Citizens’ Rights (European Affairs Committee Report)

Baroness Anelay of St Johns Excerpts

Monday 11th September 2023 Grand Committee

[Baroness Anelay of St Johns (Con)]

My Lords, I congratulate the noble Earl, Lord Kinnoull, on his opening speech and on his outstanding work as chair not only of the European Affairs Committee but of the EU Committee before that. I also thank the committee staff for their work drafting the 2021 report and assisting the committee in all its follow-up work, to which the noble Earl referred. We are also fortunate that the noble Lord, Lord Ricketts, has agreed to take on the role of chair of the committee; it is an important one, but it is onerous too.

What seems like a lifetime ago, pre-Brexit, I was a Minister in DExEU in 2017, where my portfolio included meeting UK citizens resident across the EU—for example, in Finland and Luxembourg. At that point, they felt cast aside, with no certainty about how a withdrawal agreement might affect them or when it might be agreed. They found themselves not knowing what their employment, health, residence or travel rights might be. The stress they felt was palpable. It is regrettable that so many of them still face some uncertainty about their status and access to services. Today, I will focus on the protection of their post-Brexit rights, some of which have been referred to by the noble Earl.

In the Home Secretary’s recent letter to the committee, she acknowledged that

“there is still much to do, and serious shortcomings remain in several Member States”,

particularly regarding

“the variable quality and availability of reasonable grounds guidance for late applications, and the uncertain status of UK nationals who are required to submit a second application”.

The Home Secretary stated that the Government intend to continue raising these matters at both bilateral and EU level. Like the noble Earl, I welcome that commitment. However, I note, for example, that the Specialised Committee on Citizens’ Rights met for just two hours on 23 May and it now meets only twice a year.

Subsequently, the UK and EU issued a joint statement. The EU raised several significant issues about its citizens in this country, but I shall mention just some of the UK’s concerns, which were raised by the Government. The first was how UK nationals who do not make an application for permanent residence may demonstrate their declaratory rights of permanent residence when accessing benefits and services. Secondly, there is a lack of publicly available guidance on reasonable grounds for making a late application in some states. Thirdly, there are property rights problems in some states. Finally, there are reports that UK nationals with special statuses were unable to access rights guaranteed to them under the withdrawal agreement.

I welcome the Government’s engagement with the Commission on these matters, but I would be grateful if my noble friend the Minister could indicate what progress has been made since the last meeting of the specialised committee and what preparations have been made for the next meeting. What bilateral discussions, to which the Home Secretary referred in her letter, are scheduled?

The committee’s recent letter to the Home Secretary indeed expressed concern that resources to support our citizens in the EU on citizens’ rights had been cut—indeed, the UK nationals support fund had been closed. As the noble Earl reminded us, we asked the Government for information about the resources available for embassies and NGOs. In looking at the response of the Home Secretary, I noted that she specifically said that resources included the

“Justice and Home Affairs Network of attaches”.

I would be grateful if my noble friend the Minister could give details of that network to the Grand Committee. I googled repeatedly for information but came up empty-handed. That may just be me, but I would be grateful for elucidation. How many of our embassies across the EU have an attaché whose work is dedicated to supporting UK citizens resident there? How accessible are they, and can my noble friend give examples of progress the network has made in assisting our citizens?

I appreciate that these matters are complex, but it is time that substantial progress should be made on removing the final obstacles that still face our citizens resident in the EU.

Visas: Visitors from Peru

Baroness Anelay of St Johns Excerpts

Monday 16th November 2020 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Williams of Trafford (Con)]

My Lords, a visa regime is not necessarily a barrier to trade. We have really good trading relationships with many countries whose citizens require a visa to come to the UK. All non-EEA visitors to the UK are assessed against the same immigration rules, regardless of their nationality and whether there is a visa requirement. The processing times are very quick: 97% of non-settlement visa applications were decided within our 15-working-day processing time. As I have said before to the noble Baroness, we keep the regime under review.

[Baroness Anelay of St Johns (Con)]

My Lords, in keeping the visa regime under review, have Home Office Ministers had discussions about the position of visas for Peruvian citizens with the Prime Minister’s trade envoy, Mark Menzies MP, and the DIT’s trade commissioner? If not, would my noble friend agree to facilitate such meetings?

[Baroness Williams of Trafford (Con)]

My noble friend obviously thinks I am far more influential than I am, but I know that bilateral relationships are very good with the countries that she mentioned. Those are certainly the sorts of countries with which we would like to see further trade relationships continue and expand.

Port Examination Codes of Practice and National Security Determinations Guidance Regulations 2020

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Friday 10th July 2020 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Anelay of St Johns (Con) [V]]

My Lords, I support these regulations, which at first blush are indeed technical, but they are an important part of the powers by which the Government can maintain strong security policies to protect all of us from terrorists and hostile state actors alike. The attempted assassination of Sergei and Yulia Skripal shows how such murderers can operate without any regard for the lives of others who take part in the investigation of the crime or those who suffer poisoning as a consequence of the reckless disposal of the killers’ evidence.

