Modern Slavery (Victim Support) Bill [HL]

Lord Anderson of Swansea Excerpts

2nd reading (Hansard): House of Lords
Friday 8th September 2017 Lords Chamber

[Lord Anderson of Swansea (Lab)]

My Lords, we have had a series of remarkably well-informed speeches. I am always impressed by the reservoir of knowledge, experience and care shown in this House. Clearly, we are dealing with one of the major scourges of our time—a scourge which may well increase because of growing pressures.

I was interested in the speech of my noble friend Lord Prescott, looking at the upstream pressures which are likely to increase, such as the likely population increases in Africa, as projected by the UN. For example, the population of Nigeria, currently one of the major sources of those who are trafficked, is likely to rise to 410 million by 2050, making it the third most populous country in the world. These pressures are only likely to increase, added to by desertification, climate change, and so on—the point made by my noble friend. This certainly adds to the fact that, yes, we have to deal with the victims in the UK and, yes, the UK has to be a leader in dealing with this scourge in every way. But equally, we have to recognise that if we do not go to them in terms of aid, development and trade policy, they will come to us because there will be teeming masses of desperate people who just want to get out of their country to look after themselves and, perhaps more importantly, their families. Yes, we must look after the victims in our country as effectively as possible, but we must see this in the wider international context.

That is why I was ready to support the noble Lord, Lord McColl—dare I call him my noble friend?—in this initiative, as indeed I was in 2015. I support this Bill, which builds on the work he did in 2015. I recognise that the Act, however important, is now showing its inadequacies regarding support for vulnerable victims. I do not intend to cover the ground that has been covered so well but will make one, as it were, confession: I did have a hesitation, which I conveyed to the noble Lord, Lord McColl, about the danger of the Bill being abused for immigration purposes. I gave him an example, drawn from Scandinavia, of a teenager from west Africa whom I had met. Using a lawyer’s scepticism, when I spoke to her, it was pretty clear that there had been a degree of collusion between her and those who had brought her to that Scandinavian country. That scepticism may not have been well placed but it led me to think that there is always a danger—given, may I say, the fall of human nature—that any good provision may well be open to abuse and that perhaps the advocates of the Bill had been too ready to dismiss the dangers.

At that, I passed my concerns and hesitations to the noble Lord, Lord McColl. I say in an apologia that he has wholly satisfied me on the safeguards that have been set out, in the sense that there is no self-referral. First, the referral must come from a police officer or person similarly placed. Secondly, there is a rigorous procedure under the NRM after the first respondent has referred them to it. Thus the NRM will, I hope, ensure that a thorough check will separate, dare I say it, the sheep from the goats. We also know that any evidence of abuse will lead to questions about the whole system. My own final plea is that the NRM will continue, first, to act with humanity but also to respond in a worldly-wise way to what is often a rather wicked world, where people are ever ready to abuse the best provisions that are made. I support the Bill.

Criminal Finances Bill

Lord Anderson of Swansea Excerpts

2nd reading (Hansard): House of Lords
Thursday 9th March 2017 Lords Chamber

[Lord Anderson of Swansea (Lab)]

My Lords, like my noble friend Lord Watson I begin with an apology to the Minister. I had assumed that there was more substance in the earlier business and so I arrived only when she had already embarked on her speech. I welcome the Bill and I would make one preliminary proposition, which is that the strength of our credibility as a country in the field of tackling criminal finances will be much enhanced if we have clean hands. I believe that we do and that we are leaders in this field. Nevertheless, as the figures shared by a number of speakers have shown, including those referred to by the noble Lord, Lord Faulks, crime has paid. Asset recovery has been relatively small and sometimes attempts must be made against the wiles of clever lawyers and accountants to gain back as much money as we can. For example, there is still a suspicion that London is one of the centres in which international criminals find it easy to launder their money.

