Freedom of Establishment and Free Movement of Services (EU Exit) Regulations 2019

Lord Hope of Craighead Excerpts

Wednesday 23rd October 2019 Lords Chamber

[Lord Hope of Craighead (CB)]

My Lords, I should like to return very briefly to the points made by the noble Lords, Lord Anderson of Ipswich and Lord Purvis of Tweed. They relate to the extent to which the Government have informed themselves about the impact of the instrument we are discussing. Like the noble Lord, Lord Greaves, I tend to look at the Explanatory Memorandum for guidance, and what I looked at first was paragraph 10, dealing with consultation. It is a most surprising paragraph, against the background of what we have heard in the Chamber this afternoon, because all it tells us is that the only area in which the directly effective rights of establishment or the free movement of services have been identified to have a direct impact on UK business is that of satellite decoders. That suggests that those who have been considering this instrument have a very narrow vision of the extent to which they are disrupting the system that has existed during our time in the EU. I am concerned about the extent of the consultation and therefore the about lack of information that has been gathered by the Government about the effect of the instrument. If it is to be taken away, I hope that a further and more wide-ranging consultation will be undertaken so that there will be a better awareness of the effect of this instrument.

[The Earl of Clancarty]

My Lords, does the noble and learned Lord agree that there is one impact that we do know about, which is the impact of a climate of concern?

Non-Domestic Rating (Alteration of Lists and Appeals) (England) (Amendment) Regulations 2017

Lord Hope of Craighead Excerpts

Monday 11th September 2017 Lords Chamber

[Lord Naseby (Con)]

My Lords, I pay tribute to the noble Earl for giving us an opportunity to clarify the current situation on business rates. My noble friend on the Front Bench will know that I have been asking questions about business rates for a decade now, so I have got a little bit of background in this issue.

I am a marketing man by profession: I looked after the advertising and marketing of a number of retail chains prior to coming to your Lordships’ House and, indeed, prior to entering the other place. Twenty years ago, retailing was conducted entirely on the high street or in retail parks; today, one-third of it—and growing—happens online. In this morning’s Daily Telegraph, it is reported that Ipsos MORI has noted that the crash in footfall since 2007 is well over 20%. That is a huge drop. We have seen a number of chains collapse, including Woolworths and BHS. That is a problem. It is that plunge in footfall and the need to invest in digital technology that is creating a big challenge for small and medium-sized retailers. Moreover, there is a forecast from the British Retail Consortium that 80,000 more shops are likely to close. These are horrendous problems.

I will not repeat any of the points made by the noble Earl in his speech except for one, and that concerns the beta testing stage of the online CCA system early in 2017. We know that there were many shortcomings, but amazingly the whole thing has gone live with nothing having been rectified. I do not think that that is acceptable in today’s world, and I hope that my noble friend can reassure me that something is being done to sort it out.

I am not sure whether I am right in saying this, but my understanding from Answers given by my noble friend to earlier Questions was that the net result of the changes would be revenue neutral. Now we read in the newspapers and professional journals that the system may not be revenue neutral but something closer to £2.5 billion to £3 billion to the benefit of the Treasury. So I would ask my noble friend to put on the record whether it is the Government’s objective that this system should be revenue neutral. If that is the case, can we have an assurance that, if the figures show that all of a sudden the Treasury has picked up £2.5 billion or £3 billion, somehow or other the money will be fed back into the system? That is absolutely vital for the future.

I would just add that the latest figures on empty shops, an issue I have raised on many occasions, are now twice as high as they were before the recession and are running at well over 20%, along with store openings and relettings now down by over 20%.

I would like to add one further point. Why does the UK have the highest property taxes in the whole of the OECD? Property taxes are going up in this country and down elsewhere in the OECD. We are in a situation where they are at 4.1% of GDP; in France, they are at 3.9%, whereas they are at 2.8% in the US and 1.9% across the whole of the OECD. In all of those countries, they have fallen: for us, they are going up.