My question to the Minister therefore relates to the Home Office document Examining Officers and Review Officers under Schedule 3 to the Counter-Terrorism and Border Security Act 2019—Draft Code of Practice, which, as my noble friend the Minister said in opening, relates to hostile activity. Section 3, at page 13, sets out very clearly the proposed “Welfare considerations during examination”—the welfare, that is, of the suspects. It is right that those matters are prescribed carefully.

However, can my noble friend give me assurances that welfare procedures are in place for those carrying out the examination, who could be exposed to harmful chemical agents? What precautions are taken to prevent harm to the examining officials and others in the vicinity? Who carries out the training of those who engage in what is potentially life-threatening work? I look forward to her response.

Equality Act 2010 (Amendment) (Disabled Access) Bill [HL]

Baroness Anelay of St Johns Excerpts

2nd reading (Hansard): House of Lords
Friday 24th November 2017 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Anelay of St Johns (Con)]

My Lords, I congratulate my noble friend Lord Blencathra on securing a Second Reading for his Bill. It gives this House the opportunity to consider how legislating with the very best of intentions to ensure equality of opportunity can have unintended consequences, as the noble Lord, Lord Haworth, said, and thereby fail to deliver the very improvements that it was designed to help.

My noble friend’s briefing before today and his introduction of the Bill have demolished many, if not all, of the arguments that have been deployed along the way to say that nothing more needs to be or should be done. It is absolutely vital to have post-legislative scrutiny of legislation, something which this House instituted and at which it excels. I pay tribute to the noble Baroness, Lady Deech, who has spoken today, and to her committee for its report because it makes clear the crucial point: that for disabled people equality of opportunity, to the extent that it is achievable, often requires different treatment—not the same treatment.

Clearly, further work is needed in legislation to make accessibility a reality for wheelchair users, and the Bill shows us one way forward. As with so many Private Members’ Bills, it is not a perfectly crafted vehicle and my noble friend has recognised some of its shortcomings. He has chosen to use the imperial measures of six inches and 12 inches in Clause 1 since he, very reasonably, said that those could be more easily visualised and understood by most people in trying to get across the concept of the Bill. He has accepted that if the Bill proceeds, which I hope it may, there would need to be amendments. In opening the debate, he made generous offers about how those amendments might be secured, including by inserting an order-making power. As my noble friend Lady Morris said, we do not normally expect to hear from my noble friend Lord Blencathra about having further regulation, but he has made that offer.

The fact that the drafting needs to be improved does not undermine the value of our debate today, which goes to the very heart of the question of attitudes and what kind of society we want in this country. The purpose of my noble friend’s Bill is indeed modest. He has made it clear throughout that he recognises that the objective is to achieve access for wheelchair users at reasonable cost. Other noble Lords have given practical examples of that. It is of course not just the responsibility of central and local government to make sure that there is accessibility for wheelchair users; we all have a role to play. I would like to give one or two examples, but in so doing I make it clear that I do not say that only private action will take these matters forward; sometimes, legislation and further regulation is required.

We can all be aware and take action when we note discrimination in access, as others have said today. Those in business should be aware that providing good access is not only the right thing to do but good business, too. Every year, my husband and I go away for a long weekend with 11 of our friends, whom we have known for about 50 years. If a hotel is not accessible for one of our friends, Carol, who uses a wheelchair then we do not stay there. If a pub is not accessible, we do not eat or drink there. The business does not lose two customers; it loses 13, permanently.

There are of course other issues and it is a matter of attitudes. There is so much that businesses could do that cost hardly a thing, and yet they do not. For example, why do businesses not make restroom facilities accessible in a simple way, by providing grab rails? I am advised that if they did, a great proportion of the 800,000 people who use wheelchairs could—with some difficulty, it is true—get access to those toilets. But people simply do not make the effort. Why do more businesses not only add access statements to their websites but at least make sure that those are accurate, so you do not have to spend half your time making phone call after phone call, only to arrive and then find that it is not accessible after all.

My noble friend’s Bill raises, for me, another crucial issue: a duty to ensure wheelchair access for staff members, too, and not just customers. Wheelchair users surely should have access as employees in public buildings. Why should their careers be curtailed because adaptations which are reasonable have not been made? The businesses could be barring the best employees that they never get to have. Individual pressure can of course have some effect but not always enough. My noble friend has pointed out that it has not been enough so far.

