Cultural Property (Armed Conflicts) Bill [HL]
Debate between Lord Stevenson of Balmacara and Baroness Northover
Lord Stevenson of Balmacara
I am sure that the Minister will not mind debating my favourite topic, which I know she shares. I will not in any sense apologise for the lateness of the hour because it ain’t late.
When we were preparing for these debates, we obviously had regard to the substance of the Bill and the need to make sure that we lived up to the promise that we gave that there would be satisfactory scrutiny. I hope that we have done that today; I certainly feel as though we have. I am grateful to the Minister and the noble Earl, Lord Courtown, for their responses, which will be in Hansard and will be very important in fleshing out the wording of the Bill in relation to how it will apply to those who have to implement it and take it forward. That is a very important part of this process.
There may be one or two things that we will want to come back to on Report but I do not see them being very significant or necessarily contested. I think there will just be more clarification or perhaps a chance to exemplify or build on stuff that has already been covered today. Indeed, we have already found that much of the stuff we did today was raised also at Second Reading. So we will have had a very full canter through these issues.
We should not in any sense demean the value of the Bill in terms of how it will change and shape what British forces and others involved in the protection of cultural property will do in the future—it is a Bill that we want to see go through in its present form and we do not wish to change it—but it occurred to me that I could not let Clause 32 pass without going back to my favourite topic, which is the need to minimise the burden on business by reducing the number of dates on which regulation floods in under the agency of a Government who are supposedly trying to cut back on red tape. The Minister will argue—rightly, I am sure—that the Bill does not apply primarily to business and therefore probably escapes the prohibitions that might come from statutory instruments deriving from it being implemented randomly through the year and therefore there will be no need for compensation, but I am sure she will want to share with me two things.
First, you cannot really let a Bill get through scot free. It should have one amendment, I think. If she wants to do that, here is one. It is not a Christmas tree Bill. These are not Christmas tree presents, but it is a nice, gentle little amendment which will show that we really have exercised the authority, wisdom, history and grandeur of the House of Lords in these troubled times. Secondly, it is a good thing to restrict the number of days on which regulations come in, and I hope she will respond to that. I beg to move.
Baroness Northover
My Lords, I rise simply to express the hope that the Bill speeds through rapidly, whatever else is happening around us, and that it is commenced as soon as possible. We have waited a very long time—since 1954—for this Bill to be put in place.
Baroness Neville-Rolfe
My Lords, I feel very well scrutinised today. I thank the noble Baroness, Lady Northover, for her support in relation to the speedy passage of the Bill.
The Government recognise the importance of giving as much advance notice as possible of when new regulations and requirements will come into force, particularly where they have an effect on business, as has been said. Of course, common commencement dates are not defined in law, they are a matter of policy, and we are not aware of any precedent for referring to them in legislation. In order to refer to them in the Bill, a definition would need to be included. But our intention is to bring the provisions of the Bill into force as soon as possible after Royal Assent.
The noble Lord, Lord Stevenson, knows that I share his passion for common commencement dates, and if we can bring the Bill in on a common commencement date we will of course do so, but we have to balance that with the need to get ahead and implement the convention and the protocols. As I see it, the sooner we are able to bring the provisions of the Bill into force, the sooner we will be able to ratify the convention and its protocols and ensure that cultural property has the protection it needs, which is provided for in the Bill, and hold our head up high in international institutions that are concerned with cultural property.