Extinction Rebellion: Prevent Programme

Lord Berkeley Excerpts

Wednesday 15th January 2020 Lords Chamber

Asked by

[Lord Berkeley]

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the decision by Counter Terrorism Policing South East to include Extinction Rebellion on a list of extremist ideologies to be referred to the Prevent programme.

[The Minister of State, Home Office (Baroness Williams of Trafford) (Con)]

My Lords, CT Policing South East is quoted categorically as saying that it does not classify Extinction Rebellion as an extremist organisation, and its inclusion in the document was an error of judgment. Extinction Rebellion is not considered an extremist group under the 2015 definition of extremism; the Home Secretary has been clear on this point.

[Lord Berkeley (Lab)]

I am grateful to the noble Baroness for that clarification, but of course the damage has been done. How can anyone, even if they make a mistake, consider a peaceful demonstration by thousands of people, mostly children—including some of my family—worried about the future of the planet as extremist ideology? I suggest that the Minister instead adds to a final list the climate change deniers and the oil companies funding them.

[Baroness Williams of Trafford]

My Lords, they too have their right to free speech in this country—a point that goes to the heart of the noble Lord’s original Question. CT Police South East was quick to say that it had made an error of judgment. People do make mistakes.

Immigration (Leave to Enter and Remain) (Amendment) Order 2018

Lord Berkeley Excerpts

Thursday 14th February 2019 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Hamwee (LD)]

My Lords, I thank the Minister for explaining the draft order. I ask your Lordships to bear with some cynicism on my part.

The obvious questions are: why this order and why now? The Minister said that it is required. It is not, on the face of it, Brexit related—we have enough Brexit-related secondary legislation to fill the Order Paper—yet the Government have said that EU citizens must not be allowed in future to jump the queue at the border. You take your choice as to whether that is a political observation or because of the chaos that would be caused if they had to be checked in by Border Force in addition to those who are now. A different way of looking at the order is that we have to let some non-EU citizens in by equivalent arrangements because we cannot let EU citizens uniquely use the e-gates.

We have heard about the cohort who will be affected. I have got nothing against EU nationals or any of these nationals, quite the contrary, but they will be allowed to enter without any form of visa—unless, as the Minister said, they are coming for work purposes and so on—and without an explanation as to the duration of the stay, though it should be six months, the purpose of the stay or the means by which they will support themselves. The assumption is that all will be seeking to enter temporarily.

This leads to my first question: what if they want to stay longer? Presumably if they know that before they arrive they will have applied in their own country, but what if they take the decision during the six-month period? Will they have to leave the UK and apply out of country, which is what many people in difficult immigration situations have to do at present?

UK visitors to the United States need an electronic visa waiver before they depart. They are questioned at the border, can still be refused entry and have their fingerprints and photographs taken. The Department of Homeland Security assumes that all visitors are seeking to enter to remain permanently—in other words, illegally—until the visitor proves otherwise. So the rhetorical question is: border control?

Will there be further instances of UK citizens acting on behalf of the state as a result of this new arrangement—employers, landlords and banks checking on the status of an extra group of people who are living here? We are often told that the largest number of people in the UK without leave to be here are over-stayers, and we know how much more difficult it is to find and remove them than to not give them leave in the first place. I wonder whether this is a false economy.

The Explanatory Note tells us that there will be no significant impact on the private, voluntary or public sectors and that therefore there is no impact assessment. Should we really accept that without questioning?

I am all for efficiency and the use of reliable technology, but by identifying these nationalities as lower risk, by implication others are higher risk. I simply observe—there is no accusation in it; I say it to myself as well as to others—that we must be careful not to appear to be prejudiced in any way.

It is not news to any noble Lord that my instincts are to want the UK to be as open and welcoming to visitors as possible. I do not subscribe to the rallying cry of “take back control”—none of my noble friends do—but one must ask whether this order is taking back control of our borders.

[Lord Berkeley (Lab)]

My Lords, I apologise for not being here at the beginning of the Minister’s introduction.

In relation to the noble Baroness’s questions, what will happen between the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland when these checks have to take place in both directions and there is, apparently, to be a no-check border? How will that be done?

[Lord Kennedy of Southwark (Lab Co-op)]

My Lords, I thank the Minister for setting out the purpose of the order in respect of the e-passport gates and the additional countries selected to benefit from the new arrangements. The noble Baroness, Lady Hamwee, has raised a number of important points, to which I am sure the Minister will respond.