As we plan our path to leave the European Union, this is absolutely the right time for my noble friend to bring the Bill forward. The European Union (Withdrawal) Bill, currently being considered in another place, will convert applicable EU law into UK law, giving businesses and us all the certainty that rights and obligations will not be subject to overnight change. In leaving the EU, the UK will retain our current standards, but that should be only the first move in the right direction. Surely, we should then build upon them and show that the UK intends to lead the world in making accessibility a reality for all. Brexit is not a time to make a dive to the bottom; it is a time to lead a race to the top. Whether or not we use wheelchairs, we have the right to reach the same destination and I welcome my noble friend’s Bill.

Serious Crime Bill [HL]

Baroness Anelay of St Johns Excerpts

Tuesday 8th July 2014 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Hamwee (LD)]

My Lords, this is a tiddler of an amendment, which it is embarrassing to move if there are noble Lords waiting for enlightenment about the philosophy and underlying architecture of the Bill. I have succeeded in imprisoning a number of my noble friends up here, because I was unable to find anywhere closer to the front.

[Baroness Anelay of St Johns (Con)]

My Lords—while my noble friend takes her seat—we are now in the second day in Committee on this Bill. Admittedly a smallish number of Peers are seeking to take part, but that number take the Bill very seriously. I am sure that, like me, they would like to hear from my noble friend Lady Hamwee as she moves her amendment.

[Baroness Hamwee]

My Lords, I am grateful to my noble friend. This amendment relates to an interpretation provision. In Clause 35, new subsection (6B) provides for what:

“References to property or a pecuniary advantage”,

mean in the context of the proceeds of crime. It seems to me that in that legislation and in the legislation that we are amending, some references to property or advantage would be to the whole of it—for instance, if the property is to be subject to confiscation—while some would be to the extent of what has been obtained by a criminal act, for instance the amount confiscated. My amendment really amounts to a question to the Minister as to whether to take it that we should read what is appropriate in the context. In other words, is what I have said implicit and am I worrying about something quite unnecessarily? The second of these examples—in other words, a limited extent—seems not to be provided for in the clause. I beg to move.

Immigration Bill

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Thursday 3rd April 2014 Lords Chamber

[Lord Foulkes of Cumnock (Lab)]

My Lords, before we consider this legislation, perhaps the noble Lord the Leader of the House or the government Chief Whip can explain why we are taking government legislation on a Thursday when we have been given four weeks for Easter and we will not be sitting for a week in which the House of Commons is sitting. Will she confirm that Prorogation will not take place until 21 May, as already announced, and not earlier as rumoured? This House is not here just to consider government legislation; it is here to debate the issues of the day and to hold the Government to account.

[Baroness Anelay of St Johns (Con)]

My Lords, the noble Lord, Lord Foulkes—I will get the pronunciation of his name right in the end. I beg his pardon; as he knows, I have been very punctilious in persuading others of the difference between Faulks, Foulkes and Fookes. The noble Lord raises several questions. First of all, he has been a Member of the House for a very long while. He will therefore know that the Companion sets out very clearly that, from the end of January, Thursdays are used for government business.

[Lord Foulkes of Cumnock]

If necessary.

[Baroness Anelay of St Johns]

So it is of course a time when the Thursday debates come to an end. I have been extremely generous, as the House knows, in giving up government time on Thursdays to have debates. We have had more debates this Session than in any other in living memory. That has been welcomed by this House. On this occasion, we have legislation today at the express request of the opposition Front Bench and it is to accommodate that request that I have enabled legislation today and ensured that there will be no legislation next Wednesday, when debates will take place.

The noble Lord, Lord Foulkes, referred to Prorogation. He will also know that it is a long-standing practice in Parliament that the Prorogation date is not announced until government business has been secured. Therefore, I am afraid that I have to say gently to him that he is wrong to say that the Prorogation date has been announced by anyone—certainly not by me. I am always most cautious to keep to the conventions and the rules of this House. I ask the noble Lord to exercise his patience a little bit longer until I am able to give him accurate information.

[Baroness Royall of Blaisdon (Lab)]

My Lords, I do not wish to prolong this. Of course, the noble Baroness the Chief Whip is absolutely right about business on Thursdays—that is the norm and I completely accept that. However, there is some discontent on all Benches in this House about the fact that our recesses are prolonged this year, which does not enable this House to hold the Government to account as we would see fit. I do not wish to prolong this debate, but I feel it necessary to make that point because it is our duty as a legislative House to hold this Government and any other Government to account.

[Baroness Anelay of St Johns]

My Lords, the noble Baroness the Leader of the Opposition says that she does not want to extend the debate—that is a little ironic. I remind her that, as she is aware from discussions earlier this week, we were able to demonstrate that the number of weeks on recess has been consistent over the past three or four years. There is just one issue about the Scottish referendum, which is an unusual matter, and that has perhaps changed the timing. I do not have control over Easter or Whitsun. There is a perception perhaps held by some that there are more recesses than at other times. The figures simply do not bear that out. I suggest that the House is eager to progress with the work that it does well—the scrutiny of legislation—and I know that my noble friend Lord Taylor is keen that the House should address the matters of the Immigration Bill.

