West Papua
Debate between Lord Watts and Baroness Chapman of Darlington(1 week, 6 days ago)
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Lord Watts (Lab)
My Lords, the Minister is right to be realistic. Is there any evidence whatever that taking action against one country on trade would make any difference? Quite frankly, if we go down that road then there will be hardly any nations we can trade with.
Baroness Chapman of Darlington (Lab)
Every circumstance is different. All the situations where we have concerns are unique. Sometimes it is not possible to raise concerns through dialogue. Sometimes the nature of the relationship is such that that is completely unproductive; we can all think of examples where that is the case. In the case of Indonesia, we have a good relationship with the Government there. We seek to use that relationship to raise these concerns. I think that is the right approach.
Somaliland
Debate between Lord Watts and Baroness Chapman of Darlington(1 month, 2 weeks ago)
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Baroness Chapman of Darlington (Lab)
We are desperately worried about what is happening in South Sudan. Minister Anneliese Dodds has visited there very recently. We will be keeping this at the front of our minds. As I said earlier in the week when these matters were discussed, my noble friend Lord Collins has been in Ethiopia in the last few days, and the noble Lord is right to urge caution and wisdom at all times in this.
Lord Watts (Lab)
My Lords, can I also urge caution on this matter? It has wider implications for places like Ukraine. Any decision made here must take into account the wider implications that will remain if a change is made.
Baroness Chapman of Darlington (Lab)
The noble Lord has summarised what I have tried to say very well, and I thank him for that.
Oral Answers to Questions
Debate between Lord Watts and Baroness Chapman of Darlington
Mr Dave Watts (St Helens North) (Lab)
5. When he expects to announce the allocation of the transitional council tax grant to local authorities.
Jenny Chapman (Darlington) (Lab)
11. When he expects to announce the allocation of the transitional council tax grant to local authorities.