Maritime Security

Debate between Lord Hannay of Chiswick and Baroness Vere of Norbiton

Thursday 5th September 2019 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Vere of Norbiton]

It is always a pleasure to receive a question from the noble Lord. Indeed, the man now in charge is in your Lordships’ House today. It was, of course, the current Government who set up JMOCC, which works very closely with the NMIC. The noble Lord is quite right that maritime assets are spread over a number of organisations: Border Force, the Royal Navy and the coastguard. Co-ordination of these assets is incredibly important. JMOCC was set up in October 2017, so it is not even two years old. It has a lot of capability to deal with live incidents and make sure that maritime assets are in the right place. One of the things this £9 million will do is provide extra capacity so that a planning team can be built to make sure we have optimum deployment of all vessels where we need them.

[Lord Hannay of Chiswick (CB)]

Would the Minister perhaps address the part of the Question related to the Persian Gulf, which she managed to pass over in total silence in her original reply? Would she not agree that probably the best way to strengthen maritime security in the Persian Gulf is to work with our other European allies to get a dialogue going about how to preserve the nuclear agreement with Iran and how to avoid tensions, which risk spiralling out of control?

[Baroness Vere of Norbiton]

There is quite a lot in the noble Lord’s question and I will endeavour to cover as much of it as possible. I did not mean to gloss over it. The situation in the Strait of Hormuz is incredibly important. The NMIC has been giving valuable support, which I have witnessed myself, by monitoring vessels in the Persian Gulf, not only tracking Red Ensign vessels in transit, which of course is very important, but looking at vessels of interest to see what they might be doing. We are working very closely with our international partners. We are part of the international maritime security construct. We have committed to a frigate or destroyer for that construct, a Royal Fleet Auxiliary tanker and, of course, staff in the command structure and below that. We are working with our international partners. It is absolutely important that Iran does not develop a nuclear capability. Our actions with our partners are part of that.

Brexit: Sheep Farmers

Debate between Lord Hannay of Chiswick and Baroness Vere of Norbiton

Tuesday 22nd May 2018 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Vere of Norbiton]

My Lords, Brexit provides us with a perfect opportunity to review our subsidies. The vision in our consultation for the new English agricultural policy is around public money for the delivery of public good, and the uplands have the potential to benefit from new environmental land management schemes as they deliver a great deal of public good for the environment and landscape—for example, in improving biodiversity, flood risk management and carbon sequestration. We have consulted in England on what additional support farmers in upland areas may need as part of this new domestic policy and a report on this consultation’s findings will be published in due course.

[Lord Hannay of Chiswick (CB)]

Can the Minister go a little further than she did in her Answer to the noble Lord, Lord Wigley, and tell us what assessment the Government have made of the consequences for sheep farmers in Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland and England if they have to face the full common external tariff, which will be the case if we leave under WTO terms? Further, what assessment have the Government made of the consequences of removing the protection of the common external tariff in the context, for example, of the trade agreement with New Zealand? If she does not have the figures at her fingertips, can she write to me and place a copy of her reply in the Library of the House?

[Baroness Vere of Norbiton]

My Lords, we are confident of getting a deal on Brexit, which is very important to remember. Obviously assessments are going on all the time as new data becomes available. Independent assessments have also been made, such as, for example, the Impacts of Alternative Post-Brexit Trade Agreements on UK Agriculture. This assessment covered the sheep sector and highlighted the importance of low-friction trade.

Immigration White Paper

Debate between Lord Hannay of Chiswick and Baroness Vere of Norbiton

Monday 5th February 2018 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Vere of Norbiton]

I thank the noble Lord for his observations, but I do not feel he is quite correct. Let us be clear: we have already reached a very important milestone. We have reached an agreement—a citizens’ rights deal—with the EU. That covers EU citizens who already live in the UK, so if you are a nurse from the EU living in the UK, you are covered. You need to register with the Home Office. You will then be able to obtain settled status and can remain in the United Kingdom and have the same rights as you would have had prior to our leaving the EU. What will happen during the post-exit implementation period is subject to negotiation, and it would be foolish for us to reveal exactly what we want because the quickest way not to get what you want is to reveal it.

[Lord Hannay of Chiswick (CB)]

Would the Minister notice, or agree, that the timing for the White Paper that she has given is about as vague as anything I have heard, and I have heard plenty of vague promises from government about the timing of White Papers? Can she say that the White Paper—when it comes, if it comes, whenever it comes—will cover the aberrant practice of treating international students as economic migrants and will finally address that issue in terms that stop that practice?

[Baroness Vere of Norbiton]

I think I can assure the noble Lord that it will come, so “if” is not required in his question. I think I have been very clear that it will be with us in the coming months as the situation progresses. The noble Lord raises including students in the net migration figure, and I am well aware that it is an issue about which he feels very strongly, but we are no different from Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the US in including international students in our net migration calculations. I am afraid I cannot make any promises to him about what will be in the White Paper.