Flooding: Cumbria

Debate between Lord Grantchester and Baroness Williams of Trafford

Wednesday 9th December 2015 Lords Chamber

[Lord Grantchester]

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what emergency measures they are considering to support the emergency services and local communities affected by flooding in Cumbria.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Communities and Local Government (Baroness Williams of Trafford) (Con)]

My Lords, my thoughts—and, I am sure, those of the whole House—are with those affected by these devastating floods. My thanks go to those, including the emergency services, who have worked tirelessly to protect people and properties. DCLG officials have ensured that local responders have had government support throughout. We announced on Monday the activation of the Bellwin scheme, which supports local authorities, including the emergency services, with the costs associated with flooding of this kind, and yesterday we announced council tax discounts and business rate relief. Today we have announced a further £51 million of funding to support the affected areas’ recovery.

[Lord Grantchester (Lab)]

I am sure all Members of your Lordships’ House will join me in paying tribute to the emergency services for the vital work they have done and will continue to undertake in the days ahead for the communities affected by the severe weather in Cumbria. The Chancellor’s announcement today of £51 million for families and businesses from the Treasury’s emergency reserve fund is good news. When will local authorities be able to draw down on these funds? What will be the criteria for expenditure? Will there be any requirements or restrictions? How will families and businesses be able to access the funds they need?

[Baroness Williams of Trafford]

My Lords, I suspect it is too early to give that level of detail but, given that this is a crisis and a disaster, I imagine the funding will be available as quickly as possible. Certainly, the Bellwin funding is available as quickly as possible.

Gangmasters (Licensing Authority) Regulations 2014

Debate between Lord Grantchester and Baroness Williams of Trafford

Wednesday 16th July 2014 Grand Committee

[Baroness Williams of Trafford]

My Lords, I thank all noble Lords who took part in the debate. First, I will discuss the future direction of the GLA now that it has become a Home Office body, which has been touched upon in various speeches.

The Government are determined that criminals who engage in forced labour, trafficking and other abuses, and unscrupulous employers who exploit vulnerable workers should face tougher enforcement action and stronger penalties. That is why the GLA became a Home Office body in April, to enable it to strengthen its enforcement and intelligence-gathering capabilities. In the Home Office, the GLA can benefit from closer co-operational links to the wider law enforcement family and it will work in partnership with the National Crime Agency, regional crime hubs, local police forces and immigration enforcement teams. The GLA will be able to secure expert support from the National Crime Agency intelligence hub and immigration enforcement intelligence. The GLA will also have access to College of Policing-accredited training developed for immigration enforcement investigators.

The GLA is at the forefront of the fight against worker exploitation, forced labour and slavery. Some noble Lords touched upon modern slavery. A reformed board able to steer the organisation through change and provide leadership is essential. This reform is even more important now that the GLA sits alongside enforcement bodies in the Home Office, sharing intelligence and reducing crime.

The first point made by my noble friend the Duke of Montrose was about value for money. The reform is not primarily about saving money but about increasing effectiveness. The cost of licences is a slightly separate issue, but there is no current plan to change the licensing fee structure. The fees are currently banded according to the turnover of businesses, which I think one noble Lord touched upon, and the lowest fee is £400.

My noble friend also touched on forestry businesses. Forestry businesses were excluded from the need for licensing under an order in October 2013. As in the example given by my noble friend, forestry is therefore not an issue in this case.

Going back to the move to the Home Office, it is not about narrowing the focus of the GLA to prosecutions only. The move will only enhance partnership working, in our view.

The noble Lord, Lord Grantchester, talked about getting the right skills for the board. We are aiming for a board that has the best skills and expertise, which includes the expertise of the sectors being regulated but also those with other relevant experience; for example, commercial, financial and legal expertise, and expertise in the regulation of comparable sectors. Each individual applies through open competition and will go through a recruitment process. We want the right make-up for the board so that it can take forward the reforms that are needed to ensure that the GLA can continue to fight for workers and ensure that they are not exploited.

Noble Lords also touched upon the advisory committees that will sit alongside the main board. It is a matter for the board how it establishes and works with advisory committees. The Government’s transparency agenda would expect the board to publish relevant papers as appropriate.

There has been quite a lot of discussion this afternoon about why the Government want to reduce the current number of board members. I do not know whether noble Lords have sat on boards; I certainly have, and a board of 29 does not make decisions in a very efficient manner. Just from personal experience, I would rather sit on a board of nine than 28 or 29. The current make-up of the GLA board was designed 10 years ago to encourage all stakeholder groups affected by the licensing scheme to take part in establishing the authority. Now that licensing is established in the regulated sectors, the GLA needs a more streamlined board with a clear remit to provide strategic oversight. Having a board appointed on merit through open competition will bring the GLA in line with similar public bodies and widen the pool from which candidates can be drawn.

One noble Lord—I think it was the noble Lord, Lord Young—talked about the wide variety of stakeholders to be heard and asked how the board would do that. The advisory committees will help in that endeavour, and the existing stakeholder liaison groups, which cover the labour providers, labour users, workers and businesses concerned, will also continue.

Noble Lords asked why nine is the magic number. We believe that the right skill set can be gained through a board of nine members, while also ensuring that it is able to take swift and clear decisions. Nine is not inconsistent with comparable boards of other arm’s-length bodies.

If I could just touch on the point that the noble Lord, Lord Young, made about the £1.2 million, that is how much the GLA has identified in proceeds of crime and in protecting more than 5,000 workers and recovering some £4 million for victims. That is where the £1.2 million has come from.

I do not know whether I have satisfied the concerns of the noble Lord, Lord Grantchester, but I am sure that he is about to stand up and tell me if I have not.

[Lord Grantchester]

I start by saying that I omitted to mention my farming interests in a dairy farm. I apologise to the Committee for that omission. However, in my experience in the farming sector I have never heard of a lack of back-up for any of the enforcement authorities that cover the many regulations that the general practice of agriculture has to abide by.

I listened very carefully to the Minister but I do not think I picked up how it was explained that the Home Office would ensure that best practice guidance and prevention would be maintained, even though there would be a greater emphasis on enforcement. Perhaps I could gently ask for that assurance to be given.

Similarly, I recognise that 29 is a very unwieldy number and that it could be reduced now the GLA is established. If the Minister could say a little more to reassure me on several of the further questions I posed about the GLA’s continuation of its functions, so that the Home Office could reassure stakeholders and the TUC, as the representative of workers, that possession of the proper skill set will be part of the background assessments in making an appointment, that would be most helpful.