Museums and Galleries
Debate between Lord Griffiths of Burry Port and Viscount Younger of Leckie
Viscount Younger of Leckie
To echo the words of the noble Lord, learning is at the heart of museums. It is very important that young people visit them and understand the background of the various exhibits. Fifty-eight per cent of children visited a museum or gallery in 2017-18. I take note of what the noble Lord says but in the 2018-22 funding period Arts Council England, through which much money is given by government for museums, is investing £160,000 annually in Kids in Museums. This, along with other initiatives, helps to encourage more young people to visit museums and galleries.
Lord Griffiths of Burry Port (Lab)
My Lords, was it not a wonderful thing that a Labour Government made access to our museums free of charge?
Lord Griffiths of Burry Port
That was of course a rhetorical question. Perhaps I may ask the one to which I know the answer but I want to hear it from the noble Viscount’s own mouth. The Dutch and British Governments have had to negotiate very hard to make the van Gogh exhibition, currently showing here, available. The fear on the part of the Dutch is that the Brexit deus ex machina will take over all our considerations and make it impossible for them to repatriate their works once they have come here without there being a great tax implication. Is the noble Viscount able to reassure us that the current impasse in the Brexit discussions is not affecting our cultural heritage being made available to as many people as possible?
Viscount Younger of Leckie
I note that the noble Lord received a cheer for what he said at the beginning of his remarks, and I confirm again that for the 15 museums entry will remain free. On his point about Brexit, much planning has taken place to anticipate Brexit issues, including at the DCMS, which has been working with our world-leading national museums to evaluate the potential impacts of Brexit and provide support. Due to the ongoing uncertainty, national museums and galleries have drawn up detailed plans for Brexit, including the possibility of no deal, and I am sure that they will include the points that the noble Lord has made regarding the continent and Holland.
Johnston Press
Debate between Lord Griffiths of Burry Port and Viscount Younger of Leckie
Lord Griffiths of Burry Port (Lab)
My Lords, I come in at the point at which the Minister left the Statement. My first real job was, week after week, to write the front page of our local newspaper, the Star. It produced Llangennith, Llwchwr, Llanelli and Burry Port versions, and I did the Burry Port bit. My brother worked as a linotype setter with the local press. The loss of 200 titles and more than 6,000 jobs since 2005, with printing presses now far distant from the communities where the titles are published, leaves us with an absence of democratic accountability and engagement. I knew everybody whose hair was being cut in Burry Port when I was reporting. When a baby turned out to be twins, I did investigative journalism of a primordial nature.
How can we measure the beat of a community’s heart and provide for community cohesion if we are being asset stripped in this way? A further 200 titles are now at risk and 2,000 jobs are uncertain. Pension rights are under threat. The future is bleak. Can we really wait for the Cairncross review? Are not some of these tendencies only too clear already? Must we not do something before it goes too far? They say that Facebook is going to give £4.5 million to train 80 journalists over the next two years. Where will they be employed at the end of those two years? How many more titles will go? It is a serious question. If Facebook was taxed properly, could the Government not then invest in embodying and implementing whatever the Cairncross review comes up with? All these questions rose to the surface when this peremptory action came to our attention on the news this morning. Will the Minister give some concrete replies to these genuine concerns?
Viscount Younger of Leckie
The noble Lord makes a number of good points. First, I wholeheartedly agree with him about the need to support, where we possibly can, local newspapers. They have been the lifeblood of communities, and they provide essential and very necessary information for communities, whether on local democracy and local councils, or on births, deaths and marriages or on much more—I could go on—so it is important that we do our best to support them.
On the noble Lord’s question about Johnston Press, I would argue that it is good news that the JPI consortium has been formed—it is good news to the extent that it has pledged to take over Johnston Press. This is just the beginning, and there is much work to be done to settle things down, but it is good news that JPI has said that it wishes to continue business as normal. Obviously, we will have to see how things progress. JPI has also been open and transparent about the pensions issue, and it is fair to say that, as a Government, we will be looking at how the PPF responds to this particular matter.
Finally, on the local democracy issue, the noble Lord may have alluded to a different point but the BBC local democracy reporting scheme is one way forward. So far, 144 journalists have been appointed to that scheme, which enables the very thing that we want to do, which is to support local reporting.
