Brexit: Women in the Workplace

Lord Spicer Excerpts

Tuesday 16th January 2018 Lords Chamber

[Lord Henley]

My Lords, obviously we will take note of what the EU does, but one of the important things about Brexit is that we can make our decisions about this. We do not have to be part of the EU to have high standards in the workplace. We already go way beyond the EU minimum standards in a number of important areas, such as annual leave, maternity leave and flexible working. But it is for the United Kingdom Parliament to consider these matters, not the EU.

[Lord Spicer (Con)]

Has my noble friend read the recent report by the eminent economist Patrick Minford, who says that a no-deal Brexit will cost the EU £500 billion and will benefit the UK by £640 billion? Does that not say it all—for women as well as for the rest of us?

[Lord Henley]

My Lords, I am aware of Professor Minford’s report and I have taken note of it. But the important point in relation to this Question is what the United Kingdom Parliament can do, and the important point to remember is that these will be matters for the United Kingdom Parliament and Government to decide.

International Investment

Lord Spicer Excerpts

Tuesday 17th October 2017 Lords Chamber

[Lord Prior of Brampton]

My noble friend makes two important points. On Boeing, I cannot swear to it, but I think the Prime Minister has spoken to Boeing directly about this issue. Certainly, my right honourable friend Greg Clark, in the other place, is also in touch with Boeing. Boeing has two big investments in this country, which relate to helicopters and to a new facility it has opened in Sheffield, so it is an important part of our economy. I assure my noble friend that we are having conversations of the kind that he describes with Boeing. I understand my noble friend’s point that this consultation might lead to some companies pre-empting this and coming forward to buy a British company now rather than later. We have considerable soft power in these areas, so we can use quite a lot of influence behind the scenes to prevent that happening. But we certainly need to bear that consideration in mind.

[Lord Spicer (Con)]

My Lords, if this is genuinely about defence, that is one thing, but if it is going to be part of some sort of more protectionist policy, that will not sit well with Brexit. I am not sure what the word “holistic” means in this context but I am suspicious of it. Actually, we should particularly encourage large-scale projects that people get worried about because, once you are into a large-scale project, you cannot get out of it.

[Lord Prior of Brampton]

My Lords, my noble friend is absolutely right that foreign direct investment into this country is essential. For example, Hinkley Point power station is funded largely by the French and the Chinese. We are absolutely open to investment from all over the world, so there is no intention at all of discouraging foreign direct investment coming into this country—on the contrary. I think that we are the third biggest end point for foreign direct investment after the Chinese and the Americans, and there is no intention of harming that. As far as the word “holistic” is concerned, I think that the noble Lord meant “joined-up government”; it was not in any way directed at some conspiracy to prevent investment coming into this country.

Energy: Storage

Lord Spicer Excerpts

Wednesday 1st February 2017 Lords Chamber

[Lord Prior of Brampton]

In paragraph 32 on page 34 of the call for evidence there is a suggested definition of storage. That is very much part of the consultation, and we will have a very firm view on that definition. Clearly removing the double charging where people who are operating storage also have to pay the end consumption levies is something for which we will have clear plans when we publish our response to the call for evidence.

[Lord Spicer (Con)]

My Lords, with the exception of pump storage, is it not the case that genuinely commercial storage systems for electricity do not exist, even to compensate for unreliable renewable energy?

[Lord Prior of Brampton]

My Lords, as my noble friend will know, there are developments in new battery technology, such as lithium ion, which is a new technology that holds out huge hopes not just for powering electric vehicles but for storing energy, which could then be fed into the grid. The regulatory system is running behind the new technology, if you like, which is why we have issued the call for evidence.