Building Safety Update
Viscount Younger of Leckie Excerpts(6 years, 7 months ago)
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Viscount Younger of Leckie (Con)
Order, my Lords. There is time for a number of noble Lords to get in, but on this side we need to decide which noble Lord would like to speak first.
Lord Naseby
My Lords, I declare an interest as the founder of the all-party parliamentary group on building and other housing groups. First, are Her Majesty’s Government going to issue a directive to every manufacturer of fire doors that they lodge within seven days certificates for those doors that they come up to standard? Secondly, are these particular fire doors to be withdrawn from sale across the whole of the UK? Thirdly, will the Minister confirm that the procedures for testing fire doors across Scotland, Northern Ireland, Wales and England are identical? If they are not, what action is being taken to consult with the other parts of the UK to ensure that we have an identical standard across this nation?
Energy Bill [HL]
Viscount Younger of Leckie Excerpts(8 years, 7 months ago)
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Baroness Featherstone
I am happy to answer the noble Lord’s question. The Liberal Democrats keep an open mind on all technologies which can advance our climate change agenda. However, in Peterhead, for example, projects were well advanced and should have been continued.
Viscount Younger of Leckie (Con)
My Lords, I am sorry to interrupt, but at this stage of the Bill noble Lords are not allowed to speak more than once.
The Lord Bishop of Chester
My Lords, speaking briefly from these Benches but entirely personally, because bishops take different views on this, I welcome the realism that lies behind the Commons amendment. Following on from the contribution of the noble Lord, Lord Howell, it may well be that nature’s way of carbon capture and storage is some sort of vegetation. That may be the solution, but it is hardly a function for the Oil and Gas Authority to supervise. The great cost of extracting carbon dioxide—which can be done perfectly easily, technically—and then transporting it under the North Sea would increase energy prices in this country to an extent that would make the recent threat to our steel industry look like simply the foothills. It would have a major impact in raising energy costs. So the Commons amendment limiting the function of the Oil and Gas Authority is realistic and entirely supportable.
Lord Teverson
My Lords, I thank the Minister for giving way and I do not wish to take up the time of the House, but I interrupt because it is not reasonable—
Viscount Younger of Leckie
I am sorry to interrupt the noble Lord but he may need to be reminded that, at this stage of the Bill, only one speech is permitted.
Lord Teverson
I am sorry, but I do not think it is right procedurally for the Minister to say that he has had a private conversation with another Member of the House or that that is a sufficient answer when the rest of the House is not privy to that conversation. That is not reasonable.
Energy Bill [HL]
Viscount Younger of Leckie Excerpts(9 years ago)
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Baroness Young of Old Scone
The noble Lord is probably going to move on to it being conducive to falling arches and making children more delinquent. We are talking about correcting an administrative lash-up. Yesterday, I looked briefly at the words that the Government put forth on the consultation on the renewables obligation cessation and the transfer to contracts for difference. That was aimed at making a smooth, seam-free transition between the two subsidy schemes. What we are talking about here is the fact that the transition that came as a result of earlier closure is far from seam-free and smooth; that is all that we are talking about.
On the other hand, I cannot, while on my feet, not challenge the noble Lord on his assertions that any of the environmental or carbon reduction measures are the primary cause of a lack of competitiveness in some of our energy-intensive industries. Our energy-intensive industries have been helped, quite rightly, with the burden that has been placed on them by carbon reduction measures. However, if one looks at the range of factors that makes us competitive in the world compared with other countries, particularly the emerging economies, one will see that labour costs by far and away outweigh any impact that carbon reduction could have.
Viscount Younger of Leckie (Con)
My Lords, I am ready to reply to the noble Baroness’s speech, but I believe that that was an intervention on another speech.
