Steel Industry (Nationalisation) Bill

Lord Leong Excerpts

2nd reading
Tuesday 16th June 2026 Lords Chamber

Moved by

[Lord Leong]

That the Bill be now read a second time.

Northern Ireland, Scottish and Welsh legislative consent sought.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Business and Trade (Lord Leong) (Lab)]

My Lords, steel is a historic British industry at the heart of our national story. For generations, steelworkers have forged not only steel but Britain’s prosperity. From Scunthorpe to Sheffield, from Port Talbot to Teesside, steel communities have powered our industrial success, strengthened our economy and contributed immeasurably to our national life. For those communities, steel is far more than an industry; it is a source of pride, identity and opportunity. It is a way of life, built over generations through skill, dedication and enterprise.

However, steel is not only about our past; it is fundamental to our future. Steel underpins our infra- structure, manufacturing base, energy networks and transport system. It is essential to the homes, railways and power stations that we build and the defence capabilities on which our national security depends. Steel is therefore not merely another sector of the economy; it is a strategic national asset. Its future is central to our economic resilience, our industrial strength and our ability to deliver the growth and prosperity that this country needs.

The global steel industry faces profound challenges. The volatile geopolitical climate, intensifying international competition and significant global overcapacity have placed enormous pressure on steel producers worldwide. British producers face those challenges while contending with energy costs that remain higher than those of most of their many international competitors. Recent events have highlighted the fragility of global supply chains. The pandemic exposed vulnerabilities that many had assumed did not exist. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine reminded us that economic and national security are inseparable. Increasing geopolitical uncertainty has underscored the importance of maintaining domestic industrial capability.

The lesson is clear: a modern industrial nation cannot afford to lose the capability to produce the materials on which its economy and security depend. Without intervention, the United Kingdom faces the prospect of being the only G7 nation unable to produce virgin steel from raw materials within its borders. That would be more than an industrial failure; it would represent a strategic vulnerability. That is why in March the Government published The UK Steel Strategy, setting out a commitment to revitalise the steel sector, restore domestic production to sustainable levels and secure the industry’s long-term future.

The strategy recognises that the Government have a vital role to play. It means tackling the drivers of high operating costs, including reducing industrial energy costs. It means maintaining a robust trade defence regime to protect British producers from unfair competition. It means working alongside industry to secure the investment that is needed to modernise and decarbonise steel production. It means ensuring that where strategically important steel-making assets are at risk, government has the tools necessary to act decisively in the national interest.

That brings me to the Bill before the House today. This Bill establishes a framework that enables the Government, where necessary and justified by the public interest, to bring steel undertakings into public ownership. This is an enabling measure. It provides the Government with the ability to intervene where strategic domestic steel-making capability is at risk and where such intervention is necessary to safeguard the national interest. As the Prime Minister has already made clear, the Government are strongly minded to use these powers in relation to British Steel, subject, of course, to the public interest test set out in the legislation.

The circumstances surrounding British Steel and the Scunthorpe steelworks are well-known to the House. Scunthorpe is the last remaining primary steel-making capability in the United Kingdom. It directly employs approximately 2,700 highly skilled workers and supports many thousands of additional jobs throughout the wider supply chain. The Government took decisive action last year under the Steel Industry (Special Measures) Act 2025 to prevent the premature and disorderly closure of the blast furnaces at Scunthorpe. I would like to place on record my gratitude to noble Lords across the House for their constructive and responsible engagement with that legislation. I pay tribute to the parliamentary staff whose efforts enabled Parliament to respond swiftly to an urgent national challenge.

The measures enacted last year served their immediate purpose. They prevented closure and ensured continued production. However, those powers were always intended to be temporary. Although they have enabled continued operation, they do not provide the flexibility required to undertake the longer-term restructuring, investment and modernisation that the business now requires. As matters stand, the Government believe that public ownership offers the most effective way to secure the company’s future and to enable strategic decisions to be taken in the long-term interests of the business, its workforce and the nation.

However, I emphasise that any decision to nationalise remains subject to the public interest test as set out in the Bill. The Government did not reach this position lightly. We engaged constructively and extensively with Jingye to pursue a commercial solution. Our clear preference was to secure the future of steel-making through agreement rather than through intervention. However, despite extensive negotiations, it has proved impossible to reach an agreement that would represent a responsible and proportionate use of taxpayers’ money. In those circumstances, the Government concluded that legislation was necessary.

Some noble Lords may reasonably ask whether nationalisation is the right answer. The Government’s response is straightforward. Nationalisation is not an ideological aim and it is not the first option either. It is a pragmatic tool available for use when the national interest requires it. The costs of losing our steel-making capability would far outweigh the costs of preserving it. Once blast furnaces are extinguished, once supply chains disperse and once specialist skills are lost, rebuilding those capabilities becomes extraordinarily difficult and expensive. Inaction carries consequences and dependency carries risks. The loss of sovereign industrial capability carries costs that cannot be easily measured in purely financial terms. That is why Governments around the world intervene to protect strategically important industries. Britain should be no different.

We believe that British Steel can succeed. With the right leadership, investment and long-term strategy, the company can be transformed. We have already seen the success of public ownership in the case of Sheffield Forgemasters. Recently, British Steel has secured important new contracts, including supplying rail infrastructure and supporting future energy projects. These are encouraging signs of the opportunities ahead.

Turning to the detail of the Bill, I recognise that it contains significant powers and that noble Lords will wish to scrutinise them closely. That scrutiny is both expected and welcome. The Government have consistently sought to ensure that the powers contained in the Bill are proportionate, necessary and appropriately constrained.

[Lord Redwood (Con)]

On a point of information—

[Lord Fox (LD)]

We do not do points of information at Second Reading.

[Lord Leong (Lab)]

I will continue. In developing this legislation, we have drawn heavily on the framework established by the Banking Act 2009, adapting well-established precedents, rather than creating entirely new mechanisms. The principal transfer powers are subject to a sunset clause and will expire two years after Royal Assent. This ensures that they remain in force only for as long as necessary to achieve their intended purpose. The Bill provides for compensation arrangements when powers are exercised. Compensation will be assessed independently, by a valuer appointed through an independent process. This ensures fairness, impartiality and proper protection for affected parties. The Government are committed to treating all investors fairly and consistently.

Many of the technical provisions contained within the Bill are designed to ensure that any transfer of ownership can be carried out smoothly and effectively. In practice, we are seeking through legislation to replicate many of the outcomes that would normally be achieved through a complex commercial transaction. That inevitably requires powers to address legal and operational issues arising from such transfers and to ensure continuity of operations. These powers are not novel; they follow established legislative precedent, and are solely intended to ensure that the legislation’s objectives can be achieved effectively.

The Bill is ultimately about the kind of country that we aspire to be. Do we believe that Britain should continue to produce the steel upon which modern economies depend? Do we believe that strategic industries matter? Do we believe that economic security, industrial resilience and national security are worth safeguarding? Do we believe that steel-making communities deserve a future? The Government’s answer to each of those questions is yes. The Bill demonstrates our resolve to safeguard a strategically important industry. It demonstrates our commitment to safeguarding jobs, supporting communities and securing Britain’s industrial future. It demonstrates that this Government are prepared to act decisively when the national interest demands it.

Today, we have an opportunity to send a clear signal to steelworkers, investors, industry and the country that Parliament is committed to preserving and strengthening Britain’s steel-making capability for generations to come. I look forward to the contributions that noble Lords will make during this debate and to the constructive scrutiny I know this House will bring to the legislation. I beg to move.

