Trade (Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership) Bill [HL]

Lord Holmes of Richmond Excerpts

2nd reading
Tuesday 21st November 2023 Lords Chamber

[Lord Holmes of Richmond (Con)]

My Lords, it is a pleasure to take part in this debate; in doing so I declare my financial services and technology interest in Boston Ltd and Ecospend Ltd respectively.

It is more than a pleasure to welcome my noble friend the Foreign Secretary to the Front Bench in his new role. I was fortunate enough to work with the then Prime Minister in the run-up to and during the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games. He was incredibly supportive, to the extent that on International Paralympic Day and with a year to go to the opening ceremony of the Games, he agreed to play in the centre of Trafalgar Square a game of tennis against the then Mayor of London, Boris Johnson. I will not trouble the House with who was the victor of that sporting clash of titans but, due to the sotto voce classical cursing which was taking place, I feared that at any point either player might pull their Achilles. My noble friend’s support, particularly for the Paralympic Games, enabled us in the summer of 2012 to put on not just such a golden summer of sport but to do something which fundamentally changed attitudes and created opportunities for disabled people in a way that has not been rivalled since. That was so much to do with his leadership as Prime Minister at that stage.

I will touch on four areas: inward investment, the role of our regulators, how we look at the IP issues, and the broader geopolitical elements of this agreement. First, to take a step back, there could barely be a more appropriate time than the year of the 300th anniversary of the birth of Adam Smith to look at this agreement. We need to review and reconsider the “wealth of nations” and how we take a broad and deep view of wealth to ensure that we have a group of trading nations which truly delivers economic, social and psychological benefits for all citizens.

We have never been more connected. We are seldom off our screens, with so-called social media taking up so much of our time, yet we see so many issues of retreatism, populism and nationalism rather than the pressing need to come together to get after so many of the existential challenges which we now face. In essence, all the significant challenges are global in nature. If we wanted to recast ESG, we should see it as “existential, seismic and global”. This agreement comes at the right time and has so much potentially to offer in bringing nations together to solve some of the greatest challenges of any time, never mind just our time.

When the Minister comes to respond, can he say something on the Government’s approach to inward investment? We really need to consider the welcome mat that we need to lay down. When people seek to invest in this nation, they need to know so much about the intricacies and the details of many multiple factors. Does he agree that it would make sense if we had a specific team in the department to deal with that issue so that we could enable such a welcome mat in real time, with all our information, to ensure that we optimise the inward investment that we can pull in?

I come to the role of our regulators—not just financial service regulators but all relevant regulators associated with this agreement. Will my noble friend the Minister agree that they have a role to connect internationally to do everything they can to potentially increase trade between all the nations within this agreement as currently set out?

The agreement talks about prioritising digital services, as rightly it should. The great potential of so much in digital is that barriers to entry for new entrants are so low. You can potentially run a global business from your bedroom with a laptop and a decent broadband connection. Would my noble friend say something about how the Government seek to progress what we were able to push through with the Electronic Trade Documents Act? It was a small Act. I was fortunate enough to be a member of the Special Bill Committee, and I have often described it as the most significant law that no one has ever heard of.

It is the most significant law because I think it is the first time that the UK Parliament—or any Parliament—has legislated for the opportunities of these new technologies, tied with our financial services ecosystem and the extraordinary good fortune of English common law, used in so many jurisdictions around the world because of its certainty, flexibility and ability to develop through precedent and case law. Passing the law was significant, but can my noble friend in concluding say something on how we can connect with all the nations in this agreement to enable all our learnings from passing the ETDA to be shared so other jurisdictions can pass similar legislation—because, as we know, it takes two to trade?

To enable physical documents to be held in electronic format and to have the physical goods, having all the customs and legal documentation and all the financials combined in real time is nothing short of transformational when it comes to international trade. Enabling transfer of title to melt from between 10 to 14 days into mere moments: that is a way to transform trade. I believe this agreement is a good opportunity to parlay with those nations to convey the benefits of passing similar electronic trade document legislation in their jurisdictions.

