords, that concludes the Statement.

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[Baroness Northover]

My Lords, I thank the noble Lord for his tributes in this area both to our troops and to our Government. We welcome the fact that the Opposition indeed work in a very constructive way in regard to Afghanistan, and I thank him for that.

The noble Lord raised a number of points. He mentioned the question of mental health among troops. He is right that this is a key area that we must ensure that we address. I assure him that the MoD works closely on combat stress and has just put up £7.4 million to improve mental health services.

Regarding the ICAI reports that he flags up, ICAI—the Independent Commission for Aid Impact, for those who are less familiar with this organisation—makes the point that:

“Afghanistan is one of the most difficult placers to deliver aid and DfID’s staff work hard under demanding conditions”.

It has made a number of recommendations, as the noble Lord mentioned: for example, reviewing current and future projects; ensuring that intended beneficiaries are directly consulted; and giving a commitment to independent monitoring. I reassure him that all those issues are being taken forward. DfID constantly reviews what it is doing. Of course, DfID itself set up ICAI to inspect what the department was doing, so obviously we take very seriously what ICAI says in this regard. In a situation of transition, making sure that development is taken forward is part of what DfID is looking at.

The noble Lord concluded by saying that we must retain our commitment to Afghanistan. He is absolutely right. If we are going to continue to sustain the progress that is being made, that development engagement is exceptionally important and we must ensure that it is as effective as possible. We must also, as our first duty, care for our staff, whether they are drawn from DfID in the UK, Afghanistan or wherever. That is also part of what we closely look at.

The noble Lord asked about the mudslides. We think at the moment that adequate support is getting through to those who have been so badly hurt by this event. He will know that we contributed £10 million of humanitarian aid, and obviously we are open to further requests if appropriate. At the moment, though, we understand that adequate assistance is getting through.

The noble Lord rightly highlights the situation of women in Afghanistan. They have made amazing progress, given their starting point, and we are determined that things should not go backwards. The women in Afghanistan are even more determined, if you like, to ensure that that is the case, and we will be there to assist them. I thank him very much for the tribute that he paid to me and to my noble friend Lady Hodgson in this regard; there are many others in this House, including the Lord Speaker, who have been extremely strong in ensuring that women in Afghanistan are supported.

DfID contributes significantly to the support of women. In the election, one of our main aims was to try to ensure that women were registered, knew about voting and were able to do so. It is striking to read that in Heart, women smashed down the door of the voting station so that they could get in to vote. They were not ready to wait for it to open; they were so keen to get in there.

It is excellent that 20% of places on provincial councils will be held by women. It is a complete change from the situation a decade or two ago. That is very welcome, but we are acutely aware that things could easily go backwards and we are determined to do our best to try to ensure that that is not the case. In sum, we continue our strong engagement with Afghanistan, and we are acutely aware that it is through development that we will secure the kind of stability that they and we wish to see. That is why the UK Government continue their involvement.

[Lord Laming (CB)]

I associate myself with the very sincere and warm tributes that the Minister paid to the troops who have recently given their lives in Afghanistan. I feel sure that across the House we would like our troops to know that they have our complete support and we will never underestimate their bravery and what they do on behalf of our society.

It is difficult to single out the achievements in Afghanistan, but will the Minister convey to the Ministry of Defence how pleased we are to hear of the huge increase in the education opportunities for girls in Afghanistan? If anything is a fitting tribute to what our troops have achieved, that is it.

[Baroness Northover]

I thank the noble Lord for what he has just said. Of course, one of the names I read out was Oliver Thomas, whom many of us knew as he was a parliamentary researcher. That brings it home to those who would otherwise not feel the impact of the contribution that they have had to make. The noble Lord is right about the education of girls. The transformation from 2001, when virtually no girls were in school, is astonishing. Of the 6.3 million children in school in Afghanistan, about 2 million are girls. We have not got to equality, but we have made a lot of progress and will make sure it continues.

[Lord West of Spithead (Lab)]

My Lords, the Minister quite rightly points out how much we owe to our men and women for what they have done in Afghanistan, but there is a pernicious scheme—a poison—abroad which really upsets our servicemen. It relates to things that have happened in the past. I hope the Minister can assure the House that it will not happen in Afghanistan. It has happened in Iraq. We have seen the Al-Sweady inquiry, which has cost the MoD £47 million. Key evidence, which would have made the whole thing unnecessary, was shredded just before it was called. We have the business of the International Criminal Court amazingly saying it is doing a preliminary investigation into this country, which can and does look into activities by its forces. I believe that is quite extraordinary. Members of the International Criminal Court would be jolly lucky if they were caught by our people rather than most countries in the world. Can the Minister say that we will not allow this trawling of Afghanistan to find cases and trumped-up issues to cause problems for our people, because it has a huge, pernicious effect on our service men and women?

[Baroness Northover]

I hear what the noble Lord says. I thank him for the tributes he has paid. He will know full well the contribution that our service men and women are making. I do not doubt that the standards of our troops are second to none. It is clearly vital that our troops, like all other troops, adhere to international law in this regard because we are trying to establish respect for the rule of law in Afghanistan. Clearly, if one or two let anybody down then that can let the whole group down. I am well aware that the troops themselves wish that every single member of their group adheres to the high standards to which they themselves adhere.

[Lord Dannatt (CB)]

My Lords—

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[Lord Cormack]

My Lords, I am grateful. My noble friend has made a moving and impressive Statement. However, she has not mentioned one group of people, and upon them so much has depended: the Afghan interpreters. As we withdraw from Afghanistan, we of course maintain our aid and connection. Can my noble friend assure me that the sacrifice and service that those men and women have given will not be forgotten, and that we will ensure—so far as is possible—that their lives will not be endangered after we have withdrawn?

[Baroness Northover]

Yes, we owe a great deal to the local Afghan staff who have worked for us in Afghanistan. As my noble friend will probably know, there is now a scheme in operation which is based in a generous in-country package of training and financial support for those for whom it is appropriate to stay, and a financial payment. For those who are eligible, such as staff who are regularly involved in working on the front line, there is the opportunity to apply for relocation in the United Kingdom.

In the other place, my right honourable friend the Secretary of State for International Development said that she would write to Keith Vaz, who chairs the Home Affairs Select Committee, with some details on numbers. I will ask that that same letter is put in the House of Lords Library and copied to my noble friend.

[Lord Judd]

My Lords, if the tributes which are being made genuinely to our service men and women for the price they have paid, and to the families of those who have fallen, are not rapidly to sound hollow, what will matter most is the commitment we give to the building of security and peace in Afghanistan following our engagement. That is absolutely crucial if we are sincere in our tributes.

Would the noble Baroness agree that, in emphasising the contribution that we have been making, it is important—for example, in the context of women—to put on record our unrivalled admiration for the courage of many Afghan women who have themselves led the struggle for the emancipation of women in their society? I underline, and ask whether the Minister agrees, that the point made by the noble Lord, Lord Laming, is crucial: education must be given priority. If the peace is to be secured, the quality and integrity of public service will be crucial within Afghanistan. What practical support are we giving to reform of the security sector and the administration of justice, which will be central in building stability for the future?

[Baroness Northover]

The noble Lord speaks from a lot of experience, and he is absolutely right that we need to build security and peace in order to secure what has been achieved thus far. He is also absolutely right to pay tribute to the courage of the women who have been ensuring that women and girls have the kind of rights that we take for granted.

We support the Ministry of Interior Affairs and the police in trying to ensure that we provide the kind of security that the noble Lord wishes to see there. I also point out that, in other areas, half of all pregnant women, for example, now receive ante-natal care, compared with 16% in 2003. There have been many areas in which people’s lives have been transformed. We need to make sure that that continues to move forward.

[Lord Dannatt]

My Lords, I am very conscious that what I am about to say may not make me universally popular in your Lordships’ House. I was in command of the Army from 2006 to 2009. It will not have escaped the notice of noble Lords that this Chamber was packed to the gunnels at the start of Question Time today for discussion of the Thames tideway tunnel and other important matters. However, when the Minister began to draw attention to those who had fallen, noble Lords streamed out of this House in a way that was most unfortunate, given that six of our comrades had lost their lives. Can the Minister speak with the Leader of the House and other members of the usual channels so that if a tribute is to be paid to those who have fallen in the interests of our nation, noble Lords will be informed of that and will stay in their places? On a military base no one moves during the Last Post. In your Lordships’ House, I respectfully suggest that no one moves while a tribute is being paid to the fallen. The fallen have done their best to give the Afghans the opportunity of a better life in the future. We have done our best; it is now over to the Afghans to make the best of what we have given them.

[Baroness Northover]

Yes; I have noted what the noble Lord has said. It was not known until today that this Statement would be repeated in the Lords. The fact that I am speaking on behalf of DfID but answering on behalf of the MoD and the FCO may have made people think that the Statement would be DfID-focused. My noble friend who is the Minister for the MoD usually gives those names, and gave them when he last answered a Question. Therefore I left a gap as noble Lords began to leave. I hoped that they would hear what I was saying, but I think that some of them did not realise. I saw noble Lords pause and stop, and when they heard what I was saying they responded. However, the noble Lord is absolutely right.

