Economic Crime (Transparency and Enforcement) Bill

Lord Empey Excerpts

Committee stage
Monday 14th March 2022 Lords Chamber

Again, with the information and, hopefully, reassurances that I have been able to provide to the House, I hope that noble Lords will feel able not to press their amendments.

[Lord Empey (UUP)]

My Lords, I think that everybody in this House, as was the case last week, is on the same page, and we do not want to be seen to be arguing amongst ourselves until the early hours of the morning about something that is so significant. But can I ask the Minister if he and his colleagues in his department will keep a rolling review of this going, even if the gap between this legislation and the next piece of legislation is comparatively short? The last thing we would want is to see some oligarch on the front page of a national newspaper smirking that he or she had circumvented and found some way of actually getting around the will of Parliament and humiliating us. It would be seen, I think, as a failure of policy. I am sure that the Minister is very conscious of that, but it would be helpful if he could tell us that his department will monitor this on an ongoing basis, and not deal with this as a one-off and just leave it to the next piece of legislation.

[Lord Clement-Jones (LD)]

My Lords, perhaps I could just add to what the noble Lord has just said. The Minister mentioned the regulations which are possible post the passing of the Bill. Will he undertake to review some of the points made during the passage of this Bill and consider whether or not regulations might be needed to fill certain gaps?

--- Later in debate ---

The noble Baroness, Lady Smith, raised a valid point about the timing of the new Bill. I am sure she will appreciate that I cannot confirm the specifics of that, but she has made that point and I assure her I will take it back—others have noted its importance. Equally, I respect and have regard for your Lordships’ House and all the contributions made during the course of the Bill, recognising the importance of holding the Government to account on these important issues. The passage of the Bill has demonstrated not just the accountability of the Government to your Lordships’ House, but your Lordships’ House at its best in how we work together when it is required.

[Lord Empey (UUP)]

Before the Minister sits down, while progress has been made on providing funding for the investigatory bodies, given that we expect imminent and immediate impact on investigations from the passage of the Bill, what assurance can he give the Committee that personnel with the necessary qualifications and experience will be available in the very short term, even though the funding may be following them?

[Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon (Con)]

My Lords, within the agencies, particularly the NCA, of course we have great expertise and insights. I cannot provide the noble Lord with specific numbers but, as I said earlier, the Government very much stand by the principle that in introducing these regulations and these new powers, and when it comes to the implementation of our sanctions policy, we need to ensure that we are fully and appropriately resourced so that those people who are sanctioned can be acted upon.