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[Lord Leong (Lab)]

My Lords, I thank all noble Lords for their contributions to this excellent, thoughtful and wide-ranging debate and for their very kind messages on my appointment. I was trying to count the number of questions asked, but I gave up at 45. I will try to respond to as many as possible within my allocated time. If I am unable to address every point raised, especially those relating to costs and technical issues, I will ask my officials to review Hansard carefully, write to noble Lords accordingly and place copies of those responses in the Library.

The quality of debate in your Lordships’ House is often remarked upon, and today’s proceedings have once again demonstrated the immense expertise, experience and commitment that Members bring to issues of national importance. There have been contributions from across the House and from all sides of the debate. While there may be differences of opinion about the means, there is a remarkable degree of consensus about the end—namely, that the United Kingdom should continue to have a strong and sustainable steel industry. That consensus matters.

Many noble Lords spoke of the challenges facing the sector, and the Government recognise those challenges. They are real and significant, and they are unlikely to disappear in the foreseeable future. As my right honourable friend the Secretary of State has made clear, we are determined to revitalise the UK steel sector, restore domestic production to sustainable levels and secure the industry’s long-term role in supporting economic growth. That means reducing industrial costs, which I will come back to later. It means supporting investment, modernising production and creating the conditions for a competitive and sustainable industry. It also means ensuring that government has the tools necessary to act when that strategically important steel-making capability is at risk. It is about ensuring that future generations continue to benefit from a British steel industry capable of supporting our economy and security.

The noble Lord, Lord Sharpe, asked about the company Jingye and the ownership of British Steel. While we are strongly minded to use the powers in the Bill to nationalise the company, no decision has been made and any decision will be subject to the public interest test. The Government have been providing ongoing funding to British Steel under the Steel Industry (Special Measures) Act 2025. We are publishing regular updates to Parliament detailing this funding. These funding arrangements will be set out in the department’s upcoming annual reports and accounts. We are committed to transparency on this issue.

On the point raised by the noble Lords, Lord Hunt and Lord Sharpe, for whom I have the greatest respect, blaming workers’ rights for unemployment is a caustic distortion of the real issue. It substitutes ideology for evidence and seeks conveniently to scapegoat, rather than confronting the structural changes that hold back employment. Fair pay and basic protections are not obstacles to growth; they are the foundations of a stable, productive labour market. Businesses that invest in their workforce through training, progression and decent terms tend to achieve stronger retention, higher productivity and better long-term performance. Responsible capitalism reduces the need for state intervention. However, where short-termism prevails and workers are treated as a cost to be squeezed rather than an asset to be developed, government has a legitimate role in setting fair minimum payments.

The noble Lords, Lord Hunt, Lord Bilimoria and Lord Fox, and my noble friend Lord Murphy raised the issue of tariffs. The Government support free and fair trade, but trade must be fair. Free trade does not mean surrendering British jobs to subsidised foreign competitors. It means ensuring that British firms compete on a level playing field, not with one hand tied behind their backs. British steel producers should not be expected to compete with heavily subsidised imports, dumped products or unfair trading practices that distort markets and undermine domestic production. Every major steel-producing nation takes steps to protect its industry from unfair competition. The United Kingdom cannot be the only country to leave its producers exposed while others actively defend their national interests. This is why we will continue to use the full range of trade remedies available to us, including tariffs, where justified, to ensure a level playing field, safeguard jobs and maintain British sovereign capability to produce steel.

The noble Lord, Lord Bilimoria, asked about the UK-India free trade agreement. The noble Lord will know that we are seeking to bring this deal into force as quickly as possible. We are working with India to ensure that all parties have taken all the necessary steps to bring the deal into force.

The noble Lords, Lord Redwood, Lord Bilimoria and Lord Fox, and my noble friend Lady O’Grady, raised points regarding green steel and electric arc furnaces versus blast furnaces. The Government are clear that the future of the steel industry is green steel. Electric arc furnaces in the UK are making the full range of steels, from commodity construction grades to stainless steel and specialised steel for defence and nuclear industries. There are still challenges in certain areas such as packaging steel, but we are confident that the industry will find the right solutions. If it would be helpful, I can arrange for a technical briefing on this point for noble Lords who are interested in this area.

Several noble Lords asked about energy-intensive industry. The British industry supercharger seeks to address this crucial issue, providing targeted relief to qualifying sectors to improve competitiveness, safeguard manufacturing and support decarbonisation objectives in the UK. From April 2026, the level of compensation offered by the network charging compensation scheme was increased from 60% to 90%. Reducing electricity network connection timescales is also a high priority for the Government. We are working very closely with Ofgem, the electricity system operator and network companies to accelerate network connections.

The noble Lord, Lord Bilimoria, asked about the transformation of British Steel and the noble Lords, Lord Hunt and Lord Frost, asked about the future of British Steel under public ownership. The Government’s ambition is straightforward: we want British Steel to become a successful and sustainable British industrial champion that the entire country can be proud of. Should public ownership proceed, it would provide the opportunity to take a longer-term view and put in place the leadership, governance and investment necessary to secure the company’s future and safeguard domestic steel production. We believe there is every reason to be optimistic. British Steel continues to have highly skilled workers, valuable industrial assets and significant commercial opportunities. Recent contract wins, as I mentioned in my opening speech, demonstrate that there remains strong demand for British steel and that the company has an important role in the future of our economy.

Several noble Lords asked questions on jobs. I fully understand those concerns. The Government’s objective is a sustainable steel industry capable of standing on its own two feet. That is the best guarantee for long-term employment and stability for workers and their families alike. The decisive action taken by the Government last year prevented the immediate loss of approximately 2,700 jobs and ensured a continuation of steel production in Scunthorpe. We recognise that the sector is evolving and that future technologies will shape the future of steel-making. That is why any transition must be managed carefully. It must support workers, protect communities and preserve our economic resilience. The Government will continue to work closely with trade unions, employees and local stakeholders through the process.

The noble Lords, Lord Wigley, Lord Bilimoria and Lord Murphy, asked about Port Talbot. The Government have no plans to acquire any other steel undertakings, but the Bill provides flexibility to intervene if a future need arises and the public interest test is met. The Government remain fully committed to securing the long-term future of steel-making in Port Talbot through Tata Steel’s £1.25 billion transition to a state-of-the-art electric arc furnace supported by up to £500 million of government funding.

The noble Baroness, Lady O’Grady, and the noble Lord, Lord Fox, asked questions on the EU. The global context has changed drastically since Brexit. We need a closer economic relationship that protects our collective industrial security. Both the UK and the EU are taking measures to improve the security and resilience of key sectors. We both face the same challenges, such as overcapacity and higher tariffs, which are distorting global markets. The historic UK-EU summit last year was the first of our annual summits that will take place to improve our diplomatic, economic and security co-operation following Brexit. The date of this year’s summit will be announced in due course.

The noble Lord, Lord Fox, asked about the chilling effect on investment. Let me address this head-on: the Bill does not create any chilling effect on investment. I can do no better than to quote my friend the Minister in the other place:

“We have carried out a very careful balance with this Bill to ensure that the steel industry is fully informed, understands our intentions and is supportive—and it is supportive”.—[Official Report, Commons, 21/5/26; col. 812.]


The Bill is explicitly framed as a targeted, last-resort response to a market failure. The Government are signalling that it is not intended for wider or frequent use, which narrows uncertainty to a specific context rather than the sector as a whole.

The noble Lord, Lord Redwood, asked about the environmental liabilities, and rightly so. Many environmental liabilities arise on closure. Government intervention is precisely about avoiding disorderly shutdown and managing safely the remediation, respectively.