[Lord Richard (Lab)]

My Lords, the noble Baroness was somewhat overcharitable in her previous remarks, but she is not at fault for that. I want to ask a purely factual question; I do not want to make a big speech about Afghanistan. What was the percentage turnout in the election? Although the election itself is an enormous tribute to our commitment in Afghanistan, the key to whether it was a good election depends not only on the number of people who voted but upon the percentage turnout. If it was a high percentage turnout, it was quite clearly an expression of the genuine views of the majority of the population. If it was a low percentage turnout, it was not. I would be grateful for that figure.

[Baroness Northover]

Interestingly, I was trying to work that out myself when I was noting down the figures. I am not sure that I can answer the noble Lord precisely. I noted that the population of Afghanistan seems to be 30 million, and that probably 7 million turned out to vote. The noble Lord can probably do his own maths, bearing in mind the size of the young age group in the country. It is significant that 4.5 million people turned out in 2009, so that number has now gone up to 7 million. I will be very happy to get somebody who is better at maths to work that out, but I hope that it gives an indication of the upward trajectory.

[Viscount Slim (CB)]

My Lords, we seem to be talking as if it is all over. It is not over until the end of the year and the withdrawal. In a withdrawal, there is often a temptation to think defensively, which can get you into a great deal of trouble. I ask the noble Baroness to ensure that the forces that we retain until the very end within Afghanistan have an offensive capability both on the land and in the air, and that the evacuation does not take place in such a way that those who remain until the end are in a somewhat desperate position. There is still an enemy to fight and to look out for. I hope that the Ministry of Defence has not picked up this defensive attitude, which takes away the complete attacking and offensive spirit of an army and an air force in a withdrawal position. I speak as someone who has withdrawn several times.

[Baroness Northover]

The noble Viscount talks about it being not over until the end of the year. As the DfID spokesman, I should say that it is not over then either, as we have been emphasising. He can be reassured that the Ministry of Defence is well aware of the need to ensure that those who are still there are well equipped. I see from the figures on redeployment of equipment quite a substantial amount still there. Around 63% of major equipment has been moved back and redeployed, but there is a quite substantial commitment still there. I hope that he will be reassured by that.

[Lord Hannay of Chiswick (CB)]

My Lords, could the Minister address a point not covered in her very welcome Statement, to which I think most Members of the House who have spoken have given strong support—that is, Afghanistan’s neighbours? The history of Afghanistan is full of involvement by its neighbours in destabilising that country and, alas, in the past, also of Afghanistan destabilising its neighbours. Is it not absolutely essential that some very solid undertakings are given, perhaps in some regional grouping, that Afghanistan’s neighbours will co-operate with us and others in maintaining stability in the country after NATO’s withdrawal, and that they will be committed to respecting the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Afghanistan and working for economic co-operation? It is all very well us pouring money in but, if the neighbours are fiddling about, as they have often done in the past, it will not avail very much.

[Baroness Northover]

The noble Lord speaks from a great deal of experience. As he will know, there has been tremendous engagement with the Government of Pakistan and there is a trilateral relationship between Pakistan, Afghanistan and the United Kingdom. Pakistan has made a number of commitments. It is very clear from what is being said by both Afghanistan and Pakistan that they recognise that their long-term prosperity and security depends on the stability in each other’s country. That is also true for India, China and Iran. Stability and prosperity in Afghanistan have a beneficial effect on all the countries around, and we will be engaging with all those countries in that hope.

[Lord Davies of Stamford (Lab)]

I very much support the comments and suggestion of the noble Lord, Lord Dannatt, and I express the hope that the Whip on the Bench will pass those comments and suggestions on to the Leader of the House and that they may be taken further. It has always been a great strength of this country that we have been able to adopt a bipartisan approach to a crisis situation such as we did at the time of 9/11 and the then necessary operation in Afghanistan. The whole House will undoubtedly be entirely with the Minister today and her expressions of tribute to the military who have died there, and in her expression of hope for the future, economic and political, of Afghanistan.

Can the Minister be a bit more specific than she was able to be in answer to my noble friend on the Front Bench about DfID? Does she now believe that conditions are such that it is possible for DfID personnel, whether UK-based or Afghan, to deploy in the Pashtun provinces such as Kandahar and Helmand to oversee and monitor projects? As she well knows, if you cannot monitor those projects, it is very difficult to avoid the kind of abuses and perversities that often arise, and then the money is really wasted, which is a very great shame. If she does not think that those conditions exist now, does she hope that in the near future we will be in a position whereby DfID personnel can deploy effectively in those difficult provinces for that important purpose?

[Baroness Northover]

DfID remains very committed in terms of its financial contribution, which is based on the fact that we believe that we can deliver that. A question similar to that was put to my right honourable friend the Secretary of State in the other place, and she was very reassuring about what we can do. She is keeping a very close eye on exactly what we can do to ensure that DfID staff are not, for example, office-based back in the capital but actually able to monitor projects as the noble Lord seeks.

[Lord Soley (Lab)]

I am grateful to the Minister for spelling out the advances that have been made in Afghanistan because, sadly, outside this House there is still a tendency to see it as a failed operation. It is important that we change that perception. People think back to what Afghanistan was like when it was a base for al-Qaeda. If they think of the dangers to not just Britain but the wider world and of the enormous advances that have been made in Afghanistan, thereby giving those people a chance to recover from 30 years of war and revolution which ripped the country apart, they will see that we have made enormous progress while recognising the sacrifice that so many people have made.

--- Later in debate ---

[Baroness Northover]

The noble Lord is absolutely right. I point, for example, to revenue collection. In 2004-05, only $250 million was collected. In 2011-12, $2 billion was collected. That is a sea change.

[Lord Stirrup (CB)]

My Lords, I note that the Minister said that the end of 2014 is not the end. That is, of course, quite right. The endeavour in Afghanistan has been a major international effort. Co-ordinating that international effort has been something of a challenge, to say the least, even when it was at the top of various nations’ foreign policy and security agendas and when organisations such as NATO were involved. Will the Minister indicate to the House how the ongoing international effort in developing politics, economics and social life in Afghanistan is to be co-ordinated in future, which will be necessary if it is to be effective?

[Baroness Northover]

The noble and gallant Lord is right. It is something of a new science to have so many countries involved in this constructive activity. Obviously there are lessons to be learnt but, if he looks to the NATO summit which will take place later this year and to the development conference, he will see some of those lessons being taken forward.

Dogs: Electric Collars

Baroness Northover Excerpts

Monday 7th April 2014 Grand Committee

[Lord Scott of Foscote (CB)]

My Lords, I regret that I can see no case for any further action being taken with regard to these collars. I declare an interest. I have two dogs; one is a small border terrier, who does not enter into this discussion at all—it has never had a collar put on him and does not need one. The other is something of a cuckoo in the nest. It is the result of a piece of enterprise on the part of one of my granddaughters, who saw an advert in the newspaper which sought a home for a dog. She asked her father—my son; he and she live in Leicester—who said, “No; we’ve got no room”. She then rang us and asked if we would have this dog, and we replied, “No. We’ve got the room, but we don’t want this dog”.

Being a self-willed girl, she then got on the bus, got the dog and brought it home to Leicester. It came down to visit us in north Buckinghamshire; we have lots of room and a largish garden, and it was quite a nice dog, although nothing special. It went back to Leicester with the family, and began to get bigger and bigger—it was a bitch—and eventually, out popped five little puppies. Goodness knows what the father was. The bitch herself was a big mongrel, and the puppies were of a parentage undiscoverable. However, puppies are always lovely, so all the puppies came down to spend weekends with us, and eventually my enterprising granddaughter sold four of them, for £80 each. She is 18 years old and is obviously on her way to becoming an entrepreneur of some sort. They kept the final puppy, which grew and grew, and got bigger and bigger. They could not possibly have it in Leicester as they live in a house in the middle of the town and the puppy needed space. We have the space, so it came down to us as a puppy and stayed with us, and has stayed with us ever since.

It is a very big dog indeed. It has a head and jaws like a Rottweiler, the coat and the demeanour of a Rhodesian Ridgeback, massive feet which suggest that it has mastiff ancestry, and it is a lovely dog with people. It is a beautiful dog, admired whenever anyone takes it for walks by people, who say, “What a lovely dog”. However, the problem is that it is very aggressive towards other dogs. We have consulted dog psychiatrists, who say, “The trouble with your dog is that he regards all dogs, particularly ones that yap at him, as potential prey”. So he deals with them as he would deal with any prey—rabbits are fair game and every now and again he has caught one, though not very often—and when he gets in the way of these little—what is this?

[Baroness Northover (LD)]

You have one minute left.

