Mobile Telephones: Public Emergency Alert System

Lord Bhatia Excerpts

Wednesday 21st April 2021 Lords Chamber

[Lord True (Con)]

I will have to write to the noble Baroness on biological security; I undertake to do so.

[Lord Bhatia (Non-Afl) [V]]

Will the Government provide free phones to those who cannot afford to buy them?

[Lord True (Con)]

The intention is for this to be a cell notice. There will be no charges for receipt of this service. The noble Lord makes a point about penetration and the capabilities of different telephones, and some people do not have or want a telephone at all. I assure him that the Government are taking all those matters into account.

Budget Statement

Lord Bhatia Excerpts

Friday 12th March 2021 Lords Chamber

[Lord Bhatia (Non-Afl) [V]]

My Lords, the House knows well that coronavirus has already caused significant harm to our economy. The scale of the impact has resulted in GDP falling by 18% in the second quarter of 2020. As a result, more than 800,000 people have lost their jobs since February. The lockdown will also have a significant economic impact. We should therefore expect the economy to get worse before it gets better.

The Government have put aside £280 billion to fund plans for jobs to support public services such as the NHS and to provide financial support for millions of people and businesses. Some 1.2 million employers have furloughed almost 10 million employees. Almost 3 million people have benefited from our self-employment grants, taking the total support for the self-employed to nearly £20 billion. Over 1.4 million small and medium-sized limited companies have received government debt loans of £60 billion.

The Government have not been able to save every job and every business, but the success in finding and buying vaccines has brought hopes for a better future—they have run it better than European countries. As a result, the Government’s performance with the vaccine and getting Brexit done has improved the status of the Conservative Government in the United Kingdom.

Police and Crime Commissioner Elections (Welsh Forms) Order 2021

Lord Bhatia Excerpts

Thursday 4th March 2021 Lords Chamber

[Lord Bhatia (Non-Afl) [V]]

My Lords, the Explanatory Memorandum for the 2012 order was prepared by the Home Office. It states that that SI

“prescribes bilingual (English and Welsh) versions of ballot papers to be used in Wales at Police and Crime Commissioner elections on 15 November 2012.”

It also states that the 2011 Act

“provides for the establishment of a directly elected Police and Crime Commissioner for every police area in England and Wales outside London. This Order is being made in exercise of the powers contained in the 2011 Act and the Welsh Language Act 1993 … This instrument applies to England and Wales … The Home Secretary has made the following statement regarding Human Rights: In my view the provisions of the Police and Crime Commissioner Elections (Welsh Forms) Order 2012 are compatible with the Convention rights … In June 2010, the Government announced its intention to replace police authorities with directly elected Police and Crime Commissioners (PCCs) in England and Wales by 2012 … English forms have already been prescribed in the Police and Crime Commissioner Elections Order 2012 … under the same power in the 2011 Act but, as is usual practice, bilingual forms are being established separately by this Order … This Order does not apply to businesses, charities or voluntary bodies … The legislation does not apply to small business.”

I fully support the order.

Ministerial and other Maternity Allowances Bill

Lord Bhatia Excerpts

2nd reading & 2nd reading (Hansard) & 2nd reading (Hansard): House of Lords
Monday 22nd February 2021 Lords Chamber

[Lord Bhatia (Non-Afl) [V]]

My Lords, Members of the House of Commons voted to give Ministers formal, paid maternity leave for the first time, and it was hailed as an important and long-overdue change. The Government pledged to bring forward more sweeping maternity protections before the summer recess. Many MPs made statements during the debate. Significantly, the Minister, Penny Mordaunt, said that the Bill will put an end to the “wholly unacceptable situation” of Ministers having to resign to take leave.

Two significant points were made: that the Bill fails to address adoption, and that it fails to address shared paternal leave. The most important statement was made by the mother of the House, Harriet Harman. She said that the Bill should be an impetus to addressing low maternity pay, and that the Government have “done the right thing”. She went on to say that maternity pay is £152 per week—less than half what you would get on the minimum wage. The Bill was passed without any opposition at Third Reading. I ask the Minister whether it might be wiser to see how private sector companies have provided maternity leave to their employees and paternity leave to males.

EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement

Lord Bhatia Excerpts

Friday 8th January 2021 Lords Chamber

[Lord Bhatia (Non-Afl) [V]]

My Lords, Britain and the European Union have struck a Brexit deal that will define their relationship for decades to come. The Prime Minister hailed the agreement as

“a ‘great treaty’ that allowed the UK to ‘take back control of our destiny’ and resolve a question that had ‘bedevilled’ British politics for decades,”

as reported by the Times. The EU also made similar statements. It has taken many years of negotiations, which finally ended with a document of some 1,200 pages. What started as a referendum under Prime Minister Cameron consumed three other Prime Ministers and gave Boris Johnson the honour of reaching an agreement with the EU. Both sides are looking at the details of the agreement and, as they say, the devil is in the details. That is where the attention of politicians will focus from now on. Generally, it is a relief for Parliament and the public, as the focus will now shift to dealing with the pandemic and the damage done to the economy, to both large and small businesses. It remains to be seen as to how history will judge Boris Johnson in the coming two to three decades.