Several noble Lords raised the issue of compensation. The Government are committed to respecting business rights and ensuring fair treatment. To be absolutely clear, the Government’s actions to date at British Steel, and any future actions, are solely about commercial reality and delivering our domestic steel strategy. They would not differ under an owner of any nationality. If the transfer powers in the Bill are exercised, a compensation scheme would be established to consider and pay compensation for any losses suffered by those affected. An independent valuer would be appointed to oversee this process and determine what compensation, if any, is payable. There is nothing to prevent an outcome of nil compensation, but this would be a decision for the valuer and would depend on the circumstances.

Let me address the issue of nationalisation, which was mentioned by the noble Baroness, Lady Noakes, and the noble Lord, Lord Sharpe. We propose this nationalisation on principle. Are other Peers prepared to accept the loss of the United Kingdom’s last remaining primary steel-making capability in the name of market purity? We believe in free markets, but no responsible Government can stand aside when a strategically vital industry and national security are at risk. This is not ideology; it is pragmatism. Every major industrial nation supports its steel industry. The question is not whether Governments intervene but whether they are willing to act in the national interest where circumstances require. Faced with the choice between preserving British steel-making and watching it disappear, this Government chose action.

The promise of privatisation was that private ownership would deliver greater investment, stronger productivity and better outcomes for consumers and taxpayers, yet too often we have seen the opposite, with underinvestment, short-term decision-making and strategic national assets left vulnerable when market conditions turned difficult. The reality is that, when privatisation succeeds, profits are privatised; when it fails, losses are socialised. Working people lose their jobs, communities pay the price and taxpayers are asked to step in. That is precisely why this Government are prepared to act when a strategically important industry such as steel is at risk. When the national interest is at stake, standing aside is not a responsible option. I commit to writing to the noble Baroness about the classification of British Steel—my officials will definitely write to her. We will provide annual reporting to Parliament on financial support, as is provided under the Bill’s powers.

I turn to Port Talbot, as mentioned by several noble Lords. The fire at Port Talbot was successfully contained and all personnel are safe. We will continue to monitor the situation closely while investigations are ongoing and the company moves from emergency response to recovery planning. Regarding grid delays, timelines are still evolving and are not yet finalised. We remain fully committed to securing the long-term future of steel-making at Port Talbot and are working closely with all parties involved to identify mitigations and explore options to accelerate delivery.

The noble Lords, Lord Sikka and Lord Fox, asked about the importance of foreign investment and our relationship with China. I wish to be clear that the Government have decided to introduce this Bill regardless of the nationality of the firm that owns British Steel, which is Jingye currently. The Government continue to welcome Chinese investment in the UK and do not consider the situation at British Steel to reflect our wider relationship with investors.

British Steel is a strategic asset, as I said earlier, for the UK’s steel production. It is critical to national infrastructure and to the local economy. Unfortunately, the Government could not find a way to save British Steel’s operation under its current ownership. Although this Government now need to take steps to secure UK steel capability, we are committed to doing so in a way that respects the rights of business.

Throughout this debate, one theme has recurred: the future of steel matters. It matters to our economy; it matters to our industrial base; it matters to our national security; and it matters to the communities whose lives have been built around steel-making for generations. The Bill before your Lordships’ House is not about preserving the past; as I said in opening, it is about securing the future. It is about ensuring that Britain retains the sovereign capability to produce steel. It is about creating the conditions for a modern, competitive and sustainable steel sector. It is about demonstrating that, when strategically important national capabilities are at stake, this Government are prepared to act.

Today, your Lordships have the opportunity to send a clear message to steelworkers, industry investors, and the country that Parliament remains committed to the long-term future of British steelmaking. I am grateful to all noble Lords for their contributions and for the constructive spirit in which this debate has been conducted. I look forward to continuing those discussions as the Bill progresses. I beg to move.

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

Amazon Web Services

Lord Leong Excerpts

Tuesday 21st October 2025 Lords Chamber

[Lord Harris of Haringey (Lab)]

My Lords, I beg leave to ask a Question of which I have given private notice, and in so doing I refer to my interest in the register as chair of the National Preparedness Commission.

[Lord in Waiting/Government Whip (Lord Leong) (Lab)]

My Lords, the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology is leading the Government’s response to the Amazon Web Services outage that took place yesterday. DSIT continues to work across government and with businesses to understand the full impacts of the outage. All AWS services were restored yesterday evening, and DSIT is in contact with AWS to understand how such events can be mitigated in future.

[Lord Harris of Haringey (Lab)]

My Lords, I am grateful to my noble friend for that response. I notice that he did not say whether the outage was precipitated by hostile state activity. Given the impact on UK critical services, including those run by the Government, should we have more variety in cloud producers and more sovereign capability? What additional guidance are the Government intending to give to enable the public and private sectors, as well as individuals, to prepare for such disruptions in future?

[Lord Leong (Lab)]

My Lords, I thank my noble friend for those questions. There is no evidence that this was caused by any malicious activity, and we have to be very careful that we do not speculate otherwise. AWS has publicly stated that the outage was initially caused by an issue with its configuration of the domain name system, or DNS, and some wider related complications. Departments independently determine which suppliers to use based on their use cases. Some cloud providers are strategic suppliers, but departments make decisions on adoption based on not only reliance but cost, capability and their staff’s expertise. We are working to diversify the UK’s cloud ecosystem and encourage greater participation by UK-based and European providers, as well as promoting innovation through our digital infrastructure and cybersecurity programmes. At the same time, the NCSC offers advice and guidance on how businesses and organisations can make themselves more cyber resilient, and this advice is also broadly applicable to digital resilience issues.

As I mentioned in Oral Questions last week, businesses should also take it upon themselves to ensure that they have sufficient cyber resilience systems in place by ensuring that their software and hardware are up to date and, if they can, seeking certification so that their systems are Cyber Essentials certified. Businesses should also be encouraged to have a business continuity plan so that, if anything happens, they have a plan in place.

[Viscount Stansgate (Lab)]

My Lords, I congratulate my noble friend on his Question; I submitted exactly the same Question yesterday. Is it possible that some of the sites affected in the UK, including the GOV.UK portal, were not aware that the data was held in America rather than in the UK and that, therefore, when a problem arises as it did in East-1, or whatever it is called, on the east coast of America, they were not aware that we would be in this vulnerable position?

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[Lord Leong (Lab)]

I thank my noble friend for that interesting point. I think most businesses, and government, know that AWS is a provider with significant market share—something like 30% of cloud services. The other providers—Microsoft Azure and Google Cloud—also provide such services. I am not sure what he means by people not being aware of AWS’s services.

[Viscount Camrose (Con)]

My Lords, I feel that I am a member of a large club, as I too submitted an identical PNQ. I note that the whole House will have been deeply concerned by this outage. Although, indeed, it does not appear to have been caused by a cyber or other malicious attack, as the Minister has said, we have to work on the assumption that it will happen again. Can officials please urgently produce a report setting out, first, the cost to the United Kingdom of this outage; secondly, the long-term policy implications for the Government as they seek to enhance our resilience; and, thirdly, the immediate mitigations that are, I trust, being devised or implemented as we speak?

[Lord Leong (Lab)]

My Lords, in respect of the noble Viscount’s point about cost, this happened just yesterday so, of course, we are still working it through; it will take us some time to evaluate how much it will cost the economy. I am sure that economists will be kept very busy for some time working out the costs and the impact on productivity.

We are already taking steps to strengthen the resilience of the UK’s digital infrastructure. Through the national cyber strategy and the national resilience framework, we are working with the National Cyber Security Centre to treat major cloud service providers as part of our critical national infrastructure. This includes measures to ensure that they have robust redundancy back-up and incident response capabilities in place. At the same time, we are consulting with industry on enhanced incident reporting and transparency requirements so that the Government can be alerted immediately to any service disruption that could have national impact.

