Councillors: Publication of Addresses
Debate between Lord Reid of Cardowan and Baroness Scott of Bybrook(7 months, 2 weeks ago)
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Baroness Scott of Bybrook (Con)
As far as families are concerned, my noble friend is absolutely right. That is why they are mentioned under the “sensitive interests” provision and protected in the same way as councillors. As far as the House of Lords and Peers are concerned, I will take that back to the relevant House officials.
Lord Reid of Cardowan (Lab)
My Lords, the Minister was kind enough to say that this was such an important issue that “Anything … we can do … we will do”. May I make a simple suggestion? At present, the protection afforded under law requires councillors to opt in. They have actively to seek out the right not to have their addresses shown. Could the Government make it an opt-out system by creating an obligation under statute that councillors’ home addresses will not be published unless they specifically request that this be done?
Baroness Scott of Bybrook (Con)
This is exactly what the Government have said they will look to do as soon as they get legislative time. At the moment, it is better that we have an opt-in, or is it an opt-out? I cannot remember which way it is; noble Lords will know what I mean. It is important to have this while we are waiting for that further legislation.
Voter Authority Certificates
Debate between Lord Reid of Cardowan and Baroness Scott of Bybrook(1 year, 7 months ago)
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Baroness Scott of Bybrook (Con)
Yes, I am happy to repeat that: those who return with voter ID will be recorded.
Lord Reid of Cardowan (Lab)
That scheme was unilaterally abolished by the Liberal Party when they were in the coalition. They are the very same people who are now crying out for some decent method of identification. It is the only way to make sure that there is no impersonation in voting.
Baroness Scott of Bybrook (Con)
My Lords, I do understand what happened in Northern Ireland in 2003. Let us get it right. Personation in polling stations is very difficult to identify and prove. By definition, it is a crime of deception. If you listen to the people of Northern Ireland, you will hear that they are more satisfied with their voting system than people in this country. We should allow our residents to be as satisfied with ours. If you look at what comes from polling, you will see that two out of three people in this country would feel more confident in the voting system if there were photo ID.
Government Business: Messaging Services
Debate between Lord Reid of Cardowan and Baroness Scott of Bybrook
Lord Reid of Cardowan (Lab)
My Lords, will the Minister have another go at answering the question of my noble friend Lord Rooker? Can I make easy for her? Is it in breach of the Ministerial Code for a Minister to communicate on a private device with a business or other party outside of government on something that may pertain to government business?
Baroness Scott of Bybrook (Con)
No, it is not, my Lords, but they are required then to take that back to their officials and make sure that it is officially noted.
Inflation: Families
Debate between Lord Reid of Cardowan and Baroness Scott of Bybrook
Baroness Scott of Bybrook (Con)
I am sorry; I did not quite understand the question. We have no plans to change the two-child policy. I will look in Hansard and, if that is the wrong answer, I will make sure the noble and right reverend Lord gets a written answer.
Lord Reid of Cardowan (Lab)
The Minister has told us now six times that she is monitoring the situation. That is precisely the problem. What is needed is action, not watching or observing. I well recall a Scotland-England game many years ago where the Scotland goalkeeper, Frank Haffey, monitored the ball going into his net nine times. The point is that he was supposed to stop the ball going into the net. Can the Minister get the Government to do something other than Frank Haffey-ing?
Baroness Scott of Bybrook (Con)
My Lords, not long ago, on 3 February, the Government did indeed do something about the cost of living when they announced significant financial support of up to £350 per household to help with energy costs, as well as the energy bills rebate and £144 million of discretionary funding to local authorities. That is action, not just monitoring; but the monitoring is important.
Covid-19: Community Resilience Development Framework
Debate between Lord Reid of Cardowan and Baroness Scott of Bybrook
Baroness Scott of Bybrook (Con)
The Government have no plans for a windfall tax, but I can say that we have pledged £750,000 to help those in the voluntary, community and social enterprise sectors so that they could continue their work to support the country during the coronavirus outbreak.
Lord Reid of Cardowan (Lab)
My Lords, as the Minister has said, the relationship between the centre, local government and communities before, during and after a crisis event is absolutely essential. This has been reinforced during the Covid problem. Does she agree that true resilience means learning from crises and moving forward far more than the engineering definition of resilience, which comes back to the status quo ante? How will she implement learning the lessons of the Covid crisis as regards moving forward?
Baroness Scott of Bybrook (Con)
In June this year, the Prime Minister asked Danny Kruger MP to set out proposals to sustain exactly this: the community spirit and high levels of voluntary action undertaken during the Covid crisis. The report was published in September as Levelling Up Our Communities: Proposals for a New Social Covenant. The Government are looking at the recommendations made in that report.