[Lord Scott of Foscote]

I have had a note that says “One minute left”. I am afraid that I am going to ignore it. This debate is scheduled for an hour.

[Baroness Northover]

You are speaking in the gap, which is time-limited to four minutes.

[Lord Scott of Foscote]

I am going to continue with my speech unless I am instructed by the Chair to sit down.

Development: Post-2015 Agenda

Baroness Northover Excerpts

Wednesday 2nd April 2014 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Northover (LD)]

My Lords, I, too, thank the noble Baroness, Lady Kinnock, for securing this debate. It is extremely important that we keep proposals for the post-2015 development settlement high on the agenda. I also thank noble Lords for their tributes to DfID. I am very proud of the fact that, after years of promises and aspiration but of never achieving this, we have finally reached 0.7% of GNI on overseas development. It was announced today that that has been achieved for 2013, and we have done that in a period of austerity. This reflects the fact that we recognise that we are all interconnected, as noble Lords have conveyed so very well.

It was almost 15 years ago that the international community came together to agree some simple, powerful objectives: that no one should live on under $1.25 a day; that denying girls an education was not acceptable; and that the terrible scale of deaths from malaria and HIV/AIDS had to be addressed. These things, among others, were targets which, it was agreed, could be tackled together—and the eight millennium development goals were born. I pay tribute to the noble Lord, Lord Malloch-Brown, for his key role in devising the MDGs. As the noble Baroness, Lady Kinnock, so clearly showed, these goals were historic: an unprecedented set of promises to the developing world, which have served to mobilise and galvanise us into action over the past 13 years. Like other noble Lords, I, too, pay tribute to the many organisations and NGOs which have been working in this area and made such a difference.

As the deadline for the MDGs approaches, we can cite many achievements: visible improvements in all health areas, getting children into primary education and halving the number of people living in extreme poverty. However, as other noble Lords have said, we know that there is no room for complacency. While some countries have made incredible progress in the past 20 years, others are lagging behind, as the noble Lord, Lord Collins, has just made clear. Within countries, progress also often failed to reach the most vulnerable, as the noble Baroness, Lady Kinnock, pointed out: those disadvantaged because of their sex, age, ethnicity, disability, caste and where they live.

The point of the MDGs was to tackle huge inequalities and need. Some of that has been addressed but we still have much to do. As the noble Lord, Lord Parekh, pointed out, inequalities persist through generations, waste lives and, as he argued, lead to instability. Across the globe, approximately 1.2 billion people are still living in absolute poverty. These people are the most vulnerable, the most marginalised and the most difficult to reach. There is a clear danger that they will be left further behind. The United Kingdom is committed to an ambitious agenda post-2015 to eradicate extreme poverty and build shared prosperity for all. Addressing inequalities is critical to meeting this ambition. The high-level panel, co-chaired by my right honourable friend the Prime Minister, called for no one to be left behind. The noble Baroness, Lady Kinnock, referred to this. This premise must be included as a central shift in the new agenda and has resonated internationally.

This is about learning from the MDGs: there is broad agreement that the focus on average progress in the current MDGs masked the very uneven progress across different countries and population groups. The existing MDGs did not provide sufficient incentives to tackle the root causes of poverty and inequality, or to search out those who are hard to reach. As my noble friend Lord Chidgey made clear, inequalities meant that the MDGs were not achieved universally.

The UK supports the high-level panel’s focus on leaving no one behind as a central shift in the post-2015 agenda. We support a stand-alone goal on girls’ and women’s empowerment, and on mainstreaming gender and other dominant inequalities being addressed across the framework. Many noble Lords have mentioned this area, but of course there is no country in the world —no country—that has full gender equality. My noble friend Lady Jenkin made such a cogent argument for that stand-alone goal on gender. Gender must be mainstreamed and have a stand-alone goal, for all the reasons that she gave. She is absolutely right that we will not be able to eradicate extreme poverty if we do not advance the economic, social and political rights of girls and women. My noble friend Lord Chidgey and the noble Lord, Lord Collins, also made that extremely plain.

The noble Baroness, Lady Flather, was right about the situation of women in so many parts of the world. I, too, have seen the effect of women being able to earn just a little money, as she says, and how transformative even that can be and how much independence it can give. We also need to continue the battle to ensure that women’s reproductive rights are respected. She emphasised that, as did the noble Baroness, Lady Tonge.

We recognise, as many noble Lords will know, that the longer girls spend on education, the later they have children and the fewer of them they have, and those children are more likely to thrive and prosper. I thank my noble friend Lady Tonge for her tribute to what DfID has done in this area.

The noble Lord, Lord Collins, spoke about the CSW. I was pleased that there was agreement here and that the proposition of a stand-alone goal was accepted. However, what seemed to me to serve as a warning was how hard it was to prevent things going backwards. We need to work across parties and indeed across countries to ensure that that does not happen.

It is of course very important to track success across all the goals and indicators using disaggregated data. I understand that that word was rather difficult to pronounce, but my noble friend Lady Tonge will know from her scientific training that conclusions need to be based on evidence, which must be studied, analysed and taken apart—disaggregated. Women have often been aggregated with men, so disaggregation we must have, as the noble Lord, Lord Collins, also emphasised.

I agreed very strongly with the noble Baroness, Lady Kinnock, that good data and evidence will be critical if we are to move this forward. Targets should be considered achieved only if they are met for all relevant income and social groups, so addressing inequality must be incorporated, as she and others have said, across the goals. We are also calling for the inclusion of zero goals in some areas of the new framework—minimum standards that must be met for 100% of the population.

My noble friend Lord Chidgey highlighted the situation of older people. That is why we need to take this approach: we need to look right across at the causes of inequality and improve opportunities for all. That is why we have to disaggregate the materials.

The UK supports goals on transforming economies, governance and peace that tackle the root causes of poverty and inequality. My noble friend Lady Tonge emphasised tackling corruption, and that is included. As the noble Lord, Lord McConnell, pointed out, for all the MDGs’ strengths, there was not enough focus on the devastating effects of conflict and violence and the importance of strong institutions and accountable government. The noble Lord made a powerful point about the importance of addressing factors such as climate change, which is the context in which people will increasingly be living. He will know that the high-level panel recognises the importance of tackling climate change, and we wish to see climate integrated across the framework, complementing the UN framework for the convention on climate change.

The noble Lord, Lord Parekh, made some very interesting points about the problems with inequality stifling aspiration, undermining peace and good governance and being basically unjust, and why we are doing this in the first place. With regard to his questions about tax havens and so on, I point out that we support better global and domestic tax regulations. It is very difficult but it is something that we have put on the international agenda and are trying to move forward. We are also pushing for better land and property regulations and for improved access to markets. That is right across the board, not only for those who are already well off. The noble Lord is right: we need to have sustainable growth which benefits all across society.

Tackling inequality must be at the heart of the new agenda but, as discussions on post-2015 continue in New York and beyond, and as we advocate for a concise and compelling new goals framework, it is not clear—as the noble Baroness, Lady Kinnock, and others pointed out—that a separate stand-alone inequality goal would achieve as much as a cross-cutting push. I think a consensus is emerging on that.

Whatever goals and targets are agreed, be they on health, education, sustainable development, peace or water and sanitation, they need to have “leave no one behind” embedded within and throughout them. Equality must be at the heart of the new framework, as we learn from the MDGs. That remains the highest priority for the Government as we work for that single framework.

There seems to be a consensus that addressing inequality must run through everything about the replacement for the MDGs. The MDGs were developed because there were huge inequalities between life chances and length of life in developed countries and developing countries. The MDGs need to be replaced with measures to bring with us those who have proved the hardest to reach because they are in fragile countries or because of their gender, social origins, disability or other factors. We need to work together to ensure that we deliver meaningful and effective goals to replace the MDGs. There has to be a real risk of not achieving that. As my noble friend Lady Tonge warned us, we have to face up to that risk. That is why I welcome the support of all noble Lords on this agenda.

House adjourned at 7.31 pm.

Middle East: Syrian Refugees

Baroness Northover Excerpts

Wednesday 26th March 2014 Lords Chamber

[Lord Selkirk of Douglas]

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to co-ordinate with the Governments of Jordan, Lebanon, Turkey, Iraq and Egypt the arrangements for the long-term resettlement in the region of refugees from Syria.

[Baroness Northover (LD)]

My Lords, the UK has allocated £292 million to support refugees in neighbouring countries. We are working closely with Governments and partners in the region to make sure that the needs of host communities are incorporated into our programmes. We will now complement this aid to the most vulnerable and at-risk refugees by providing sanctuary in the UK, where this is the only realistic option.

[Lord Selkirk of Douglas (Con)]

I thank the Minister for her reply. Will she accept that there are now more than 1,311,000 children among the refugees in countries next to Syria and that their families are very anxious that their children should not become part of a lost generation? In view of this, will the Minister give support to policies such as the Jordanian Government’s national resilience plan, which involves focusing on areas with a high number of refugees to provide better access to education and healthcare, and to improved water supplies, sanitation and other basic services?