While much has been done about the London property market, as the noble Lord, Lord Faulks, pointed out, there are areas where the lights are always off. Let us think of a not too hypothetical example whereby a foreign individual buys several properties without even bothering to look at them and says that he is not going to live in them. I can give the noble Lord details of particular properties. Who is to blame for that? Should the estate agent tell the Government, or the accountants or the bankers? These are not hypothetical cases and they have national implications because they affect property prices right down the chain and are therefore of considerable public interest. There are many areas in which alarm bells should be sounded, but who will ring them? I therefore ask the Government again if they are satisfied that, even after the passage of this Bill, the instruments will be available to ensure that crime will not, as it has in the past, pay.

I have two further brief observations to make. The noble Lord, Lord Patten, has anticipated my comments in respect of Gibraltar. What is clear is that following the exchange of notes in April last year, the Government and those who had initially proposed amendments in the other place and then withdrew them are now satisfied. However, we need to look at this carefully. My noble friend Lord Rosser pointed out the revelations in the British Virgin Islands as set out in the Panama Papers. Surely there are lessons to be learned from that lax matter. I understand the constitutional position of Gibraltar, which has just been made clear by the noble Lord, Lord Patten. Gibraltar is fully compliant with current EU and OECD law, but I hope the Government will pledge to work as hard as they can to ensure that there is a public register—even though I heard a colleague say that the tax authorities and agencies are not pressing for public registers, fearing that the amount disclosed will be rather less than they currently receive.

My main point, however, relates to the so-called Magnitsky provision set out in Chapter 3, Clause 12, which will put in place freezing orders based on human rights abuses. Of course, there are key differences between this and the US legislation, but both have been triggered by the same outrage. I first came across this issue in 2013 at the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe. The background is well known. The noble Lord, Lord Dear, pointed out the full detail so I need not reiterate what he said so well. It concerned a massive fraud against the Russian tax authorities. Astonishingly, Mr Magnitsky was himself posthumously found guilty of fraud, and no prosecutions have been brought against the prison authorities responsible for the beatings and torture or those who benefited from the fraud, such as the former head of the Moscow tax office, Olga Stepanova, through whom the majority of the relevant fraudulent tax reimbursements were made. Funds from the fraudulent transactions were traced to her ex-husband. He and two of his deputies bought properties in Dubai shortly after the fraudulent refunds. It would be helpful if the Minister indicated the latest stage of the paper trail and said whether she was satisfied that no part of it leads to London, contrary to the assertions of Mr Bill Browder. I successfully moved an amendment to the resolution in the Council of Europe encouraging member states to follow the US lead, and I am delighted that we are now broadly doing so.

This is perhaps not the time to dwell on the Russian system of government because we have to work together in many fields. However, let us think of Alexander Litvinenko, the recent conspiracy against the Government of Montenegro and the doping scandal at the Olympics, although the latter shows that sanctions do in fact pay. All of these lift the lid on aspects of the Russian system. Therefore, the inclusion of Clause 12 is most welcome. The background, of course, is the campaign by the indefatigable Bill Browder of Hermitage Capital, but I must also praise Dominic Raab, the all-party group in the other place and, perhaps most of all, the Minister, Ben Wallace. There was clearly careful preparation for the debate on 21 February, which is well worth reading. The result is a welcome attempt to deal with abusers of human rights and torturers worldwide, which is a major step forward.

A number of concerns were expressed: about the exclusion of a visa ban, about the short term of the 20-year limitation and when it begins to run, and about the question of enforcement. However, the Minister was most positive and forthcoming in this respect, giving a commitment to a review and annual reporting. I therefore congratulate all concerned. I say again, the debate in the other place is well worth reading. The history of this clause shows Parliament at its best, working consensually and constructively to a very positive outcome.

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[Lord Anderson of Swansea]

Is there not the danger in the argument of a level playing field of a comprehensive public register across the board that that will never be achieved, because there will always be some countries which would hold out against it? All one can reasonably hope for is the greatest measure of agreement.

[Baroness Williams of Trafford]

The noble Lord is absolutely right that we will never get a global homogenous position with every country being equally compliant. We are aiming for those territories and Crown dependencies to work towards the standard to which we aspire. That is where we are at this point. I hope both noble Lords are satisfied with that.

