Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting: Human Rights

Debate between Baroness Verma and Baroness Whitaker

Tuesday 17th November 2015 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Whitaker (Lab)]

Will the Government take the opportunity to make representations to the Government of Bangladesh about the assassination of humanists and others because they do not profess a religion?

[Baroness Verma]

The noble Baroness raises some important points. We have to make sure that no space is created where freedom of speech is not allowed. The UK Government raise this issue regularly as a matter of course. Wherever we can, we will make sure that all countries, including Bangladesh, that are closing the space for freedom of speech address these issues so that the Commonwealth meets its commitment to the Commonwealth charter.

Infrastructure Bill [HL]

Debate between Baroness Verma and Baroness Whitaker

Tuesday 22nd July 2014 Grand Committee

[Baroness Verma]

My Lords, Amendment 95 will give HMRC a new function, allowing it to participate in the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative, which I will now refer to as “EITI”. On 22 May 2013, the Prime Minister announced that the UK will sign up to EITI. This was a key announcement under the UK’s G8 presidency. EITI provides an assurance that companies will publish what they pay for extracting natural resources and that Governments will disclose the money that they receive from this. By joining EITI and encouraging other countries to join the UK will play its part to improve the way revenues from oil, gas and minerals are managed and to make sure that people across the world share in the economic benefits of the natural resources of the countries in which they live. The amendment will ensure that HMRC will be able to participate in this important initiative and is the minimum legislation required to meet the UK’s public commitment to EITI. I beg to move.

[Baroness Whitaker (Lab)]

My Lords, I must confess that I am rather puzzled by this amendment, as indeed I was by the Prime Minister’s announcement more than a year ago that he and Mr Hollande would both sign up to EITI. EITI was, of course, an initiative by the previous Government with the very commendable aim of ensuring, as the noble Baroness said, that oil industry companies are obliged to disclose their financial transactions and treasuries are obliged to disclose the revenue. It was very commendable because it was initiated for countries where the oil industry was extremely corrupt and made clandestine payments to the Government in exchange for concessions and where taxpayers—if indeed they paid much tax at all as they were too poor—had absolutely no sight of these financial transactions. Now, even the most extreme critic of British capitalism would not, I think, say that anything like that regime obtains here so I am curious as to why we need to sign up to this system, which was entirely meant for developing countries where their resources have proved inimical rather than helpful to their development. It is also my understanding that the revenue obtained from oil companies is easily available from the Treasury in any case, so why this amendment?

[Lord McKenzie of Luton (Lab)]

My Lords, I put one small question to the Minister. We discussed in the previous amendment a new levy that will be introduced as a consequence of the Bill. Is it envisaged that that levy would be includable in EITI reports and, if so, is it a tax for the purposes of the proposed new Section 8A of the Commissioners for Revenue and Customs Act 2005?

Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Bill

Debate between Baroness Verma and Baroness Whitaker

Tuesday 20th December 2011 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Whitaker]

My Lords—

[Baroness Verma]

My Lords, if we could hear from the Liberal Democrats, the Cross Benches and then the Labour Party.

Crown Prosecution Service

Debate between Baroness Verma and Baroness Whitaker

Thursday 12th May 2011 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Whitaker]

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether, given the reported intention of the Home Secretary to transfer decisions about whether to charge a suspect from the Crown Prosecution Service back to the police, the same officers will carry out investigations and take decisions to prosecute.

[Baroness Verma]

My Lords, the proposals build on existing practice and are designed further to improve charging efficiency. The police already have responsibility for charging decisions in 67 per cent of cases. Custody officers, who play no part in investigations, will continue to make the decisions, in accordance with the provisions in the guidance of the Director of Public Prosecutions, on whether to refer cases to the Crown Prosecution Service.

[Baroness Whitaker]

My Lords, I thank the Minister for that half-satisfactory reply. However, is she aware that, when I was a magistrate and the decision was made to set up the CPS and give it responsibility for prosecutions, it was universally greeted as a great step forward, not least because it removed the incentive, or perceived incentive, from the prosecutor to tailor the investigation so as to fit it for a charge—I am trying not to use the word “fit”, advisedly? How will HMG guard against that perception?

[Baroness Verma]

My Lords, the noble Baroness has raised a number of interesting points. However, the point is that, through modernising our charging programme, we are building on the trust that we have with our police forces and also making sure that we build in greater efficiency and reduce bureaucracy.