Tax Collection and Management (Wales) Act 2016 and the Land Transaction Tax and Anti-avoidance of Devolved Taxes (Wales) Act 2017 (Consequential Amendments) Order 2018
Debate between Lord Griffiths of Burry Port and Viscount Younger of Leckie
Lord Griffiths of Burry Port (Lab)
My Lords, every point I might have wanted to make has been made either by the Minster or by those who have spoken. I will be interested to hear the Minister’s answer to the question from the noble Lord, Lord Wigley, about whether the Assembly has been fully consulted and whether it is the full opinion of the Assembly to move down this line. He seemed to suggest that there had been the fullest of collaborations, so I expect an affirmative answer, but it will be interesting to see how that comes back.
The process is under way: the various Acts of Parliament have been established, the revenue-gathering authority has been set up, and the elements that now need to be integrated into other Acts of Parliament are all referred to here.
I have just one remark, apropos of nothing except that I want to seem responsible in standing at the Dispatch Box, with something to say. It seems extraordinary that all these existing Acts of Parliament now have to be modified to include a reference to the organisations we are setting up. The complexity of the cross-referring required to root this measure in the legislative material of the Assembly, and of Wales in general, is really rather interesting. Given that it is so complicated to get such a simple measure established, heaven help those who are negotiating our exit from the European Union.
Viscount Younger of Leckie
On the back of those comments from the noble Lord, Lord Griffiths, let me give a fairly short reply to the questions that have been raised.
I thank the noble Lords, Lord Wigley and Lord Griffiths, and particularly the noble Baroness, Lady Humphreys, for their general support for these measures. The noble Lord, Lord Wigley, raised a couple of questions and the answer is in the affirmative: the National Assembly has been kept fully in touch with these measures and is fully behind them. There are no ifs or buts on that point.
We will continue to work with the Welsh Government on further orders, and will bring forward any that are required as a result of Assembly legislation. They may or may not be required, but hopefully that gives an answer.
On the question raised by the noble Baroness, Lady Humphreys, I think it is more of a legal point, and I hope that I can give an answer that will satisfy her. It is fair to say that the word “potentially” is a legality; what it really means is that the protection is covered, provided the Employment Rights Act 1996 process is met. It is a process legality. I hope she is nodding. If she is shaking her head, I am more than happy to write her a letter giving the legal explanation.
I think that covers all the points that were raised. Without further ado, I commend this order to the House.
Gambling: Fixed-odds Betting Machines
Debate between Lord Griffiths of Burry Port and Viscount Younger of Leckie
Lord Griffiths of Burry Port
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they will introduce legislation to reduce the maximum bet for fixed-odds betting machines to £2; and if so, when.
Viscount Younger of Leckie (Con)
My Lords, as announced in May 2018, the Government will introduce legislation to reduce the maximum stake for B2 gaming machines, also known as fixed-odds betting terminals, from £100 to £2. The Chancellor of the Exchequer confirmed in yesterday’s Budget that the new stake limits will come into effect when the remote gaming duty is increased to 21% in October 2019.
Lord Griffiths of Burry Port (Lab)
My Lords, I find it difficult to thank the Minister for that reply. The need was felt and identified, a consultation period was held, results were published, and an impact assessment was brought forward. When the Government announced their readiness to reduce the stakes from £100 to £2 there was universal light shed on a very dark area of British national life, including among members of his own Government.
This is a victory for the bookies. What are their lobbying powers with the Treasury that they have been able to eke this process out to suit their needs and to make huge profits from the results of their endeavours? How can they do that when they disingenuously argue that it takes time to change the machines, even though the evidence shows that they can be changed very quickly? There are too many questions but the overriding one is: why? The Minister is an honourable man. Would he not prefer to be on this side with me, asking the Government that question?
Viscount Younger of Leckie
My Lords, I am happy to give an answer. We have never said exactly when this would come into force.