I trust that this House, like the Commons, will recognise the constitutional settlement that we have with these territories and agree that we should look to work consensually with them rather than enforcing legislation.

The noble Lord, Lord Rosser, and my noble friend Lord Faulks made the point that there is no point in legislating if law enforcement agencies do not have the resources to deliver. I understand the concerns raised regarding law enforcement and the resources available fully to implement these new powers. I am pleased to say that £764 million has been invested in law enforcement agencies since 2006 and that more than £257 million has been invested over the past three years under the asset recovery incentivisation scheme—otherwise known as ARIS—which returns recovered assets back to the front line. These moneys are used by law enforcement for reinvestment in law enforcement capabilities or in community crime prevention schemes.

In addition, the Home Office share of ARIS is invested in front-line capabilities, including the regional organised crime units, ROCUs, which have received more than £100 million in direct funding from the Home Office since 2013-14. We reformed ARIS to boost the resources available to tackle serious and organised crime. A top slice of £5 million has been set aside every year until the end of this Parliament to fund key national asset recovery capabilities.

The noble Lord, Lord Rosser, also asked which agencies can use the powers in the Bill. The powers in the Bill can be used by a variety of law enforcement agencies, not just the NCA. The police, the Serious Fraud Office, HMRC, the Crown Prosecution Service and immigration officers will be able to use the new powers in the Bill to investigate money laundering and seize criminal assets.

My noble friend Lord Faulks asked about the effect of partial compliance with a UWO. If there is compliance or purported compliance, the rebuttable presumption that the property is recoverable does not arise. However, law enforcement has valuable information and can pursue an investigation, if relevant. If the purported compliance is false or misleading, it will be an offence.

My noble friend also asked why so few UWOs are predicted—20 per year—and why the amount expected to be recovered as a result of UWOs is so small. A number of other noble Lords alluded to this. I reassure noble Lords that the figure given in the impact assessment is a conservative estimate based on the views of operational practitioners. It is not a definitive indication of how often this power will be used. The Government are keen that these powers are used in as broad a range of cases as possible, and we are already actively engaging with law enforcement and prosecutors to encourage the use of all the new powers being introduced by the Bill. Ultimately, it will be for the enforcement authorities, which are operationally independent, to decide when and how often to use these new powers. We will carefully monitor and review the use of UWOs once they are introduced. This will inform future changes that may be needed to ensure that they are being used to their maximum effect.

My noble friend also asked what we have learned from the use of UWOs in Australia. As part of the work developing our draft legislation, we have noted with interest the experience of other jurisdictions which have existing provisions for UWOs, Australia being one of them.

The noble Lord, Lord Rosser, and other noble Lords spoke about corporate failure to prevent other economic crime and asked why the Government have not created a corporate liability offence in respect of failure to prevent economic crime. The damage caused by economic crime perpetrated on behalf of, or in the name of, companies to individuals, businesses, the wider economy and the reputation of the United Kingdom as a place to do business is a very serious matter. However, the Government believe that it would be wrong to rush into legislation in this area and that there is a need to establish whether changes to the law are justified.

On corporate criminal liability for economic crime, the Government launched a public call for evidence on 13 January—which I think one noble Lord alluded to—which is open until 24 March. This is part of a potentially two-part consultation process. It has requested and will examine evidence for and against the case for reform and seeks views on a number of possible options, such as the Bribery Act failure to prevent model. Should the response the Ministry of Justice receives justify changes to the law, a consultation on a firm proposal would follow. We are therefore not in a position to comment on the timetable for reform, should that be the way forward.

The noble Lord, Lord Rosser, made a point about SARs reform, which was mentioned during the consultation on the Bill but is distinctly lacking in the Bill. He asked whether SARs will be prioritised as major and trivial. Reform of the SARs regime is a crucial part of the Government’s Action Plan for Anti-money Laundering and Counter-terrorist Finance. We have established a programme to reform the SARs regime, working collaboratively with partners in line with commitments published in that plan. The Government are seeking improvements in the short, medium and long term, and the legislative elements in the Bill are only one element of the wider reform that is required. During the review of the SARs regime that the Home Office ran in 2015, a number of regulated-sector companies suggested that suspicious activity reports should be prioritised. We will consider this as part of the SARs reform programme.