Viscount Ridley
I had actually pretty well come to the end of my remarks anyway—but on the subject of energy-intensive users, we have good evidence from all sorts of people, including what we heard on the news last night from the head of Tata UK. He said that energy was a huge contributor to its decision. The cost of energy in this country is crucial. As I said before, if this is really just about a minor adjustment to the timing of the introduction of the measure, why are we arguing about the whole industry?
Scotland Bill
Viscount Younger of Leckie Excerpts(12 years, 8 months ago)
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Lord Forsyth of Drumlean
I guess it does, and that is another absurdity but this is what happens when, for political reasons, politicians start mucking around with the powers that relate to Parliaments. The end result is confusion where there should be clarity, and clarity is very important in this area. If there is a case for reducing the speed limit—I think that there is a case for doing so in built-up areas and for increasing it on motorways—it should be done in the United Kingdom as a whole. In all the time that I served as a Scottish Member of Parliament in the other place, nobody ever came to me and argued the case for having a different speed limit in Scotland. People would argue about the regulations that related to where 30 mph speed limits would be but there was no suggestion that there should be differences.
Because I am very constructive when it comes to the Scotland Bill, as my noble and learned friend knows, I am very happy to accept that a decision has been taken on this. However, if you are going to make changes to the law and to the ability to change the law in respect of speeding, drink-driving and so on, the penalties should match the crime, and we are not providing for the Scottish Parliament to be able to produce the whole package. In short, this is a bit of a muddle. I look forward to my noble and learned friend’s answer and to hearing a commitment that he will sort out the muddle in the way that this House is very good at doing.
Viscount Younger of Leckie
My Lords, my name is added to Amendments 47 and 50. However, I should like to focus my thoughts in general on all the amendments in this group, which specifically, following my noble friend the Duke of Montrose, covers the devolvement of drink-driving test thresholds to Scottish Ministers and the decision on speed limits north of the border.
Within the Bill I am broadly supportive of passing decision-making to Scottish Ministers on major issues such as raising taxes. However—and this is where I agree with my noble friend Lord Forsyth of Drumlean —my initial reaction to the proposals for potentially different speed limits and alternative breath-test thresholds on either side of the Scottish border was that they were petty, insignificant and unnecessary. Above all, I felt that any such change north of the border must surely be change for change’s sake, with the Scots just wishing to be different and having an implicit mistrust of the English authorities to set correct limits for both.
I regard us as being one nation for these purposes. In case we had not noticed, there is a seamless border between Scotland and England, so any change would necessarily mean increased bureaucracy, together with, as has already been mentioned, changes in the Highway Code, and, in particular, signpost changes everywhere along the border from Gretna to Coldstream and beyond, leading to increased costs. Above all, it would be confusing for the motorist. It has already been pointed out that if, for example, someone driving north is stopped south of Carlisle and breathalysed, and is then let off because of the limit in England, and he then unfortunately gets caught again when he is stopped at Beattock Summit, he could be over the limit there—assuming there is a lower breath test limit north of the border. The moral of the story, of course, is that one should not drink and drive; but the fact of the matter is that we should keep it simple for motorists and it is a very confusing issue.
However, that was my initial reaction and I have come round to thinking more positively about the potential differences north and south of the border. In so doing, I decided to look at the Irish experience—that is, the differences in road laws north and south of the border. Again, it is a seamless border. There are, first of all, broadly similar speed limits, the major difference being that there are kilometres in the south and miles in the north. The implications for that are that drivers have actually got used to the changes and highway codes have been changed without too much bother. The main thing is that rental companies have had to be aware of the changes and have had to, over time, issue new guidelines. Some of their cars have dual kilometres/miles per hour on their speedometers.
When it comes to the breathalyser tests, there are differences between the Republic and Northern Ireland. At present, Northern Ireland is the same as the rest of the UK, which has a limit of 80 milligrams per 100 millilitres of blood: beyond that, you get caught. In October 2011, the Republic’s threshold was lowered to 50 milligrams per 100 millilitres of blood. In Northern Ireland, there is now talk of changing to the Republic’s levels. It is no bad thing, therefore, if Scotland also goes down this route, given devolved powers.