As an applied practical economist, I know that to make economic sense of Brexit the UK will urgently need to become one of the most business-friendly places in the world. Achieving that requires a low-tax deregulatory agenda, but we seem to be heading in exactly the opposite direction with these SIs that we are debating. Frankly, if that is the way things are going, that will create considerable peril to all our businesses, particularly those in the retail trade, which after all remains the biggest employer in this country. Those businesses are the wealth creators for our future.

Before I forget, I must declare an interest, in that I do have a member of my family in the retail trade.

[Lord Hope of Craighead (CB)]

I hesitate to contribute to this debate because I have nothing like the expertise of the noble Earl, Lord Lytton, or indeed the knowledge of the noble Lord, Lord Beecham, of how these systems operate in practice.

The burden of what the noble Earl was saying is twofold: first, the appeals system in England and Wales is verging on out of control, given the huge backlog that he mentioned. That in itself is a real challenge for the Government to sort out. The second point I take from his speech is that the way in which the Government have tried to address this problem is resulting in unfairness to ratepayers and their advisers, in trying to challenge the valuations that the valuation officer has asked to be entered in the roll. In that respect, he raises what I would respectfully suggest is a very serious issue, which I hope the Minister will feel able to comment on.

I have picked up two points, one in each of the regulations, where I am inclined to think that the regulations as drafted point in the right direction. The first is in SI 155. In Regulation 16, which introduces new regulation 13A, the grounds on which a proposer may appeal to the Valuation Tribunal for England are said to be,

“(a) the valuation for the hereditament is not reasonable;

(b) the list is inaccurate in relation to the hereditament (other than in relation to the valuation).”

I may be wrong, but I took from the noble Earl’s speech that he is criticising the use of the language in that provision and suggesting that it is inconsistent with the primary legislation, which, in Section 42, describes what the local rating list is to provide. Section 41(4) says that before a list is compiled, the valuation officer must take such steps as are reasonably practicable to ensure that it is accurately compiled on 1 April.

There are two issues here. The first is the accuracy of the entry in the list, which describes the hereditament itself. I think “accuracy” is a perfectly correct adjective to use. Whichever side he is on, the valuer must know precisely what the hereditament is that is to be valued. The other side is the valuation side, and it is in relation to that aspect that the adjective “reasonable” is used. It seems to me that that is a proper use of language too. To require that the valuation should be accurate may be asking too much, because a valuation is, after all, an expression of the valuer’s opinion, expertly using his art as best as he can to arrive at a valuation that meets the statutory standard. So, with great respect to the noble Earl, I think that the language in SI 155 is correct and I do not see any grounds for criticism.

Grenfell Tower and Fire Safety: Update

Lord Hope of Craighead Excerpts

Thursday 20th July 2017 Lords Chamber

[Lord Hope of Craighead (CB)]

My Lords, I welcome the point to which the noble Lord has just referred—the decision to extend the period for agreeing the terms of reference. Anything that can be done to defuse the high state of tension that exists at present is wise. One would like this inquiry to proceed in a relatively calm atmosphere so that the evidence can be listened to without interruption and with proper attention to detail. However, perhaps the noble Lord can inform the House on one or two other matters relating to the preparation of the inquiry.

First, have steps been taken to identify somebody who might be invited to act as counsel to the inquiry? I suspect that that will be an extremely important element in the preparation of the evidence before the inquiry begins. Secondly, has thought been given to where the inquiry might be held, bearing in mind that large numbers of people will want to attend it and the premises will have to be large enough to accommodate them, as well as to provide a secure position for those who wish to attend, for those giving evidence and, indeed, for the judge himself? Thirdly, can we have any insight into the timing, bearing in mind that the point has been made from the very beginning about the need for an interim report to be made available as soon as possible so that the details of the evidence that might lead to steps to prevent a repetition can be brought into the open as soon as possible, and also bearing in mind that the inquiry cannot begin until the evidence has been sufficiently well prepared for the judge to hear it and assess it in the first place?

[Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth]

My Lords, I thank the noble and learned Lord very much for that contribution and for the very helpful points about defusing the high state of tension that exists and has existed from early on—for very understandable reasons. I think efforts are being made, with some success, to defuse the tension. The judge leading the inquiry is consulting local residents and residents’ representatives about the terms of reference, and it is right to do so. I am sure that the judge will have views about the timing of the inquiry and where it is to be held, and those will be taken into account. If it is acceptable to the noble and learned Lord, I will write to him on the more detailed and relevant points concerning the conduct of the inquiry.

