Syria: Idlib Attacks

Lord Empey Excerpts

Tuesday 18th June 2019 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Sugg]

I join the noble Baroness in praising the work of Islamic Relief. We were delighted recently to aid-match the funding for its Ramadan appeal. It does incredible work, both in Syria and around the world.

I had not seen the figures on women in prisons. Of course, violence against women and girls is abhorrent wherever we see it. One of the important things is to ensure that, when we face humanitarian crises, our response takes that into account from the outset. I recently attended a conference in Oslo to ensure that humanitarian aid properly takes into account how we can help women from the very outset of a crisis.

[Lord Empey (UUP)]

My Lords, is it not entirely incredible that after years of this type of attack, where the pattern is exactly the same in each province of Syria, and considering that within a matter of hours of the bombing of the ships in the Gulf intelligence services were telling us who was responsible, how can we possibly not know, specifically and precisely, whether it is the Russians or the Syrians who are bombing—29 medical facilities in Idlib alone? I ask my noble friend to take that back to her right honourable colleague in the other place for clarification because it is just incredible.

[Baroness Sugg]

I entirely agree with the noble Lord. It is of course important that we have an independent investigation and that is what we are investing in. It is also important that we, as part of the international community, act together on this. As I said, there is an additional meeting of the UN Security Council today to discuss this point and I very much hope to see progress on understanding exactly who is responsible for this action and on holding them to account.

Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse

Lord Empey Excerpts

Wednesday 28th November 2018 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Williams of Trafford]

That report is extremely distressing for the individuals concerned and for all of us. I know that the relevant government departments here—the DfE and the MoJ—and the local authority will work urgently to understand the facts of this case and to implement any changes needed to the law or procedure. I thank the noble and learned Lord for raising this matter, because it is something on which I think we all agree.

[Lord Empey (UUP)]

My Lords, the Minister will have heard the noble Lord, Lord Beecham, talk about delays, but this delay pales into insignificance compared with the delay in the implementation of the Hart report in Northern Ireland, which investigated historical institutional abuse. That report has been sitting on the table for years. It has unanimous political support from every party in Northern Ireland—not a single politician is not in favour of its implementation—but, because of the current crisis and the failure to take any action, the victims are being revictimised all over again. I invite the Minister to appeal to her right honourable friend the Member for Staffordshire Moorlands to ensure that the Hart report is implemented and that those people are given justice.

Brexit: Arrangements for EU Citizens

Lord Empey Excerpts

Monday 5th November 2018 Lords Chamber

[Lord Empey (UUP)]

Can the Minister clarify the reports last week about people who achieve settled status but subsequently leave the United Kingdom for a prolonged period of years? Would their settled status allow them to come back into the United Kingdom after, say, five years and achieve the rights they had prior to their departure?

[Baroness Williams of Trafford]

The noble Lord is absolutely right to point out that some people might come here and then leave and then come back again. Five years’ continuous residence in this country will entitle people to settled status, but they can apply for pre-settled status if they have been here for less than five years. On the point about getting settled status, leaving and then coming back again, I will have to get back to him because I do not know the answer.

Poverty Premium

Lord Empey Excerpts

Monday 10th September 2018 Lords Chamber

[Lord Empey (UUP)]

My Lords, I congratulate the noble Lord, Lord Hodgson of Astley Abbotts, on securing this debate. I had the privilege of serving as a member of your Lordships’ Select Committee on Financial Exclusion, which was very ably chaired by the noble Baroness, Lady Tyler of Enfield, in 2016. I commend its report to your Lordships. We looked at a range of issues that were causing financial exclusion. One issue to which we drew attention was the closure of so many bank branches—which has accelerated in the 18 months or so since the committee reported. Even last week we heard of substantial further closures. We understand the trends in how finance works. We would all love to see a situation where people could get bank accounts. A lot more people have them than used to, but there are still about 1.5 million who do not and are still struggling. The irony is that they get into a trap where the less you have the more things cost. That cannot be right. We took evidence from a range of bodies and went to see organisations in Coventry and the east of London which were helping people. We had piles of written evidence.