There is a lot in the agreement concerning IP and copyright. I specifically ask the Minister: as currently drafted, does the agreement offer equal rights for UK performers to assert their copyright and other IP rights in other nations as it does for internationals to assert such rights in the UK? I am not sure it is entirely clear in the current draft.

In conclusion, I support this agreement. In terms of international agreements, it certainly makes the heaviest use of the letter “P”, but it is none the worse for that. As other noble Lords have mentioned, we have had extraordinarily impactful international agreements in the past and they have served us well, but many of them are well in the past in their formulation and construction. It seems an opportune moment to review all these agreements to see how we can achieve the optimum for nations and for all citizens around the world, because the challenges are global and we can solve them only if we work together collaboratively, truly connected, using all our good offices and all that we have learned in the UK, connecting with all our global friends so we can all move forward and truly deliver on wealth, in the deepest, broadest sense, for all nations.

British Sign Language Bill

Lord Holmes of Richmond Excerpts

2nd reading
Friday 25th March 2022 Lords Chamber

Moved by

[Lord Holmes of Richmond]

That the Bill be now read a second time.

[The Lord Speaker (Lord McFall of Alcluith)]

Before we begin the British Sign Language Bill, I would like to point out that a British Sign Language interpretation of proceedings is available to watch on parliamentlive.tv. I am delighted to mark this first occasion of the live use of BSL interpretation in the House of Lords. [In British Sign Language: “Thank you.”]

[Lord Holmes of Richmond (Con)]

My Lords, I am grateful to the Lord Speaker for taking the first line of my speech. It is such a positive point, and right that he should make it from the chair to show the whole House’s support for such a wonderful first in your Lordships’ Chamber.

Standing here this morning, I am but a bridge—a conduit or messenger—for the British Sign Language Private Member’s Bill. All of the credit and plaudits should go to the honourable Lady, Rosie Cooper, who steered her Bill through the other place in such style. Similarly, credit should go to all the organisations which have supported and pushed for such a Private Member’s Bill, not least the BDA, the RNID and all other organisations and individuals, right across the country, who have spent so much time pushing for this measure.

I start with an apology. I would have liked to have practised a small amount of sign language to put into my speech this morning but, having consulted many people, because of the obvious difficulties for me in being able to have a conversation in BSL, it was advised that it would be inappropriate for me to do so. I hope that is okay with everybody out there and perfectly in order. Again, I underline the fantastic live signing on parliament.tv as I speak.

The purpose of the Bill is, in many ways, incredibly straightforward. It is simply this: to include BSL signers. I will give one example, to make the point. Imagine you are a BSL signer and you go to a hospital or GP appointment. The news might not be good, but whether good or bad, it is certainly personal—perhaps some of the most personal interaction you may have with the state. In those circumstances, it seems wholly appropriate that a BSL signer should not have to rely on a spouse, parent, child or sibling to enable that encounter to be accessible and inclusive. This seems a perfectly reasonable proposition and it is certainly well set out and delivered in other aspects of the public sector.

The Bill itself was unopposed through all of its stages in the other place. Again, that is great testament to the honourable Lady, Rosie Cooper. In many ways, if noble Lords and those beyond this House want to get to the entire purpose of the Bill, just read the Long Title, so brilliantly penned by her.

On the detail of the Bill, Clause 1 recognises BSL as a language of England, Scotland and Wales. The Bill does not extend to Northern Ireland, for two key reasons: first, to recognise and respect the usage of British Sign Language and Irish Sign Language in Northern Ireland; secondly, to note the limited extent of the Equality Act 2010 in Northern Ireland.

Clause 1 puts on a statutory footing what was set out in a ministerial Statement in 2003 on the recognition of BSL as a language. Clause 1(2) is a technical but important part of the Bill, which simply sets out to ensure that it does not cut across or stymie any existing legislation and legislative provisions, not least those set out in the Equality Act 2010, particularly pertaining to reasonable adjustments.

