Earl of Courtown
Main Page: Earl of Courtown (Conservative - Life peer)Ukraine: Decentralisation Reforms
Earl of Courtown Excerpts
The Earl of Courtown (Con)
My Lords, first, I thank my noble friend Lord Risby for securing this valuable debate. Last week, in our debate on the Convention establishing an International Claims Commission for Ukraine, my noble friend Lord Callanan noted that, while the war continues, it is right that we look to the future of Ukraine. I will not repeat our overall position on support for Ukraine, as my noble friend set it out very clearly last week, but the Official Opposition will always support the Government in backing Ukraine in the face of Putin’s illegal war in Ukraine. Across the House and across political divides, we must all work hard to maintain the consensus in support of the Ukrainian people.
As my noble friend Lord Risby mentioned, since 2014, the decentralisation process in Ukraine has progressed significantly, strengthening local self-governance and improving the Ukrainian state’s ability to deliver public services. That process has established local governments across Ukraine that retains more than half of the tax collected in their area. This means that more money stays in the communities where it is collected, and it should be spent to the benefit of local residents. Can the Minister say whether His Majesty’s Government are monitoring the impact of the reorganisation of government in Ukraine and its impact on the quality of the public services that are available to the Ukrainian people?
Support for Ukraine should not stop at funding and military training. Our strong tradition of democracy and effective local governance means that there may be relevant skills that we can share with Ukraine. Can the Minister say what conversations have taken place to ensure that we are making the local government expertise here in the UK available to Ukraine?
Although significant progress has been made, third parties report that there remain significant challenges around skills shortages in the Civil Service. What consideration have Ministers given to that? Are there steps that His Majesty’s Government can take, in concert with our international partners, to support Ukraine on the skills gaps it is experiencing within government?
The UK-Ukraine 100-year partnership, which was raised by my noble friend Lord Risby, is without question ambitious. However, ambition alone does not deliver results. Given that it is the intention of the Government for this partnership to ensure for a century, do the Government agree that Parliament should have greater opportunity to scrutinise delivery under each of the partnership’s pillars? In this spirit, will His Majesty’s Government commit to an annual report on the progress and expenditure incurred?
Today, we have spoken much about our local councils and the incredible work they are doing to stand by the people of Ukraine. However, reconstruction will require local economic recovery. It would, therefore, be helpful to understand what role His Majesty’s Government see for the British Chambers of Commerce, SMEs and local enterprise partnerships in supporting the effort to rebuild local economies across the region. Will His Majesty’s Government consider launching a UK-Ukraine 100 website and digital archive for successes under the UK-Ukraine 100 year partnership declaration? That would serve to showcase successes and inspire councils, schools, civil society groups and others to get involved.
The demonstrations that saw the fall of Yanukovych’s Government were fuelled by a collapse of trust in the Ukrainian Government. Those Ukrainians, who had such high hopes of a brighter future for Ukraine, have suffered much since then. We all share that hope for a brighter future, and we will work with the Government as they support this work. I look forward to hearing the Minister’s response.