Immigration

Debate between Earl Attlee and Lord Elystan-Morgan

Tuesday 7th January 2014 Lords Chamber

[Earl Attlee]

My Lords, I absolutely agree with the noble Baroness. One thing that we have done is to increase very significantly the fixed penalty for employers for not paying the minimum wage. We also need to look at a number of instances where immigrant labour is being abused—for instance, agricultural workers from eastern Europe. The noble Baroness is right; we need to keep a grip on this.

[Lord Elystan-Morgan (CB)]

My Lords, whatever reservations we might or might not have had concerning the expansion of the European Union, will Her Majesty’s Government give an undertaking that unless and until we extricate ourselves from the Union, we will loyally and honourably accept all our legal obligations in respect of it?

[Earl Attlee]

My Lords, I assure the House that Her Majesty’s Government do have a policy of adhering to treaty obligations. That is why we are very happy with the accession of Romania and Bulgaria to the EU, and with the free movement of those peoples, from 1 January.

Disabled People: Blue Badge Scheme

Debate between Earl Attlee and Lord Elystan-Morgan

Thursday 25th October 2012 Lords Chamber

[Lord Elystan-Morgan]

Is it the case that the ministry took the view that it could not rely upon the integrity and the professional competence of the practitioner, and was there any evidence to support that prejudice?

[Earl Attlee]

My Lords, disabled people’s groups, such as the Disabled Persons Transport Advisory Committee, agree that greater use of independent mobility assessments is needed to determine eligibility fairly and robustly.

Transport: Automatic Number Plate Recognition

Debate between Earl Attlee and Lord Elystan-Morgan

Tuesday 24th April 2012 Lords Chamber

[Lord Elystan-Morgan]

Will the noble Earl tell the House that in a case where death or injury is caused by an uninsured driver, the agreement made between the Ministry of Transport and the Motor Insurers’ Bureau in or about 1930 still remains valid and effective?

[Earl Attlee]

My Lords, unfortunately I am not aware of what the noble Lord is talking about, but I will be delighted to write to him.

[Lord Elystan-Morgan]

It was, in fact, an agreement—

Gypsies and Travellers

Debate between Earl Attlee and Lord Elystan-Morgan

Tuesday 6th March 2012 Lords Chamber

[Earl Attlee]

My Lords, I would be very surprised if the appropriate Minister does not have discussions with the relevant organisations.

[Lord Elystan-Morgan]

My Lords, is the Minister aware that about a quarter of a century ago a very distinguished High Court judge, the late Mr Justice Peter Pain, when hearing an application from a local authority in south Wales for an injunction to clear Gypsies from a lay-by said, “I will not grant this injunction because an injunction is an equitable remedy. To claim an equitable remedy you must be equitable. I will only grant the injunction to those local authorities which can show that they have taken seriously their statutory obligations in relation to Gypsies”.?

[Earl Attlee]

My Lords, the noble Lord makes an important and interesting point. It is much easier to have an unauthorised encampment removed if the local authority has already made appropriate provision.

People Trafficking

Debate between Earl Attlee and Lord Elystan-Morgan

Monday 7th March 2011 Lords Chamber

[Earl Attlee]

My Lords, this issue is primarily a responsibility of the UKBA, not the British Transport Police. However, if those police saw a child at St Pancras or at any other station who appeared to be vulnerable in any way, but particularly to trafficking, it would obviously be their duty to do something about it and to refer the child to the local authorities.

[Lord Elystan-Morgan]

Can the noble Earl tell the House how many prosecutions there have been in the past 18 months in respect of this serious criminal enterprise, and how many of those have been successful? Should not those agencies responsible for gathering evidence be greatly strengthened so that credible cases can be brought before the courts?