I have not been to the United States of America for three or four years but I am conscious that when you arrive at the border you have your photograph and fingerprints taken. You have to fill out a form in the UK and you can be refused at that point; and, as the noble Baroness, Lady Hamwee, said, you can be refused at the border. Will these arrangements be reciprocal? Will the current arrangements apply to British citizens when they arrive in the United States? US citizens seem able to get into our country fairly easily.

Can the Minister explain why these countries were selected? She said that they are low-risk countries. Is there a list of low-risk, medium-risk and high-risk countries? Are there plans to extend this scheme to further countries? What will other countries have to do to qualify to use the e-gates and what criteria will the department use in selecting them? More generally, apart from the US, will these arrangements be reciprocal with other countries? I want to live in a free and open country but, equally, when I am abroad I want to benefit from as much freedom of travel as possible. It would be useful if the Minister could answer that point. The noble Baroness, Lady Hamwee, also made the point that we should not be seen as prejudiced in the countries selected.

With those comments, I look forward to hearing the Minister’s response.

Capital Requirements (Amendment) (EU Exit) Regulations 2018

Lord Berkeley Excerpts

Wednesday 19th December 2018 Lords Chamber

[Lord Bates]

The responsible thing to do would have been for Her Majesty’s Opposition to support the deal on the table. Then we would not need these no-deal statutory instruments.

[Lord Berkeley (Lab)]

My Lords, the European Commission has today published a paper entitled Preparing for the Withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the European Union on 30 March 2019, which gives various scenarios for financial services, transport, air and everything that we discussed yesterday. It says that it will allow a certain time for arrangements to be put in place, provided that the UK Government match it with similar concessions the other way with UK residents on the continent and everything else. How will the Minister and the Government deal with the responses to that paper and have them debated in your Lordships’ House?

[Lord Bates]

The usual channels will arrange for these discussions to take place and have debates on them. We are debating the Motion standing in my name on the Order Paper. The regulations have been reviewed by the committees, as has been referred to. They have been reviewed and debated in Grand Committee and passed without objection, which is why they find themselves on the Order Paper.

EU Travel: Insurance

Lord Berkeley Excerpts

Thursday 1st November 2018 Lords Chamber

[Lord Bates]

I understand that they might have concerns, but I hope that they would be reassured. Not just the White Paper but the joint statement made by the UK and the European Union last December stated that reciprocal healthcare would continue. The European Commission has hinted that it recognises that it is in its interests that it should continue. The only thing missing is a clear statement from the Commission that that is its intent, and that is what we want.

[Lord Berkeley (Lab)]

My Lords, is not the only safe and responsible thing for the Government to do to advise people not to book holidays that involve travel and accommodation after 29 March? With all the chaos going on, I cannot believe that insurance will cover every eventuality.

[Lord Bates]

I completely reject that. Many people look forward to their holidays. I am sure that next summer’s holiday will be one particularly enjoyed by those on our Front Bench. We want to take advantage of the wonderful holiday opportunities that there are in the European Union, we expect that to continue and believe that it will.

Asylum Seekers

Lord Berkeley Excerpts

Tuesday 15th May 2018 Lords Chamber

[Lord Berkeley (Lab)]

My Lords, given the questionable reputation of the Home Office on these issues going back many years, many of us would question whether its review of procedures that the Minister mentioned will be independent. Would it not be better if a more independent body did these reviews, maybe including Her Majesty’s inspectorate?

[Baroness Williams of Trafford]

That is a very apposite question. In fact, we will work with HMIP to scrutinise, first, what happened and, secondly, how things can be improved.

Brexit: Border Control

Lord Berkeley Excerpts

Thursday 29th March 2018 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Williams of Trafford]

My Lords, what this Government want when we exit the European Union is for there to be a smooth process at the border. The noble Lord is absolutely right to mention the e-gates because they have been a great innovation and demonstrate how technology is so helpful at the border, saving customers a huge amount of time. Obviously, the Government want to see a smooth process at the border.

[Lord Berkeley (Lab)]

My Lords, the Minister keeps on mentioning the word “technology” in relation to border controls, but when will she make the existing biometric machines work, because whenever I go through at least 50% of them are broken or closed? Surely, the first thing to do is to get the existing system working properly.