The noble Lord, Lord Rosser, suggested that the anti-money laundering regime is confused and ineffective and asked what HMG are doing to reform the 27 supervisory bodies. The Government consulted on reforms to the anti-money laundering supervisory regime in the autumn and have considered the responses. The Treasury intends to publish the outcome of that review in the coming weeks in order to ensure the most effective possible supervision of the regulated sector.

The noble Baroness, Lady Kramer, talked about whistleblower protection.

Brexit: Customs and Border Staff

Lord Anderson of Swansea Excerpts

Monday 6th February 2017 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Williams of Trafford]

My Lords, the Government will certainly be prepared, if need be, in the way that the noble Lord said. However, the advent of e-passport gates at airports has made it quicker to get through the border, and of course the facial recognition checks at those gates have proved to be very efficient.

[Lord Anderson of Swansea (Lab)]

My Lords, if there is a range of options, there must surely be a range of costs—guestimates—available to the Government. What are they? Perhaps the Minister can help me but I cannot recall the costs used by the Brexiteers during the referendum campaign. Perhaps she can refresh my memory.

Calais Jungle Camp

Lord Anderson of Swansea Excerpts

Wednesday 14th September 2016 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Williams of Trafford]

My Lords, this is a joint effort. These children are in France and therefore obviously under the jurisdiction of the French Government, but we are very much involved. We have provided funding of more than £500,000 but the staffing has also been increased, which will hopefully bring an improvement in performance.

[Lord Anderson of Swansea (Lab)]

Does the Minister agree that the new directive given by the French Government to prefects in metropolitan France and its overseas territories to accept precise details of migrants is a significant departure? It is a recognition by France of her responsibilities and should be welcomed.

[Baroness Williams of Trafford]

I agree with the noble Lord.

EU Nationals in the UK

Lord Anderson of Swansea Excerpts

Wednesday 29th June 2016 Lords Chamber

[Lord Pearson of Rannoch (UKIP)]

My Lords—

[Lord Anderson of Swansea (Lab)]

My Lords—

[Baroness Manzoor (LD)]

My Lords—

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[Baroness Liddell of Coatdyke (Lab)]

My Lords—

[Lord Anderson of Swansea]

My Lords—

EU Action Plan Against Migrant Smuggling (EUC Report)

Lord Anderson of Swansea Excerpts

Wednesday 15th June 2016 Lords Chamber

[Lord Anderson of Swansea (Lab)]

My Lords, I congratulate the noble Baroness, Lady Prashar. I also congratulate the noble Lord, Lord Tugendhat, on what is yet another final appearance on behalf of his committee. The two reports make sensible recommendations, including the case for co-operation of the EU agencies, the sharing of information and so on.

Migration, as we all well know from the Brexit debate, is what the Americans would call a “neuralgic issue”. For as far ahead as we can see, the affluent, secure, stable Europe will remain a magnet for the huddled masses, the persecuted and the ambitious of the third world. There are heart-rending stories of individuals, some of whom I have met, and which the noble Baroness, Lady Suttie, set out so well. We in this House made the right response to the issue of unaccompanied children, which the Government now appear to accept. However, we have to accept that, overall, demand is unlimited. We cannot accept all those migrants who would like to come. However difficult, we must strive for an ordered and managed policy.

The present migration crisis illustrates well that the European Union is not a superstate. The Commission proposes; member states dispose. If walls will not solve the problem, we need, nevertheless, to control our EU borders.

