Northern Ireland Banknote (Designation of Authorised Bank) Regulations 2020

Lord Purvis of Tweed Excerpts

Tuesday 2nd June 2020 Lords Chamber

[Lord Purvis of Tweed (LD)]

It is a pleasure to follow the pedantry of the noble Lord, Lord Wood. This is the first debate in which I have participated with the noble Baroness, Lady Penn, on the Government Front Bench, so I welcome her to her position.

As the noble Lord, Lord Wood, alluded to, the UK is unique in the world in that commercial banks are able to print sterling banknotes for use in their own nation and the other three, even if they are not legal tender. Apart from the distinct advantage that when I was a student in far-flung London, I frequently received change for £5 from a similar-looking £1 Scottish banknote, the availability of paper currency in rural, sparsely populated and frequently poorer parts of the union was a vital part of economic development over the last two centuries.

Scotland and Ireland have Malachi Malagrowther, and his successful 1826 campaign to retain lower-value banknotes printed in Scotland and Ireland, to thank for this. He was the thinly veiled pseudonym of Sir Walter Scott. I am a former trustee of Abbotsford here in the Scottish Borders, so this is of particular interest. Some of my English colleagues may not be aware that Sir Walter’s image is seen to this day on every Bank of Scotland banknote.

Why the trip down trivia lane, other than simply to compete with the noble Lord, Lord Rogan, over our love for our native lands? As has been referred to, the Ulster Bank notes were some of the first to be polymer and are rare in the world in having a vertical design. They are as familiar to the pockets of people there as very different Scottish notes are here.

As my noble friend Lord Bruce said, this SI—which will receive no opposition and is procedural—is a result of the further restructuring of the Royal Bank of Scotland Group. The Office for Budget Responsibility estimates that UK taxpayers will make a loss of £32.1 billion on the £45 billion bailout of the bank during the 2008 financial crisis—an increase in loss of £4.7 billion over the Government’s forecast two years ago. At the time, the OBR expected the Government to sell £3.6 billion in shares this financial year, but that figure has now been revised down to zero. The Government said they would raise £20.6 billion by 2023-24, but now the sale has been postponed to beyond this Government’s term in office.

Can the Minister state when the Government will divest themselves of the shares and the estimate of the total loss expected? The significant increase in the losses estimated over the last two years is astonishingly high. As my noble friend Lord Bruce asked, is it not right to consider wider options—especially since we have a post-Brexit, post-Covid recovery to consider—and the calls for a different type of recovery, focusing on sustainability and more support for small operators?

To return to the principles behind why the notes we are discussing today exist—the need for support for Northern Ireland businesses and continuity of provision, even in a world of e-commerce—the Government should be able to offer reassurances to the very same businesses that face a confused, complex and costly scenario from January next year, when the reality of the Northern Ireland protocol and our exit from the European Union becomes real.

Yesterday, this House’s EU Select Committee published its report on Northern Ireland. Its chair, the noble Earl, Lord Kinnoull, said:

“It is seven months to the day until the protocol on Northern Ireland becomes operational, but we still don’t know what the protocol will mean in practice for businesses based in or trading with Northern Ireland.


He added that two weeks ago, the Government published a Command Paper to explain its approach to the protocol, but that

“while it addresses the right areas, it is almost all in the future tense.”

He concluded:

“Northern Ireland needs practical action now, not jam tomorrow.”


Can the Government give a clear timetable on when those legislative proposals will be made public and this House can scrutinise them fully?