Non-Consensual Sexually Explicit Images and Videos (Offences) Bill [HL]

Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay Excerpts

2nd reading
Friday 13th December 2024 Lords Chamber

[Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay (Con)]

My Lords, my noble friend Lady Owen of Alderley Edge deserves the gratitude of the whole House, and of women and girls everywhere, for bringing this well considered and important Bill before your Lordships for our consideration. The large number of noble Lords here on a Friday afternoon, from all corners of the House, is testament to the support that it has and to the work that my noble friend has done behind the scenes in drawing this growing problem to your Lordships’ attention. It also draws attention to the importance of a multigenerational House, where we are able to draw on the experience of wisdom and the insights of those who are in touch with new and disturbing trends in our society.

The noble Lord, Lord Knight of Weymouth, is right to pay tribute to my noble friend’s bravery. As the noble Baroness, Lady Foster of Aghadrumsee, said, it is often women in the public eye who find themselves victimised by this terrible crime. That is putting women off from going into politics or other areas of public life. The Italian Prime Minister, Signora Meloni, is one high-profile example. As the noble Baroness also said, unlike women in the public eye, this affects many women and girls who suffer this day in, day out—sadly, it is a growing number.

I see this as unfinished business. As noble Lords will recall, I was the Minister who had the pleasure of taking the Online Safety Bill through your Lordships’ House. We looked at this and at the work done by the Law Commission in this area. In April this year the previous Government, of whom I was proud to be part, announced that they would amend the Criminal Justice Bill to prohibit the creation of deepfake intimate images. Sadly, the following month, Parliament was dissolved and the election intervened. During that election, however, all parties agreed that this is something that has to be done. This measure was in the Labour Party’s manifesto, so there is cross-party support as well as support from across the House today about the need to do this, recognising the urgency of closing this gap in the law.

As well as continuing the debate that we began in the previous Parliament, my noble friend’s Bill considers other important elements of this troubling behaviour, such as the need to enforce the deletion of such images. What other offences allow perpetrators of the offence to keep the contraband material that lies at its heart? I congratulate her on the thought that has gone into the Bill.

I hope that, when he rises, the Minister will announce that the Government will support my noble friend’s Bill. On 28 October, the noble Baroness, Lady Jones of Whitchurch—his noble friend—told the Grand Committee debating Online Safety Act regulations that this is a priority for the Government and that the Government were looking,

“to identify the most appropriate legislative vehicle for ensuring that those who create these images without consent face the appropriate punishment”.—[Official Report, 28/10/24; col. GC 166.]

Well, here is the vehicle—and if this is not the right one, I hope that the Minister will answer the question posed by the noble Lord, Lord Browne of Ladyton, about why it is not and address the point made by the noble Lord, Lord Knight, in reminding us that the Data (Use and Access) Bill is also before your Lordships’ House and gives the Government the opportunity to come forward with their own proposals.

During our debate on the Online Safety Bill, we had to advise those in the Public Gallery that some of the topics we were about to discuss might not be suitable for young ears, as we were joined that day by a group of schoolchildren. I am very glad that today we have been joined by victims and survivors of this terrible abuse—they are a reminder of the urgency of acting here. As my noble friend says, it would be unconscionable to wait any longer and I do hope the Minister will look favourably on her Bill.

Public Libraries

Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay Excerpts

Thursday 12th September 2024 Grand Committee

[Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay (Con)]

My Lords, I am very glad that we are having this debate. When I was a Minister, I was asked about all things DCMS but never about libraries. I am glad that we are able to put that right today with this, the first Question for Short Debate of this Parliament; the show of strength that we have had today is an illustration of how timely and needed it is.

Of course, this debate follows the “Today” programme, which talked about libraries every day of last week; this included the author Lee Child speaking powerfully about the importance of libraries in his native city of Birmingham, which are, sadly, under threat. This year, we mark the 60th anniversary of the 1964 Act—a legislative legacy of the short-lived Alec Douglas-Home Government—which provides the statutory responsibility in government.

I am grateful to my noble friend Lady Sanderson both for opening our debate today and for her review, with its excellent recommendations. I commissioned her to do it because I wanted us to be ambitious about libraries, particularly in the changed circumstances in which we find ourselves in terms of people’s patterns of living and working after the pandemic. My noble friend made eight excellent recommendations, some of which have already been taken forward, but the election intervened before the rest could be accomplished. So I echo her call on the Minister to make sure that they are taken forward and that a library strategy is published; I also underline the non-partisan nature of my noble friend’s work, which was informed by the views of the sector and cross-party people in local government through the LGA.

As my noble friend said, data is hugely important. Will the Minister commit to a data hub, as my noble friend asked? Data is especially important for widening access. In its excellent summer reading challenge, the Reading Agency has pointed the way forward for local authorities such as the London Borough of Newham, which has not been thwarted by GDPR from providing automatic enrolment and a library card for every schoolchild—it is the gateway to so many other things in life. Will the Minister speak to the Department for Education and local government to make sure that GDPR does not get in the way of making sure that other children have this opportunity?

Finally, I was proud to be the first official Libraries Minister—a recommendation from my noble friend Lady Sanderson. I hope not to be the last. It is not just a bauble; it is an important hook so that you can have meetings with Ministers across government, as well as with organisations such as the Social Mobility Commission, to make sure that all of government is delivering for libraries. I was pleased to see Sir Chris Bryant, the new Minister, say in the foreword to the annual report from the department how proud he is to be the Minister responsible for this. He is a published author, as others have said. However, as Richard Ovenden, the Bodley’s Librarian, said on the “Today” programme last week, the Minister has many other ministerial responsibilities—more than we can list in this limited debate. So will the Government reinstate the post of Libraries Minister in a ministerial title? Will they also take forward and build on the work of the libraries improvement fund, which provided more than £20 million to more than 95 projects in the previous Parliament, helping libraries across the land to adapt, to be innovative and to deliver for local people?

I am very glad that we are having this debate.