Taxation (Post-transition Period) Bill

Lord Bhatia Excerpts

2nd reading & Committee negatived & 3rd reading & 2nd reading (Hansard) & 2nd reading (Hansard): House of Lords & 3rd reading (Hansard) & 3rd reading (Hansard): House of Lords & Committee negatived (Hansard) & Committee negatived (Hansard): House of Lords
Wednesday 16th December 2020 Lords Chamber

[Lord Bhatia (Non-Afl) [V]]

My Lords, this Bill will implement customs, VAT and excise obligations arising under the Northern Ireland protocol. The terms of the withdrawal agreement and the Ireland/Northern Ireland protocol create a unique status for Northern Ireland. It remains part of the UK’s customs territory but will continue to apply the EU’s customs code, VAT rules and single market rules for goods after the transition period, which ends on 31 December 2020. The Government are legislating in the United Kingdom Internal Market Bill to ensure that qualifying Northern Ireland goods have unfettered access to the UK internal market.

Article 8 of the protocol deals with EU VAT and excise provisions relating to goods that will continue to apply in Northern Ireland. However, HMRC will continue to be responsible for the operation and collection of the revenues that will not be passed on to the EU as VAT exemptions and reduced rates applying to Northern Ireland.

Clause 3 of the Bill amends the Value Added Tax Act 1994 to implement the obligation under the protocol. HMRC and the Treasury have explained that these provisions will ensure that the movement of goods between Great Britain and the Isle of Man and Northern Ireland will be treated as imports and exports. However, co-ordinating mechanisms will ensure that, as far as possible, VAT will be accounted for by businesses and individuals as it is today.

The Government have said that they will follow the UKIM Bill to make it clear that no tariffs will be payable on goods moving from Great Britain to Northern Ireland unless those goods are re-destined for the EU market or there is a genuine and substantial risk of them ending up there. The Government should not forget that the UK has signed an international agreement on Northern Ireland, which is part of the UK. Any breach of this agreement would damage the UK’s reputation internationally. It would also lead to the break-up of the United Kingdom.

Spending Review 2020

Lord Bhatia Excerpts

Thursday 3rd December 2020 Grand Committee

[Lord Bhatia (Non-Afl) [V]]

My Lords, on 25 November 2020, the Chancellor concluded the spending review. It contained an update on the amount of funding to be given to public services during the financial year 2020-21, as well as a new set of departmental budgets for the next financial year, 2021-22.

Although the decision to limit this year’s spending review to a single year rather than the usual three or four years is sensible, setting budgets for only one year can deprive public services leaders of the certainty they need to plan effectively and efficiently, and arguably adds to the fog of uncertainty already hanging over the wider economy. It is therefore welcome that the Government have indicated that exceptions will be made where multi-year budgets are arguably needed most, notably in funding for major investment projects.

Although this spending review will be more short-term than usual, there are still a number of important things to look out for. My biggest concern is the decision to reduce overseas aid. We have heard what some previous Prime Ministers had to say on this subject. I sincerely hope that the Government reconsider and stick to a contribution of 0.7%.

European Union Withdrawal (Consequential Modifications) (EU Exit) Regulations 2020

Lord Bhatia Excerpts

Monday 30th November 2020 Grand Committee

[Lord Bhatia (Non-Afl) [V]]

My Lords, this SI has been prepared by the Cabinet Office. Its purpose is to ensure that the UK statute book works correctly and effectively following the end of the transition period. The UK left the EU on 21 January 2020, following which the supremacy of EU law over UK law came to an end. The EUWA has achieved this legal severance through the repeal of the ECA on exit day. The withdrawal agreement agreed between the UK and the EU came into force on exit day.

The withdrawal agreement aims to ensure the UK’s orderly withdrawal from the EU. The EUWA has implemented the withdrawal agreement and provides the vehicle for the Government to give effect to the EEA EFTA separation agreement and the Swiss citizens’ rights agreement. The UK and the EU agreed in the withdrawal agreement that the UK’s exit from the EU would be followed by a time-limited transition period. That period started on exit day and ends on 31 December 2020.

Although the ECA was repealed on exit day, certain parts of it are to be kept in force by the EUWA, and EU law continues to apply during the transition period under the terms set out in the withdrawal agreement. This SI makes various consequential amendments and repeals in respect of retained EU law and the relevant separation agreement, laws and other EU-derived domestic legislation. This ensures that the UK statute book will operate effectively and coherently in relation to EU-derived domestic legislation and removes from the statute book domestic legislation that has been made redundant as a result of the EUWA.

Finally, this SI does not apply to activities undertaken by small businesses. Can the Minister give some estimate of the cost of this SI?

Future of Financial Services

Lord Bhatia Excerpts

Wednesday 11th November 2020 Lords Chamber

[Lord Agnew of Oulton (Con)]

My Lords, we absolutely accept that small businesses are the backbone of the wealth-creating part of our economy. One of the answers I gave earlier was looking at the listing rules in this country to see whether we can make it more accessible for smaller firms. I mentioned that I think that you have to issue a full prospectus for anything in excess of €8 million, whereas in the US it is $50 million, so we certainly will be looking at that.

On a slightly unrelated element, but connected to SMEs, the rules reform that we are working on now, post transition, on procurement opens up an enormous opportunity for SMEs, because it will allow us to set our own rules and not be controlled by the EU regime. That covers some £290 billion-worth of government expenditure each year, and we will be making sure that SMEs get a good slice of that.

[Lord Bhatia (Non-Afl) [V]]

[Inaudible.]

[The Deputy Speaker (Lord McNicol of West Kilbride) (Lab)]

You are on mute. Please unmute. No, you are still on mute. We will move on to the next speaker and come back to the noble Lord, Lord Bhatia, if we have time. I call the next speaker.