He is right about an interim report, which I think we would be hoping to see, although, again, ultimately that is for the judge leading the inquiry to determine. Because of the need for urgent action, we set up the independent expert advisory panel under Sir Ken Knight. He has already given a lead, as has the rest of the committee, in relation to, for example, the testing and other important matters. However, the Secretary of State is very well aware of the need for early action on the building regulations and fire safety measures, probably in parallel with the inquiry.

Queen’s Speech

Lord Hope of Craighead Excerpts

Tuesday 27th June 2017 Lords Chamber

[Lord Hope of Craighead (CB)]

My Lords, I address my own remarks to two points in the gracious Speech that fall within the scope of today’s debate. First, like so many others, I welcome the Government’s undertaking to initiate a full public inquiry into the horrifying fire at Grenfell Tower to ascertain the causes and ensure that the appropriate lessons are learned. I also welcome the fact that this is to be a judge-led inquiry. Indeed, no one should be under any illusions about the problems that whoever leads this inquiry will face. Urgency suggests that it may have to begin its task before any criminal prosecutions take place. If so, great care will need to be taken to ensure that the inquiry does not adversely affect the criminal process by prejudicing the right to a fair trial. In some cases, such as that of the Victoria Climbié inquiry, which was chaired with such distinction by the noble Lord, Lord Laming, the criminal proceedings were concluded before the inquiry. Whether that will be so in this case is perhaps yet to be decided, but I suspect that the decision will be that the inquiry should go ahead without delay.

The noble Lord, Lord Hayward, drew attention to one of the problems to which this gives rise last Thursday in the question that he put to the Lord Privy Seal when she repeated the Prime Minister’s Statement on Grenfell Tower. He asked:

“Can we please ensure that when people give evidence, they do so in full and do not hide behind the fact that, if they answer certain questions, they might incriminate themselves?”.—[Official Report, 22/6/17; col. 83.]


The noble Baroness’s answer was that it was to be a judge-led inquiry, as the Minister said yesterday in answer to a similar question. It would be for the person appointed to determine how it works.

The Lord Privy Seal was absolutely right about that. I can go further, however. There is no doubt that the judge will ensure that the inquiry was conducted according to the well-established rules of our common law, which protect a suspect’s right to silence. Everyone is entitled to that protection. There are no exceptions, even in situations such as this, which have provoked so much public anger. How much of an impediment to the inquiry there will be if it is held before any criminal proceedings are concluded we have yet to see. I suspect not very much if the inquiry indeed concentrates on the causes and lessons to be learned, as the gracious Speech put it, which are so important. The terms of reference will need to be very carefully drafted in close consultation with the judge to ensure that the focus of the inquiry is neither too narrow nor too wide. It is of course reassuring to those with my background that the Government are putting their trust in the judiciary to achieve the clarity and certainty that is needed in a highly charged situation such as this.

Secondly, I welcome the Government’s undertaking to make further progress on tackling discrimination, but one particular aspect deserves attention. I suggest that legislation to address the hardship and injustice to cohabiting couples caused by a gap in the present law in England and Wales is long overdue. I refer to the problems that arise if there is a dispute about property division when their cohabitation ceases. Legislation to address these problems was passed by the Scottish Parliament in 2006. It was the subject of an appeal to the United Kingdom Supreme Court in Gow v Grant in 2012. The noble and learned Baroness, Lady Hale, drew attention in her judgment to the Scottish position in that case and to the need for similar legislation in England and Wales. She pointed out that the Law Commission published a report with recommendations on this as long ago as 2007, but despite the hardship and injustice caused by the lack of legislation and the prevalence of cohabitation, to which the Law Commission again drew attention in 2011, still nothing has been done; the gap remains. I hope that the Minister and his officials will feel able to look at that judgment and find a place for this legislation, which is badly needed, as early as possible in the life of this Parliament.