The UK’s Justice and Home Affairs Opt-outs

Debate between Tony Baldry and Bernard Jenkin

Thursday 10th July 2014 Commons Chamber

[Sir Tony Baldry (Banbury) (Con)]

It is always a pleasure to follow a brother knight. I take this opportunity to echo the comments of the right hon. Member for Leicester East (Keith Vaz) in congratulating my hon. Friend the Member for Stone (Sir William Cash) on becoming a brother knight. The whole House should congratulate you, Madam Deputy Speaker, on having become a Dame Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire, an order of chivalry considerably more senior than that of us mere Knights Bachelor. I can think of no better way of spending my birthday than in group therapy with brother knights, my hon. Friends the Members for Stone, for Gainsborough (Sir Edward Leigh), for Aldridge-Brownhills (Sir Richard Shepherd), for Aldershot (Sir Gerald Howarth) and for Berwick-upon-Tweed (Sir Alan Beith), so it has been a good debate.

The issue before us is what is in the national interest, what is in the interests of our constituents, and what will make us safe. In that regard I thought it might be helpful to ask Thames Valley police what they thought about the European arrest warrant. I have rather a high respect for Thames Valley police. I have lived in the Thames valley pretty much all my life, and those of us who are Members of Parliament for constituencies in the Thames valley are rather proud of Thames Valley police. They directed me to evidence on the European arrest warrant that was submitted to the House of Lords in 2012 on behalf of the Association of Chief Police Officers. ACPO consulted chief constables and police authorities around the country. It was seeking to give advice to the House of Lords on which parts of the opt-out should be opted back into, and it recommended above all else that the European arrest warrant be opted back into under the same arrangements as were then in place.

[Mr Jenkin]

When did this House decide to abdicate to ACPO on matters of civil liberty or constitutional importance?

[Sir Tony Baldry]

I should have thought that, on a matter of law and order, even my hon. Friend would think it might just be sensible to take the advice of police forces up and down the country. Whatever we do in the House ought to be evidence-based, and I should have thought the evidence from police authorities and police forces around the country might be rather cogent and sensible evidence in these circumstances.

The ACPO assessment confirmed that the European arrest warrant is the most important of all the measures in the area of justice and home affairs. Most of the police forces and chief officers—I am sure that if my hon. Friend, for example, were to ask the chief constable of Essex and the Essex police force, they would make this point to him as well—believe that opting out of the European arrest warrant and relying on alternative arrangements would result in fewer extraditions, longer delays, higher costs, more offenders evading justice, and increased risks to public safety. They went on to say that the European arrest warrant

“has been in operation for eight years and has now become a mainstream tool. . . In 2010/11 the UK received 5,382 EAW requests and made 221 EAW requests to other EU states. The UK surrendered 1,149 individuals (approximately 7% of which were UK nationals, the other 93% being fugitives to the UK).The UK had 93 people surrendered to it.”

ACPO observed:

“These trends in extradition reflect the increasing international patterns of crime and offending. Open borders across Europe, free movement of EU citizens, low cost air travel, cheap telecommunications, the internet and the expansion of criminal networks across national boundaries are all contributory factors to the growth in extradition requests. These are irreversible changes which need to be matched by increasing flexibility on the part of European law enforcement and criminal justice agencies.”

ACPO went on to say:

“Further evidence of these changes is to be found in data concerning arrests. Recent data gathered by the MPS”—

the Metropolitan police service—

“in the first quarter of 2012 showed that of 61,939 people arrested in London, 8,089 were nationals from EU countries (13%) and 9,358 were foreign nationals from outside the EU (15%). The presence of fugitives from justice fleeing to the UK is a significant public safety issue. In 2011/12 the MPS received 50 EAWs for homicide, 20 for rape, and 90 for robbery. Each of these cases represents a person who is wanted for a serious crime who fled to the UK. There is strong evidence to show that foreign criminals who come to UK continue to offend when in the UK. There is a real risk that opting out of the EAW and relying on less effective extradition arrangements could have the effect of turning the UK into a ‘safe haven’ for Europe’s criminals.”