[Baroness Northover]

My noble friend is right. An estimated 1.3 million Syrian children are now refugees in the region. Under the No Lost Generation initiative, the UK has allocated £30 million to provide protection, trauma care and education for children affected by the crisis. We are working with Jordan to support the host communities and we welcome the Jordanian Government’s national resilience plan as part of an ongoing process of prioritising needs.

[Lord Judd (Lab)]

Does the Minister agree that the scale of this refugee problem is having profound implications for the populations of the countries concerned, where people see a great concentration on the refugee community, while the deprivations from which they suffer are consequently accentuated? Does she further agree that this presents a very considerable threat to stability in the Middle East and has implications for the durability of any peace settlement between Israel and Palestine? In that context, is it not essential to have a regional approach to policy as well as pragmatic work with countries one by one?

--- Later in debate ---

[Baroness Northover]

The noble Lord speaks from a great deal of experience and he is absolutely right. This is indeed creating a huge amount of instability right across the region, which is why we are looking at it in that light. That is why we are channelling so much support to the neighbouring countries in the region that are hosting so many Syrian refugees. We are acutely aware of the effect on their populations.

[Lord Chidgey (LD)]

My Lords, more than 2.5 million refugees have registered in neighbouring countries, and the number of internally displaced persons in Syria now exceeds 6.5 million. Taken together, that is a total of more than 40% of Syria’s pre-conflict population. More than half the refugees are children, as noble Lords have mentioned. In the absence of progress towards a political solution, the UNHCR predicts that this refugee population is set to become the world’s largest. Yet, is my noble friend aware that, so far, less than 4% of the refugees have sought safety in Europe? How do the Government therefore intend to respond to the UNHCR’s call for “much stronger international support”, clearly well in excess of the vulnerable persons scheme that began yesterday?

[Baroness Northover]

My noble friend is right about the scale of the challenge here and about the fact that most refugees have stayed in the region. Many of them, of course, wish to return home when it is safe to do so. That is why pursuing the peace process is the most important element here and why, in the mean time, we have to make sure that we provide as much humanitarian aid as possible. He will know that we have taken in, as of yesterday, refugees from the most vulnerable categories but, clearly, trying to tackle the crisis as a whole has to be our main strategy.

[Lord Wright of Richmond (CB)]

My Lords, now that it appears that the Syrian Government are increasing their control over much of the country, have we or our partners had any discussions with the Government in Damascus exploring the scope for refugees to return to their homes?

[Baroness Northover]

It seems to me that a few steps will be needed before we reach such a situation. The first thing is to try to get the Syrian Government to allow humanitarian access and to respect the UN Security Council resolution on humanitarian access. There are many steps that the Government of Syria can take to try to ensure that security in their country is greater and therefore that refugees would be keener to return.

[Lord Collins of Highbury (Lab)]

My Lords, the refugee crisis is now in its third year, and certainly we are in it for the long term. The impact on host countries is severe, as my noble friend mentioned, and in particular on the political stability of countries such as Lebanon. Does the Minister agree that longer-term funding for host Governments’ authorities is necessary to ensure that their national infrastructure and indigenous populations do not suffer further?

--- Later in debate ---

[Baroness Northover]

The noble Lord is right. As I mentioned earlier, that is why we have a programme for supporting those countries; we recognise the instability caused by hosting all these refugees.

[Baroness Uddin (Non-Afl)]

My Lords, given the large-scale dispersion, how easy or difficult is it to support those who have been victims of rape as a weapon of war?

[Baroness Northover]

The noble Baroness will know that my right honourable friend the Foreign Secretary has emphasised this in terms of how we are approaching the Syrian crisis. We are doing a considerable amount—and it is new work—in trying to support those who have suffered sexual violence in this conflict. That is so often the case in such conflicts, and this is one of the first times we are seeing whether we can gather evidence systematically so that cases can be taken and, in the mean time, supporting those who have suffered in this way.

[Lord Avebury (LD)]

My Lords, is it true that when choosing the refugees who are to come to this country, priority is given to those who are at present located in Egypt and Lebanon, and that Jordan will perhaps not have a share of the numbers? Can my noble friend say any more about the mechanism for selecting candidates to be brought to this country?

[Baroness Northover]

I am not going to comment on where the refugees are coming from. It is extremely important that they are accorded privacy and that their recovery is aided. My noble friend will know that we are prioritising women and children, particularly those who have suffered sexual violence. I am happy to supply further details of the categories. Therefore, we are looking at the cases on their merit and we will not reveal where these people have come from or where they are going at the moment.

Women: Board Membership

Baroness Northover Excerpts

Monday 10th March 2014 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Seccombe]

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what progress they are making towards their target of 25% of the membership of FTSE 100 company boards being women by 2015.

[Baroness Northover (LD)]

My Lords, women now account for 20.4% of board members in FTSE 100 companies. That is the figure from January 2014, which is up from 12.5% in February 2011. Although the figures are going in the right direction, we need to keep up progress to reach the 25% target. We need 50 new female directors to be appointed to FTSE 100 companies in order to reach the 2015 target.

[Baroness Seccombe (Con)]

My Lords, that is most encouraging news, but there is still a way to go to reach that 25%. Does my noble friend agree that independent and individual mentoring has helped to achieve this success? I am sure that we all know women who should have been appointed in the past but were always passed over.

[Baroness Northover]

I thank my noble friend for her encouraging comments. I am sure that mentoring has indeed helped, and I think that transparency and pressure have helped as well.

[Baroness Thornton (Lab)]

My Lords, would the Minister care to tell the House how the Government are doing in increasing the number of women on public bodies? Those figures seem to be slightly more woeful than the ones for corporate bodies. Secondly, I am sure that the noble Baroness is aware that twice as many women as men leave the corporate sector once they reach mid-level management. Given that, does she agree that, alongside measures to increase the number of women at board level, we need to fix the leaks, as it were, in the talent pipeline and ensure that women are properly represented at every level of an organisation? How does she think this might be brought about?

[Baroness Northover]

We are aiming for women to account for 50% of new public appointments by 2015. They are currently averaging 45%, so we are moving in the right direction. The noble Baroness is quite right that we need to address this at every level. One of the beneficial things about the Davies approach to company boards is that it is also having an effect on the response of companies at other levels. This issue has to be addressed at every level.

[Baroness Chalker of Wallasey (Con)]

Is my noble friend aware that the Institute of Directors and many other professional bodies could also contribute in this regard by mentoring some of their women members? They may not be as numerous even as 25%, but there are some excellent engineers, accountants and lawyers and so on who could, with assistance, be very good members of boards and, indeed, members of those professional organisations.

[Baroness Northover]

My noble friend is absolutely right. I do not think that there is a dearth of talent; it is a matter of making sure that those people end up on boards. There is a lot that we ourselves can do. As I did in the debate on International Women’s Day last Thursday, I should like to mention the two companies in the FTSE 100 that have not yet appointed women. Last year, there were five; significantly, two dropped out of the FTSE 100 and one of them—the one that I mentioned—has now appointed a woman. There are two left: Glencore Xstrata and Antofagasta. Perhaps I may point out that Glencore was speedy enough to seek help from the United Kingdom Government when it was trying to finalise a deal overseas. I quote from it:

“We seek to apply best practice, ensuring that our approach is up-to-date and relevant”.

Hmm. I come to Antofagasta, which is Chilean based. Tomorrow, Chile swears in as its new president Michelle Bachelet, the formidable former head of UN Women, so I think that we have a pincer movement here.

[Baroness Howe of Idlicote (CB)]

My Lords, can the Minister tell us to what extent she and the Government believe that it is the yearly reports that are required on progress from each of the companies involved in this scheme that have had a major effect in getting the continuous stream of improvements, although I thoroughly agree with her that there is still a long way to go?

[Baroness Northover]

The noble Baroness is right that transparency and reporting are absolutely key. She will know that Charlotte Sweeney has just reported on the voluntary code among those who are recruiting for those positions. She notes that only 25% of those headhunting firms even mentioned this on their websites, so they themselves have a long way to go.

[Lord Harris of Haringey (Lab)]

My Lords, can the Minister tell us how many of the FTSE 100 companies have women chief executives? What are the Government doing to improve the position?

[Baroness Northover]

The noble Lord puts his finger on a very important point. There are only four female chief executives in the FTSE 100 at the moment. It is indeed an area in which companies need to make a lot more progress.

[Lord Smith of Clifton (LD)]

Does my noble friend agree with what I said last Thursday regarding gender balance in the Cabinet? The battle for gender equality will not be won on the playing fields of Eton or Westminster School.

[Baroness Northover]

What can I possibly say?

[Lord Foulkes of Cumnock (Lab)]

My Lords, following up on that excellent question, can I commend the Minister for her excellent answers to all the questions today? Does that not show up that the two people who also need a pincer movement are Clegg and Cameron?