Why is this? It is because in Scotland, the road casualty rates, some of which inevitably result from drink-driving, are 34 per cent higher per head of population—both for fatalities and for serious injuries. We should bear this in mind. The Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents fully supports a reduction in breath test limits. It says this is a chance for greater financial benefits for the nation as well as benefits in health and well-being.
Lord Forsyth of Drumlean
I am most grateful to my noble friend, but is he not making an argument for the whole of the United Kingdom? Is not the difference in statistics between Scotland and England, which he has highlighted, an argument about enforcement rather than the level of the limit?
Viscount Younger of Leckie
I take my noble friend’s point, which is a good one that should be discussed. It brings up the point about discussions going on north and south of the border concerning that issue. One point to make is that a recent survey highlighted the fact that 79 per cent of Scots were in favour of lowering the limit.
Finally, as has been mentioned, if Scottish Ministers did decide to change either speed limits or breath test levels north of the border, there need to be certain safeguards in place. For example, if an English driver commits a serious offence in Scotland, it is imperative that a disqualification remains in place when he returns home. There is form on this. In 1998, for example, there was an agreement of co-operation between the Republic of Ireland and 13 member states of the European Union over disqualification. I understand that there is also an agreement between Northern Ireland and Great Britain over such recognition. I think, on balance, that devolution of powers to Scottish Ministers on road safety matters is positive only if—as seems possible—there are safer roads.
Lady Saltoun of Abernethy
My Lords, I just want to raise one little matter about the drafting of Amendments 48 and 49 tabled by the noble Lord, Lord Forsyth. Surely it would be better if the provisions to set penalties for drink-driving and for random breath-testing were put in Clause 24, which concerns drink-driving, rather than in Clause 25, which concerns speeding.
Scotland Bill
Viscount Younger of Leckie Excerpts(13 years, 2 months ago)
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Viscount Younger of Leckie
My Lords, my lowly position in the batting order is mitigated by the pleasure I have in following the first lady Secretary of State for Scotland and indeed the questions she has raised.
I give my broad support to this Bill, with some key reservations, as I believe it presents a firm platform from which devolution for the Scottish people can be extended and enhanced but with some practical limitations. Its strength derives from two main sources. First, the detailed and well researched Calman report, with recommendations that underpin this Bill, has been approved and broadly acknowledged across the professional and academic diaspora in Scotland, in addition to the three main UK political parties. Secondly, the report and the Bill are clear cut as much for their recommendations for exclusion and for further devolution as for inclusion, following the debate in another place.
Further devolvement is both an expression of faith in, and hope for, the Scottish people in extending self-determination. However it remains an experiment because, as my noble and learned friend has said, the new powers represent the largest transfer of financial responsibility to Scotland since the union, but as yet there is no clear financial plan. With a reduction of part of the block grant as a quid pro quo for increased tax-raising powers to cover 35 per cent of the spending budget, there will have to be either a reduction in public services in Scotland, the major sector, or increased taxes, bearing in mind there are already free prescriptions, free elderly care and no tuition fees north of the border. However the experiment has some monitoring in place. The introduction of regular OBR forecasting for the first time in Scotland means there will be some transparency in observing progress on how receipts from revenues from all taxes match expenditure, or indeed not, and the reasons for this.
Transitional arrangements have considerable merit. The new borrowing powers proposed from 2015 for the Scottish Government at £2.7 billion are in excess of Calman’s recommendations of £400 million more than the Scottish Government’s total capital budget for the current spending review period. The decision to delay until 2015 the point at which the new tax powers can be exercised is pragmatic as the UK continues to tackle its enormous deficit—a protection required to manage tax volatility, but a hedge against a potential Scottish reduction in income tax, without the credible quid pro quo of corresponding public spending cuts or other tax rises. Other measures of interim support are welcomed and exceed the Calman proposals, such as the provision for payments into the Scottish cash reserve, the offer of cash pre-payments from this year to progress work on the new Forth crossing and the facility to borrow money by issuing bonds without the need for primary legislation.
