House of Lords: Oral Questions

Debate between Baroness Stowell of Beeston and Lord Avebury

Thursday 29th January 2015 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Stowell of Beeston]

The noble Lord is right. Too often, noble Lords are moving away from the conventions and the guidance in the Companion by extending questions into statements and short speeches. I urge all noble Lords to refrain from doing so. It removes the opportunity for more people to get in.

[Lord Avebury (LD)]

My Lords, when the Procedure Committee recently looked at the method of allocating Oral Questions, it decided not to change to a ballot, as was considered two years ago by that Select Committee on Procedure and rejected then by the House. However, that was on the grounds that the Whips would be able to manipulate the Oral Questions. They do not do that with the Topical Questions here, which are selected by ballot, nor do they in the Commons, where the Questions are selected by ballot. Will the noble Baroness the Leader of the House find a way of consulting the majority of Members of the House who might be found to want a change to the ballot system? When we had a straw poll on it among the Liberal Democrats, an overwhelming majority were in favour and only four of us were against it.

[Noble Lords]

Too long!

Local Authorities: Local Plans

Debate between Baroness Stowell of Beeston and Lord Avebury

Tuesday 25th February 2014 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Stowell of Beeston]

I am talking about England. If I were to talk about Wales, where the Labour Party is in government, things are a lot worse over there.

[Lord Avebury (LD)]

My Lords, in the case of planning for Travellers, the DCLG issued a paper requiring local authorities to provide, by the end of March 2013, a five-year supply of specific deliverable sites against targets based on up-to-date assessments of local need. Will my noble friend say whether the Government will ask local authorities to submit returns by the end of March this year showing how they have satisfied that requirement? If the answer is that hardly any have done so, will they embody the requirement in statute? Is there ministerial power to enforce it?

[Baroness Stowell of Beeston]

As my noble friend knows, the policy is clear that, through local plans, local authorities should plan to meet housing needs and the needs of Gypsies and Travellers. This Government do not impose or monitor targets, but the Planning Inspectorate is applying the policy robustly in examining local plans.

Police: Neighbourhood Policing

Debate between Baroness Stowell of Beeston and Lord Avebury

Tuesday 23rd July 2013 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Stowell of Beeston]

The HMIC report includes a survey of the public, and victim satisfaction is up from 82% in 2010 to 85% in March of this year.

[Lord Avebury]

My Lords, what increase in the volume of neighbourhood crime does my noble friend think would be attributable to the failure of the Government to implement minimum unit pricing of alcohol?

[Baroness Stowell of Beeston]

One measure that this Government have introduced is the late-night levy, which comes into force when pubs and clubs decide to stay open beyond midnight. We have taken real steps to address this kind of activity by ensuring that people take responsibility for the decisions they make in their local area that might lead to an increase in consumption and local crime.

Town and Country Planning (Temporary Stop Notice) (England) (Revocation) Regulations 2013

Debate between Baroness Stowell of Beeston and Lord Avebury

Monday 17th June 2013 Lords Chamber

[Lord Avebury]

That will be very helpful, and I am sure that the noble Baroness, Lady Whitaker, and the noble Lord, Lord Beecham, would also like to be informed about what is being done with the £60 million. I could have asked about what is to happen after 2015 because although the money will provide that number of pitches, it will not by any means cure the problem of unauthorised sites. As my noble friend said, the position has been improving, but it is not fully resolved. The reason people camp on unauthorised sites is not because they want to abuse the planning system, but because there is simply nowhere else they can go. I must say that until we have the properly delivered programme of sites which the Government set out in their policy on PPTS, we will still have a long way to go. In the mean time, I beg leave to withdraw the Motion.

[Baroness Stowell of Beeston]

My Lords, I am sure that the noble Lord could expand his views for a couple of minutes more.