[Baroness Northover]

Again, I could not possibly comment.

Women: Inequality in Political and Public Life

Baroness Northover Excerpts

Thursday 6th March 2014 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Gale]

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to eliminate the inequality of women in political and public life.

[Baroness Northover (LD)]

My Lords, to ensure the better representation of women in public and political life, the Government have enabled parties to use positive action should they wish to increase participation by under-represented groups, have extended to 2030 the ability of parties to use women-only shortlists, and have set an aspiration that 50% of new public appointments should be women by the end of this Parliament. Given that Saturday is International Women’s Day, I wish everybody a happy International Women’s Day.

[Baroness Gale (Lab)]

I thank the Minister for her reply. Does she agree that progress is dreadfully slow, with only 252 women Peers ever appointed to your Lordships’ House, only 369 women ever elected to the House of Commons, only four women in the British Cabinet and only one woman ever appointed to sit in the Supreme Court, and that with the UK ranking at 64 in the global ranking of women’s representation, more needs to be done? In whatever walk of life, whether it be political or public life, women do not sit at the top tables of decision-making. Does she further agree that the time has now come for some drastic action and that what we should be moving to now is legislation for a quota system? Many other countries do it. Will she look at what other countries are doing and examine how successful quotas have been?

[Baroness Northover]

The noble Baroness is quite right—progress is far too slow and much more needs to be done. Things are slowly speeding up. I am well aware of the work that she herself did in Wales to transform things in her party. I know also of the transformative effects that quotas have had in some of the Scandinavian countries so that they now no longer need to use quotas. It is very difficult under a non-proportional system to do that within the United Kingdom Parliament, but right across the board, whether it is women on boards, women in public life or women in Parliament, we are examining this extremely carefully. We absolutely take her underlying argument about the need for progress.

[Baroness Hussein-Ece (LD)]

My Lords, there are 30 million women in this country, yet we seem to have great difficulty in finding 325 women to bring parity among MPs in the other place. When the Speaker’s Conference was set up by the previous Government in 2008 there was extensive examination of the diversity of Parliament. What progress has been made and are the recommendations that came out of that very good inquiry being implemented?

[Baroness Northover]

As my noble friend will know, we have implemented the provisions of the Equality Act in terms of enabling political parties to use positive action and women-only shortlists. Those were recommendations that came out of the Speaker’s Conference. We have also secured a commitment from the three main parties to provide greater transparency over candidate selection and launched the access to elected office for disabled people strategy. But my noble friend is quite right, as is the noble Baroness, Lady Gale, that more needs to be done.

[The Earl of Listowel (CB)]

My Lords, given the concern about the status of early years provision, the fact that upward of 80% of the staff working in early years are women, and the increasing awareness of the vital importance of this area, are any Members of this House or the other place early years professionals? I am not aware of any and I think that is regrettable. Does the Minister agree?

[Baroness Northover]

There are a large number of early years experts in this House, I have to say. However, the noble Earl makes a good point about the need to be inclusive as regards those who stand for Parliament. It is extremely important that we do everything we can to encourage people to feel that it is worth while being involved in politics, worth while standing for Parliament and worth while serving more than one term. We need to look at why some Members of Parliament, especially women, decide after serving one term that they have had enough.

[Baroness Armstrong of Hill Top (Lab)]

My Lords, I declare my interest as a trustee of two international development NGOs. Does the Minister accept that the Government have a responsibility to set a good example when two-thirds of those in poverty around the world are female and when the voices of women are simply not heard in the decision-making places around the world? What will the Government do to make sure that they lead in ensuring that the voices of those dispossessed women are heard internationally?

[Baroness Northover]

I hope that the noble Baroness recognises what DfID and the FCO have done in this regard. A number of parliamentarians from here will attend the Commission on the Status of Women next week in New York, which will seek to take forward the very points that she makes. She is absolutely right: unless you have women front and centre at all levels of their societies, you will not relieve poverty and you will not address inequality.

[Baroness Jenkin of Kennington (Con)]

My Lords, my noble friend may not be aware that the APPG for Women in Parliament, whose aim is to increase the representation of women here, is conducting an inquiry, which will start to take evidence next week, with support from Members of Parliament and Members of this House, to investigate barriers, challenges and what changes can be made to improve the situation. When the inquiry reports towards the end of the summer, will my noble friend confirm that she will encourage Ministers as well as the political parties to take note of the results?

[Baroness Northover]

I can assure my noble friend that we certainly will do that. I pay tribute to my noble friend for what she has done within her own party to encourage women to get involved in this area. I welcome the fact that the all-party group is doing that and I look forward to seeing its report.

[Baroness Symons of Vernham Dean (Lab)]

Does the Minister acknowledge that we should not get too gloomy given that the only Lord Speakers in this House have both been women and that, of the five most recent Leaders of the House, three have been women? Perhaps this appointed House has some advantages in terms of what we are able to do to ensure that women reach the places they should be in.

[Baroness Northover]

The noble Baroness is absolutely right. I also note—I have analysed it myself—the disproportionate contribution made by women in the Lords in terms of work. I have pointed that out to the various party leaders, most effectively within my own party, and we are now up to 31% in our group in terms of women’s representation.

Women: Contribution to Economic Life

Baroness Northover Excerpts

Thursday 6th March 2014 Lords Chamber

Moved by

[Baroness Northover]

That this House takes note of the contribution of women to economic life in the United Kingdom and worldwide.

[Baroness Northover (LD)]

My Lords, it is an enormous privilege to open this debate marking International Women’s Day. I am delighted that so many noble Lords are speaking today, and that we have a maiden speech from my noble friend Lord Palumbo as well. These debates, which have become an annual event, always demonstrate the enormous range and depth of experience of Members of this House. They are always constructive and thought-provoking. I am very much looking forward to noble Lords’ contributions.

On Saturday 8 March we will mark the 103rd International Women’s Day, an opportunity to celebrate women’s social, economic and political achievements. But while we celebrate the contribution of women to our economy, society and culture, we remain well aware of the barriers to full equality both here in the United Kingdom and internationally.

In 1911, on the first International Women’s Day, women in the United Kingdom were still campaigning for the right to vote, to work and to hold public office. On that day, more than a million women and men attended rallies calling for equality.

Three years later saw the outbreak of the Great War—a centenary that we are about to mark. The First World War saw a social revolution that would have profound and lasting effects on women in the United Kingdom, but it built on earlier changes—people moving into towns and cities, the extension of education to girls and increasing prosperity. In the Great War many women found themselves for the first time in paid employment. Women began taking on the vital roles left vacant when men were conscripted into the military. They worked in munitions factories, agriculture and transport. This movement into the workplace by women saw a far more fundamental change. Women began to expect more from life and society. They began to question the status quo. They asked why they could not do the same jobs or have the same education as men.

However, gaining that greater equality has been a long, slow process and we are not there yet. Women’s lives have of course changed greatly since the first International Women’s Day and the Great War, but we need to focus on challenging the unfairness and prejudice that can still stop women making the most of their potential. Women and girls are still expected to do more in the home than men and boys. The pay gap remains. They are less likely to take leading roles in business and public life. Yet we have also seen major shifts in all areas of women’s lives over the 100 years since the Great War. Today women run FTSE 100 companies, bring home gold medals and go into space. We need to tackle the multiple barriers that can hold women back—for their own sakes, for that of their families, including their daughters, and for the economy. This debate focuses on women’s contributions to the economy, at home and abroad. It is only by full participation that their contribution will be truly measured. There are many reasons why women face a greater range of challenges to fulfilling that economic potential, even if the landscape is transformed from earlier times, and even across the generations living now.

Of course, we need to encourage our daughters as much as our sons from the start. I certainly recall my mother being determined that I and my sister had the same opportunities and ambitions as my brother. Today, girls in the UK are outperforming boys at school and university: last year 24.8% of GCSE exams sat by girls were graded A* or A, compared to 17.6% of those sat by boys. Many girls are highly ambitious and want to get ahead, with over half of them saying they want to be a leader in their profession one day. The assumption in 1914 was that a girl’s only real aspiration should be marriage and motherhood. Of course, there are still some deeply ingrained social and cultural assumptions about girls’ abilities and interests. We hope that both sexes—girls and boys—will value family life. We can bring about that greater equality that we wish to see through a fundamental rethink about how men and women live their lives so that both sexes have the opportunity to fulfil themselves through both work and family—should they wish that.

We know that girls’ sense of their own self-worth and potential can cause them to limit their aspirations. In the United Kingdom, over 80% of girls feel that they are judged more on how they look than on what they can do. Sometimes their sense of what is appropriate for girls closes their eyes to other opportunities. At A-level, the subjects that can lead to some of the highest-paying careers, particularly maths and science, remain dominated by boys. In 2013, almost eight in 10 physics papers were taken by boys. Only 30% of women with STEM qualifications now work in science, engineering or technology occupations, compared to 50% of men with STEM qualifications. We need to help make the next generation of girls consider science, technology, engineering, maths or business as their potential route to achievement. Whatever route they wish to take, we wish to encourage girls to fulfil their potential.