[Lord Clement-Jones (LD)]

My Lords, at the very least, this should be a wake-up call for the Government. It is clear that the Government have been overdependent on two US cloud service providers, which, as the Competition and Markets Authority says, have 70% to 90% of the market, and restrictive practices impede competition. Of course, there is now a sovereign AI unit within DSIT. Will government procurement policy now change to encourage UK cloud service providers, which would then help to deliver sovereign AI? Will the Government also encourage the CMA to act rapidly, given this lack of competition?

[Lord Leong (Lab)]

I thank the noble Lord for those points. The Government are aware and are taking cybersecurity seriously. That is why we have published a number of strategies and are working with the National Cyber Security Centre, as I mentioned earlier. The noble Lord also mentioned procurement and the service providers. The three providers I just mentioned—Amazon Web Services, Microsoft Azure and Google Cloud—probably have something like 60% of the market share. Yes, we have other small, independent providers as well but, at the same time, procurement is dependent on government departments: on how they want to procure their services and from where. The basic point is that, going forward, we have to ensure that it is safe and resilient.

[Lord Naseby (Con)]

Did the outage affect His Majesty’s defence forces? If it did, what lessons will we take from that?

[Lord Leong (Lab)]

My Lords, the departments impacted were HMRC, the Home Office, the DVLA and the DWP. I am not aware that the Ministry of Defence was impacted, but I will write to the noble Lord if it was.

[Lord Markham (Con)]

Unfortunately, as Health Minister I saw at first hand instances of lack of resilience in the health systems, not just in the NHS but among a lot of its suppliers. Many noble Lords will recall the cyberattacks on the blood testing services in summer 2024. I did not quite hear in the noble Lord’s response to the question from the noble Viscount, Lord Camrose, that we will make sure we can really understand the costs and the lessons learned from all this. Given the nature of these sorts of incidents, is the Minister willing to do this?

[Lord Leong (Lab)]

I thank the noble Lord for reminding me. Yes, of course we have learned from what happened last year with CrowdStrike. As we know, in July 2024 the Government committed to a review of the lessons learned from the CrowdStrike incident, which was co-drafted between DSIT and the Cabinet Office. The Government have made a number of changes since that incident, including announcing a forthcoming cybersecurity and resilience Bill and bringing the Government Digital Service, including the newly formed government cyber unit, into DSIT as part of the digital centre of government.

[Lord Mackenzie of Framwellgate (Non-Afl)]

My Lords, if such an act was proven to be carried out by another state, would that amount to an act of war?

[Lord Leong (Lab)]

My Lords, as I said earlier, we have to be very careful that we do not speculate. AWS reported that this was not a cybersecurity incident but very much a technical incident to do with DNS.

[Baroness McIntosh of Hudnall (Lab)]

My Lords, the outage that occurred yesterday was obviously very serious, and let us hope that it was not a foreign actor intervening. However, the assumption that underpinned the way it was responded to was that it would be fixed, and fixed quickly. But we know that these kinds of attacks recently have not been fixed quickly and sometimes it has been necessary for organisations to use pretty basic skills, even going back to pen and paper. Can the noble Lord tell the House whether he feels that in general those very fundamental skills, which need to underpin people’s understanding of advanced technologies, are still there and can be reverted to if necessary in a crisis?

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[Lord Leong (Lab)]

I thank my noble friend for that point. The Government are obviously aware that we need to give guidance to businesses as well as to people working within government. The NCSC has published a lot of guidance and toolkits, and I encourage my noble friend to look at its website and at all the various guidance and toolkits available to individuals, schools, businesses and other stakeholders.

[Baroness Neville-Rolfe (Con)]

I think the Minister can hear that everybody is rather concerned about this development and the related developments on things such as mobile. I wonder whether it is time for a debate in this House on this and on cyber in advance of the Bill, which is most welcome.

[Lord Leong (Lab)]

I thank the noble Baroness for that. As for a debate, I leave it to Members of the House to table it accordingly. I would welcome a debate to look at this in further detail. As far as the Bill is concerned, we have been working on it for some time, as most noble Lords know. The Bill itself will ensure that the UK economy and information systems relied on by most important digital services and suppliers are better protected. As a result, businesses and public services that rely on them will also benefit. The Bill will include powers for the Secretary of State to update the security requirements that companies in scope of the regime must have in place to protect their systems from any further disruption, whether because of a cyberattack or for other reasons, even simple things such as human error, system outage or physical damage.

[Lord Harris of Haringey (Lab)]

My Lords, if it is not hostile activity, is that not possibly slightly more concerning in that we are putting our faith in these very large companies and the amount that they can invest because they are secure and less likely to fall over? The noble Lord has just talked about the cybersecurity and resilience Bill. Can he tell us when it will come forward? Will its provisions apply more generally—broader than the critical national infrastructure—to all the key suppliers, some of which will not be at the level of critical national infrastructure, and require that they invest more in their resilience and their cyber capacity?

[Lord Leong (Lab)]

I refer my noble friend to what I said in last week’s Oral Question. I hope the Bill will be published very soon, before the end of the year. At this stage I cannot go into too much detail as to what is in the Bill, but I hope to soon be able to share the Bill itself with noble Lords.

[Earl Russell (LD)]

My Lords, I noticed yesterday that the Amazon share price did not move at all as a result of this incident. Is it the Government and us as consumers who are meeting the cost of this, and is that unacceptable?

[Lord Leong (Lab)]

The noble Earl poses an interesting point. At the end of the day, businesses have to take upon themselves their responsibilities towards future cyberattacks and whether, as I said, their infrastructure and digital framework are secured from any such attacks. I am a firm believer in that. Before I came to this House, when I was running various businesses, the first thing I did was ensure that we had a comprehensive risk assessment as to whether our system might be attacked. We also ensured that our website and software source codes were lodged with an escrow account to protect them further, so that if anything happened we could get access to those source codes. I urge businesses to ensure that their systems are compliant with the latest security patches and, if possible, to get Cyber Essentials certified so that they can have confidence that their systems are protected from any such attacks.

Palestine Statehood (Recognition) Bill [HL]

Lord Leong Excerpts

2nd reading
Friday 14th March 2025 Lords Chamber

[Lord Leigh of Hurley (Con)]

My Lords, it is an honour to follow the noble Baroness, Lady Altmann. The idea of a Palestinian state did not enter into public debate for very many years after the early discussions of a Jewish state. The First World War and the pogroms led to the Balfour Declaration being made by a British Minister, which favoured a national home for the Jewish people. It sought to protect the rights of the indigenous non-Jews, as has happened, but no such offer was made to create a Palestinian state. It was, in fact, after the murder of 6 million Jews in Europe and the defeat of Nazism that an offer was made in 1948 in Resolution 181 to effectively have a two-state solution. The Israelis accepted it, but the Arabs rejected it immediately and commenced a war on the fledgling state. Since then, peace processes have come and gone and, in each case, the representative bodies of the Palestinians refused to accept the offer that was made to them.

In 2008, Ehud Olmert offered a deal whereby 95% of the land claimed would be given, including East Jerusalem. An international jurisdiction of the Old City was offered—and, again, rejected by Abbas. Finally, the Arab world became impatient with this approach and the Abraham accords inched closer to many of them recognising Israel. As we know, it was the fear of their allies recognising Israel and seeking a harmonious Middle East—which we all seek—that prompted Hamas to carry out the events of 7 October.

In my work on coexistence—I am chairman of the Jerusalem Foundation in the UK—I have been in dialogue with those living in East Jerusalem. They specifically tell me they do not want to live in a state controlled by people who would carry out such atrocities on innocent people, as has happened, or by those who have rejected viable peace offers in the past.

