Electronic Commerce Directive (Education, Adoption and Children) (Amendment etc.) Regulations 2021

Lord Watson of Invergowrie Excerpts

Wednesday 10th February 2021 Grand Committee

[Lord Watson of Invergowrie (Lab) [V]]

My Lords, I very much doubt that this is a unique situation with respect to the consideration of regulations. But, in more than 23 years in your Lordships’ House, this is the first time I have participated in a debate involving just two speakers. Indeed, is it actually possible to have a debate with only two speakers? Perhaps that is a subject that the Minister and I should debate. The lack of interest from other noble Lords today is perhaps down to the fact that these regulations are non-controversial. I thank the Minister for introducing them.

The regulations require affirmative approval, and, on behalf of the Opposition, I am content to signify our support. We welcome the fact that they are subject to the affirmative procedure, because that was not the case when an early version of these draft regulations was brought forward in 2019. In its meeting two weeks ago, the Secondary Legislation Scrutiny Committee of your Lordships’ House considered these instruments and concluded that there was no requirement for them to be reported to both Houses. However, in 2019 that was not the case; at that time the draft regulations were considered with a view to the possibility of the UK departing the European Union without a deal being signed. Thankfully, that has been avoided. However, two years ago the Secondary Legislation Scrutiny Committee said in its report that the draft regulations should be upgraded to the affirmative procedure. It is therefore appropriate that the affirmative procedure applies to the regulations we are considering today.

The Minister has set out the intricacies of the draft regulations in more detail than I am able to. As she said, the provisions in question engage the country of origin principle—a reciprocal arrangement between EU member states which, as of 31 December, no longer applies to the UK. These regulations disapply that principle as it relates to the subject matter of Schedule 11B to the 2002 Act, which applies only to England and Wales, and the 2005 regulations, which apply across the whole of the UK. The amendment of these provisions is necessary to reflect the ending of this reciprocity and to ensure that domestic legislation continues to operate effectively in the post-EU environment. The relevant provision in the 2002 Act relates to the offence which is committed where a person breaches a reporting restriction set out in the Act in respect of a teacher who has been accused of an offence involving a pupil at their school. The relevant provisions in the 2005 regulations concern a breach of the Adoption and Children Act 2002, which imposes certain restrictions on arranging adoptions and the publishing or distributing of adoption-related advertisements.

There is not much more I wish to say. We believe that the amendments contained in these draft regulations are logical and appropriate. It is right and proper that only the state has a legitimate authority to arrange and oversee adoptions. We welcome this being reiterated and that both the institution of adoption and the rights of teachers will continue to enjoy the full protection of the law.