We know that women still carry the greater responsibility for home and for children, which is why the home/life balance also has to be addressed. We are making changes that are designed to shift the ground further in favour of equality in the workplace. Flexible parental leave will allow families to share their caring responsibilities and help to end the automatic assumption that the woman will be the one to remain at home. Extending the right to request flexible working to all will help to challenge the presumption that flexible working is the preserve of women and that those who make a request are less committed to their employer.

As was flagged up yesterday in the question from my noble friend Lady Jenkin, we are acutely aware that once women have children, their ability to work may be severely hampered. That is why we are also helping with the costs of childcare by increasing free early education places for three and four year-olds to 15 hours a week and have extended that to disadvantaged two year-olds. As I mentioned yesterday, we are taking a range of other measures as well.

We are also aware that women’s caring responsibilities range wider than their children to older family members and others in need. This was an area we sought to address in the Care Bill, and through a number of other measures.

We are seeing girls outperform boys at school, although not always in subjects that will lead to the brightest of careers, and we are seeking to assist men and women to stay in work when they have families. What happens when women are in work? Two in three girls think that there are not enough women in leadership positions in the UK, and for many of them this lack of role models affects their sense of their own ability to succeed.

We are seeking to encourage women to aim high in the corporate world. Our Think, Act, Report initiative provides a simple framework to help companies think about gender equality in their workforces on key issues such as recruitment, retention, promotion and pay. There are now more than 170 major companies supporting the initiative, representing more than 2 million people.

At the top, we need change, hence the importance of the work being led by the noble Lord, Lord Davies, to increase the number of women on boards. We now have more than 20% of FTSE 100 board posts being held by women, up from 12.5% two years ago, with only two companies, Antofagasta plc and Glencore Xstrata plc, still without a woman in post. Bear those names in mind, because I will probably mention them again on Monday when I am answering a Question from my noble friend Lady Seccombe about women on boards—unless, of course, there has been a change over the weekend.

However, we need women at every level, and we need women entrepreneurs. More than 14 million women are now working—more than ever before. Businesses set up and run by women contribute £70 billion to our economy. We have also acted to encourage and support more women to start their own businesses. The Women’s Business Council has made recommendations to improve the health and competitiveness of our economy, focusing on four key areas it has identified where girls and women face particular challenges or difficulties.

We know that more needs to be done so that at every level of every business we see women as well as men, and women in large numbers. It is not just in business where we need to see women. We need to see them running media organisations, as professors in universities, and in public life everywhere.

In terms of public life, the 2010 general election had a record number of women candidates and there are now more female Members of the House of Commons than at any other time: 147 women, including six Asian women MPs where previously there were none. But that is not enough and it is nowhere near 50%. We now have 182 women who are Members of this House. As I said earlier, they are disproportionately active in our House. It is worth bearing that in mind for those making any appointments.

In 2012-13, 37% of new public appointments made by Whitehall departments were women, and our aspiration is that 50% of new public appointees should be women by the end of this Parliament. However, we know there is much more to do to ensure that our institutions are fully reflective of the communities that they serve, so that women and girls fulfil their potential for their own benefit and for that of their families, but also for our economy.

We know how our lives have been transformed by comparison with those of our mothers, our grandmothers and our great-grandmothers. We are also very active, as noble Lords will know, in seeking to address the position of women worldwide, which we do through the FCO, through DfID and through other engagement. Right now we therefore have parliamentarians, Ministers, NGOs and officials beginning to gather in New York for the Commission on the Status of Women. Some noble Lords who are speaking here today will soon be making their way to New York, and we wish them well. It is important work that they will be doing. They will be seeking to ensure that the millennium development goals, which will be replaced in 2015, include a stand-alone goal on gender equality, as well as to ensure that gender is mainstreamed through all the goals, because we will quite simply not address the excluded—the poorest—without doing this.

Just as we work to ensure that women in the UK are fulfilled in their lives, and contribute to our economy alongside that, we recognise that gender equality elsewhere is vital not only for the women themselves but for their families, their societies and their economies. This is why DfID puts women and girls front and centre in its work. That is because, in the words of the proposed MDGs, we aim to leave no one behind.

DfID’s strategic vision for girls and women aims to unlock their potential to stop poverty before it starts. It seeks to empower girls and women by crystallising our aims under the headings of voice, choice and control. This means girls and women having a voice in decision-making in their household, community and country and in politics, business, the media and civil society through their participation, leadership and collective action. It means that they should have the choice to complete education and benefit from paid work and opportunities to earn a sufficient income and over whether, when and with whom they have sex, marry or have children. It means having control over their own bodies and mobility, including their safety from violence, and over income, productive assets and other resources, including food, water and energy, with equal legal rights, access to justice and freedom from discriminatory social norms. This also encapsulates what we seek in the United Kingdom.

What does this mean in practice in terms of DfID’s work? I would like to illustrate this from a visit that I have just made to India. Let me take the example of a couple of villages in Madhya Pradesh, which I visited with DfID officials. Sanitation has just been installed in these villages. In the case of one of them, the main defecation field was around a school. That was where people used to come but the schoolchildren were enlisted and showed huge enthusiasm for their task: to monitor their elders and betters, blowing whistles to summon help whenever an adult followed their usual patterns and began to use the field once again as a toilet. It took some months to retrain the adults but the children were delighted with the success that they had achieved. The women also noted that they were now safer in not having to go out into the field at night, while their children were more healthy and therefore in school. Sanitation had brought a wealth of benefits, including to the economy of that village.

In the second village there was a nutrition centre providing ante-natal care along with food for pregnant and lactating mothers and children up to the age of three. Those assisting the pregnant women and cooking the meals were women: paid directly, grouping together in self-help groups, opening small bank accounts, saving up and then being able to access loans. The ones who we met had used their loan to buy a buffalo for each woman to benefit her, her family, and the village’s economy. Within a year, those loans had been paid off and they were considering their next plan. I tell the House this to illustrate how such interventions can provide both independence and greater equality for women, and improve their ability to contribute to supporting their families—by feeding them and keeping children in school—their communities and their countries.

I conclude by looking forward to our debate today. Whether we debate the United Kingdom or the wider world, we know that we have not yet secured equality and that while we celebrate what we have achieved, we note the barriers that remain to the full participation of women at every level of society and in every aspect of our economies. I expect that this debate will shine further light on how far we have to go but also on what we have achieved. I beg to move.

--- Later in debate ---

[Baroness Northover]

My Lords, the debates in the House of Lords for International Women’s Day are always outstanding, and this one has been no exception. There is such huge experience and commitment among your Lordships in this area that it is a great privilege to respond. I pay particular tribute to my noble friend Lord Palumbo, who chose to make his maiden speech in this debate today, and whom we welcome as a significant contributor to our House. One can see how far-sighted he is when he speaks of employers recognising that starting a family enhances, not compromises, what an employee can contribute.

It is also good to have so many male contributions to the debate today, including from the right reverend Prelate the Bishop of Chester, who flagged his optimism that we might soon see women on his Benches, possibly by the time of this debate next year. I was also very pleased that my noble friend Lord Holmes of Richmond participated, despite his case of extreme man flu. My eldest son has a habit of catching such flu, and although he beat it this autumn, when he sent me an e-mail from Nigeria saying, “Mum, I have acute typhoid”, it required my daughter to say that if he is well enough to send the e-mail, he is probably all right. Cross fingers—he probably is.

We have marked International Women’s Day for over a century. The lives of women in this country have been transformed over that century, as my noble friend Lady Seccombe so clearly showed, and as other noble Lords have remarked. I was very touched by the speech of my noble friend Lady Seccombe. In this year, in which we mark the centenary of the First World War, she is right to remind us not only how it changed lives in terms of women’s engagement in the workforce but in terms of the mental and physical suffering that ensued from that appalling conflict—indeed, in her own life.

As noble Lords’ speeches have made clear, inequalities persist. Women earn less, and we have by far the larger responsibility for children in the home and for care of elderly relatives, as well as working. Women are less likely to be in the House of Commons or the House of Lords, less likely to be on boards on the top of companies, in our Supreme Court or among our judges, as vice-chancellors of universities, as my noble friend Lady Bottomley pointed out, or as editors of newspapers, and so on. Indeed, we see progress, but sometimes it seems glacial, although it is good to hear from my noble friend Lady Benjamin about Exeter. I note what my noble friend Lady Bakewell of Hardington Mandeville flagged on behalf of my noble friend Lady Falkner in relation to the diplomatic service. I assure noble Lords that I shall make sure that that is heard very loudly in the FCO.

I spoke in my opening speech about the action that we are taking right across government to promote equality. We know that girls are outperforming boys at school, so by investing in education, expanding our apprenticeship programme and improving careers advice, we can help young women to open their eyes to opportunities that they may have believed were unobtainable, and help them to make ambitious choices. Introducing shared parental leave will help to end the assumption that women will be the main carer for a child, helping families to juggle their home and work life and lessening the negative impact on careers of time spent out of the workplace.