As the noble Baroness, Lady Prashar, acknowledged, the reports have already been partially overtaken. There is now, for example, clear evidence, after the revelations of the Paris bombing, that terrorists have used migrant routes to enter Europe. The EU announced a new policy on 7 June which aims to stem the flow of migrants, building on the template of the EU-Turkey deal. There are concerns about the new scheme, the raiding of development funds and the likely deals with African dictators. What is the Government’s view on this? Is the new policy likely to achieve its aim? Is there any prospect, for example, of countries receiving back—repatriating their migrants? All the reports, and the noble Baroness, Lady Prashar, and the noble Lord, Lord Tugendhat, referred to tackling the root causes, as set out in paragraphs 107 to 109: sectarian conflicts, poverty, economic inequalities and so on. This is all very well, but there is surely a reason behind the reason.

There is a curious reluctance on the part of the drafters of the report—and, indeed, so far in this debate—to mention the population boom in Africa. According to the UN World Population Prospects, published last year, there are more than 1 billion people in Africa. The UN projects a figure of almost 2.5 billion by 2050. Since 1975 the population of Egypt has doubled, to more than 80 million. Nigeria has been mentioned. In 1960 Nigeria had 50 million people; now, there are more than 180 million. By 2050, according to the UN prospectus, there will be more than 400 million, surpassing the United States and making Nigeria the third most populous country in the world.

We have to ask ourselves: where are all these young people going? Will they find jobs in their country of Nigeria? Will they find food? Will they find water? The scale of the problem is enormous. The Population Institute report of June 2015 contained case studies of the most demographically vulnerable countries. I mention Niger, as did the June EU report, as it is the worst case. It is the poorest country in the world, with the fastest-growing population. Among the demographic indicators are that women have an average of 7.6 births; that is a projected population growth to 2050 of almost 300%. Only 8% of married women use modern contraceptive methods. Economic drought could add to the chronic food insecurity. Severe poverty and hunger and climate change would make matters worse. It has the second-highest score in the world on the Gender Inequality Index. It is so important that women be educated in family spacing.

A high percentage of young people in these African countries see little prospect of advancing themselves at home. There are demographic pressures, obviously, from conflict, and the danger is not only Libya but Algeria next door, with its high population, environmental degradation, felling of trees, desertification, and increasing conflict for resources, including water. These are further reasons for exodus. All these factors feed on themselves. I ask the Government: are DfID’s responses adequate? Should it invest more in reproductive health and family planning? Or is it too sensitive a subject—or deemed to be, as experts parrot the word “culture” to excuse inaction?

There are no easy solutions. The Sophia report is entitled an impossible challenge, but it is necessary to recognise and meet the problem. Short-term solutions, of course, include a government in Libya who can govern, helping to stabilise Algeria, and open legal channels for migrants, but such numbers are likely to be limited and may deprive Africa of its professional elite. Some say that the 1951 refugee convention should be revisited to provide temporary shelter until conflicts are eased.

As the noble Lord, Lord Tugendhat, asked, what are the rights of receiving countries faced with these problems of culture? In the longer term, we need to work closely with African countries, as shown by the partnership framework. Last November’s Valletta summit, between EU and African countries, was unproductive. What incentives are there for African countries to co-operate with us? What chance is there of being able to accept returned migrants? We need to lubricate the deal financially, as Spain has done with west Africa, to protect the Canary Islands. Yes, we need carrots and sticks, trade deals, investments and enforcement in Europe of laws dealing with employers and landlords. The message must surely get through that non-convention migrants will be returned, or at least many of them, to their country of origin. Even then, we are likely to fall far short of the demographic challenge I have outlined. It is no wonder that the Sophia report is entitled an impossible challenge—one that we have not yet fully recognised in our policy response.

Migration

Lord Anderson of Swansea Excerpts

Monday 6th June 2016 Lords Chamber

[Lord Keen of Elie]

The Government recognise that a growing demand by way of immigration has to be dealt with and can mean increased pressure on housing and public services. That is why we are working across the Government to reduce net migration to sustainable levels and delivering the investment this country needs to provide sufficient housing and effective public services.