Motion agreed.

Immigration Bill

Baroness Anelay of St Johns Excerpts

Monday 10th March 2014 Lords Chamber

[The Earl of Listowel (CB)]

In moving Amendment 48, I will speak to Amendments 55, 63 and 65 and support my noble friend Lord Patel’s Amendment 60. I apologise for not having been able to take part at Second Reading. Perhaps it would be helpful to the Committee if I paused for a moment.

[Baroness Anelay of St Johns (Con)]

My Lords, the noble Earl, Lord Listowel, is trying to introduce his amendment and I would ask that noble Lords leave quietly. That was quite a din. I also remind noble Lords that, when they leave, they should not walk in front of the speaker. It not only drowns him out, it means we cannot even see him.

[The Earl of Listowel]

I am most grateful for that intervention. Amendment 48 would exempt pregnant women from all charges and penalties associated with Part 3, particularly with regard to health charges and concerns for landlords about having tenants who might not be legal migrants. I want to take pregnant women out of this picture.

I recognise the difficulties that the Government face in terms of immigration. I grew up in Hampstead but I have lived and worked near Bermondsey, and I know that for the people of Bermondsey and other similar areas there can be more challenges due to immigration than in places such as Hampstead, around schooling and access to the health service but particularly around housing. There are real concerns and the shortage of housing can be a cause of social tension.

This, too, is a knotty political question, but if the Government and Opposition could come to some consensus about how to provide enough social housing and affordable housing for our people, many of these tensions might be far less acute than they are today. I know that is a great challenge but it relates to this issue and the concerns of our people about migration.

Perhaps it is helpful to think about how maternity has a certain sacred association. If one wanders around the Sainsbury Wing and looks at the earliest paintings there, one sees paintings from the 13th century of the Madonna and child, and nativity scenes. Respect for the mother and child during that very important period at the beginning of a family is at the heart of our Christian faith. It is not too surprising that France, Spain and Portugal—some of the Catholic countries—exempt pregnant women from any charges for accessing their health services. It points to the wisdom of the great faiths, as we increasingly realise how vital the very earliest months of a child’s life, from conception through the first two years of life, are to the successful later development of children.

Indeed, the right honourable Iain Duncan Smith did very important work concerning early intervention with families. Graham Allen MP, who worked with him in that endeavour, has set up the Early Intervention Foundation, which aims to raise awareness of the crucial period between conception and two years of age, and perhaps a little bit beyond that. Frank Field MP and Andrea Leadsom MP have set up the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Conception to Age Two—The First 1,001 Days, to really focus our minds on this crucial time in a child’s development. It takes several years for a child to grow into the physical stature of an adult but the brain is developing extremely rapidly in the first months of life and achieves its main development by age four. It is crucial to think carefully about how we treat mothers and their very young children.

I should have said something about newborns in my amendment. I talked only about pregnant women, but I hope that the Government will also think about mothers with newborn children within the first two years of life.

On several occasions I have had the privilege to speak to mothers in temporary accommodation through the Barnardo’s Families in Temporary Accommodation project. What came through particularly from their stories was the sense of isolation that they experienced and how difficult it was because of their temporary accommodation—they may be placed a long way from family or anybody of their ethnic group.

Syrian Refugees

Baroness Anelay of St Johns Excerpts

Monday 20th January 2014 Lords Chamber

[Lord Selkirk of Douglas (Con)]

My Lords—

[Baroness Anelay of St Johns (Con)]

With great respect to my noble friend, we have reached the 10-minute limit.

Anti-social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Bill

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Monday 18th November 2013 Lords Chamber

Relevant documents: 12th Report from the Delegated Powers Committee, 4th Report from the Joint Committee on Human Rights.

[Baroness Anelay of St Johns (Con)]

My Lords, perhaps I may encourage colleagues who are seeking to leave the Chamber to do so without walking in front of the noble Lord, Lord Greaves, wherever possible. At the moment he is waiting very courteously to begin moving the first amendment. It is a courtesy of this House that we do not walk in front of the speaker, and noble Lords should leave by the other end of the Chamber.

Clause 1: Power to grant injunctions

Amendment 19A

Moved by

Alcohol: Minimum Pricing

Baroness Anelay of St Johns Excerpts

Thursday 14th March 2013 Lords Chamber

[Lord Elystan-Morgan]

My Lords—

[Baroness Anelay of St Johns]

My Lords, in the general turn of groups, it is the turn of the Labour Benches. I suggest that since the noble Lord, Lord Elystan-Morgan, has been patient, it might be his turn next.