We heard from the noble Baroness, Lady Afshar, about the impact of having children. Noble Lords are right about the importance of addressing the need for childcare that is affordable, flexible and of high quality. My noble friend Lady Bakewell of Hardington Mandeville and the noble Baroness, Lady Thornton, particularly emphasised the issue of childcare. As I said, we have extended free childcare for all three to four year-olds to 15 hours—from what was offered by the previous Government—and we are also offering that now to disadvantaged two year-olds. We are also helping with the cost via a tax-free childcare scheme, which is worth up to £1,200 a year from 2015. There is an extra £200 million for childcare subsidies through universal credit, and we are working to improve supply through grants to childcare businesses and setting up childminder agencies.

I recall the cost myself of having three under-fives and working. As I did the other day, I pay tribute to the party opposite for the work that it did to improve the quality and availability of childcare during its time in office. However, I point out that costs rose considerably in the 2000s. What we have sought successfully to do, as the Family and Childcare Trust’s figures bear out, is to stabilise those costs. As for provision, providers show that there are sufficient places and, in fact, vacancies; that said, we know that there is much to do, which is why we have put a great deal of effort into this.

In regard to working fathers, a point flagged up by the noble Baroness, Lady Thornton, I was personally speechless when the media criticised Edward Davey for taking paternity leave when his new baby arrived. As the noble Baroness, Lady Crawley, said, with regard to trolls, we have a long way to go.

The noble Baronesses, Lady Crawley and Lady Uddin, flagged the need to support carers, generally and in the workplace. We are implementing the recommendations of the report, Supporting Working Carers: The Benefits to Families, Business and the Economy, which was published in 2013. We are improving support for business and developing the market in care and support services, and the Care Bill will help to provide protection and support to those who need it most, including carers. But the noble Baroness, Lady Crawley, is right to emphasise the contribution that carers, from the family or not, can make. My noble friend Lady Benjamin, the noble Baroness, Lady Howe, and others are right to emphasise the contribution of those who are in unpaid work. It is still work and it still contributes.

The noble Baroness, Lady Prosser, rightly urged us to address the value and engagement of those who are nowhere near the glass ceiling but are, rather, around the skirting board, as she described it. The noble Baroness, Lady Nye, flagged the minimum wage, as did the noble Baroness, Lady Thornton. They will have noted that my right honourable friend the Business Secretary has expressed his sympathy with the proposal to raise this. I do not want to get into a competition over this by saying, “We did this and you did that”, but I would point out that, in raising the tax threshold, we have disproportionately benefited women, and I am very proud of the fact that we have done that.

The noble Baronesses, Lady Uddin and Lady Howells, and my noble friend Lady Benjamin rightly urged us to ensure that what we do is inclusive of all groups, whatever their religion, race and background. We agree with that. The noble Baroness, Lady Afshar, flagged the particular challenges facing Muslim women. We pay tribute to the work that she and others are doing in that regard, and hear what she says.

The noble Lord, Lord Haskel, and the noble Baronesses, Lady Nye and Lady Prosser, spoke of the pay gap, which is a worldwide problem. The noble Lord wanted to know the relevant figures. In the United Kingdom, the pay gap is narrowing steadily. It was 25% 10 years ago and is now 19.7%. The pay gap is linked to the occupations in which women traditionally work and these sectors tend to be lower paid. We have addressed many of the issues around that in this debate. From October 2014, employment tribunals will require companies that lose an equal pay case to undertake a pay audit. We must, indeed, continue to work very hard to close this gap.

My noble friend Lady Bottomley mentioned women in the penal system and highlighted their situation and her proposed engagement with them. As she mentioned this, my noble friend Lady Jolly whispered to me that she used to provide evening classes in maths and science in Dartmoor, so there we have some STEM engagement.

All noble Lords are right to emphasise the need to address the position of women across the board. The noble Baroness, Lady Royall, and my noble friend Lady Jenkin flagged a problem that occurs at every level—that is, violence, which may be physical or insidiously mental. We are extremely exercised by this. The Government have set out their approach to the action plan on violence against women, which will be updated on 8 March, on International Women’s Day. We have ring-fenced £40 million for specialist domestic violence and sexual violence support services, and we have extended the definition of “domestic violence” to include 16 to 17 year-olds and coercive behaviour. We have announced the rollout of domestic violence protection orders and the domestic violence disclosure scheme, and we have introduced domestic homicide reviews and relaunched the “This is Abuse” campaign, aimed at teenage boys and girls. I remember answering a Question from the noble Baroness, Lady Nye, on that area.

We continue to work with the noble Lord, Lord Davies. I am very happy to agree that he is a noble sister; I think that the noble Baroness, Lady Crawley, described him as that. He is remarkable and has done a great deal to promote equality in the boardroom. He has tried to ensure that talented women take their rightful place at the top and, once there, provide a different view, which helps business maximise its potential, coming back to the point that my noble friend Lord Palumbo made.

My noble friend Lady Bottomley rightly flagged that we must not concentrate on women on boards to the exclusion of women at every level. We fully agree with that and other noble Lords echoed that point. My noble friend Lord Watson flagged that my right honourable friend Vincent Cable has requested that the EHRC should look at the legal possibilities of quotas for companies. No doubt this will be passed to the board of my noble friend Lord Holmes. I look forward very much indeed to hearing what the outcome might be. As my right honourable friend the Prime Minister has also made clear, quotas have to be a possible backstop if we do not see enough progress.

My noble friend Lord Smith has been a doughty and invaluable campaigner for better gender equality, and I personally value his support enormously. His determination that we should have no complacency in this matter rings in my ears. I would say to my noble friend Lady Jenkin that I think he is actually targeting my party and his party. However, perhaps I may pick him up on one point regarding the reports on office size, which seemed to indicate that women Ministers were undervalued. In this particular case, it is a bit of a red herring. The position gets somewhat distorted by adding in my right honourable friend the Foreign Secretary’s room, which is 10 times the size of that of any of his Cabinet colleagues. I happen to know that my right honourable friend Justine Greening chose a smaller room in the DfID building because it was in the new part of the building where most of the officials were, when she could have had the very large, beautiful office that my right honourable friend Alan Duncan has. However, she chose not to have that office in order to be with the officials. It is always worth flagging these points.

[Lord Smith of Clifton]

Does that not make the case for having a woman Foreign Secretary?

[Baroness Northover]

I will volunteer immediately, but I think that my noble friend Lady Warsi will be in front of me. Of course my noble friend Lord Smith is right.

By providing support to women wishing to start and grow their own business, both at home and in the developing world, we could see equality in business, and equalising the economic participation rates of men and women could add 10% to GDP by 2030. My noble friend Lady Neville-Rolfe had some very useful perceptions in this regard. Women-led SMEs already add £70 billion to the UK economy. We agree that there is tremendous potential here.

My noble friend Lady Bottomley mentioned that women were less likely to be peacocks, and my noble friend Lady Neville-Rolfe mentioned that men apply for promotion a year before they should, while women apply a year after they should. Having just read Sheryl Sandberg’s Lean In, this seems to be a worldwide challenge. That, again, is why my noble friend Lord Palumbo’s far-sightedness, which Sheryl Sandberg shares, of recognising and promoting the contribution that women make to businesses, is indeed so important.

My noble friend Lady Fookes and the noble Baroness, Lady Prosser, flagged the challenges of getting women into STEM subjects. We are working very hard on this. Last night I was very encouraged to attend a reception hosted by the DPM for female apprentices. The enthusiasm of these women was palpable. One of the things that they emphasised was that they had a battle against their schools when they tried to head down the apprenticeship route. They asked that schools should rate apprenticeships as highly as they rate universities. This is indeed what we are seeking to do through new careers advice in schools. I also say to the noble Baroness, Lady Howells, that last night I met a remarkable apprentice who happens to be black and is apprenticed at Dr Martens. I can show the noble Baroness on my telephone some rather inadequate pictures of the stunning silk and fake crocodile Dr Martens shoes that this young lady had designed and made in the space of two days. I had no doubt that she could sell them worldwide.

My noble friend Lord Holmes gave a moving speech and reminded us strongly of how outstanding are our sportswomen. I noted that there were four winning individuals or teams at Sochi, and that three of them were female. However, that did not stand in the way of national delight and enthusiasm. It did not, and I would make that point to the media.

We heard from the noble Baroness, Lady Bakewell, just how fantastic the contribution of women can be in the arts, as outlined in the cases she mentioned. I recognise not least the contribution that JK Rowling makes both to the UK Exchequer and to the fantasy life of children and adults. It was absolutely wonderful to see a dyslexic child, who had never read a book all the way through before, sit in a corner and not move until they had read all the way through a Harry Potter book.