Frankly, it is hugely insensitive and somewhat naive to bring this Bill to our Parliament at this time, when Israel has only recently received back some of those innocent hostages, who were tortured mentally and physically. They were hung upside-down, put in cages, starved, told lies about their families and ignored by the utterly useless Red Cross. In effect, this Bill wants to reward the perpetrators. Every poll shows that Hamas would be in power if there were elections. Indeed, there were people who rejoiced with glee as they heard of babies being decapitated and killed in front of their parents. Others were burned alive and innocents were raped.

As the noble Lord, Lord Pannick, indicated, the criteria for statehood under international law are clear, and for good reason. Statehood is not simply a prize but a set of responsibilities. The Palestinian Authority falls short of many of those requirements. Most significantly, it falls short of the critical requirement of effective government, both in the West Bank, where its authority is limited and ineffective, and all the more so in the Gaza Strip, which is run, in practice, by the gun-carrying, terrorist organisation Hamas.

This Bill will not help bring democracy to a Government in their 19th year of a four-year term. It will not strengthen law enforcement in a system that continues with its heinous policy of “pay to slay”, financially rewarding terrorists for their atrocities. It will not help replace a school system riddled with indoctrination to violence with one that promotes excellence rather than martyrdom.

Finally, there is a much more basic problem with the Bill, in Clause 2(2). The Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations is given effect in UK law through the Diplomatic Privileges Act 1964 and sets out relations between diplomatic missions and receiving states. The convention states that the head of the mission is considered as having taken up his functions in the receiving state when he has presented his credentials. In the UK, uniquely, credentials are presented to the monarch and heads of the mission are accredited to the Court of St James. Do the noble Baroness, Lady Northover, and the Minister seriously advocate that the King receive, at the Court of St James, as this Bill envisages, a person from Hamas, who every person in this world would recognise as a terrorist? This is not the time to consider such a state. Frankly, I find it deeply upsetting that such a Bill can even be raised in our House.

[Lord in Waiting/Government Whip (Lord Leong) (Lab)]

My Lords, I strongly suggest that noble Lords wind up after the clock hits two minutes, because we are in danger of running into the day’s other business. I advise noble Lords to keep to the advisory time of three minutes.

UK Entrepreneurs

Lord Leong Excerpts

Wednesday 4th December 2024 Lords Chamber

[Lord Londesborough (CB)]

My Lords, in begging leave to ask the Question standing in my name on the Order Paper, I declare my interests as set out in the register.

[Lord Leong (Lab)]

My Lords, the Government continue to provide support for entrepreneurs, including through start-up loans via the British Business Bank and programmes such as growth hubs across England and the Help to Grow: Management course across the UK. The Government will also publish a small business strategy next year, which will outline our vision for boosting scale-ups and helping all types of small businesses to thrive and grow, empowering entrepreneurs to innovate, export and create jobs across their regions.

[Lord Londesborough (CB)]

I thank the Minister for his response and I am delighted to see a fellow entrepreneur on the Front Bench—unlike in the other place. Fundraising for start-ups, in the quarter to September, dropped by almost 50% to a six-year low. Both start-ups and scale-ups have been hit by the toxic trio of measures: hikes in capital gains tax, hikes in employers’ national insurance, and hikes in the minimum wage running at three times the rate of inflation. First, on behalf of entrepreneurs, I ask: when will we see meaningful measures to encourage, rather than punish, job creation and risk-taking? Secondly, whatever happened to the Chancellor’s pledge to run

“the most pro-growth Treasury in our country’s history”?

[Lord Leong (Lab)]

I thank the noble Lord for his kind words. We have something in common in that we both founded our respective publishing companies in the 1980s, in the tail-end of the recession and through very challenging economic times. The difference is that he went on to build a huge business empire, compared with mine.

There were definitely fewer funding rounds for start- ups in the last quarter. The age of FOMO—the fear of missing out—on investment, which caused a spike in the last couple of years, has to a certain extent come and gone. However, angel investment, such as EIS with tax rebates of 30% to 50%, remains robust and I am pleased that the Chancellor has now given certainty that this will stay in place until 2035.

The Government’s new modern industrial strategy—

[Noble Lords]

Oh!

[Lord Leong (Lab)]

Well, the noble Lord asked a pretty long question so I am trying to respond to him. The Government’s new modern industrial strategy— Invest 2035—for high-growth areas such as advanced manufacturing, AI, creative industries, life sciences and others, will drive our growth mission. The Government will publish a small business strategy next year, which will include further measures to encourage greater entrepreneurship and provide a strong business environment.

[Lord Clarke of Nottingham (Con)]

Does the Minister agree that the best way to attract investment to this country is for the Government to demonstrate some economic competence and fiscal discipline? Will he therefore agree that the Government should stop promising that in no circumstances will they ever raise the basic taxes of this country, which provide most of our revenue, and will stop piling on additional debt, which it is their duty to begin to get under control? If we continue to simply freeze our tax revenues and pile on more debt, very few people will find this a very attractive country to come to.

[Lord Leong (Lab)]

My Lords, most of the 95% of UK businesses, which employ something like 16 million people, will not be affected by any of the tax rises. I do not wish to remind noble Lords of the black hole we inherited, but we had to make difficult decisions to restore economic stability and fund our public services. We are doing the hard job early and fixing the foundations in one. After all the chopping, changing and chaos of the last few years, we now have a stable, pro-business, pro-worker Labour Government, offering certainty, consistency and confidence. That is what investors, businesses and entrepreneurs want.

[Lord Sahota (Lab)]

My Lords, in spite of Black Friday and the run-up to Christmas, many small high street businesses report low footfall and a concern about their continued viability. Many of those businesses will be looking forward to the Government’s business rate reform. Could the Minister outline what other steps will be taken to support Britain’s high streets and to safeguard their place at the heart of our communities?

[Lord Leong (Lab)]

My Lords, high streets are the beating heart of our communities, but for far too long, too many of them have been neglected and more and more empty lots are boarded up. We are giving local councils the tools to take back control, putting local communities first, re-energising town centres and driving local communities and opportunities. New measures were announced in the Budget to freeze the small business multiplier for most properties; to lower business rates for leisure, retail and hospitality; and to provide access to finance, committing some £250 million in 2025-26 for small business loans. Now shutters on our great British high streets will be lifted, delivering real action across the board.

--- Later in debate ---

[Lord Fox (LD)]

My Lords, when the Minister answered the noble Lord’s original Question, some of it got missed—happily, that was what I was planning to ask. Most entrepreneurs start as small or medium businesses before they become big, powerful businesses. It is very clear that the rise in NIC has hit those businesses disproportionately. As a result, there is less money for them to invest for growth and innovation. When the Treasury was considering that rise, it must have traded off future growth for short-term tax revenue. Was that the view of the Treasury at the time and why was it the view of the Treasury at the time?

[Lord Leong (Lab)]

My Lords, as much as I would love to indulge the noble Lord with an answer, I had best leave all Treasury questions to my Treasury colleagues. As I said earlier, most small businesses will not be affected by the employers’ national insurance rise. At the end of the day, we need confidence and to attract investment to this country, and to allow small businesses to have access to funds. I mentioned the tax reliefs earlier. The EIS, SEIS and VCT are tax reliefs where investors can gain 30% to 50% tax relief immediately and pay no capital gains tax. Those are the tax reliefs that businesses want; and to scale up, there is access to funding from the alternative market and from crowd- sourcing funds, such as Republic Europe and Crowdcube.

[Lord Brownlow of Shurlock Row (Con)]

My Lords, I declare an interest in having started several businesses, the first of which went on to pay £2 billion in tax. I have learned a bit about starting businesses. I would have liked to hear something from the Minister that did not include the phrases “fixing the foundations” or “the £22 billion black hole”. Given all that he has said, why has market and business confidence collapsed since 4 July?