The items that were included in the Calman report but rejected as unworkable have caused considerable debate in the other place. As the noble Baroness, Lady Ramsay of Cartvale, has mentioned, it has to be recognised that the devolvement of corporation tax-raising powers would likely create instability for Scotland. Assuming the Scottish Government lowered taxes, there is no convincing evidence to support the case that there would be a corresponding financial growth in businesses, particularly as those benefiting would be the banks and other major corporations and not the myriad small businesses, many of which pay no corporation tax. A reduction would cause a draw of businesses to north of the border, but over time this would likely be counteracted by market forces and a reduction of the English rate with a spiral downwards of the UK corporation tax rate as a whole. Sharp practices, including arbitrage and tax avoidance, would be encouraged to the detriment of the Exchequer. A further knock-on effect could be a rise in income tax in Scotland to counteract a decrease in corporation tax to balance the books, which would harm small businesses—surely from where one might expect economic growth to emerge.
On the question of excise duty, which has hardly been covered this evening, I agree with those who state that the issues surrounding the purchase and consumption of alcohol are complex and cannot be simplified to the basic principle whereby a rise in duty leads to reduced consumption.
On the assumption that a Scottish Government, given powers, would raise excise duty post-2015, as has proved the case with the land border between the Irish Republic and Northern Ireland, Scottish citizens would surely flock south of their border to purchase alcohol and other goods at the same time for convenience, thereby hurting Scottish outlets. It is widely recognised that complex social problems lie at the core of excessive drinking, not the unit price.
The Calman commission and the Bill have excluded from their deliberations the matter of the UK block grant, not revisited since the Callaghan years. However, we are at risk of creating in England a sourness—a word coined by the honourable Member for Birkenhead in the other place in relation to the Barnett formula—if we do not tackle now the unfairness of the Scots receiving 19 per cent more public money per head than the English. First, the block grant is inextricably linked to the Scottish fiscal and financial budget in aggregate and by department, and therefore a plan for reform should be included in this Bill. We should commence the lengthy process of analysis, research and renegotiation now and not delay to 2015 simply because of deficit distractions. I am convinced that Barnett 2 must be needs-based and take account of complex regional differences in addition to national variations. Although a costly process, the benefits will be seen in the longer term, not least to restore fairness and trust in the grant allocation process.
The Calman commission report was balanced, professional and non-political. However, there are important underlying political ramifications resulting from the contents of this Bill. This Bill is not a step towards full independence. The Scottish nationalists are unwise to push for further demands as reflected in their six main amendments moved in another place, not least because these demonstrate a degree of financial recklessness over prudence.
The Bill is a giant leap of faith, but the experiment does, crucially, still preserve the union. It is now critical that we advance and consolidate the arguments in favour of a continued union and, as my noble friend Lord Forsyth and the noble Lord, Lord McConnell, have highlighted this evening, be fully prepared legally and logistically should a referendum be called.
Those who through blind emotion seek full independence for Scotland should not forget the experience of Czechoslovakia, which has been raised this evening, which fought long and hard to gain independence from its Austrian rulers in 1918, only to find that there were too many differing nationalistic and ethnic factions, post-independence, for it to have a chance of working. It was rapidly an abject failure.
As the noble Lord, Lord Maxton, has pointed out already this evening, ultimately perhaps James VI of Scotland, later James I of England, a well-educated king, is to blame for raising Scottish hopes so high for self-determination and then abruptly abandoning the Scottish cause, with his court, when he succeeded to the English throne in 1603. This enduring Scottish national insecurity remains potentially financially dangerous for a country whose sum populace totals barely 8 per cent of the UK total, and indeed for Great Britain.