School Trips: Passport and Visa Requirements

Debate between Lord Addington and Baroness Williams of Trafford

Wednesday 2nd February 2022 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Williams of Trafford (Con)]

My Lords, that really is a stretch. We expect tourists who visit the UK from outside the EU to hold a passport and we now expect those from EU and EEA countries, and Switzerland, to do the same.

[Lord Addington (LD)]

My Lords, we have a problem with people wanting to learn modern languages. There is a declining rate of people studying them. Does the Minister accept that, if we want to encourage their use, the Government should do their level best to encourage school travel—both into and out of this country? If this is not possible, because of some bureaucratic scheme, surely there is a case for changing the bureaucracy.

[Baroness Williams of Trafford (Con)]

My Lords, this is not about bureaucracy. It is about the security of documents. It is quite early in the implementation process to say whether this has had a declining effect on tourism, but it should not have.

Antique Firearms (Amendment) Regulations 2021

Debate between Lord Addington and Baroness Williams of Trafford

Tuesday 23rd November 2021 Grand Committee

[Baroness Williams of Trafford (Con)]

I will definitely get back to the noble Lord on that. I think there has been something on that recently.

[Lord Addington (LD)]

I raised the point that the rifles used by the British Army in 1917 are effectively the same as the rifles used in 1940. The same is true of the German and American armies. Why is there this artificial cut-off? The rifles fire the same bullets. They are using the same calibre of bullets, the same propulsion, the same white powder for the same lethal intent. Some clarification of that would help. If it is about killing capacity, it is there in these slightly older weapons.

[Baroness Williams of Trafford (Con)]

I get the point the noble Lord is making. Clearly, there has to be a cut-off somewhere, but I will find that out for him.

Policing: European Championship Final

Debate between Lord Addington and Baroness Williams of Trafford

Thursday 15th July 2021 Lords Chamber

[Lord Addington]

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the policing of the 2020 UEFA European Championship final on 11 July.

[The Minister of State, Home Office (Baroness Williams of Trafford) (Con) [V]]

My Lords, we condemn the scenes of violence and disorder that took place at Wembley Stadium and in central London on Sunday. I am grateful to the police for their efforts to restore public order in hugely testing circumstances and to deal with those committing violence and other criminal offences.

[Lord Addington (LD)]

My Lords, it is easy enough to condemn these actions, but it is quite clear that there was a breakdown in intelligence on the part of the police force and that the stewarding arrangements and the police support at the stadium were inadequate. What steps will the Government take to make sure that this is corrected, bearing in mind the damage that this has done to our bid to host the World Cup in future?

[Baroness Williams of Trafford (Con) [V]]

My Lords, the noble Lord touches on a point when he says that some of the stewarding was deficient on the day. However, I would like to put this in the context of the whole of the Euros tournament. The vast majority of events ran smoothly, and it is a real shame that a few people have ruined it for the majority. It is also of great regret that some 19 of our brave police officers were injured on the day.

Operation Midland

Debate between Lord Addington and Baroness Williams of Trafford

Wednesday 18th March 2020 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Williams of Trafford]

My Lords, I think it is important to say, as we have said before, that false accusations devastate the lives of those against whom they are meted out, but let us also look at some of the remedies. Carl Beech was sentenced to 18 years in prison. That does not take away from the devastation that has been caused by false allegations, but I go back to the point that there have been thousands upon thousands of non-recent allegations of child sexual abuse, many thousands of the perpetrators of which have now been convicted.

[Lord Addington (LD)]

My Lords, would it not be a good idea for us to take on some better practice here? I pray in aid my noble friend Lord Paddick’s Private Member’s Bill, which suggests we ensure that somebody’s name is released not when the arrest is made but when a charge is made. Making sure that this happens will get rid of some of the bad practice that gets in the way of the rightful convictions of people who have done the wrong thing.

[Baroness Williams of Trafford]

My Lords, there is generally a presumption of anonymity but there may be policing reasons why, in the course of an investigation, police may release names. Quite often, it is the media that releases those names. There has been updated guidance for the media and the police on this.

Disabled Children: Online and Verbal Abuse

Debate between Lord Addington and Baroness Williams of Trafford

Wednesday 18th October 2017 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Williams of Trafford]

I am aware that disability hate crime is not disaggregated in terms of autism and learning difficulties. Faith hate crime is disaggregated in certain police forces. I know that Greater Manchester Police disaggregates faith-related hate crime. I will take that back, but no matter that the police do not disaggregate it, we absolutely need to deal with it with full force because it is utterly unacceptable.

[Lord Addington (LD)]

Does the Minister agree that the police will not be able to deal with these crimes, particularly in the case of hidden disabilities, unless they have some training in what these disabilities are and how they can be approached? A lack of knowledge will lead to a great lack of action.

[Baroness Williams of Trafford]

I do not disagree with the noble Lord. The police are well trained in a number of areas and I am sure disability is one of them. I will take that back and write to the noble Lord with details of what training is given to the police to deal with the more sensitive aspects of disability. I know certainly from working in the field of multiple sclerosis I often had reports of people with that condition being very upset because people in supermarkets thought they were drunk.

Disabled Students’ Allowance

Debate between Lord Addington and Baroness Williams of Trafford

Wednesday 7th January 2015 Lords Chamber

[Lord Addington (LD)]

My Lords, I beg leave to ask the Question standing in my name on the Order Paper, and draw the House’s attention to my declared interests.

[Baroness Williams of Trafford (Con)]

The Government support the case for encouraging more independent study. In future, we expect higher education institutions to consider a more inclusive learning environment as part of their provision of support for disabled students, and our reforms support that.

[Lord Addington]

I thank my noble friend for that Answer. However, does she agree that at the moment the sector is very worried about what is coming, as it is seen as a cost-cutting exercise? If there were a clear statement that independent learning were to be at the heart of all the changes, it would to some extent head this off and give clarity of direction to the ongoing discussion.

[Baroness Williams of Trafford]

I understand that any change afoot will engender some sort of worry, but the DSA has not been reformed for several years now. We need to improve value for money within the system and balance the responsibility to disabled students between government and higher education institutions, and to make DSA sustainable, because it is a demand-led provision.