[Lord Leong (Lab)]

My Lords, I thank the noble Lord for his question. The Government are committed to attracting investment. That was illustrated in our recent International Investment Summit, where £65 billion was pledged in this country, showing confidence in the Government. I remind noble Lords that in the past few years, FTSE 100 companies have been sitting on a gross cash pile of close to £160 billion, with pre-tax profits ranging from £500,000 to around £2 billion. Shareholders’ dividends have been rising three times faster than wages. We should pay staff well and pay suppliers on time. If more money is spent, companies will make bigger profits—it is a win-win situation.

[Baroness Neville-Rolfe (Con)]

I have listened to the Minister. Does he acknowledge that the measures announced in the Budget, such as the increase in capital gains tax, make the UK look like a less attractive place for entrepreneurship?

--- Later in debate ---

[Lord Leong (Lab)]

My Lords, I am afraid that I do not agree. Are we saying that entrepreneurs, before starting a business, will ask themselves, “Am I not going to invest and start a business because national insurance has gone up?” No, they will not. They know that this country is still the best place to start a business. This country is the start-up capital of Europe and attracts the best people to start their businesses here—and it is best place to start them now.

Product Regulation and Metrology Bill [HL]

Lord Leong Excerpts

2nd reading
Tuesday 8th October 2024 Lords Chamber

Moved by

[Lord Leong]

That the Bill be now read a second time.

[Lord Leong (Lab)]

My Lords, it is a pleasure to open this debate. Safety and effective regulation lie at the heart of this legislation. Whether you place an online order for a new toaster or your business is investing in a new piece of machinery, you should have confidence that what you are buying is safe. At least 300,000 UK businesses, with an estimated market turnover of £490 billion, are affected by existing regulations, which are a critical element of the UK’s business and consumer landscape. As we embrace the opportunities of the digital age and exciting new technological advances, it is clear that the products we buy and the way we buy them are changing. It is only right that the rules and regulations that keep people safe and enable businesses to trade effectively are updated too.

This Bill will underpin the UK’s position at the forefront of international trade and enable the recognition of EU product requirements where it is in the UK’s interests to do so. It supports consumers, businesses and economic growth. However, we have to be honest with ourselves in saying that current outdated product and metrology regulations hinder more than help these ambitions. That is why it is now essential to update our framework and future-proof it to meet the challenges ahead.

Historically, the majority of the UK’s product regulation and metrology framework was managed through EU law. From EU exit until the present, the UK Government simply did not have the powers to regulate these areas effectively or efficiently, which is why we are bringing forward legislation now, so we can respond to anticipated changes in the global regulatory landscape next year.

The Bill will preserve the UK’s status as a global leader in product regulation, supporting businesses and protecting consumers. It will ensure that the UK is better placed to address modern-day safety issues, harness economic opportunities and ensure a level playing field between the high street and online marketplaces. It will allow the UK to respond to modern challenges, such as the fire risk associated with such products as e-bikes and lithium-ion batteries. Without these powers, we will not be able effectively to contribute to the regulation of such potentially high-risk products. I take a moment to pay tribute to the family of Sofia Duarte, who have been tirelessly advocating for more legislation to better regulate e-bikes, along with the batteries and chargers associated with them, and generally raise awareness of their risks. Sofia sadly died as a result of an e-bike fire on New Year’s Day 2023. This legislation will allow us to take action to help prevent similar such tragedies.

I would also like to mention the work of the noble Lord, Lord Redesdale, in this space. He introduced a Lithium-ion Battery Safety Bill in September, which generated a highly interesting debate. I look forward to continued engagement with him on both Bills. I also acknowledge and thank the noble Lord, Lord Foster, for his tireless work on lithium-ion batteries over these years. There are already strict legal requirements in place whereby manufacturers must ensure that such products are safe before they are sold. This includes ensuring they provide instructions for safe use, including safe charging. However, this is a complex issue and our understanding is developing over time. We need to tailor any regulatory intervention in the most effective way. This Bill will allow us to ensure that the responsibilities of those involved in the supply of products, such as online marketplaces, are made clear.

Online marketplaces already have some legal responsibility, but the Bill will enable the Government to modernise and clarify the responsibilities of online supply chain actors, and any new duties will be in addition to responsibilities they may already have as distributors under the current framework. Without these powers, it will remain far too easy for unscrupulous suppliers to place unsafe products on the UK market through online marketplaces, which also sees them undercut good British businesses. The legislation will enable improvements to compliance and enforcement, reflecting the challenges of modern digital borders. It enables the Government and our regulators to tackle non-compliance and target interventions by allowing greater sharing of data between regulators and market surveillance authorities.

Finally, the Bill will allow us to update the legal metrology framework, which governs the accuracy of weights and measures for purchased goods, to give consumers and business greater confidence in what they are buying. This will allow for technological progress, including in support of net-zero aims—for example, ensuring that energy smart meters are accurate in their readings.

The Government have worked closely with businesses, representatives and consumer groups, which is why organisations as diverse as Which?, the London Fire Brigade, the Association of Manufacturers of Domestic Appliances, Electrical Safety First and the Chartered Trading Standards Institute are all supportive of this legislation.

The Government are bringing forward this legislation as there are insufficient powers to update the existing body of law, either to keep pace with technical developments or to deal with new risks and hazards. Existing legislation recognises EU law as it stood from our date of recognition. Recognising the product rules of key trading partners such as the EU—should we wish to do so—will help to support trade and consumer choice, but current legislation only allows us to recognise EU rules as they currently stand. The Bill ensures we have the ability to end recognition of EU laws where they do not work for our businesses and consumers.

I would like to give a brief overview of the contents of the Bill. While it is relatively short, it deals with some technical matters. It has14 clauses and a schedule. First, it creates new regulation-making powers to allow the Secretary of State to make regulations for prescribed purposes:

“Reducing or mitigating risks presented by products … ensuring that products operate efficiently or effectively … ensuring that products”


used for

“weighing or measuring operate accurately”,

or, when making provision that

“corresponds, or is similar, to … EU law”,

making regulations to reduce or mitigate

“the environmental impact of products”.

The Bill limits the scope of the products we seek to cover to tangible products that are manufactured or result from another method of production, with specific excluded products listed in the schedule.

However, while the Bill will not regulate AI on its own, we need powers in the Bill to cover it when it is integrated into, or as a component of, a physical product. With the expected increase in the inclusion of AI and machine learning in new products, it is likely that we will need to make amendments to regulations in the future to adapt to technological advances that could pose specific risks to consumers, particularly where AI is a component of a product’s safety.

It includes provision to continue recognising EU product requirements, where this is in the UK’s interest, or to end this recognition. The legislation confers an emergency derogation power to allow for the disapplication or modification of product regulatory requirements in certain emergency situations. This is subject to the affirmative procedure and builds on our experience of needing to bring products to market more quickly during the pandemic.

It creates new regulation-making powers to allow the Secretary of State to make regulations on the quantities in which certain goods may be made available in the UK market: for example, maintaining an average system of quantity control for the sale of packaged goods, including food and drink, and providing legal definitions of units of measurement and measurement standards. The Bill will also confer powers to allow tailored enforcement provision to be made in both product and metrology regulation, including the creation of criminal offences and new civil sanctions, including fines.

The Bill contains a power to amend, repeal or revoke provisions of specific primary legislation that deal with product safety and metrology, namely the Consumer Protection Act 1987, the Consumer Rights Act 2015, the Weights and Measures Act 1985 and the Gun Barrel Proof Acts of 1868 to 1978. This allows us to address the outdated governance requirements placed on the Birmingham Proof House. These were designed during the Napoleonic Wars, when there was a thriving Birmingham gun trade. This trade no longer exists. Again, this is subject to the affirmative parliamentary procedure.