National Lottery
Debate between Lord Griffiths of Burry Port and Viscount Younger of Leckie
Viscount Younger of Leckie (Con)
My Lords, I do not know about Solomonic characteristics, but I am pleased to respond to this debate. I sincerely thank the noble Earl, Lord Clancarty, for raising a discussion on the National Lottery at this pivotal point in its history. We have nearly succeeded today in having as many or more speakers in the gap than those who put their names down to speak in the first place, such is the noble Earl’s popularity. As he said, we stand on the cusp of the National Lottery’s 25th anniversary year and work has begun to consider the shape of the National Lottery when the current licence expires in 2023.
I start by addressing a question raised by the noble Baroness, Lady Andrews, and the noble Lords, Lord Berkeley and Lord Foster, about the importance of the relationship between online gambling and the National Lottery, and the link to the next bidding round. It is an important issue and it will certainly be considered by DCMS and the Gambling Commission as we consider the design of the next licence.
Before we get into the details, I will set the scene. We believe, as some noble Lords have said, that the National Lottery has been an undeniable triumph since it was launched by Sir John Major in 1994 with the objective to raise money to enhance the sports, arts, heritage and charity sectors in this country. It is easy to forget that the lottery also raised funds to help us mark the millennium. Its performance has far outstripped the initial expectations of £1 billion for good causes per year. In fact, more than £38 billion has been raised over the National Lottery’s 24-year lifetime, as was mentioned. This has meant that more than 500,000 good cause grants have been awarded across the whole of the UK. Every single local authority has benefited by an average of more than 1,200 awards.
So many individuals and organisations have benefited. I will select just a few to mention here. The National Lottery has supported the small and seemingly simple, yet very important, such as funding the travel costs to allow World War II veterans who would otherwise not be able to attend to take part in commemorative visits. It has allowed the United Kingdom to excel increasingly at the Olympic and Paralympic Games; supported more than 42,000 heritage projects, including the restoration of more than 19,000 historic buildings and monuments; and of course, as the noble Earl so eloquently mentioned, funded the overarching gamut of art and culture, inspiring and uniting us.
So, as the noble Baroness, Lady Andrews, said, it is vital that the National Lottery continues to thrive, but equally we must acknowledge that this relies on people continuing to buy tickets. As the noble Earl said, while ticket sales, and thus amounts generated for good causes, naturally fluctuate year on year, there have been undeniable challenges recently. Recent years have seen lower levels of good cause income than we might have hoped for. The noble Lord, Lord Griffiths, might be right that there is, as he put it, a certain staleness in it. However, the sums raised are still not insignificant—namely £1.6 billion in 2017-18.
But let me be clear: we are concerned about the fall in income. The noble Baroness, Lady Andrews, raised some points about this. We understand the difficulties this drop in income means for distributors. The Gambling Commission has provided detailed econometric modelling of future national lottery returns to distributors. That modelling was last shared in March this year. She also raised a linked point about the sharing of data by the department, but I reassure her that DCMS is also working with the Gambling Commission to ensure that distributors have all the information they need to plan ahead—it is an important point.
So, what are the Government doing about this? As soon as the income drop became apparent in 2016, the Government engaged immediately with the lottery distributors, with the Gambling Commission, which regulates the National Lottery, and with Camelot, the National Lottery operator, to agree a series of remedial actions designed to return the National Lottery to its strongest possible position. This remains work in progress. Returns to good causes appear to have stabilised in the 2017-18 financial year, following the 15% drop in 2016-17, but the Government know that there is more to do and we continue to drive this strategy actively. Last year, Camelot undertook a thorough strategic review of its business and has brought in a wide range of measures to improve results. This has already seen the return to television of the National Lottery draw results and the introduction of additional games. Further measures are in the pipeline to reinvigorate and extend the portfolio, with new products such as an annuity-based game, allowing winners to receive a monthly prize over a long period. Further details will be forthcoming on this.
Lottery distributors themselves are also working with Camelot to improve the public’s perception of the National Lottery and ensure that players are aware of the good causes they are supporting. Some valuable points were made on this by the noble Lord, Lord Foster, who was particularly concerned—this was a clear focus of his speech. Events, such as the Heritage Lottery Fund’s “Thanks to You” campaign last December, are building an association between the sale of lottery tickets and the local good cause projects that these tickets ultimately fund. I deliberately use the word “local” because lottery funding has reached all corners of the country. In addition to successful film-making, which was mentioned this evening, and saving the capercaillie, which, as a Scotsman, brought a smile to my face, the lottery funds allotments in Angus, pottery in Port Talbot, theatre in Thurrock, bell-ringing in Belfast, wildlife in Westminster and cricket in Rugby.