More than one government department is involved in this and we need to join things up. I draw noble Lords’ attention to the point made by the noble Lord, Lord Hodgson, about direct debits going out on a specific day. Many people who are on zero-hours contracts have periods when they are paid erratically. For them, it is extremely difficult to tell in advance whether they will have a particular amount in their account when they do not know how many hours they are going to be working that week or month. The banks have a basic bank account which we know does not make them money. We discovered that very little effort was made to promote it and I can understand why.

There is a need for joined-up thinking. We also discovered that the primary source of taking people to court for non-payment of rent or anything else was the public sector. It was the public sector that was leading the charge in this. I have a big disagreement with the Government in how they handle housing benefit here; we do it differently at home. I believe that rent should be paid to the landlord, not to the tenant. I understand that it is very nice to be able to say that we teach people to manage their own accounts. That is all very well, but anyone who has served a constituency over the years, and run advice centres, knows the sorts of people who are vulnerable. Think of the pressures on a young mum who is on her own with two or three youngsters. Back home, on the day when the money was due to be paid the sky would darken with all the vultures ready to pounce. There were crooked lenders and all sorts. There was an army of bailiffs running around trying to chase people down for rent. That is a disincentive to bring housing stock into the rental market.

Rent should be paid directly to the landlord. At least that would guarantee a roof over the family’s head, which would be some progress. That system works far better than leaving it open for someone to pounce on a vulnerable person, who is often a woman on her own with children. They may have addiction problems or all sorts of other issues. Under our system, at least the roof over their head is paid for and there is therefore no need for bailiffs to go chasing round trying to track people down. There are so many temptations because of the demand to get hold of that cash, and in an admittedly small number of cases, exorbitant lenders go round chasing after people, particularly those with addiction issues. The people who suffer most in those circumstances are the children in the family. In some cases, they are in a bad enough condition as it is.

I ask the Minister to take account of this issue, which was raised by some members of the committee when it was sitting. There are bank closures and the only way to have a card is to have an account. But if your account is charging exorbitant rates of interest then if you draw down cash on the card you pay even more than if you are making a purchase. It is a vicious cycle and I hope that the Government can join up and break it, once and for all.

Financial Exclusion

Lord Empey Excerpts

Wednesday 4th July 2018 Lords Chamber

[Lord Bates]

Perhaps I may first pay tribute to the noble Baroness for her work as chair of the ad hoc Financial Exclusion Committee of this House, which provided important recommendations which the Government are steadily working to implement. The issue she raises is an important one. The way we pay for things is changing, as is how we use banks. Cash used to account for 60% of transactions. That has reduced to 40% of transactions and is predicted to go down to 20% by 2026. As I say, the way that banking is carried out is changing. However, we recognise that there is a particular issue for vulnerable people and vulnerable communities. For that reason, in January 2017 we launched the banking framework agreement between the high street banks and post offices. Some 98.7% of people live within three miles of a post office, even those in rural communities. We have introduced the Payment Systems Regulator, which monitors ATM machines to ensure that they are maintained as a source of free access to large parts of the community. We have a great deal to keep under review, but this is an important issue that the noble Baroness and the Government are very aware of.

[Lord Empey (UUP)]

My Lords, the Minister will be aware that post offices have taken up a lot of the slack caused by the closure of banks, but post offices close down as well and they do not offer the suite of services that banks can. People who are still dependent on cash are being squeezed even more. While I join the Minister in congratulating the noble Baroness, Lady Tyler, on her work with the ad hoc committee, perhaps I may press him to agree that simply passing the buck to post offices does not solve the problem.

[Lord Bates]

I accept what the noble Lord says, but one of the points about the ground-breaking nature of the framework agreement with post offices on banking services is that 99% of personal financial services can now be transacted at the post office. That is helping to keep post offices open as an important part of the community. Some 95% of banking services can be provided by post offices as well. However, although this is a ground-breaking development, we are keeping it under review.

Business: Exports

Lord Empey Excerpts

Thursday 6th July 2017 Lords Chamber

Asked by

[Lord Empey]

To ask Her Majesty’s Government, whether they are planning to provide tax incentives to businesses to encourage their staff to obtain recognised qualifications in exporting skills.

