Prime Minister: Meetings with First Ministers of the Devolved Governments
Debate between Viscount Younger of Leckie and Lord Anderson of Swansea
Viscount Younger of Leckie (Con)
This perhaps reflects the tone of the question from my noble friend Lord Forsyth. I have no idea whether ferries have been discussed, but again, this is just the sort of matter that could be discussed, given the greater co-operation that will take place as a result of the discussions over the last two to three years with the devolved nations. I will certainly take back the point made by the noble Lord.
Lord Anderson of Swansea (Lab)
My Lords, co-operation is good, as are accountability and dispute resolution. But devolution began as a process. Do the Government agree with that, and do they have any proposals to put before the Ministers of the devolved Administrations about further elements of devolution?
Viscount Younger of Leckie (Con)
The noble Lord is right to say that this has been an evolving process. There are no plans to take it further. Obviously, the whole process of devolution and the matters arising from it, and the links and co-operation between the four devolved nations, will continue to be discussed. The idea with the IGR is that all four will be treated equally, there will be transparency, and there will be reviews.
Children: Forced Marriage
Debate between Viscount Younger of Leckie and Lord Anderson of Swansea
Viscount Younger of Leckie
I thank the noble Baroness for that. I have also heard of the good work that Karma Nirvana does with schools, and of its campaign for an annual day of remembrance. I also very much appreciate the amount of work that the voluntary sector in general contributes to supporting victims and potential victims of forced marriage. However, we believe that a collective response is the way forward. I will certainly take note of her point about Ofsted, and take that back with me.
Lord Anderson of Swansea (Lab)
Does the noble Viscount agree that such cases need not always be forced? Any education or warning should be general and not just directed at those of Asian heritage. I am aware of at least one case in Wales where a young girl was offered the holiday of a lifetime in Bangladesh and returned home, not only married but also seeking to bring her husband back.
Viscount Younger of Leckie
There are indeed several cases that can be highlighted. As the noble Lord will know, there is a difference between arranged marriages and forced ones. The main focus is on forced marriages, when children—often young ones—are taken away without their consent. We are looking closely at this important issue.
Office for Students: Appointments
Debate between Viscount Younger of Leckie and Lord Anderson of Swansea
Viscount Younger of Leckie
As I believe we stated in the internet safety strategy, the issue of pornography will be considered as we develop the regulations and guidance on relationships and sex education, which the Children and Social Work Act 2017 requires us to make compulsory in all secondary schools in England. Evidence has shown that the easy availability of online pornography is changing the way that young people understand healthy relationships. We need to be aware of this and move forward.
Lord Anderson of Swansea (Lab)
My Lords, does the Minister agree that even his “broad church” must have some limits, so what went wrong?
Viscount Younger of Leckie
I think that I have made it clear that the issue was the due diligence concerning the tweets. At the end of the day, Mr Young was appointed on merit, but there were very many tweets that we did not manage to get into—but I have made that clear in another answer.
Brexit: UK Universities
Debate between Viscount Younger of Leckie and Lord Anderson of Swansea(8 years, 4 months ago)
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Viscount Younger of Leckie
I certainly recognise that a degree of anxiety is arising from the universities and research community, which is understandable. Perhaps I can give some reassurance that since the referendum result was received, the Minister for Universities and Science, Jo Johnson, issued an initial statement as early as 29 June and has talked to many academic institutions and stakeholders about their concerns. Both the Government and the Student Loans Company took immediate steps to publish information for students and the wider higher education sector on their websites, which included information on EU nationals and student finance in England, and a focus on EU student and staff status.
Lord Anderson of Swansea (Lab)
My Lords, at a meeting in the House yesterday, we heard from an academic from Southampton University—one of the Russell group—that a number of senior colleagues who are EU nationals had received emails inviting them to return home to their countries. Unless the uncertainty is cleared up soon, is there not a danger that we shall lose a degree of quality in our universities?
Viscount Younger of Leckie
That is certainly one of the concerns that has arisen, and it is why the Minister has acted quickly to attempt to reassure the sector. It is essential that we move quickly to reassure all those who are based here, because it is incredibly important for the UK economy that we have skilled staff and that we have students studying here, because they provide a lot of revenue for the UK.
Volkswagen: Emissions
Debate between Viscount Younger of Leckie and Lord Anderson of Swansea
Viscount Younger of Leckie
I am very aware of that point. We are trying to establish why the US has done this, but it does have a different emissions regime, and there are fewer Volkswagen cars in the US. We are trying to get to the bottom of that.
Lord Anderson of Swansea (Lab)
My Lords, individual motorists cannot be expected to pick up the legal costs for any action against a firm the size of Volkswagen. Who will act as plaintiff and who will support the plaintiffs—the motorists—financially?
Viscount Younger of Leckie
The first thing is to establish exactly what the losses are, which could include a range of things. Hopefully, by February—next month—we will know what the situation is in terms of Volkswagen’s statement.
Olympic and Paralympic Games 2012
Debate between Viscount Younger of Leckie and Lord Anderson of Swansea
Viscount Younger of Leckie
I thank the noble Lord for that question. I do not have any details, looking ahead, of those particular events. I do not believe that we are quite at that stage. However, I will absolutely keep the noble Lord’s sentiments in mind and will return to him when I can.
Lord Anderson of Swansea
My Lords, the Games have meant that it has been a remarkable year, but there has been one failure. The Minister will recall the promise made at the outset of the Games that all parts of the United Kingdom would benefit from the expenditure. In fact, the regions of Wales have benefited very little indeed from this £9 billion. It has amounted in effect to a massive subsidy to London and the south-east. In what way, perhaps for the amount not spent or in other ways, will Wales, Scotland, Cornwall, the north-east and the north-west be compensated for the failure of a clear promise?
Viscount Younger of Leckie
I do not agree with the noble Lord’s question to the extent that I believe that the whole of the United Kingdom has benefited. I would point out that the legacy of the Olympic and Paralympic Games will not be seen for some time. I would also point out, as we have Welsh representation here today, that £38 million of business was generated from Wales. Indeed, a lot has happened throughout the United Kingdom and we should remember the thousands of sports clubs that have been set up, the school sports around the whole country and the youth sport strategy, which covers the whole country, not just London.