The noble Lord, Lord Beith, spoke about the importance of funding our historic buildings through the Heritage Lottery Fund and he is right. I also echo the thoughts of the noble Lord, Lord Berkeley, about the lottery providing important funds for heritage. In the last financial year the Heritage Lottery Fund provided £20 million for places of worship and has ensured that the same proportion will be spent this year, so the breadth is pretty wide.
The noble Earl, Lord Clancarty, voiced concerns that society lotteries, such as the Health Lottery or the People’s Postcode Lottery, pose an increasing threat to the National Lottery’s monopoly position—this addresses the points raised by the noble Lords, Lord Foster and Lord Griffiths, as well as the noble Earl, about so-called umbrella lotteries. I reassure the House that we continue to look at this issue very carefully and have taken expert advice from the Gambling Commission. The noble Earl may be surprised to hear that current evidence suggests that while players see the two types of lottery as distinct, there is little danger of product substitution. The evidence shows that players are drawn to the National Lottery because of its life-changing prizes and the ability to support a broad range of causes, while they often play society lotteries to directly support a specific charity or cause.
However, to help ensure that this distinction is maintained—as the noble Earl said, this is important—this year the Gambling Commission introduced stricter requirements for branded society lotteries, such as the Health Lottery, to be clear with players about the cause that each draw is being held to support. Society lotteries are now also required to make players aware of how much of what they raise goes to good causes. The Government value the place of society lotteries in raising money for charities and good causes—more than £250 million last year, supporting causes such as the Royal British Legion, the RNLI, and air ambulances across the UK. The noble Lord, Lord Griffiths, made the point that there is a balance to be struck between national and local, and the Government remain committed to ensuring that both society lotteries and the National Lottery are able to thrive side by side; indeed, we have heard from many organisations that receive valuable funding from both.
Lord Griffiths of Burry Port
I think we were worried about the level playing field in terms of taxation and conditions for operating and so on. I wonder if there is an answer to some of those concerns.
Tourism
Debate between Lord Griffiths of Burry Port and Viscount Younger of Leckie
Viscount Younger of Leckie
The noble Lord is correct that the call for evidence is focused on tourism in Northern Ireland, but of course responses from other parts of the UK would be very welcome, and there is still time: the consultation closes on 5 June. The Government are certainly aware of concerns about the impact of VAT on tourism and that is why at the Spring Statement the Treasury launched a call for evidence on the impact of VAT.
Lord Griffiths of Burry Port (Lab)
My Lords, in the spirit of the Question asked by the noble Lord, Lord Foster, we had an almost identical Question just a week ago, since when a very significant event took place on Saturday at Windsor. It seems obvious to me that British pageantry should be factored into the consultation that is taking place, which should extend not just to Northern Ireland but across the country. Will the Government consider this as a very concrete proposal? As a secondary question, and in view of the fact that the sermon preached last Saturday was so powerful, may I suggest that good preachers might form part of the strategy as well? I express an interest, of course.
Viscount Younger of Leckie
I think the House will agree with me that we all appreciated the sermon in all its innovative nature. The noble Lord is absolutely correct that pageantry is one part of the offering that we have in the UK. For 2018 we have lots of interesting events around the UK, including China’s First Emperor and the Terracotta Warriors at the World Museum, Liverpool, and the Great Exhibition of the North. There is an awful lot we need to work at to ensure that tourists come here to Britain this summer and beyond.
Welsh Ministers (Transfer of Functions) Order 2018
Debate between Lord Griffiths of Burry Port and Viscount Younger of Leckie
Viscount Younger of Leckie (Con)
My Lords, the order we are debating this afternoon transfers the remaining Minister of the Crown functions in devolved areas to Welsh Ministers.
I start by giving some background on the order. Noble Lords will recall the Wales Bill taken through this House so ably by my noble friend Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth. That Bill—now, of course, the Wales Act 2017—implements the Government’s commitments in the St David’s Day agreement to a clearer devolution settlement for Wales, based on the firm foundations of a reserved powers model. The new model, which came into force on 1 April, delivers greater clarity over the powers and responsibilities of Parliament and those of the National Assembly for Wales.