[Baroness Williams of Trafford]

My Lords, I for one find the e-gates very useful indeed. In fact, they are exceptionally good at detecting face against passport at the border. I am sorry if some of them are closed, but sometimes an assessment is made of the throughput of traffic and gates are opened and closed accordingly. However, I cannot speak for the ones that are broken.

Brexit: Customs Procedures

Lord Berkeley Excerpts

Monday 15th January 2018 Lords Chamber

Asked by

[Lord Berkeley]

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what are the plans, timescale and budget of Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs to develop and implement paper-free customs procedures for just-in-time freight between the European Union and the United Kingdom after Brexit.

[The Minister of State, Department for International Development (Lord Bates) (Con)]

My Lords, the Government have been clear that their priority is to ensure that international trade can move as freely and be as frictionless as possible after we depart the European customs union. Precise arrangements are a matter for negotiations. The Government recognise that many business sectors operate complex supply chains that are sensitive to administrative burdens and delays and are exploring the implementation of a technology-based solution that would allow trade to flow more smoothly across borders.

[Lord Berkeley (Lab)]

I am grateful to the Minister for that Answer. He will recall that a few weeks ago Monsieur Barnier told representatives of the industry that they should prepare for a cliff-edge Brexit even if that did not happen because it would be prudent to do so. I heard the same message from him earlier in the year. Is the Minister aware of 77 different examples of industry sector data that come from Customs? I have put a copy in the Library in case the Government do not have that information. Surely, alongside industry helping itself, it needs to have detailed discussions with the Government on each sector and each means of transport, particularly for the time-sensitive stuff, so that when this happens there is no hold-up. I hope the Minister can give us some confidence that that will happen.

[Lord Bates]

I can certainly give noble Lords that confidence. As one would expect, the Treasury and HMRC have had over 300 meetings with trade bodies and officials about preparedness. We have our own customs data service—the electronic response that we believe will be ready by January 2019 to take the strain. There is also potential for a back-up system alongside the existing chief system that is in operation. We believe that a lot of work has been done. There is a lot of work for the ports to do as well in terms of their own inventory systems. But as 99% of customs declarations are done electronically at present, there is a great opportunity for us to advance that part of the way we do business to ensure a frictionless way of transacting business going forward.

Disaster and Emergencies Preparedness Programme

Lord Berkeley Excerpts

Monday 18th December 2017 Lords Chamber

[Lord Bates]

We can certainly do that. It is obviously a very distressing time for Becky’s family but also for the people who worked with her. It reminds us of the sacrifice made by over 1,200 DfID personnel who work around the world, often in the most difficult and dangerous environments. The family have asked that we respect their privacy at this time and allow the facts to be established. We will of course recognise that wish.

[Lord Berkeley (Lab)]

My Lords, as the Minister will know, disasters and emergencies happen in the UK as well. Has he looked at what would happen to the Isles of Scilly, which are served by one 40 year-old ferry half the year round, if something happened to that ferry? What might be the contingency plans?

[Lord Bates]

The noble Lord has caught me out. I did not have the Isles of Scilly in my brief. If he had gone for Antigua and Barbuda, I would have been able to answer him. I am happy to look into that and respond to his question.

Air Pollution

Lord Berkeley Excerpts

Monday 22nd July 2013 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Northover]

My brief tells me that cycling is actually a safer means of transport and that the risks from pollution highlighted by the noble Earl are not of major significance. However, clearly it would depend which roads those cyclists are cycling along. We want to do our very best to encourage people to cycle and walk, for the general benefit to themselves and the wider public, but it is true that there are greater risks in certain areas than in others.

[Lord Berkeley]

My Lords, could the Minister explain how we are to know whether or not this reduction in pollution is correct, when the Government no longer require local authorities to measure pollution officially? We had this last year, before the Olympics, when it was reported that many measuring stations around London were covered with plastic bags so that we did not know that the pollution in London was actually worse than in Beijing before its Olympics.

[Baroness Northover]

In fact, pollution levels were and are carefully monitored. The challenge is to tackle that and we are trying to tackle that at all levels: national, across London and in the boroughs. The noble Lord will note also that Public Health England, which has recently been set up, is taking this forward, working with local public health specialists. He may also wish to contribute to the local air quality management review, which is occurring at the moment and is looking at what is being done locally and consulting on how best to take this forward.