The Bill contains powers to make provisions in future for a charging regime that will allow the relevant authority, such as local trading standards, to recover some of the costs attributable to the operation of enforcing the regulatory regime. Finally, it contains powers to allow the Secretary of State to make provisions in regulations permitting or requiring the sharing of information between relevant bodies, the emergency services and other persons who may be specified. This ensures that we have access to the right information in support of our market-surveillance activities and incident management.

Before finishing, I will touch on two key issues that I am sure will be of interest to noble Lords here today. The first relates to delegated powers. This Bill is what is sometimes called a framework Bill, as the vast majority of its provisions are delegated powers. The Government are fully cognisant of the importance of getting the right balance when it comes to delegated powers and using them as sparingly as possible. For technical policy areas, we believe that it is sensible and proportionate to give powers to Ministers to update and amend legislation, future-proofing the ability to respond quickly and flexibly to new technology and evolving innovation. We have minimised the use of the powers in the Bill as much as possible and we have worked closely with the Attorney-General—who, quite rightly, is a stickler for these kinds of things—to find the best approach. So we look forward to the report of the Delegated Powers and Regulatory Reform Committee, which we will carefully consider.

The second issue relates to devolution. In line with the Sewel convention, the UK Government are seeking the consent of each of the devolved legislatures for provisions that engage the legislative consent Motion process. Product safety is reserved, and, in the main, metrology is also reserved, but the Bill powers are UK-wide and subsequently touch on some elements of devolved competences. We are actively engaged with the devolved Governments on these provisions and will continue to work with them on any concerns they may have. We want to see that the broad support for the policy in this Bill is translated into legislative consent from the devolved Governments. I will update noble Lords as the Bill continues its passage.

I end by saying that this Bill will protect consumers and support businesses by ensuring that the UK is better placed to address modern-day safety issues. It will let us harness opportunities that deliver economic growth and will create a level playing field between the high street and online marketplaces by putting in place appropriate responsibilities throughout the supply chain. The result is that consumers can buy with confidence and businesses can trade effectively and compete fairly. Ultimately, it allows the UK to decide how best to protect consumers and support businesses on our own terms. To echo an often-used phrase, this legislation allows us to “take back control”. But, crucially, it allows us to do so in a way that supports our twin-track approach to trade: seeking a closer, more mature trading partnership with the EU and forging new trading relationships with countries around the world, too. I beg to move.

--- Later in debate ---

[Lord Leong (Lab)]

My Lords, I would first like to thank all noble Lords for their very kind remarks; they are much appreciated. I also thank noble Lords for taking part in today’s debate, and for the contributions from all sides of the House. Today’s debate has been not only informative and wide-ranging but also illustrated the depth of expertise and experience present in your Lordships’ House.

I was particularly pleased to hear the maiden speech of my noble friend Lady Winterton. She brings much experience and wisdom, having served with distinction as Deputy Speaker in the other place and as a Minister in multiple government departments between 2001 and 2010. Freed as she now is from the necessary neutrality of a formal role, we welcome her warmly to the government Benches, where I suspect that, like her former boss, Lord Prescott, she will pull no punches. I look forward to hearing from her many more times in the future.

As we have heard, product safety failures can have devastating consequences. We are determined that our regulatory framework is agile and flexible in its response both to new threats and to complex supply chains. For innovation to flourish and potential for growth to be realised, it is essential that consumers can have confidence in the safety of the products they buy and in the businesses that they buy from.

I will try my very best to address as many of the issues and questions raised today as possible within my timeframe of 20 minutes. If I do not have the time, I will get my office to go through Hansard and provide written answers to noble Lords and have a copy placed in the Library. Finally, let me assure all noble Lords that I want to work constructively and proactively in the passage of this Bill, and I will have many more conversations and share information with noble Lords through Peers drop-in sessions—my office is always open, so feel free to contact me and my private office.

The noble Lords, Lord Frost, Lord Browne and Lord Jackson, and the noble Baroness, Lady Lawlor, raised concerns that this Bill is tantamount to the UK rejoining the EU through the backdoor. Let me be extremely clear: this Bill is not rejoining the EU by the backdoor. This Bill gives us the flexibility to ensure that product regulation, now and in the future, is tailored to the needs of the UK. There will be some instances where we will want to take a similar approach to the EU, and there will be others where it makes sense for the UK to diverge. Those decisions will be based on the best interests of the UK’s businesses and consumers, and any secondary legislation will be subject to the usual parliamentary scrutiny. As I said in my opening speech, we are taking back control, seeking closer, more mature trading partnerships with the EU and forging new trading relationships with the global world out there.

The noble Lords, Lord Foster, Lord Browne of Ladyton, Lord Bourne, Lord Fox and Lord Johnson, and the noble Baroness, Lady Bennett, raised questions about devolution. The vast majority of product safety and metrology legislation is reserved, with some specific exceptions. We expect the overwhelming majority of secondary legislation brought forward under the main powers in Clauses 1 and 5 to be reserved. Given the technical nature of product regulation and metrology, it is possible—as many noble Lords have mentioned—that some elements of secondary legislation may touch on devolved aspects, such as regulating the environmental impact of certain products, as we consider safety impacts alongside.

Following meetings with my counterparts, I welcome their broad support for the policy intentions behind the Bill. However, we recognise that the devolved Governments have raised some concerns about the drafting and breadth of delegated power in the Bill. As outlined in our manifesto, this Government are committed to reset the UK Government’s relationship with the devolved Governments in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. I have had positive meetings with my counterparts in the Welsh Government and Northern Ireland Executive and will be meeting with the Scottish Government this week. My department is engaging with all devolved Governments in an open and collaborative spirit, and we hope that we will gain legislative consent Motions from the devolved legislatures. I will keep the House informed of those discussions.

On the specific case of Northern Ireland, which has been raised by several noble Lords, in order to ensure dual access to both the UK internal market and the EU single market, Northern Ireland applies certain EU product regulations and metrology rules under the Windsor Framework. The Bill provides the Minister with the ability to make a sovereign choice and effectively manage upcoming regulatory divergence between the UK and EU, and therefore to ensure continuity across the UK internal market, where it is in our domestic interest to do so. As such, we expect that the Bill will have a positive impact on trade between Northern Ireland and the rest of the UK.

The noble Lords, Lord Foster, Lord Fox and Lord Johnson, raised the importance of ensuring that the enforcement authorities have adequate resources to fulfil their function. With this Bill we intend to improve enforcement capability, leading to more efficient and effective use of time through a better suite of notices and better data-sharing opportunities. The Office for Product Safety and Standards will continue to provide a range of support to enforcement authorities. This will include support on technical queries, access to product testing and an ongoing programme of training and continuous professional development. The Office for Product Safety and Standards will also produce guidelines for the application of any new powers so that enforcement authorities are equipped to use them efficiently.

The noble Lord, Lord Lansley, and several other noble Lords raised an important issue relating to international standards. The Bill will enable us to continue to amend product regulations as well as allow the designation of international standards for products in scope. In line with WTO obligations, the UK recognises the benefits and supports the use of international standards, as well as regional standards, to break down trade barriers with our trading partners. The British Standards Institution regularly reviews UK standards, replacing domestic standards with appropriate international ones. This is also something that the UK pursues in its international agreements.