Clause 2 puts a duty on the Secretary of State to report on the promotion and facilitation of BSL across all the departments of state listed in the Schedule to the Bill. This could be plans, strategies, approaches to promotion or press releases—anything, in reality, which leads to the promotion and facilitation of BSL. In many ways, it is Clause 2 which will enable the deaf community to hold the Secretary of State and the Government to account on the provisions of this Private Member’s Bill.

Clause 3 sets out a duty on the Secretary of State for the production of guidance for the promotion and facilitation of BSL. Again, there is a real opportunity here to bring out best practice and set out case studies—in short, to drive up and improve right across the piece on BSL. One of the key elements of Clause 3 is that it will be supported by an advisory board of BSL signers to put in their views, experience and expertise to the Secretary of State in the creation and deployment of that guidance.

That brings me to the non-statutory provisions, which the Minister has set out alongside the Bill. I will not dwell too much on these because I would not want to take words from my noble friend the Minister this morning. First, however, that board of advisers, the BSL signers, is absolutely critical to so much of what will happen in this space. Secondly, there is a move to increase the number of signers across the country. Thirdly, it will ensure that all elements of access to work fit with the intent and purpose of this Bill.

This Private Member’s Bill is clear, concise, simple and straightforward. In the British Sign Language Bill, the honourable Lady, Rosie Cooper, has given us a barrel of a Bill, from which can flow forth the finest brew of all: inclusion. I beg to move.

[The Deputy Speaker (Baroness Barker) (LD)]

My Lords, the noble Baroness, Lady Thomas of Winchester, is taking part remotely and I invite her to speak. For the middle section of her speech, the noble Baroness will be assisted by the noble Lord, Lord Bruce of Bennachie.

--- Later in debate ---

[Lord Holmes of Richmond (Con)]

My Lords, I thank all noble Lords who participated in today’s important and ground-breaking debate. Each contribution has underscored not only the purpose of the Bill but the need for the Bill—in essence, that simple and most powerful of all points, that when we seek to include a seemingly particular sector, group or community, everyone benefits. I thank my noble friend the Minister and her ministerial colleague the Minister for Disabled People, the honourable Chloe Smith in another place, for all the work and commitment they have both shown to the Bill; to all the officials at the DWP for all the work they have put in to briefings and, indeed, the preparation of the Bill; and, again, to the honourable Rosie Cooper in another place for all her work on the Bill. Finally, I thank David Buxton, who has done so much in this space for so many.

Bill read a second time and committed to a Committee of the Whole House.

COP 26: Disabled Access

Lord Holmes of Richmond Excerpts

Thursday 4th November 2021 Lords Chamber

Asked by

[Lord Holmes of Richmond]

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what plans they have to undertake an inquiry into the reasons why the COP26 summit venue did not provide equal access for people with disabilities; and what steps they are taking to ensure that similar events in future are accessible to all.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office and Department for Work and Pensions (Baroness Stedman-Scott) (Con)]

We are committed to an inclusive COP 26 which is accessible to all. The venue was designed to facilitate that. The permanent structures are fully wheelchair-accessible and the venue holds gold-level accessibility status. A complete accessibility audit was completed for the temporary structures and they were fully compliant. There are blue badge spaces for delegates and two fully accessible shuttle routes. Once we were made aware of the situation, it was resolved and Israel’s Minister Elharrar was content.

[Lord Holmes of Richmond (Con)]

My Lords, many things can be said about Monday’s incident—overwhelmingly, that it was avoidable. Does my noble friend agree that, had COP 26 been planned and delivered to be inclusive by design, this would not have happened? Does she also agree that, prima facie, it was a breach of equalities legislation? As a result of this, what steps will the Government take to ensure that all their events and services and all departments of state are inclusive by design—sure, for the benefit of disabled people, but more for the benefit of everyone?

