Huawei

Debate between Lord Ashton of Hyde and Lord Tebbit

Thursday 25th April 2019 Lords Chamber

[Lord Ashton of Hyde]

To pick up on the noble Lord’s first point, I do not place a huge amount of importance on the Chinese law that he referred to, which requires companies to co-operate with the Government. If anyone thought beforehand that that law did not exist, they were unwise. On his point about security and the leak, I can only re-emphasise that when security matters are discussed at government level, they should be kept confidential. There is an assessment of that going on at No. 10 at the moment, but I have no details of it because it has not been completed.

[Lord Tebbit (Con)]

My Lords, is my noble friend aware that he is sounding much more hesitant and uncertain of himself than is normal? Is that because he is in fact one of those who are concerned that a company under the control of the Chinese Government will have a very large degree of control over our most sensitive communications? It really is no good that some Ministers are alleged to have said, according to the newspapers, that this will be about only the antennae. It occurs to me that all the important information goes through the antennae, does it not?

[Lord Ashton of Hyde]

I assure the House that I do not feel certain about many things. But seriously, my noble friend has a point. However, one should not be led into a false sense of reassurance by saying we should ban one particular company. There are really only about three main suppliers of this 5G equipment: Nokia, Ericsson and Huawei. Both Nokia and Ericsson either have their components assembled in or buy components from China. We must be very careful about trying to give a false sense of reassurance by banning just one company or another.

Broadband: Full-fibre Coverage

Debate between Lord Ashton of Hyde and Lord Tebbit

Tuesday 24th July 2018 Lords Chamber

[Lord Ashton of Hyde]

My Lords, the noble Lord makes a familiar and very valid point. The £3 billion to £5 billion that I mentioned to the noble Lord, Lord Fox, will be on the basis of outside in. We want to make sure that the areas that are hardest to reach will be the ones to receive the government money. It is largely a question of competition. In cities and urban areas, there is more competition and the market is better able to supply the required infrastructure, but in rural areas we understand that that is not the case and therefore we are absolutely cognisant of the point he made.

[Lord Tebbit (Con)]

My Lords, some years ago, I bought a house in a remote rural part of the country. It had no supply of electricity, nor of water. I knew that when I bought it; that was the advantage of it, it was in a rural area. We cannot just say that wherever you live you get every one of the facilities as though you were living in an urban area.

[Lord Ashton of Hyde]

Where I live, in a reasonably rural area, water was not laid on to houses until relatively recently. I think most people today think that running water in your home is a requirement. I take my noble friend’s point. He may not want superfast, let alone ultrafast broadband, but more and more people do, and it is important for the economy. More people need it, so, gradually—as we said, by 2033—it will be available. Of course, he does not have to use it or sign up for it and therefore will not have to pay for it.

General Data Protection Regulation

Debate between Lord Ashton of Hyde and Lord Tebbit

Tuesday 5th June 2018 Lords Chamber

[Lord Ashton of Hyde]

No, I do not agree with that, for the reason I have just given.

[Lord Tebbit (Con)]

Will my noble friend explain to all of us data controllers here assembled exactly what this mischief is? I think the principal mischief is that this is a piece of legislation invented in Brussels and cursed on us.

[Lord Ashton of Hyde]

Of course, the noble Lord is entitled to his opinion but I do not agree with him. In this case, as I tried to explain, it does not matter whether it is a large or small organisation, or even an individual data controller, that misuses information. Individuals’ personal data is very important and has grown enormously since the previous Data Protection Act 20 years ago. My noble friend will of course realise that there was a Data Protection Act 20 years ago.

BBC: Brexit

Debate between Lord Ashton of Hyde and Lord Tebbit

Tuesday 30th January 2018 Lords Chamber

[Lord Ashton of Hyde]

My Lords, I think the noble Lord, Lord Pearson, is much more balanced than that. He knows that a small portion of Brussels is part of a healthy and balanced diet.

[Lord Tebbit (Con)]

My Lords, I do not blame the Minister for the Answer that he read out, but does he not think as an individual, a private person, that there is something wrong when, out of 4,275 guests talking about the EU on BBC Radio 4’s “Today” programme between 2005 and 2015, only 132, or 3.2%, were supporters of the UK’s withdrawal from the EU? Frankly, the BBC has become the supporter of a foreign organisation called the European Union. Could not the Minister quietly whisper in somebody’s ear, “Get your act in order, because you owe a duty of impartiality”?

English Churches and Cathedrals Sustainability Review

Debate between Lord Ashton of Hyde and Lord Tebbit

Wednesday 15th November 2017 Lords Chamber

[Lord Ashton of Hyde]

That is precisely why the Listed Places of Worship Grant Scheme covers all faiths.

