Online Safety Act 2023: Online Hate and Racism
Debate between Lord Katz and Baroness Boycott
Lord Katz (Lab)
In short, yes, because an offence against a person online can be as serious as an offence against someone in person. That is why we are introducing in the Crime and Policing Bill—which will not only tackle incidents of retail crime, for instance, which is obviously a crime against the person—new measures around policing public order, which, again, is directly in person but has an impact on communities and the way that they feel that they are safe in this country. But if we leave online hate unpoliced and unenforced, it will only grow. We have been shown this, and this is why we are absolutely clear with Ofcom that we will not hesitate to build on the Act if it is not doing enough to keep UK users, particularly our children, safe online.
Baroness Boycott (CB)
Are the Government taking account of the level of misogyny online that seems to be an inbuilt bias? I was speaking to unions last week, which were saying that, for instance, if you put down that your hobby is netball, you will get marked down because you are clearly a woman. Now that AI is taking over so much of health, the health basis has been based on male bodies. It still tells you that if you have a pain in your left arm, you are going to have a heart attack. This is completely not true for 50% of the population. This bias is absolutely inherent and very difficult to get at. I applaud many of the measures going through the Bill, but we need to talk about this. Are the Government doing anything to tackle it?
Lord Katz (Lab)
The noble Baroness makes a very important point. Of course, that inherent bias against women was present in society long before the internet was invented. That is something that we must always struggle to combat, whether online or offline. The illegal harms duties under the Online Safety Act regime came into effect earlier this year in March. That means that services now must now risk-assess for illegal content and have procedures to detect and swiftly remove illegal content—whether it is terrorism, child sexual abuse material, intimate image abuse or other misogynistic abuse.
Plant-based Diet
Debate between Lord Katz and Baroness Boycott
Lord in Waiting/Government Whip (Lord Katz) (Lab)
My Lords, we know that a diet based predominantly on fruit, vegetables and higher-fibre starchy foods but also containing some protein, such as beans, pulses, meat, fish or eggs, and dairy or dairy alternatives, as depicted in the UK’s Eatwell Guide, is associated with improved environmental outcomes and reduced risk of chronic diseases such as cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes and some cancers.
Baroness Boycott (CB)
I thank the Minister for that Answer, but I am not quite sure what the Government are doing to arrive at that result. Currently around 62% of UK grain goes to feed livestock. Meat products, for instance, are only 32% of the calories consumed in the UK, but livestock feed and land space make up 85%. It is disproportionate, especially when you add in the known health impacts. I would like to know what measures the Government are taking to achieve a more plant-based diet.
Lord Katz (Lab)
I thank the noble Baroness, but I point out that the UK’s dietary guidelines, as depicted in the Eatwell Guide, to which I referred in my Answer, already recommend a diet that is based predominantly on plant foods. Analysis has shown that adherence to that guide does indeed improve both health and environmental outcomes. We are clear that we have to promote healthy eating messages based on that guide. We are working with the Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition both to improve robust assessments of the evidence that we receive and to make sure that we work with our farming industry to produce environmentally sustainable food that we can rely on as a country and export.
English Marine Protected Areas: Bottom Trawling and Dredging
Debate between Lord Katz and Baroness Boycott
Lord Katz (Lab)
My Lords, I welcome the noble Baroness’s welcome of the announcement; it is an important step forward in a long-term plan properly to protect our marine ecosystems and environment while enabling fishing. We have had to very carefully considered the next steps to manage bottom trawling in MPAs, along with other fishing methods, in the context of our domestic and international nature conservation obligations. It is important that we get this right and the proposed by-laws are very substantial: they will close 13% of English waters to bottom trawling, which will be critical to protect our MPAs. We want to move at pace, but I will not set out a precise timeline because it is important that we see the consultation through first.
Baroness Boycott (CB)
My Lords, I wonder if the Minister could help me clarify something. I have a cutting from Fishing News, “the voice of the fishing industry”. When Minister Zeichner addressed the Shellfish Association last week, he said that this news about the ending of bottom trawling will be “very, very grim” for the industry. He knows how frustrating it is, he said, and:
“This is about ending trawling in areas where damage is done – why make changes in areas of MPAs that aren’t at risk?”—
which would apply to the 42 new ones that have not yet been bottom trawled. It seems to me very concerning, and I would be very grateful if the Minister could lay out the Government’s precise position on this.
Lord Katz (Lab)
My Lords, the Government support the fishing industry and recognise its key role in food supply, which is why we are also launching the fishing and coastal growth fund, which is investing £360 million over the next 12 years to support the next generation of fishermen and breathe new life into our coastal communities. This investment will make the fishing industry fit for the 21st century, but we make no apology for taking the steps—which, indeed, were initiated by the previous Government—to protect our natural marine environment over the long term. It is worth pointing out that the majority of fishing fleets that will be impacted by this ban on bottom trawling and shellfish dredging are not UK fleets but fleets from other nations, principally France, Ireland and Denmark.