Trade Negotiations

Lord Lilley Excerpts

Tuesday 13th May 2025 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Lawlor (Con)]

My Lords—

[Lord Lilley (Con)]

My Lords—

--- Later in debate ---

[Baroness Gustafsson (Lab)]

In terms of the process and the timing of the impact statement, negotiations have concluded so we are in the final stages to get the treaty signed; it will happen as quickly as possible— I hope in the coming months. There will be a process for CRaG, and it will be discussed at parliamentary level. A full impact statement will be released, as well as the full trade agreement, on signature, so that should be available shortly. The human rights aspect is subject to an ongoing conversation and will be dealt with separately.

[Lord Lilley (Con)]

I strongly support the free trade elements in this deal, and not just because it is a Brexit benefit, which I am sure the Minister welcomes. Given that the Indians strongly wanted to link immigration to this free trade deal, can she give us an assurance regarding the strange loophole in the intercompany transfer arrangements? Although not incentivised by the tax issues to which she referred, has there been a guarantee that it will continue? Has there been any change in the situation since the last published figures, which showed that two-thirds of all the inter- company transfers coming into the country came from the contractor route? That means that people are migrants, employed by a contractor and then supplied to British firms, and 97% of those come from India. The loophole seems to be geared to the needs of the Indian desire to export some of their people. Can the Minister confirm that no assurance has been given that this loophole will not be closed? The last available figures show 26,000 people coming from India in a single year.

[Baroness Gustafsson (Lab)]

I shall repeat some of the statements that I made earlier. We are not giving away more visas or creating new routes as part of the deal. Existing mobility routes have been expanded to cover additional sectors, so a broader number of sectors will now be considered for that mobility visa, but that does not necessarily change the quota. It is the same number of people accessing those facilities. The facilities have not changed; it is just that we will consider a broader range of sectors when considering those visa applications. To qualify for the routes, professionals must demonstrate that they meet strict criteria for professional experience and qualifications, consistent with the current process.

[Baroness Gustafsson (Lab)]

I try to be as honest and straightforward as I possibly can. I refer to the numbers that we talked about when we talked about modelling the numbers. There are a lot of what ifs and hows, but the reality is that we have to deal with the state of the world as it is today. That presents threats in some corners but opportunities in others. What was in front of us was the opportunity to build and expand our relationship with India in a way that supports both our nations, and that is an opportunity that we grabbed with both hands and made the most of.

[Lord Lilley (Con)]

I am grateful for the frank and open reply that the Minister gave to my question, which I actually found rather worrying. I had not realised that there were existing restrictions on the intracompany transfer route to particular sectors, and that that was going to be liberalised and widened to additional sectors. Could she possibly write to me, and put a copy of the letter in the Library, about what the extent was before, how wide it will be in future and some estimate of the extra migration into this country that is going to come? Was any account taken of that in the Statement on migration from the Home Secretary the other day?