Public Health (Coronavirus) (Protection from Eviction) (England) (No. 2) (Amendment) Regulations 2021

Debate between Baroness Healy of Primrose Hill and Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth

Monday 19th April 2021 Grand Committee

[Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth (Con) [V]]

My Lords, I declare my interests as set out in the register. It is a great pleasure to follow the noble Lord, Lord Bilimoria. I thank my noble friend the Minister for setting out the regulations with his customary lucidity and precision. Of course, we have been here before, so it could be argued that he has had plenty of practice.

I certainly support the regulations. Clearly, we should extend help to tenants who would otherwise face eviction as a result of coronavirus. What we must now provide as we emerge from the shadow of Covid is long-term help for both tenants and landlords. Tenants still owe rent. Landlords are still owed rent. The whole system is in danger as the creditworthiness of hundreds of thousands of tenants is undermined by the current situation. There is a very real danger of masses of tenants facing eviction, even if it is six months away, as the system of respite from evictions comes to an end.

As the noble Lord, Lord Shipley, noted, a scheme is already in place in both Wales and Scotland. May I press my noble friend the Minister to ensure that a specifically tailored financial package is put in place for tenants? The alternative will be landlords seeking judgments against tenants who are in debt. It would not be correct to assume that the bulk of landlords are vastly wealthy. This needs urgent action from the Minister and the Government, as I have mentioned before. I am still not convinced that we have in place a plan—one is sorely needed—to ensure that, as I say, we do not face a serious problem with the eviction of private tenants as we emerge from the shadow of Covid.

[The Deputy Chairman of Committees (Baroness Healy of Primrose Hill) (Lab)]

The noble Baroness, Lady Andrews, has withdrawn so I call the noble Baroness, Lady Ritchie of Downpatrick.

Greenhouse Gas Emissions (Kyoto Protocol Registry) Regulations 2021

Debate between Baroness Healy of Primrose Hill and Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth

Tuesday 13th April 2021 Grand Committee

[The Deputy Chairman of Committees (Baroness Healy of Primrose Hill) (Lab)]

The next speaker on the list, the noble Lord, Lord Berkeley, has withdrawn from the debate, so I call the noble Lord, Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth.

[Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth (Con) [V]]

My Lords, it is a great pleasure my good friend the noble Baroness, Lady Altmann, and I thank my noble friend the Minister for setting out so clearly the effect of these regulations.

I support these regulations, which amend retained EU law. We clearly need to do that in order to ensure the continued application of the UK’s Kyoto Protocol obligations, which, as my noble friend said, persisted from 2008 to 2020 but will clearly go on for several years after that. That is the importance of these regulations.

Along with other noble Lords, I am keen to hear from my noble friend that we will carry on in the same way. I think he gave that reassurance, but I hope that that will be carried across in our ambition to COP 26. As he said, there will be a fresh assessment made at COP 26, and I will say something about that in a minute, if I may.

I am also concerned by the hiatus, which my noble friend touched on, between the end of the transition period and the new regulations taking effect in, I think he indicated, June 2021. Clearly there is a gap there. I think I understood him to say that that gap has been catered for and that the 112—I think he said 112—businesses that are potentially affected by this are aware of this, and I hope that they have been given guidance on how that will affect them in the period before our own registry takes proper effect in June 2021. I would welcome that reassurance.

We as the United Kingdom have a historic opportunity with COP 26, and it is incredibly important that we seize it and go forward with at least the ambition that we had in the EU—and I hope beyond it—to show that global Britain really does mean business. I know my noble friend will say that this is a matter for the usual channels, but I hope that he will be able to convey to the usual channels and to other parties the importance of having a meaningful debate in your Lordships’ House well ahead of COP 26 so that we can express our collective ambition so that can be carried forward, because this is of crucial significance not just for our country but for the entire globe.

With that, I am more than willing to support these regulations, which make sense, but I would welcome my noble friend’s reassurance with regard to the hiatus and, I hope, to a meaningful debate on this issue.

International Women’s Day

Debate between Baroness Healy of Primrose Hill and Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth

Thursday 11th March 2021 Grand Committee

[Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth (Con) [V]]

My Lords, it is a great pleasure to follow the noble Baroness in this important debate marking International Women’s Day on Monday, focusing particularly on the social and economic impacts of the coronavirus pandemic. I also thank my noble friend Lady Scott for her introduction.

I want particularly to say something about the challenge that the pandemic has posed to women’s mental health. I hope that, in closing, my noble friend the Minister will have something to say about this, and particularly about the resources that are being made available.

On average, even prior to the pandemic, women were more likely than men to experience mental health challenges. This has of course been accentuated by the pandemic. During the pandemic, woman have been more likely than men to experience being furloughed, which, although often necessary and on occasion welcome, will mean lower earnings than from the job that is furloughed. Women are more likely to have experienced loss of employment during the pandemic, with some sectors particularly vulnerable, such as retail, hospitality and food services. The switch of employment from shops to warehouses is, in practice, something that is unlikely to help women. All this of course contributes to mental health pressures. This is also true of additional caring responsibilities, which are likely to fall on women, whether for children at home or looking after older relatives. Pressures on finances during the pandemic also have to be factored in.

Your Lordships’ House is currently taking great pride, and rightly so, in the pioneering legislation that is making its way through the House, as referenced by the noble Lord, Lord Rooker: the Domestic Abuse Bill. It is truly a remarkable landmark Bill, and it is much needed. Women—and it is generally, though not always, women who are the victims of domestic abuse—suffer horribly, and that situation has got far worse during lockdown and the pandemic. Often, women victims have been obliged to relive their experiences. This too contributes to mental health pressures. In the light of the importance of this legislation and the pioneering work we are doing, I would be grateful if my noble friend could say something about the resources that will be made available to deal with this accentuated problem.

I also want to take this opportunity to say something about the position beyond our shores, where we are committed to certain global challenges—although it has to be said that they are more challenging with reduced aid. One of them is girls’ education, which the Prime Minister has championed, committing our country to preventing exploitation and unlocking potential around the world. Indeed, we are set to co-host a major international summit in June, to seek to provide global action to educate all children. This is very welcome and, again, I would be grateful if my noble friend could tell us something about the preparatory work for this and the international commitments that we hope to get from the conference.

Action at home and abroad to end inequality globally is both necessary and welcome. I look forward to my noble friend the Minister’s response.

[The Deputy Chairman of Committees (Baroness Healy of Primrose Hill) (Lab)]

I call again the noble Lord, Lord Bradshaw.