Support for Migrant Victims

Debate between Lord Foulkes of Cumnock and Lord Sharpe of Epsom

Wednesday 12th July 2023 Lords Chamber

[Lord Sharpe of Epsom (Con)]

I have no idea.

[Lord Foulkes of Cumnock (Lab Co-op)]

My Lords, it is impossible to follow that question, so I will follow the question from the Cross Benches. Does the Minister agree that it is very important that the Home Secretary, Ministers in the other place and officials in his department know the views of Members of the House of Lords? My noble friend Lady Gale raised this six months ago. What representations or pressure has the Minister made to or put on the various Home Secretaries we have had in that period, and their officials, about the views of the House of Lords? After today, will he go back and say, “Baroness Gale has raised this again; she has the support of the House and something should be done about it”?

[Lord Sharpe of Epsom (Con)]

Noble Lords can rest assured that I will take this back. However, I have heard in many debates in the House in recent weeks calls for more evidence. The fact is that we have evidence and we are considering it carefully. Noble Lords should applaud that.

Cybersecurity

Debate between Lord Foulkes of Cumnock and Lord Sharpe of Epsom

Monday 3rd July 2023 Lords Chamber

[Lord Foulkes of Cumnock (Lab Co-op)]

My Lords, I thank the Minister and his colleagues in the Home Office, and those in the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office and the Ministry of Defence, for the excellent and detailed briefings they give us on security issues, which are really helpful. What precautions are taken to make sure that this information is not passed, either deliberately or inadvertently, to representatives of the Government of Russia?

[Lord Sharpe of Epsom (Con)]

My Lords, I am afraid I have no idea; I will find out.

Chinese Police Stations in the UK

Debate between Lord Foulkes of Cumnock and Lord Sharpe of Epsom

Thursday 20th April 2023 Lords Chamber

[Lord Sharpe of Epsom (Con)]

My noble friend asks a very good question. The UK’s long-standing policy on Taiwan has not changed: we have no diplomatic relations with Taiwan but a strong unofficial relationship which is based, as my noble friend said, on deep and growing ties in a wide range of areas and is certainly underpinned by shared democratic values.

[Lord Foulkes of Cumnock (Lab Co-op)]

My Lords, can the Minister give more details about the situation in Glasgow? Scottish universities are taking in students from China to raise income because there are no fees from Scottish students, and some strange people from China may be getting in under the guise of being students. The Scottish Government have a very strange contract with a Chinese company that is causing grave concern among the public in Scotland. The Scottish Government have been trying to take a greater role in foreign affairs, without the kind of support that the Home Office and Foreign Office have from our intelligence agencies. Can the Minister give an undertaking that the UK Government will talk to the appropriate Scottish Ministers about this issue and make sure that they are dealing with it efficiently and safely?

[Lord Sharpe of Epsom (Con)]

The noble Lord will appreciate, as I said before, that I am unable to comment on ongoing operational matters and investigations. I listened carefully to what he said, and rather than make that commitment regarding the devolved Administration myself, I will certainly ensure that my noble friend Lord Offord is aware of his concerns and suggest that he looks into them.

Violence against Women and Domestic Violence

Debate between Lord Foulkes of Cumnock and Lord Sharpe of Epsom

Thursday 1st December 2022 Lords Chamber

[Lord Sharpe of Epsom (Con)]

Yes, the Government absolutely understand that. I reiterate the point that they are regarded as victims first and foremost. Essentially, the question is: why is there a firewall between police and immigration enforcement? Having considered the evidence from experts in the sector and police representatives, we did not consider that establishing a complete or time-limited data-sharing firewall between the police and the Home Office would meet the joint aims of encouraging victims of crime with insecure status to report crime while maintaining an effective immigration control.

[Lord Foulkes of Cumnock (Lab Co-op)]

My Lords, the Minister said that he was delighted that the Government had ratified this convention. I share his delight, notwithstanding the reservation, but can he tell the House why it took so long?

[Lord Sharpe of Epsom (Con)]

I can tell the House that if we had not introduced the reservation, it would have taken even longer. As to why it took so long, no, I do not know the answer.

--- Later in debate ---

[Lord Sharpe of Epsom (Con)]

I am not entirely sure how to answer that question. With regard to the firewall, I have just given a very complete answer. I hope that goes some way to answering the noble Lord’s question.

[Lord Foulkes of Cumnock (Lab Co-op)]

As the Minister was not able to answer my question, could he write to me with an answer?

[Lord Sharpe of Epsom (Con)]

I will endeavour to do so, yes.

Public Order Bill

Debate between Lord Foulkes of Cumnock and Lord Sharpe of Epsom

Committee stage
Wednesday 16th November 2022 Lords Chamber

[Lord Foulkes of Cumnock (Lab Co-op)]

It appears from his general introduction that the Minister is going to proceed with this Bill. Surely, in the light of the overwhelming view on both sides of the House that existing legislation is entirely adequate—with one slight hesitation from the noble Lord, Lord Horam—it is a waste of the Minister’s valuable time and this House’s time to proceed with this. Will he now quickly have a rethink and withdraw this Bill?

[Lord Sharpe of Epsom (Con)]

Well, I thank the noble Lord for that, and the answer is, of course, no.

[Lord Foulkes of Cumnock (Lab Co-op)]

That is a very clear answer. I wonder whether the Minister could give, perhaps, a sentence or two of explanation as to why he does not think that it would be a wise move to withdraw this Bill, since all its aspects are already covered by existing legislation.

Banks: Forgery

Debate between Lord Foulkes of Cumnock and Lord Sharpe of Epsom

Thursday 30th June 2022 Lords Chamber

[Lord Sharpe of Epsom (Con)]

My Lords, the noble Baroness is referring to Action Fraud, which is receiving some funding—but the money is ring-fenced from another source. I cannot find the precise reference to it now, but I will write to her with the details. However, it is not from Lloyds Bank directly.

[Lord Foulkes of Cumnock (Lab Co-op)]

My Lords, what additional action have the Government taken since the noble Lord, Lord Agnew, resigned, saying that he could no longer defend the Government’s action on fraud?

[Lord Sharpe of Epsom (Con)]

My Lords, that was a completely different case, of course. But we are doing a number of things, as the noble Lord, Lord Foulkes, will be aware. Some of this is legislative and some of it is to do with the various taskforces and strategies that I highlighted to some extent earlier. A Joint Fraud Taskforce was set up in October 2021.