[Lord Anderson of Swansea (Lab)]

My Lords, one means of reducing the numbers would be to take students out of the statistics and therefore make the statistics more real. Would not another means possibly be to ensure that there are sufficient resources to test the validity of marriages after a reasonable interval to ensure that there are fewer bogus marriages?

[Lord Keen of Elie]

I am obliged to the noble Lord. Where students come in legitimately for a period of study that extends to more than a year, normally to three years, there is an impact on public services, housing and other matters. It is therefore appropriate that they should be included within the net immigration figures. That practice is embraced not only by the United Kingdom but by other countries such as Australia, Canada and the United States. On bogus marriages, I concur that we need to ensure that these cannot succeed and therefore that appropriate checks are made.

Investor Visas: Money Laundering

Lord Anderson of Swansea Excerpts

Monday 9th May 2016 Lords Chamber

[Lord Keen of Elie]

With respect, Transparency International’s report was looked at and considered by this Government. However, it referred to a period prior to April 2015 of “blind faith”. There was no such blind faith. As I indicated, when an overseas investor made a qualifying investment, he made it through a regulated authority and was therefore checked. As for the numbers, it will be a matter of notice that the sum required for investment has been doubled from £1 million to £2 million. Over and above that, the noble Lord will bear in mind the relevance of the exchange rate over the relevant period, as well. The rouble went from 50 roubles to the pound to 100 roubles to the pound, with the result that the required investment from someone in Russia is now 200 million roubles.

[Lord Anderson of Swansea (Lab)]

Clearly, that increased sum is unlikely to deter the sort of individuals who are the subject of this Question. Since there was a reduction, what was the reason for it, in the Government’s view?

Road Traffic Act 1988 (Alcohol Limits) (Amendment) Bill [HL]

Lord Anderson of Swansea Excerpts

Friday 22nd April 2016 Lords Chamber

[Lord Brooke of Alverthorpe]

I am grateful to the noble Lord for his intervention, but times are changing. A lot of things were different 23 years ago. My noble friend Lady Hayter on the Front Bench says that she wrote to the noble Lord. I will leave him to sort that one out afterwards.

In Committee on 11 March, the Minister stated:

“The Government … maintain … that lowering the limit in itself is not going to change people’s behaviour”.—[Official Report, 11/3/16; col. 1571.]

With respect, that is wrong, as Scotland is proving. The Scottish drinks and hospitality industries certainly share that view; otherwise, why are they so up in arms about the change that has taken place? Is the Minister aware of their protests and the reason for them? Is it not because a cultural change is truly coming through in Scotland?

[Lord Anderson of Swansea (Lab)]

Is this not a case similar to that of plastic bags in supermarkets, where the devolved nations and regions led the way and in a populist stance the Government, only in a very tardy way, followed the precedent set by Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland?

[Lord Brooke of Alverthorpe]

I am grateful to my noble friend for that helpful intervention and I share his view. Unhappily, many deaths, accidents and injuries still occur as a result of drinking and driving. As I have argued previously, there has been little change since 2012—in fact, there has been a plateau—and the Government’s current policies are not really making any great difference. Therefore, I believe it is time that the Government themselves—I am seeking to help them in any way I can—embraced and encouraged such a change. The fact is that the drinks and hospitality industries will have to face up to the fundamental shift in opinion and culture that is starting to take place.

Severn Crossings: Tolls

Lord Anderson of Swansea Excerpts

Monday 14th March 2016 Lords Chamber

[Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon]

My Lords, there are other areas of the United Kingdom where tolls are charged—through tunnels and on bridges from the Mersey to areas of Scotland, and around other areas of England as well. The important thing is that there is a concessionary scheme in place. As I have already said, we will look at this at the end of that concessionary period, towards the early part of 2018, and I assure the noble Lord that we are working very closely with the Welsh Government in this regard.

[Lord Anderson of Swansea (Lab)]

My Lords, the blunt truth is that Wales is at or near of the bottom of the indices of deprivation in this country. Surely if the Government were serious about tackling the deprivation in Wales this tax on Wales and the Welsh people should be abolished.