Budget Resolutions and Economic Situation

Debate between Tony Baldry and Bernard Jenkin

Wednesday 20th March 2013 Commons Chamber

[Sir Tony Baldry (Banbury) (Con)]

I welcome the fact that this Budget is a continuation of this Chancellor’s five-year plan and not a rupture. I welcome the fact that the Chancellor has succeeded in reducing public spending, whereas total state spending under Labour rose by an extraordinary 60%. I welcome the fact that, notwithstanding the broader economic challenges, whatever way one looks at the statistics, they tell us that the private sector under this Government has been steadily creating new jobs as fast—indeed, faster—than the public sector has been shedding them. I welcome the fact that under this Government the deficit is down by a third and businesses have created more than 1.25 million new jobs.

I welcome the proposals in the Budget to enhance competitiveness. There is little point in solving today’s problem if one is not preparing for tomorrow’s future. We all have to recognise that Britain is in a global race with countries such as China, Brazil and India and that we have to become more competitive if we wish to remain ahead and among the leaders in the global race—a point very well made in Lord Heseltine’s report “No Stone Unturned”. I welcome the Government’s response to his proposals and his report, which made far-reaching recommendations for stimulating economic growth and engaging the private sector and the spirit of enterprise in the great cities and regions of our countries. As Lord Heseltine put it in the foreword to his report:

“Huge infrastructure demands and hungry institutional funds—link them. Excellence in industry, commerce, academia—extend it. England’s cities pulsing with energy—unleash it.”

I think we would all support that.

May I point out to the House that Lord Heseltine is 80 today? As he was a long-standing and distinguished Oxfordshire Member of Parliament, I am sure the whole House would want to wish him a very happy birthday. If we all have as much energy at 80 as he does, we will be doing very well indeed.

I welcome the Chancellor’s proposals to bring forward infrastructure spending and to spend substantial amounts on speeding up important infrastructure projects. Targeting infrastructure spending, of course, helps boost economic growth. In my constituency, projects such as the east-west rail link, rail electrification, the upgrading of junction 9 of the M40 have already been announced; importantly, an extra £3 billion a year is being invested in infrastructure projects across the country.

I welcome what the Government and the Budget are doing to give support for house builders, for first-time buyers wanting to get mortgages and also for “second steppers” wanting to move up the housing ladder. The news on building construction is extremely important. Housing is key to growth, and builders are not going to build houses unless they can sell them, so I welcome the fact that the Government are allocating more than £3.5 billion to support those who want to get on, or move up, the housing ladder. The Government will provide up to 20% of the equity to help anyone who wants to buy a new-built home, and for three years from January next year, they will also provide a new guarantee to help lenders offer more people 80% to 90% loan-to-value mortgages. All that is good news for house builders, and will help more people to move on to and up the housing ladder.

As I pointed out on Monday to the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, in my constituency we want more houses to be built. We want people to be able to build their own homes, we want more social housing, we want more building on the former Ministry of Defence brownfield land at Bicester, and indeed we want Bicester to become a new garden city.

I welcome the support for small and medium-sized businesses. I am glad to say that my constituency is part of a dynamic economy, but it consists largely of successful small and medium-sized businesses. Small companies want to grow, but they often identify their lack of access to finance and long-term capital as a key barrier to their growth. They will benefit not only from the fact that corporation tax is already due to fall to 21% next year—with the result that Britain is now at the top of the list in surveys of desirable places in which to do business—but from today’s announcement that it will fall to 20% in April 2015, which means that the United Kingdom will have a lower business tax rate than any other major economy in the world. That will help to fulfil the commitment to make Britain the most attractive tax regime for business in the G20.

I welcome the fact that the Government are cutting the jobs tax of every business, and the fact that businesses will be able to hire one extra person on a salary of £22,400 or four people working full time on the minimum wage without paying any national insurance. That means that 450,000 small businesses—a third of all employers—will pay no jobs tax at all.

[Mr Jenkin]

What does my hon. Friend make of the fact that Ireland has a 12% corporation tax rate, although it has had to inflict on itself far more austere economic policies than we have had to inflict on ourselves because it is in the euro? Should we not be emulating Ireland?

[Sir Tony Baldry]

I think that we are making very good progress in reducing the burdens on businesses. I hope that my hon. Friend will applaud that, because I believe that it will enhance the UK’s competitiveness.