I pay tribute as I always do, and as my noble friend Lord Smith has, to the party opposite for what it has done to encourage women to enter politics. I think that my noble friend was actually attacking my party rather than my coalition partners. I have fought long and hard in my party over many years, but we have a particular challenge because we have no safe seats—if only we had. That is why I am very glad that, at least in the House of Lords, 31% of my party’s Members are women, making us the largest group. I am also glad, astounded and impressed that in five of the six Liberal Democrat seats where MPs are standing down, we have managed to select women. I pay tribute to my noble friend Lady Brinton for her sterling efforts in that regard.

We all know that we must do more at every level. I have seen what a transformative difference Labour women MPs have made and, just like the noble Baroness, Lady Royall, I have seen a transformative difference made by women parliamentarians working together in Pakistan. What we have heard about the position of women worldwide reinforces the need to have a stand-alone goal on gender in the MDGs, as the noble Baroness, Lady Royall, made clear.

My noble friend Lord Watson of Richmond, like others, reminded us of some of the barriers faced by women elsewhere. I certainly saw what he referred to when I visited Saudi Arabia. The women are corralled into a small area in the university, unable to participate alongside men unless they are medical students. They are unable even to visit the library. I saw the horror on male faces as I was allowed to walk through the university. As I have mentioned before, the position of women came home to me even in my western-style hotel in Riyadh, where there was a swimming pool. I went down to the pool with my swimsuit but was turned away because it was not the “women’s hour” to swim. When I asked when the women’s hour was, I was told, “There isn’t one”.

Given the situation of women around the world, I am very proud of our work overseas. In our international development work, the UK has put girls and women at the heart of its approach. DfID’s strategic vision for women and girls has set ambitious targets to enhance the economic empowerment of girls and women in developing countries. I laid out the principles in my opening speech. As the noble Baroness, Lady Royall, pointed out, women do so much of the work yet have so little of the property. The imbalance is extremely striking. Two-thirds of women are illiterate and one in nine girls is forced into marriage before her 14th birthday.

Overseas, we are indeed battling against violence. Women cannot fully participate if they are subjected to violence, which they often are, as the noble Baroness, Lady Royall, pointed out. She will know of the efforts that we are making in that respect with a £25 million research and innovation fund looking at what works in preventing violence against women and girls.

The noble Baroness, Lady Howe of Idlicote, raised the issue of FGM. I am very proud of what my honourable friend Lynne Featherstone is doing in combating this overseas, and it is having an effect, too, in the United Kingdom. That is extremely welcome. It is the first time that there has been a commitment of £35 million to combat FGM overseas. I know that I am running short of time.

The noble Baroness, Lady Royall, mentioned concerns in relation to Pakistan, and my noble friends Lady Jenkin and Lady Hodgson mentioned Afghanistan. Probably all three of them will know of our very strong commitment to supporting women and girls right across the board in terms of schooling, engagement and reproductive health. That commitment in Afghanistan continues and I can write with further details if they wish.

My noble friend Lady Fookes asked about women’s political participation and leadership. DfID supports that in a number of countries and, again, I can write with details. However, I will point out that the CPA, IPU and Westminster Foundation have continuing programmes along the lines that she mentions. I know that the CPA is asking right now for a volunteer to do the type of training to which she refers in April in Kenya. Perhaps she would like to volunteer.

In conclusion, this has been a very wide-ranging and informative debate. I was enormously struck by what my noble friend Lady Bottomley said when quoting the chief executive of a company, which I shall not name, who said that the future was not with the BRICs but with women. That is most cheering and a very positive note. I hope that I have made clear the Government’s determination to do everything in their power to transform the rights and opportunities available to women and girls in the UK and overseas. As I predicted, it has been an excellent debate. It has also been constructive and thought-provoking. It is encouraging to have so many women and men seeking to drive forward the gender equality that we all need to see for the benefit of women, families, communities and countries.

Motion agreed.

Childcare

Baroness Northover Excerpts

Wednesday 5th March 2014 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Jenkin of Kennington]

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what plans they have to increase access to quality childcare for women in low-income households.

[Baroness Northover (LD)]

My Lords, finding good-quality affordable childcare can be a real struggle for some families, which is why we are making reforms in three areas. We are improving availability by increasing the number of places across childminders, nurseries and schools. We are improving quality by improving staff qualifications, and simplifying and strengthening the inspection regime. We are also making childcare more affordable through the early education entitlement for two year-olds, tax-free childcare and universal credit.

[Baroness Jenkin of Kennington (Con)]

My Lords, I thank my noble friend for that Answer. Noble Lords may not be aware that we in this country spend 1.1% of GDP on childcare—approximately double the OECD average—and yet families spend more than 26% of their income on childcare, which, again, is approximately double the OECD average. So will my noble friend confirm that as well as supporting hard pressed families, and particularly low-income families, the Government also take into account value for money for the taxpayer?

[Baroness Northover]

My Lords, we review very closely the effectiveness of our policies across this area and look very closely also at what is happening in other countries. We certainly recognise the importance of good-quality childcare, which is why we have sought to increase support to 15 hours a week free childcare for all three to four year-olds and for two year-olds from disadvantaged homes.

[Baroness Massey of Darwen (Lab)]

My Lords, is the Minister aware of the report published recently by the Institute for Public Policy Research which states that where childcare is publicly funded, rates of maternal employment are higher? What can be done, therefore, about the fact that nearly half of local authorities do not have sufficient childcare places?

[Baroness Northover]

Yes, I have read the report to which the noble Baroness refers. It is of course extremely important that we have good-quality childcare so that the trend of mothers returning to work can continue. As for the availability of childcare places, however, we have found, using information from providers, that there are 300,000 unfilled places nationally—which is encouraging. In other words, there are places. I realise that the information to which the noble Baroness refers comes from local authorities. One has to worry somewhat about the quality of their data when they do not square with what the providers are saying.

[Lord Storey (LD)]

My Lords, my noble friend’s Answer to my noble friend Lady Jenkin showed the huge amount that is being done for childcare. My noble friend may be aware that recent figures show, as regards the most disadvantaged two year-olds, that there is only a 15% take-up of formal childcare provision. How can we ensure that this particular group, which is key to social mobility, takes up that opportunity?

[Baroness Northover]

My noble friend will know about the scheme for disadvantaged two year-olds. He might be pleased to know that only one month after launching that scheme 92,000 children have benefited. That is 70% of the deprived children who we wish to reach, which is remarkable in only one month.

[Baroness Deech (CB)]

Is the Minister aware that in some other countries there is a system of free universal childcare and that the economic case has been made that it is worth funding such a system as it releases so many women to return to the labour market if they want, taking them off welfare and even leading to their paying taxes? Will she please consider the economics of providing free universal childcare and cutting through the Gordian knot of all the complications and difficulties that we have at the moment?

[Baroness Northover]

As I mentioned before, we keep under close review what happens in other countries. I remember visiting Leningrad and seeing its universal childcare when I had three children under five; they were in the UCL nursery which meant, in effect, that I had no salary. This is a long-standing problem but we are acutely aware of the importance of high-quality childcare—which I am afraid I did not see in the nurseries I visited in Leningrad—and ensuring that women are able to work.

[Baroness Morgan of Ely (Lab)]

My Lords, does the Minister agree that childcare costs in this country have rocketed in recent years? Average costs of £7,500 per child per year for a full-time care place is more than most people spend on their mortgages. In some areas such as the West Midlands, there has been a 46% increase in childcare costs in four years. When will the Government get a grip on the situation and ensure that it is financially worth while, particularly for those with no skills, to get back into the workplace?

[Baroness Northover]

I pay tribute to what the previous Government did to try to focus on childcare—they did improve the quantity and quality, but they also increased the cost. In the 2000s, the cost of childcare went up enormously. I am quite encouraged that the cost has stabilised over the past couple of years. There is a difference between England, where the cost is stabilising, and Scotland and Wales, where it is not. I have all the figures here if the noble Baroness wishes to see them. It is encouraging to see that stabilisation. I realise why the previous Government were pressing forward in the way that they were, but there were costs involved in that. We have to make sure that high-quality affordable childcare is available to people.

[The Earl of Listowel (CB)]

My Lords, at the risk of tiring the House, and in recognising the important work that the Government are doing, perhaps I may ask if the Minister shares my deep concern that—given what she just said about the importance of high-quality childcare to get the outcomes we want—the most recent Ofsted report has found that one-third of nurseries are only “satisfactory” in quality. Will the Government review the funding of entitlements for two and three year-olds? Those practising in this sector universally voice a concern that while this entitlement is welcome, it needs to be properly funded by the Government if we are to retain and recruit the best people to work with our children.

[Baroness Northover]

The funding is there for all three and four year-olds and for disadvantaged two year-olds. On the quality of childcare, the noble Earl is absolutely right: it is crucial. That is why we have introduced the more rigorous early years educator qualification. There are 1,000 bursaries for apprentices in this area and places for 2,300 trainees to become early years teachers.