[Lord Avebury]

If the noble Baroness wishes, there are some other questions that cropped up during the course of the debate on which it would be useful to have a few words. The noble Lord, Lord Beecham, asked what other considerations would be taken into account in deciding whether temporary planning permissions should be granted. I am also interested in that question. I can see that when a caravan is parked on a totally unsuitable site such as a playing field, urgent action needs to be taken. If a caravan is parked on the green belt, that might also be a factor to be taken into consideration.

I wonder if my noble friend the Minister has considered the suggestion made by Councillor Ric Pallister of South Somerset District Council. He has suggested that, where it is necessary to remove a person from a totally unauthorised and inappropriate site such as a playing field, a temporary permission might be granted on another piece of land, which is not unsuitable, for a period of 28 days. That would enable the persons in receipt of the temporary stop notice to draw breath and look around for whatever alternative accommodation might be available. It would be helpful if the Minister could think about that. I am not asking for a reply now but, perhaps, when he writes to us, he could cover that point as well.

I beg leave to withdraw the Motion.

Welfare Benefits Up-rating Bill

Debate between Baroness Stowell of Beeston and Lord Avebury

Tuesday 5th March 2013 Lords Chamber

[Lord Avebury]

This is the third or fourth time that my noble friend has mentioned that the arrangements under Section 4 are temporary, but will she acknowledge that some people remain on them for many years? In one case that we were told about, I think it was seven years.

[Baroness Stowell of Beeston]

I was going to refer to the complaints that have been made about delays in dealing with Section 4 cases. These problems have been acknowledged by the department. Efforts have been made to address the causes behind those delays and there have been some improvements.

The noble Baroness, Lady Lister, said that disabled people receive no additional support. If asylum seekers have higher needs, they are supported by their local authority under an old Act, the National Assistance Act 1948. My noble friend Lord Avebury asked whether disabled children would receive higher value support. Again, that is a matter for individual local authorities, which will have considered the needs of the child and conducted a relevant assessment. My noble friend also asked whether these arrangements are compatible with the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, and the answer to that is yes. The UK Border Agency is bound by its Section 55 duty to consider the best interests of children. As I have said, fully furnished free accommodation, education and healthcare are provided, plus an allowance to meet the need for food, clothes and other essential items.

Although I acknowledge the strength of feeling that has been expressed by noble Lords about the difficulties that inevitably are faced by people who come to this country seeking asylum, when comparing asylum support rates across Europe, our research shows that the UK is comparatively generous in family cases, providing more to an asylum-seeking family of four than countries like Sweden or Denmark. Further, as I have mentioned, there is an ongoing review of our approach to asylum seeker support and we expect to finish conducting our inquiries shortly. We are taking account of the views of partners, including the recommendations of the Children’s Society. We will want to ensure coherence with the mainstream benefit system and the financial constraints being faced. The noble Baroness, Lady Lister, asked for further details about the evidence that is being considered in the course of the review. I shall see whether I can write to her with further details on that.

It is worth saying that there is no statutory obligation to carry out an annual review of asylum support rates. Instead, Parliament has set a clear benchmark that the support provided must meet the “essential living needs” of recipients of Section 95 support and that it must provide “accommodation” to recipients of Section 4 support. It would be wrong to raise expectations in this area given the current constraints on the funding available, but we are committed to an approach to asylum support that is fair, reasonable and balanced. No one who has sought our protection need be destitute while waiting for an application to be decided, but if the application is refused and the decision is upheld by the courts, we expect people to return home. Perhaps I may add that if someone is granted asylum, if they are in need of benefits they will transfer on to the domestic regime, which ensures that they receive the same benefits as anyone else in this country under the normal rules that apply.

If I have failed to address all of the detailed questions put by my noble friend Lord Avebury and, indeed, if there are any others, I will follow them up in writing. I am grateful to the noble Baroness, Lady Lister, for the opportunity to set out the support that is provided and I hope that I have been able to reassure her and other noble Lords that the Government continue to take this matter very seriously. I hope that she will withdraw her objection to the schedule.

Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Bill

Debate between Baroness Stowell of Beeston and Lord Avebury

Monday 4th March 2013 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Stowell of Beeston]

As I continue laying out the Government’s response, I will answer more directly the points that my noble friend has made. I want to make it plain that there are other forms of prejudice from which people in this country suffer to a great extent for which no clear, direct legislation exists to prevent it happening.

The noble and right reverend Lord, Lord Harries of Pentregarth, provided some rather shocking evidence and stories of discrimination outside the UK, as did other noble Lords. The Government have to legislate to tackle what happens in this country; that is what we—what all Governments—must ensure that we do. The noble Lord, Lord Alton, and the noble Baroness, Lady Flather, talked about the huge number of crimes committed against Dalits in India. We have existing criminal law here in Great Britain for dealing with those kinds of assaults and other crimes if they take place in this country.

At this point, let me make it clear that we remain willing to consider whether there may be a case for legislating specifically in regard to caste discrimination, and hence our willingness to meet representatives of the key groups. I will return in a moment to the circumstances that would lead us to such a decision, and why we remain unconvinced that legislation is the best answer. It is clear from the NIESR report, which is the most robust study available so far, that the majority of incidents of caste-related prejudice or abuse would not be covered by equality legislation. Our assessment is that the great majority of cases in the report are either in areas outside the legislation—such as in relation to volunteering, which is not covered by discrimination law—or would already be subject to redress through a range of measures from claims for constructive dismissal to criminal prosecution. That said, we are clear that no one should suffer prejudice because of caste. Such prejudice should not be condoned and it should never be ignored, and that is why I am pleased that the Government have announced that they are taking clear action to tackle caste prejudice and discrimination through an education initiative. I thank my noble friend Lord Sheikh for his support for this initiative, and I must say that I was rather surprised that the noble and right reverend Lord, Lord Harries, dismissed it as being patronising and interfering. Even if a new law on caste discrimination was to be introduced, without education it would not address the underlying causes.

[Lord Avebury]

Did my noble friend note the quotation I gave from the NIESR report which talked about the educational effect of legislation? The fact is that because employers would have to discharge their responsibilities, they would educate their workforces and thus the whole of society.

[Baroness Flather]

Who is going to educate whom? We have put down so many things under education that I should think they could fill a whole blackboard. Without legislation, I do not understand who will give this education and who will be educated.

Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Bill

Debate between Baroness Stowell of Beeston and Lord Avebury

Wednesday 9th January 2013 Grand Committee

[Baroness Stowell of Beeston]

I understand the point that my noble friend makes, but it takes us back to the point about evidence. I refer again to the NIESR research, which suggests that some caste discrimination and harassment may exist but also says that,

“it is impossible to categorically determine whether caste discrimination and harassment within the meaning of the Act has occurred”.

[Lord Avebury]

I am so sorry to interrupt the Minister again; I know that she has been very patient. However, if the argument is that you do not deal with this problem because very small numbers of people are discriminated against on the grounds of caste, what does she have to say about gender reassignment, which is one of the protected characteristics? Should we have avoided placing gender reassignment on the list of protected characteristics because not many people are affected by it?

[Baroness Stowell of Beeston]

In simple terms, the protected characteristics are characteristics that we all share; we all have a sex, a race and an age. I think the point in dispute was debated on previous legislation.

I will conclude by saying that we have thought long and hard about this legislative power and about why making this change in a Bill designed to encourage enterprise and streamline regulation would be inappropriate. However, I am very happy to accept the noble Baroness’s proposal of a meeting. We also acknowledge that uncertainty as to what is to happen on the issue of caste discrimination in Great Britain helps no one.

My noble friend made reference to the letter that he received from my right honourable friend Maria Miller and her reference to the fact that we expect to be able to make a fuller announcement on the Government’s intentions on this matter shortly. I certainly will do all in my power to ensure that, as far as is possible, we do so before we get to the next stage of this Bill.