[The Minister of State, Department for International Development (Lord Bates) (Con)]

My Lords, the Government are committed to supporting businesses to export. Businesses can currently deduct the costs of staff training from their taxable profits. The Government keep all tax policy under review, and any proposed additional relief must be assessed for its effectiveness, ability to stand up against abuse and cost to the Exchequer.

[Lord Empey (UUP)]

My Lords, the Minister will be aware that we have just been talking about Brexit—of course, in this House we do little else. I draw to his attention the fact that more and more emphasis needs to be placed on our ability to trade and provide services internationally; there are certain skillsets that people need in order to achieve that. The apprenticeship levy will apply only to England and not to other parts of the UK, and it would good for Her Majesty’s Government to send a signal to companies to encourage them to export and to upskill their people so that they could use the costs incurred by that qualification to offset against corporation tax. Surely that would send a signal to business that we are now focused on exporting, because it is going to be our lifeblood in the years ahead.

[Lord Bates]

The noble Lord is absolutely right to point to the tremendous opportunities that are going to open up to the UK in global markets for exporting. We are very mindful of that. We also recognise, of course, that significant investment needs to be made in understanding the complexities of trade. I pay tribute to the work of the Export Institute, of which the noble Lord is a member. The apprenticeship levy is available across the United Kingdom. In England it is for companies to determine how that is spent and offset against budgets; it is for devolved Administrations to determine how it is spent, but I would have thought that any investment in training our young people in the opportunities in trade, in particular, would be money well spent.

BBC World Service and British Council

Lord Empey Excerpts

Thursday 10th July 2014 Lords Chamber

[Lord Empey (UUP)]

My Lords, there is so much unanimity about the House today that we are in danger of being over-repetitive. However, in a world increasingly dominated by social media, which shape the views of so many impressionable young people around the world, the World Service can provide the United Kingdom with an opportunity to project in a professional and authoritative way our views on key global events. One has only to look at the propaganda that is being put out on social media by the ISIS people, who are brainwashing a young generation of people, including, sadly, people in our own country. But the one thing we do not want the World Service to become is an instrument of propaganda. It must retain a degree of independence and objectivity; otherwise its credibility throughout the world will be lost.

A number of noble Lords, including the noble Lord, Lord Watson, who is not now in his place, and the noble Viscount, Lord Colville of Culross, mentioned the position of Ukraine and Russia. I did not think that I would see in this day and age Cold War-style propaganda coming from Putin and his people. The reports that I listened to were so outrageous, so inaccurate and so misleading. Indeed, they were very dangerous because we know from experience that inappropriate reporting can lead to actual death and destruction on the ground. The material that was coming from Russian sources was absolutely outrageous. Having a source, an anchor, from which people can get reliable information, particularly if it comes from one of our own institutions, is something about which we should be proud.

I have to say that I have some more general concerns about the BBC. I know that the House will return to that issue when the discussions on the licence fee and so on come up. The BBC has perhaps lost focus in recent years. We have seen senior executives coming to the other place to defend the indefensible. That is most unfortunate. However, it is things such as the World Service that give many people in this country a sense of pride that there is something there to defend, protect and ensure. I often wonder whether the production of mindless game shows and other such programmes is really the core of the public service broadcasting ethos that I am sure many people in this House would wish to protect. However, we will have an opportunity to return to that issue. We certainly have not heard the last of it.

I am sure that the Minister will wish to look at the accountability aspect. The report from the Select Committee asked, “Do we want to have proper accountability to Parliament for the activities of the BBC in general?” We certainly do. If the accountability mechanisms are there, a lot of the problems that we have had in recent years will no longer be so strong.

In summary, I must say that the World Service is something that we are very proud of; it is something that is very successful; and I sincerely hope that it is long spared to promote truth and justice throughout the world.

International Development: Budget

Lord Empey Excerpts

Tuesday 11th June 2013 Lords Chamber

Asked by

[Lord Empey]

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they have plans to transfer a portion of the international development budget to the budget of the Ministry of Defence.

[Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon]

My Lords, because the noble Lord’s Question for Short Debate will be taken as last business, the time limit for it will become 90 minutes rather than 60. Therefore, speeches should be limited to seven minutes, except for those of the noble Lord, Lord Empey, and the Minister, for which the limits will remain 10 and 12 minutes respectively.