The Wales Act 2017 also strengthens Welsh devolution by devolving significant further powers to the National Assembly for Wales. Many of these powers also came into force on 1 April, meaning that the Assembly can now decide, for example, how its Members are elected, the speed limits on Welsh roads and how taxis in Wales are regulated. During the passage of the Act, the Government committed to making clear through that Act and associated secondary legislation how the remaining Minister of the Crown functions in devolved areas would be exercised in future.
Unlike in Scotland, there has never been a general transfer of Minister of the Crown functions in devolved areas to Welsh Ministers. The different history and geography of Wales compared to Scotland, and the greater interaction cross-border, means that it has been more appropriate to transfer functions in specific areas. This strategy leads to us making clear the specific functions that have been transferred and therefore the substance of Welsh Ministers’ executive competence.
New Schedule 3A to the Government of Wales Act 2006, inserted by Schedule 4 to the Wales Act 2017, sets out the statutory Minister of the Crown functions in devolved areas that are exercised concurrently or jointly with Welsh Ministers. There is also a handful of so-called pre-commencement functions—functions that Ministers of the Crown exercised before the National Assembly gained full law-making powers following the 2011 referendum—that need to continue to be exercised by a Minister of the Crown solely. These are set out in paragraph 11 of new Schedule 7B to the Government of Wales Act 2006.
Turning to the draft order, the Government published an initial list of functions that we intended to transfer in October 2016. This list included functions contained in the draft order before us today. Let me give your Lordships two perhaps random but specific examples: first, the functions in the Lieutenancies Act 1997 for the Lord President of the Council to confirm that Her Majesty does not disapprove the appointment of a deputy lieutenant in Wales; secondly, the power in Section 38 of the Vehicles (Crime) Act 2001 for the Secretary of State to fund speed cameras. Since the publication of this list, the Office of the Secretary of State for Wales has worked closely with other UK government departments and with the Welsh Government to identify the further functions in devolved areas that should be transferred. The scale of this task should not be underestimated and has involved examining the entire statute book to identify the functions in devolved areas that need to be transferred. The draft order before the House is the culmination of this painstaking work, transferring functions to Welsh Ministers in a wide range of devolved areas, including those relating to school standards, environmental protection, animal welfare and fisheries. The draft order also transfers functions to Welsh Ministers in areas such as Assembly and local government elections, teachers’ pay and the community infrastructure levy to accompany the further legislative competence devolved to the national Assembly in these areas through the 2017 Act. I shall take each of these in turn.
The Wales Act 2017 delivers on commitments in the St David’s Day agreement to devolve responsibility for Assembly and local government elections to Wales. This order transfers functions in electoral legislation to Welsh Ministers for elections in Wales as far as those functions are within devolved competence, which is set out in the new Schedule 7A to the Government of Wales Act 2006. These functions include the power to make rules for the conduct of local elections in Wales and to hold pilot schemes to test any changes the Welsh Government may wish to make to how votes are cast and counted. During the passage of the Wales Act 2017, the Government brought forward an amendment to devolve the community infra- structure levy to Wales. This levy enables local authorities in England and Wales to raise funds from developers that can be used to support local infrastructure needs arising from new building projects in their areas. The order transfers functions in Part 11 of the Planning Act 2008 to enable Welsh Ministers to make regulations providing for the imposition of the levy in Wales.
Agreement was also reached between the UK and Welsh Governments during the passage of the Wales Act 2017 to devolve teachers’ pay and conditions to Wales. The order transfers functions in the Education Act 2002 to enable Welsh Ministers to decide the pay and conditions for teachers in Wales. However, teachers’ pensions remain a reserved subject. The Government have agreed the Welsh Government’s request that these functions be transferred on 30 September this year to allow the new arrangements to be put in place for the 2019-20 academic year. In addition, this draft order removes the requirement for Treasury consent from a number of functions currently exercised by Welsh Ministers, where that consent requirement is no longer appropriate. This means that Welsh Ministers will be able to, for example, make grants or loans to develop or promote the fishing industry in Wales under powers in the Fisheries Act 1981, without the need for Treasury Ministers to approve it.