[Baroness Stedman-Scott (Con)]

I spoke yesterday to my noble friend and the Minister for Disabled People. The Minister is absolutely determined to get to the bottom of this to avoid recurrence in future. We are acting fast by meeting different people so that we can get to the bottom of it and make a difference. On the point my noble friend makes, we are committed to making sure that disabled people have all the access they need. We clearly have more to do.

Animal Welfare (Sentencing) Bill

Lord Holmes of Richmond Excerpts

2nd reading
Friday 16th April 2021 Lords Chamber

[Lord Holmes of Richmond (Con)]

My Lords, I congratulate my noble friend Lord Randall of Uxbridge and Chris Loder MP in another place for their sponsorship of this clear piece of legislation. I declare my interest as a guide dog owner. In 2013, I had the privilege not only of joining your Lordships’ House but of bringing in my then guide dog Lottie as the first guide dog ever in the history of the House of Lords.

I give this Bill my full-throated support. It is neither a dog’s dinner nor a pig’s breakfast but clear, concise and effective, if given effect. It is the natural follow-on to Finn’s law, which was so skilfully steered through your Lordships’ House by my noble friend Lord Trenchard.

I ask the Minister about education. What part does animal welfare play in the citizenship agenda? Will he meet with DfE colleagues to see what more can be done to have animal welfare in schools and animals visiting, for the difference that this can make? I also ask if he will be tempted out of his ministerial kennel to say whether there may be an animal welfare Bill coming through your Lordships’ House sometime soon, in the next Session.

Other noble Lords have commented on some of the adverse impacts of lockdown on animals and pets. I agree that one of the long negative effects of lockdown will be pets abandoned, abused and harmed. I ask the Minister what the Government will do to ensure that this is covered from a government and ministerial perspective.

The Parliamentary Under-Secretary in another place, Victoria Prentis, said that the Government fully support this Bill. Every noble Lord who has spoken fully supports this Bill, as do I, and I know that the Minister fully supports this Bill. I entreat him to use all of his good offices and best endeavours to ensure that it secures its place on the statute book, before the end of this Session. Echoing my noble friend Lord Naseby, if that requires us to sit on 30 April, that is the very least that we can do to make sure that this important Bill becomes legislation for the benefit of all our animals.

Global Human Rights Sanctions Regulations 2020

Lord Holmes of Richmond Excerpts

Wednesday 29th July 2020 Lords Chamber

[Lord Holmes of Richmond (Non-Afl) [V]]

My Lords, I pay tribute to the Minister and to the clear and positive way in which he introduced these regulations. I also agree entirely with the comments of my noble friend Lord Naseby about Iraq and Libya. These were seriously ill-advised ventures for the UK state to embark upon.

In agreeing with the noble and learned Lord, Lord Judge, I first ask the Minister to confirm that in no sense is this legislation attempting to take for the Executive what is there, by right, for individuals under a clear rule of law. Secondly, I ask the Minister what action he and other ministerial colleagues are taking to work with the EU to enable action on a greater scale, EU-wide. When does he believe that this EU-wide action is likely to be in any sense possible?

Thirdly, there has been no shortage of suggestions and detail provided to the Minister in this debate. Can he set out what he sees as the pathway for additional individuals being added to the current list?

China

Lord Holmes of Richmond Excerpts

Wednesday 22nd July 2020 Lords Chamber

[The Deputy Speaker]

The noble Lord, Lord Balfe, has withdrawn, so I call the noble Lord, Lord Holmes of Richmond.

[Lord Holmes of Richmond (Non-Afl) [V]]

My Lords, these are extraordinarily serious issues—there are few more so—but does my noble friend the Minister agree that sanctions and increasing isolation are unlikely to produce the result they claim, not least for the people in desperate need they purport to protect? This is extraordinarily hard. Does he not agree that we have to try harder?

[Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon]

My Lords, that is why the global human rights regime is specifically aimed at states, not individuals. Our quarrel is not with the people of China.

Environmental Protection (Plastic Straws, Cotton Buds and Stirrers) (England) Regulations 2020

Lord Holmes of Richmond Excerpts

Friday 10th July 2020 Lords Chamber

[Lord Holmes of Richmond (Non-Afl) [V]]

My Lords, I welcome the regulations, which were so clearly introduced by my noble friend the Minister, not least for the way that they take account of the need for an inclusive approach and the needs of disabled people. Building on the comments from the noble Baroness, Lady Brinton, will he confirm that the department will continue to consult organisations of and for disabled people to ensure that all outlets understand and are clear that an inclusive approach will allow everybody to access their products equally and that there should not be any difficulties or sense of stigmatisation as a result of this?

Does the Minister agree that these regulations are key to turning our ocean back to one that is salty and refreshing, rather than an ocean of plastic? Does he agree that, as a result of these regulations, a plastic straw in the wind will soon be a thing of the past?

Yemen: Humanitarian Aid Funding

Lord Holmes of Richmond Excerpts

Thursday 4th June 2020 Lords Chamber

[Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon]

My Lords, on the second point, the noble Baroness will be aware that we are not currently supplying any further arms. We are respecting the decision that was taken and we will continue to look at that situation carefully. On the question of resolving the conflict politically, we are working hard at the Security Council to get parties around the table. Most recently, my right honourable friend the Foreign Secretary also spoke with Martin Griffiths, the special envoy, to see what other efforts we can make bilaterally and, as the noble Baroness says, at the UN directly.

[Lord Holmes of Richmond (Con)]

My Lords, can my noble friend the Minister say what further efforts the UK can make in co-ordinating the efforts on the ground to alleviate the desperate suffering felt by so many Yemenis?

[Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon]

My Lords, I have already alluded to the fact that we are working through UN agencies, and in particular the World Health Organization. However, I implore all parties, including the Houthis, who control the major part of the distribution network, to ensure that we can provide the support and aid that is required across the country.

Qatar: Football World Cup

Lord Holmes of Richmond Excerpts

Wednesday 22nd October 2014 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Anelay of St Johns]

My Lords, we discuss these matters with Governments around the Gulf; we have certainly done so recently both in Saudi Arabia and in the UAE. I note that in Saudi Arabia there has been a move towards maintaining more accurate labour records, and we hope that recent legal reforms should then improve the most basic rights of migrant employees.

[Lord Holmes of Richmond (Con)]

My Lords, when we were planning the London Olympic and Paralympic Games, it was not just about a sensational summer of sport in 2012: we had safety hard-wired into everything we did. Can the Minister assure the House that the FCO and UKTI are doing everything to enable the great British companies that worked on our Games to get involved, to win contracts and to help Qatar 2022, and every international sporting event, to be safe, secure and successful?

[Baroness Anelay of St Johns]

My Lords, we do, and it is right that we do. Staff in the British embassy in Qatar meet Qatar 2022 officials on a regular basis. As part of the discussions, they highlight British-owned companies’ expertise in staging global sports events. Indeed, the embassy has engaged with the supreme committee for delivery and legacy on many events, such as Soccerex 2014 and the global sports mission in February 2014, both in Qatar and in the UK, to showcase British expertise. We look forward, I hope, to British companies winning substantial contracts. Let us wait and see.

Queen’s Speech

Lord Holmes of Richmond Excerpts

Tuesday 10th June 2014 Lords Chamber

[Lord Holmes of Richmond (Con)]

My Lords:

“And this our life, exempt from public haunt,

Finds tongues in trees, books in the running brooks,

Sermons in stones, and good in every thing”.

That perhaps gives a somewhat overstated sense of the pastoral idyll, but may give some glimpse of what retirement can be. And yet, how little and how often do any of us think about our pensions—how much, when and in what product to save—in our 50s, never mind in our teens and 20s?