--- Later in debate ---

[Lord Empey]

My Lords, it is often said of politicians that they should not ask a question until they know the answer. However, I can truly say that I do not know the answer to the question that I will ask this evening, and that my motive in securing this debate is to seek answers and clarification.

There is no doubt that large numbers of our fellow human beings live in terrible conditions that we can barely imagine, and which our community finds appalling. Whether it is hunger, slavery, exploitation and trafficking, disease, war or natural disasters, there is virtually no end to the misery suffered by millions of people, with the young and old as the principal victims.

There is a long tradition in this country of being willing to help others, both financially and in other ways. One has only to look at the money that is raised annually by appeals such as Children in Need, and at the response to international disasters, when the British people give generously. There is a well established tradition of volunteering, with many young people, in particular, willing and anxious to spend some of their lives in the service of others. Sadly, on a number of occasions this has put those young people in personal jeopardy, and some have lost their lives. My own region of Northern Ireland always punches above its weight in such enterprises, and this creates a great sense of pride in our fellow citizens.

In recent years, there has been growth in the amount of taxpayers’ money that has gone to international development. In the Budget 2013 document of March this year, the figures were stark. Resource DEL for the Department for International Development will rise from £6.1 billion in 2012-2013 to £8.8 billion in 2013-14. When capital DEL is added, the total figure will increase from £7.8 billion in 2012-13 to £10.7 billion in 2013-14—an increase of 37%. No other department of state enjoys such largesse in this time of austerity. By comparison, the Ministry of Defence’s total resource and capital DEL figures show a more modest increase of 5% due to increased capital spending.

This Government have set out on a number of occasions their ambition to spend 0.7% of GDP on international aid. In recent days, the Prime Minister has, in his capacity as chairman of the G8, chaired a conference designed to raise money for many starving people. However, earlier this year, in February, David Cameron alluded to the possibility that funds currently allocated to the Department for International Development could be reallocated to the defence budget in order to provide security and stability in regions where this was necessary to distribute aid safely.

There is already co-operation between the Ministry of Defence, the Department for International Development and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, which is essential to ensure that UK policy is properly co-ordinated. Military campaigns are often accompanied by humanitarian projects, and the foreign policy objectives of Her Majesty’s Government can often be advanced by such spending, as the briefing pack for the debate demonstrates. The flurry of parliamentary Questions, both in your Lordships’ House and in the other place, suggests that I am not alone in seeking clarification of what is proposed.

The OECD and the International Development Act 2002 define what is regarded as legitimate aid spending. This could be in conflict with the MoD’s understandable concern about recovering costs and relieving pressure on its overstretched budget. I do not have a problem with that. The work of the Department for International Development, the Ministry of Defence and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office should be part of a seamless process designed to help those in greatest need. Without a proper framework of security, this is often neither safe nor possible. I regret, for instance, the trite and sarcastic statement by Max Lawson, Oxfam’s head of policy, that what is needed is spending,

“on hospitals and not helicopter gunships”.

This makes no positive contribution to the very difficult balances that Ministers have to strike.

Given all this, what exactly was the import of the Prime Minister’s intervention in February? If nothing has changed, why was his speech necessary? If something is changing—and maybe it needs to—why are Ministers being coy about it? Given our current financial circumstances, and considering that many people in the country simply do not believe that all their hard-earned taxes always get to the people who need them, but instead, in a minority of cases, go to corrupt officials, gangsters and despotic regimes, it is necessary for the Minister to tell the House exactly why such an intervention was necessary, and explain what exactly is happening to the very large international development budget.

I have no doubt that the Prime Minister and other Ministers take great pride in the fact that the United Kingdom is taking the lead in a number of important projects throughout the world. Undoubtedly it is something in which all people in this country take pride. It is also true that our defence forces are under great strain and pressure. However, there is in some cases an inextricable link between having support from defence forces on the one hand and allowing them to be co-ordinated with staff from the Department for International Development and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office. I seek clarification on why the Prime Minister said what he said if there was no change taking place—and, if there was a change, perhaps the House may have an adequate explanation so that a judgment can be made.