Comprehensive Economic Partnership (EUC Report)

Lord Loomba Excerpts

Thursday 26th November 2020 Grand Committee

[Lord Loomba (CB) [V]]

My Lords, I share the Government’s pleasure at signing the trade agreement between Japan and the UK, their first trade deal outside the EU. However, the agreement raises some issues, especially as there appears to have been some overselling by the Government on their achievement in signing it.

The first issue relates to an agreement with the EU on diagonal cumulation, so that goods bought from Japan and then incorporated into British goods can be sold on in the EU with the UK as the country of origin. At this point, we do not have such an agreement in place. This is no small matter, as without it—and time is tight on reaching agreement—businesses may find themselves unable to sell their product in an EU country either at all or, to be able to do so, with increased costs.

Secondly, tariff-rate quotas are problematic for UK companies. For instance, there is a mixed bag for agriculture, with products such as cheese and wheat capable of zero-rate tariffs, while products such as butter, whey and sugar have lost all access to lower tariffs.

There also appears to be some confusion over how access to zero tariff-rate quotas will operate in practice. One report suggests that zero rates will be available only once EU companies have used up their share of the quota, while a second believes that the zero rate will be available on point of delivery. One suggests that UK companies will only benefit from anything left after the EU has taken up its share, while the other says that UK companies that get in first will access it. Can the Minister explain the correct position?

Common Rules for Exports (EU Exit) Regulations 2020

Lord Loomba Excerpts

Tuesday 10th November 2020 Grand Committee

[Lord Loomba (CB) [V]]

My Lords, I will make two points about these regulations. As I have said before, a multitude of retained EU law is coming through Parliament. Some legislation may better serve its purpose if, instead of amending existing EU law with multiple statutory instruments—meaning the original instrument has to be consulted as well—we had one completely new instrument. It would make the law much less complex and possibly less confusing, especially with regard to this instrument and its implications for the Northern Ireland protocol.

Secondly, the pandemic has thrown a light on the difficulties that can be faced in accessing goods from other countries, when goods are in high demand and stocks are low, such as with PPE. Even Brexit itself and the end of the transition period may cause some shortages, especially if there is no deal. What if there were a shortage of some vital product and the UK Government put quantitative restrictions on it to ensure adequate supplies within the UK? There is no fetter on the movement of goods between Northern Ireland and Great Britain, as per Article 6 of the Northern Ireland protocol. Those goods are sent across to Northern Ireland where they are needed.

In this situation, the EU does not have any quantitative restrictions on goods, as it does not have a problem with supplies. In such a scenario, can the Minister tell us what precautions are in place to stop a company selling their goods on to the EU without having to follow the same restrictions as in the rest of the UK, and thus gaining a competitive edge over other companies within the UK?

Health Protection (Coronavirus, Restrictions) (Obligations of Hospitality Undertakings) (England) Regulations 2020

Lord Loomba Excerpts

Friday 9th October 2020 Lords Chamber

[Lord Loomba (CB) [V]]

My Lords, I will concentrate my remarks on two points. The first is the lack of scrutiny. Both regulations are further incidents of regulations being made without a draft being laid and approved by both Houses, having been implemented by reason of urgency due to the imminent threat to public health. This was understandable in the early days of the pandemic, with the urgent need for a national lockdown to curtail the spread, but as the inevitable has happened and cases have begun to rise again, we should already have in place a road map to deal with outbreaks either nationally or locally. This would allow for greater flexibility, with differing levels of threat across the country; and, importantly, it would also give both Houses the ability to scrutinise legislation in a timely and thorough manner ahead of implementation.

Secondly, a restriction or requirement imposed under the regulations must be proportionate to what is sought to be achieved by imposing it, to support an effective response to any threat, but there does not appear to be any scientific or other factor behind the rule of six to ascertain whether it is proportionate. Also, the principal regulations implementing the rule of six allow for families of more than six to be together without breaching the rules, but this does not appear to be the case when entering any designated premises. Can the Minister therefore say whether this is a proportionate response?

Retail Businesses: Financial Support

Lord Loomba Excerpts

Monday 21st September 2020 Lords Chamber

[Lord Callanan (Con)]

Insurance cover is a matter of commercial contracts between providers and the insured; it would not be right for us to interfere in a contract that was lawfully made. My noble friend will understand that I am unable to comment on the possibility of any curfews at the moment.

[Lord Loomba (CB) [V]]

My Lords, as the pandemic continues to progress and more restrictive measures to counteract it are being considered, what assessment have the Government made of the long-term viability of financial support to help businesses survive for longer periods?

[Lord Callanan (Con)]

The noble Lord will be aware that, by 16 August, the Future Fund to help businesses had supported 590 investments with a total of £588 million.