The noble Lords, Lord Sandhurst, Lord Foster, Lord Lucas, Lord Jackson and Lord Fox, and the noble Viscount, Lord Trenchard, asked whether any draft regulations under the Bill would be produced. The Government are working through policy positions on a range of issues following the election, including addressing the sale of unsafe products via online marketplaces. Additionally, we are reviewing changes the EU is proposing to its registration regulations and considering the applications. Throughout, our response will depend on the outcome of our call for evidence and policy discussions with stakeholders.

The noble Lord, Lord Sandhurst, asked about the poor way we are approaching legislation. The review he referred to was issued by the previous Government. It was clear then that to make fundamental changes to product regulation requires primary legislation because the powers were not available to us, hence bidding for this Bill to ensure that we secure the powers to act in good time to address emerging risks.

The noble Lords, Lord Foster and Lord Sandhurst, asked about online marketplaces. It was right for us to bring forward this Bill to give us the powers we need to address sales of unsafe products by online marketplaces —an area on which the product safety review consulted. Consumer groups such as Which? have also been calling for us to take action. This Bill will allow us to take action now.

The noble Lords, Lord Sandhurst, Lord Foster and Lord Johnson, asked why we have not published a response to the product review consultation. We have bid for the necessary powers to make changes to our regulations and have introduced this Bill, which will deliver enabling powers to allow us to implement a lot of the policy proposals emanating from the product safety review to which the noble Lord, Lord Sandhurst, referred. That review received 126 responses covering regulatory changes. Action on online marketplace enforcement was supported by all respondents. The powers in the Bill are available powers and we have continued conversations with a wide range of stakeholders on the detail.

[Lord Sandhurst (Con)]

I appreciate that, but we have not actually got any detail at all, or even a summary, of what the responses are. We really do require that; it is normal.

[Lord Leong (Lab)]

I thank the noble Lord, Lord Sandhurst. I will ask my officials and come back to the noble Lord on that request.

The noble Lord, Lord Foster, asked about lithium-ion batteries. I am pleased to advise that, while we have been in this debate, Minister Madders, my colleague in the other place, is in Paris at the OECD global awareness campaign, which this year focuses on lithium-ion batteries. The UK and the Office for Product Safety and Standards have been leading on this campaign. The noble Lords, Lord Redesdale and Lord Fox, raised additional points about disposal. Ministers are referring proposals to consult on reforms to UK battery regulations before setting out next steps.

The noble Lord, Lord Russell of Liverpool, asked why the UK wished to be able to continue recognising the CE marking. This Bill will allow the Government to choose to recognise updates to EU product regulation to provide continued regulatory stability and avoid extra costs for business where this is in our interests. It will also allow us to end recognition of EU requirements where it is in the interest of business and consumers. We presently recognise current EU regulations for a range of products. Legislation passed in May 2024 to continue CE recognition for 21 product regulations is estimated to save UK businesses £640 million over a 10-year period, largely from avoiding duplicate compliance and labelling costs. Provisions in the Bill allowing us to continue or end recognition of EU requirements will enable us to provide the certainty that businesses need to plan for the future and innovate, supporting economic growth. The UK and EU share information on trade, including changes to the trade and co-operation agreement.

The noble Lord, Lord Foster, and several other noble Lords asked about the disposal of lithium-ion batteries. The Government are committed to cracking down on waste as we move towards a circular economy, where we keep the resources we use for longer and reduce waste. The existing product responsibility scheme for batteries and waste electronics makes producers responsible for the cost of end-of-life treatment. Under existing UK legislation it is already mandatory for all batteries placed on the market in the UK to be clearly marked with the crossed-out wheelie bin.

The noble Baroness, Lady Crawley, asked why there have been no changes to legislation on product safety since our exit from the EU. I can reaffirm that this is real, hence bringing forward powers in this Bill to allow us to make changes before divergence happens and we fall further behind.

The noble Lord, Lord Frost, asked why we cannot use existing powers. The new Bill powers are required to enable the Government to modernise and future-proof product regulation, ensuring that it is tailored to the needs of the UK. The powers in the retained EU law Act 2023 are limited, in that they can be used only to revoke and replace assimilated law and have other inbuilt restrictions—for example, secondary legislation that is made under REUL must be deregulatory. This means that we would not be able to use the powers to increase safety requirements to respond to new and emerging threats through further amendments and legislation which was not assimilated law before.

The noble Lord, Lord Frost, also asked whether the Bill will make the UK a rule-taker or a rule-maker. We are definitely not a rule-taker. We are a rule-maker, and the Bill will provide powers to give the UK greater flexibility in setting and updating its own product-related rules, as well as enabling the UK to choose whether to recognise relevant EU products requirements. Any further changes made using these powers will be subject to appropriate parliamentary scrutiny. The noble Lord asked whether the Bill protects internal markets. The Bill will give us flexibility to ensure product regulation and metrology now and in the future. It is tailored to the needs of the UK as a whole. It will enable us to make changes to product regulation and metrology legislation that will benefit businesses and consumers.

The noble Lord, Lord Frost, also asked about the Windsor Framework. In updating its regulation, the EU will be seeking to deal with many of the same challenges that the Bill will address: for example, online marketplaces and batteries. The Bill will enable a choice to be made as to whether it is in the interests of UK businesses and consumers for UK regulations to take the same or a similar approach, or indeed a different one.

The noble Baroness, Lady Brinton, asked whether the Government will commit to a policy of alignment with EU chemical protections. This Government are committed to protecting human health and the environment from the risks posed by chemicals. We are currently considering the best approach to chemicals regulation in the UK separately to this Bill and will set out our priorities and next steps in due course. The noble Baroness also asked how the Bill will help the Government respond to emergencies.

[Lord Fox (LD)]

Am I to understand that, if there is to be separate consideration for chemicals regulation, it will not be in this Session because it was not in the King’s Speech? So all those businesses that are currently struggling with where we are now have at least a year, and probably 18 months, to wait before any sense of a Bill—never mind that Bill becoming law.

[Lord Leong (Lab)]

I am coming back to that in the later part of my winding speech.

National emergencies such as Covid-19 highlight the importance of ensuring that our product regulation framework allows for flexibility in times of national emergency. This enabling Bill will allow the Government, in response to an emergency, to temporarily disapply and modify product regulation while maintaining high safety standards, thereby providing a faster process by which critical products are able to reach the market in order to sustain an adequate supply of such products.

[Baroness Brinton (LD)]

I apologise, but that was not my question. My question was: will the Government make sure that, if emergency powers are used, both Houses of Parliament are kept informed prior to that happening?

[Lord Leong (Lab)]

I will get back to the noble Baroness in writing. I see the time flashing, so I might have to write to other noble Lords in response to their questions. Let me conclude.

I would like to thank everyone across this House for their contributions in today’s debate. I specifically thank my counterparts on the Opposition Benches, the noble Lords, Lord Johnson of Lainston and Lord Fox. This is not the first time that we have sat across from each other in such debates, albeit in different spots. I look back fondly on our debates during the passage of the CPTPP Act last year. I hope and expect that debates on this Bill will be as good-natured and as enlightening as those were.

I should like to stress my willingness to meet noble Lords to discuss further the detail of the Bill. I take the firm view that dialogue is essential to building public and parliamentary support.

To sum up, this Bill allows us to keep pace with new technologies, gives us the tools to stop dodgy suppliers placing dangerous goods on the market and allows us to make sovereign choices as to how we diverge or align with the EU and other trading partners. It gives enforcement bodies the tools they need to tackle modern problems facing the transit of goods coming across our borders, be they land, maritime or digital. Finally, it will allow us to update the legal and technological framework that underpins economy and trade. This Government will never compromise on safety. The Bill is essential to strengthening the rules and regulations needed to protect consumers, businesses and the public.

Bill read a second time and committed to a Grand Committee.