I must confess at this stage that before joining your Lordships’ House not only was I a lawyer, I was a pensions lawyer. I understand people’s problems with pensions: they are complicated, they make your head hurt a lot. Generally, there is a cycle of disinterest, boredom, trying to grapple with it, confusion, disappointment and panic—and then you go round the track again. But it matters. It matters now and it has always mattered—particularly, as has been mentioned, as we enter what could certainly be seen as a post-defined benefits world.

Before turning to the measures in the gracious Speech, I should like to say how much I am looking forward to the maiden speech of my noble friend Lord Bamford. As a six year-old, coming from the Midlands, I was lucky enough to drive one of those iconic diggers and not crash it. The memory will certainly stay with me for the rest of my life. What a fantastic brand that is: what a fantastic British success story built by my noble friend and his father before him.

The gracious Speech contained two Bills concerning pensions: two opportunities to create increased focus, involvement and potential engagement with the whole issue of pensions. To take the pensions tax Bill first, it is about liberation, not Lamborghinis—other makes of sports car are also available on the market. I do not believe that it is about whether somebody takes all of their pension in one slug; it is more about whether people will understand the tax implications of their actions, because this is not a free hit. If someone goes above the 25% tax-free lump sum, the additional income will be taxed at the marginal rate. For many people, that may well not be in any sense the most efficient way to access their pension pot. A year by year, drip-drip release may well be better. Some form of annuity product may well be the best bet for an individual. I certainly think that the much talked of death of the annuity has been dramatically overstated to date.

Now to the advice. It is likely to be generic, with 300,000 people a year potentially requiring it. I believe we will need to do more than that. Pre-2014, the majority of people indulging in significant drawdown at retirement would have had more significant pension pots and taken bespoke, paid-for advice. Alongside that generic advice, no matter how good it will be, we should consider an obligation on providers to at least try to gain some assurance from the member that they understand the tax implications of the decision that they may be proposing to take. What plans do the Government have to consider such an obligation on the provider in that respect?

I turn to the second Bill, the private pensions Bill. Much has already been said on CDCs. I will not go into that issue in detail, as others will no doubt unpack it later in the debate. The key there will really be about scale and levels of interest, both of which are largely unknown at the moment. However, it is the beginning of the process and is a useful vehicle to provoke and further open the debate about kinds of provision and types of scheme, and about whether there is the potential to drive efficiencies and secure better returns for scheme members. On that point, all we can say at the moment is that collective DC schemes may do that.

All the issues within the Queen’s Speech are to be analysed in incredible amounts of detail—which is why pensions hurt our heads so much. There is a lot more to be laid out but it is opening up the debate. That has to be a good thing for such an important aspect of what it is to live in a western liberal democracy and have a level of retirement that enables people to live for years with some sense of comfort and dignity, once their working life has come to an end.

This is a post-defined benefit era, but I would like to look at the provisions in the private pensions Bill concerning defined benefits and the proposal to ban transfers out of private-funded and unfunded public sector defined-benefit schemes. On the face of it, this seems a sound move, but is it coherent or consistent to have a ban on DB transfers out at the same time as we are liberalising the market for DCs? Nobody wants to see a mis-selling scandal or anything of that nature and people may well determine, in conclusion, that their DB benefits are better. They may decide to stay with the DB pension promise. But should we ban those transfers as a matter of law? Consider, for example, someone who may have built up a tiny DB provision and a number of DC schemes but who wants to consolidate all their pension provision into one block. That surely makes sense, so what plans do the Government have to consider how that will be taken account of in their current plans?

In short, anything which provokes more discussion in the pensions arena has to be a good thing. In the words of Robert Frost:

“The afternoon knows what the morning never suspected”.

In terms of pensions, perhaps some pre-lunch if not breakfast conversations around the whole issue would be gratefully received across the country from the earliest possible age at which someone enters the labour market—because pensions matter, and grey matters.