[Lord Tebbit (Con)]

My Lords, will my noble friend correct our noble friend Lord Cormack? The former Chancellor did not give any of his money to these projects; he merely acted as a siphon for taxpayers’ money. The Chancellor of the Exchequer does not have any money.

[Lord Ashton of Hyde]

I cannot comment on the former Chancellor’s personal finances, but I understand the point—I think it was implicit in what my noble friend Lord Cormack said.

BBC: Equal Pay

Debate between Lord Ashton of Hyde and Lord Tebbit

Thursday 20th July 2017 Lords Chamber

[Lord Ashton of Hyde]

I did note the comments that Jane Garvey made about the differential in salaries. This illustrates the problem when you look at specific individuals, because the comparison between them is not necessarily obvious just from the figures. They may work at different periods, for one day a week or five days a week. It may include some parts of their remuneration but not others, which may come through BBC Studios or other commercial arms of the BBC. But the general point is made. We take diversity seriously and have put diversity in the BBC’s new public purposes in the charter renewal to make sure that it delivers for everyone in the UK. Our position is clear: the BBC should be leading the way in diversity, both on screen and off screen, in equal measure.

[Lord Tebbit (Con)]

Would my noble friend not take any sauce from opposition parties on this matter? After all, none of the opposition parties has ever seen fit to have a woman leader. This party—our party—has had two women Prime Ministers. Let them put their actions where their mouths are and elect a woman leader.

[Lord Ashton of Hyde]

My Lords, I always listen to my noble friend. As far as I am concerned, I am in an interesting position. I serve a female Prime Minister and a female Leader of the House. I am answering a Question from a female Leader of the Opposition. In my department, there is a female Secretary of State, a female Permanent Secretary and a female Government Whip. When I recover from that—I mean, when I go home after a very pleasurable day—I go home to a wife and four daughters.

Sport: Women on Governing Bodies

Debate between Lord Ashton of Hyde and Lord Tebbit

Thursday 6th April 2017 Lords Chamber

[Lord Ashton of Hyde]

My Lords, that really is not in the remit of the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, but I will refer the noble Baroness’s question to the relevant department.

[Lord Tebbit (Con)]

My Lords, will my noble friend say whether the Government intend to publish quotas for all categories, not just men and women but all those in between and people who do not feel comfortable with one or the other of those categories? It would be so unfair if we did not—would it not?

[Lord Ashton of Hyde]

I can be very clear to my noble friend: we do not intend to publish quotas.

European Union: Regeneration Funding

Debate between Lord Ashton of Hyde and Lord Tebbit

Thursday 21st July 2016 Lords Chamber

[Lord Ashton of Hyde]

I thank the noble Lord and look forward to being asked lots of questions by him in future. I am pleased to say that I completely agree with him. This vote does not change the fact that infrastructure is a key government priority. That was demonstrated in the 2016 Budget, when we accelerated the commitment to invest more than £100 billion in infrastructure. In the last Parliament, the average annual investment was 17% higher than in the preceding one.

[Lord Tebbit (Con)]

My Lords, will my noble friend try to educate some Members of this House on the difference between spending and investing? One is very easy and one is a little more difficult. Secondly, will he confirm that no money has been coming into this country from the EU? It is British taxpayers’ money that has been routed through Brussels with a percentage creamed off to pay for the inefficiencies and corruptions in that place.

Tobacco: Illicit Trade

Debate between Lord Ashton of Hyde and Lord Tebbit

Tuesday 14th June 2016 Lords Chamber

[Lord Ashton of Hyde]

My Lords, the Government will certainly consult their European partners. The whole point about dealing with smuggling and illicit trade is that it is a cross-border matter, and therefore it is essential that there is a pan-European agreement on how to deal with it. The Government certainly intend to continue doing that.

[Lord Tebbit (Con)]

Will my noble friend say when the European Union finally ceased to subsidise the growing of tobacco in Greece? It was still being subsidised into the 1990s. When did it actually stop?

[Lord Ashton of Hyde]

I am afraid I do not know the answer to that, but I am sure that my noble friend will be able to tell me.

European Union: Single Market

Debate between Lord Ashton of Hyde and Lord Tebbit

Thursday 17th March 2016 Lords Chamber

[Lord Ashton of Hyde]

I shall just give the example of flights, which have come down dramatically in price.

[Lord Tebbit (Con)]

My Lords, as we are on this subject, could my noble friend clear up a little matter of fact? Were those letters that were published over the names of distinguished former military personnel and leading industrialists drafted by people being paid by Her Majesty’s Government who subsequently importuned those gentlemen for their signatures?

[Lord Ashton of Hyde]

My Lords, I am afraid that my briefing did not cover that. What I can do is commend to the House the speech made in the debate on 2 March by the noble and gallant Lord, Lord Stirrup, who made it very clear why it is preferable to remain in the EU.