Finally, the draft order delivers on one of the commitments made in the St David’s Day agreement to ensure there is a clear understanding of the UK Government and Welsh Government’s respective roles in relation to civil contingencies. It does so by establishing a more distinct boundary between the responsibilities of UK Ministers and those of the Welsh Ministers, separating out devolved and reserved responders and transferring co-ordinating functions for those devolved responders to the Welsh Ministers. In drafting this order, the Office of the Secretary of State for Wales has worked closely with colleagues across Whitehall and with its counterparts in the Welsh Government. I am pleased that the First Minister of Wales has approved the draft order.
The Welsh Government and the National Assembly for Wales have truly come of age. They are mature institutions and part of the fabric of Welsh political life. The new, clearer settlement put in place by the Wales Act 2017 fully realises this fact with historic further devolution that empowers the Welsh Government to deliver the things that really matter to the people of Wales, supporting the Welsh economy and delivering better devolved public services. The draft order completes this picture by transferring remaining Minister of the Crown functions in devolved areas to Welsh Ministers— functions which, if exercised sensibly, can make a direct and positive impact on the lives of people in Wales. I beg to move.
Lord Griffiths of Burry Port (Lab)
My Lords, I am more than grateful to the Minister for giving that introduction to these varied and multitudinous proposals before us. We can easily recognise what he says about the amount of hard work that has been done to achieve the scrutiny of previous legislation and bringing forward these 47 matters. It is a little disarming for me, having engaged just yesterday with the Minister on the future of theatres in the United Kingdom, to be engaging now with him on matters of detail pertaining to these legislative proposals. But that, as they say, is life.
It is interesting to me that the word “clarity” was used about the Wales Act 2017. Yes, there is a degree of clarity, but the adjective “clear” in its comparative form, “clearer”, may apply—but there is a lot of work to do to take it to an even better stage of comprehensibility lying ahead of us. It was very contentious at the time and many of its provisions need improving even now. For all that, it is a step along the way and, with all these discussions of devolution, a step along the way is as much as we can hope for sometimes, although these may be two steps along the way—and we must welcome them.
It has been good bedtime reading for me to know more about seeds and seals and salmon and sewerage and slaughterhouses and deputy lieutenants, put deliberately into that little mixture of things. I draw some opinion from reading about all that in welcoming the transfer of powers and the closer alignment of legislative competence exercised by the Assembly and executive competence exercised by Welsh Ministers. Once again, we are moving into a more coherent governance arrangement for the principality.
As for devolution, we cannot just look at what is proposed in these instruments without remembering the debates that we had up until yesterday on the European Union (Withdrawal) Bill, which, of course, beckon the consideration of a whole number of things that will take the discussion of competence, framework agreements, the internal market and so on further more comprehensively as we go along. What assessment has been made already in anticipation of the further steps that will need to be looked at as time goes by?
Then there is the question of teachers’ pay and conditions. Uncoupling the pay arrangements that are national and United Kingdom-wide to make this separate provision in Wales has not been without its difficulties, especially with the trade unions. We certainly do not want by this uncoupling to envisage a situation in which Welsh teachers, for example, might be paid less, with conditions more onerous than already obtain. But assurances have been given us, and a taskforce is being run in parallel with these arrangements to ensure that we can hope even for a betterment of conditions for teachers in Wales. We can note therefore that this has been contentious, so that we may keep an eye on developments in this area.
On ports, Milford Haven springs out from the detail as having particular details dependent on it, making it one of those areas that has a national, UK interest. Of course, it must do; after all, a huge percentage of our energy needs are met by imports of liquefied natural gas to that port. Perhaps I should just confess a particular local interest, as I come from south-west Wales, which I believe is in need of considerable economic regeneration, in the hope that we can balance the UK-wide pertinence of the way we look at the reserve powers alongside Milford Haven and its capacity to generate the economy of that part of south-west Wales. This will be a test case, indeed, for some of the things we have been talking about elsewhere in our recent considerations.
Civil contingencies again come to mind, with the response to emergencies and so on, and the role of co-ordinating such responses within the Principality, even when perhaps some of the emergency services will be drawn from across the border. It is an interesting thing to envisage and we shall, again, need to look at that very carefully as these things transpire.