Data Protection, Privacy and Electronic Communications (Amendments etc) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019

Debate between Lord Adonis and Lord Trefgarne

Monday 18th February 2019 Lords Chamber

[Lord Adonis]

That raises the issue of why that is not in any of the information before your Lordships. I was not aware of that at all. It is not flagged up in any of the documentation. Like other noble Lords, I appreciate hugely the work done by our Select Committees but the committee’s view is not always completely clear to the House when these instruments come before it, unless the committee has issued a formal report. We do not get full value from our Select Committees in the way that their work is presented. For instance, I am surprised that the chairs of these Select Committees do not comment on these instruments based on the committees’ work. I see that one of the chairs is sitting opposite; perhaps he would like to intervene.

[Lord Trefgarne (Con)]

All I can say at the moment is that the letter to which the noble Lord, Lord Rooker, referred has not gone quite yet.

--- Later in debate ---

[Lord Adonis]

Perhaps I misheard the noble Lord—we will call them distinguished lawyers.

However, there is a dispute going on between the chairs of Sub-Committee A and Sub-Committee B. I do not know how these disputes are resolved. Do they come to the House? Perhaps they should come to the House.

[Lord Trefgarne]

My Lords, I can assure both noble Lords, Lord Adonis and Lord Rooker, that agreement is very close.

[Lord Adonis]

My Lords, I hope that it is close, because meanwhile we have another seven of these instruments to consider today and the whole of the Order Paper for Wednesday has, I think, another dozen of them. We also have hundreds more coming next week. Perhaps I may say to the noble Lord that I hope that this can be resolved extremely quickly and that we can find a satisfactory way forward, because the issue of the lack of impact assessments seems to be entirely arbitrary. We have some on the later instruments that will be introduced by the noble Lord, Lord Bates, but there are none on these. However, no formal consultation has been carried out on any of the instruments.

Venture Capital Funds (Amendment) (EU Exit) Regulations 2018

Debate between Lord Adonis and Lord Trefgarne

Tuesday 22nd January 2019 Lords Chamber

[Lord Adonis]

My Lords, I am sorry to labour the point but—

[Lord Trefgarne (Con)]

I believe this matter came before the Secondary Legislation Scrutiny Committee. I apologise that with 300 pieces of secondary legalisation I do not always remember every detail of every one of them but, be that as it may, the SLSC often asks for changes to the impact assessment, as I believe happened on this occasion. The impact assessment has therefore been published; it is just that a further edition has been asked for.

[Lord Adonis]

So it has been published and the noble Lord can therefore make it available to the House.

--- Later in debate ---

[Lord Adonis]

My Lords, the noble Lord was intervening on me. It is not a question of accepting the word of the Minister; the Minister has not replied to the point. Indeed, the noble Lord, Lord Trefgarne, has added further confusion because he said that the impact assessment is available and it has just not been laid before the House, whereas I took the Minister to say that the impact assessment was not available. He told the Grand Committee last week that it would be published shortly. He is clearly still not in a position to lay it before the House. The House is being expected to agree a statutory instrument that will have a vital impact on a major national industry and we do not know the basis on which we are agreeing it. There is confusion between the noble Lord who chairs the relevant committee and the Minister as to whether an impact assessment is even available. The point that my noble friend Lord Rooker made seems to be completely correct. Essentially, we are legislating in the dark this afternoon, and that is a wholly unsatisfactory situation.

[Lord Trefgarne]

My Lords, perhaps I may have your Lordships’ permission to speak once more. In fact, the initial impact assessment was, I believe, withdrawn with the promise of another one, and it is the second one that we await.

[Lord Adonis]

But is that one available either?