Covid-19: Impact of No-deal Brexit on Vaccine Supplies

Lord Bilimoria Excerpts

Wednesday 16th December 2020 Lords Chamber

[Lord Bilimoria (CB) [V]]

My Lords, we have the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine available, with more than 137,000 people inoculated in the first week, and we hope to have the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine available soon, approved by the MHRA. In due course, when there is widespread availability of the vaccines, will the Minister look at getting businesses to work with the Government and the NHS to have vaccinations take place at large workplaces, including factories, under proper supervision, thus preventing disruption at work and speeding up the rollout of the vaccinations and saving lives?

[Lord Callanan (Con)]

This is a matter, of course, for the Department of Health and Social Care, but we will indeed want to work with businesses, as we have done on the supply of vaccines. We pay tribute to the work of the Vaccine Taskforce, which has done a tremendous job. We have 357 million doses of vaccines from seven leading candidates, some of which are manufactured in the UK and some abroad. We have worked very closely with business and we want to continue to do so in the future.

Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership

Lord Bilimoria Excerpts

Tuesday 15th December 2020 Lords Chamber

[Lord Grimstone of Boscobel (Con)]

My Lords, I have learnt that it is not easy to give answers that are completely up to date in relation to the EU negotiations. Noble Lords realise that these negotiations are proceeding, and a Statement will no doubt be made as to their conclusion in due course.

[Lord Bilimoria (CB) [V]]

My Lords, UK trade with CPTPP members is £110 billion—more than our trade with China. Does the Minister agree that UK accession to the CPTPP would be a clear display of intent that the UK would continue to back the international rules-based trading order after leaving the EU? Does he also agree that it would display that it intends to remain an open economy—and, therefore, securing an EU deal is all the more important to press on to seize these opportunities? Will he confirm that, with India not being a member of either the CPTPP or RCEP, the Government will make the most of the Prime Minister’s forthcoming visit to India to fast-track an FTA with India?

[Lord Grimstone of Boscobel (Con)]

My Lords, I completely agree with the noble Lord’s comments in relation to India and am very pleased to be able to say that the UK and India have agreed to pursue an enhanced trade partnership, which is, of course, the first step to a wider road map to deepen trade ties. This is an ambitious approach, and I look forward to it moving to a conclusion in due course.

Comprehensive Economic Partnership (EUC Report)

Lord Bilimoria Excerpts

Thursday 26th November 2020 Grand Committee

[Lord Bilimoria (CB) [V]]

My Lords, the total trade in goods and services between the UK and Japan was almost £32 billion last year. Japan is the world’s third largest economy and the UK is the fifth or sixth largest, at any time, and a major importer and exporter of goods. The UK is currently Japan’s 12th largest trading partner, accounting for 2.1% of all Japanese trade.

The deal has further economic significance because it lays the foundation for the UK’s future accession to the CPTPP, as many noble Lords have mentioned. Given that Japan is the second largest investor in the north-east of England, the UK could have used the agreement to incorporate commitments to boost and diversify Japanese investment across the country. The next step must be for the Department for International Trade to monitor implementation and launch a targeted campaign to ensure that businesses of all sizes take advantage of the deal. Does the Minister agree? As president of the CBI, I say that we stand ready to work with the Government to promote the deal to businesses in all regions and nations of the UK.

The additional benefits that the deal provides are perhaps not as significant as they might have been had the deal been negotiated over a longer period of time. As has been said, the pressure to secure a deal before the end of 2020 meant that both sides had to be realistic about their ambitions in what was really about four months of negotiations. The strategy was always to secure continuity as a baseline and avoid defaulting on WTO terms. In that regard, the DIT has achieved its aim and deserves full credit.

The Government see the agreement as a platform for the UK’s accession to the CPTPP and their hope was that by joining the CPTPP—whose signatories, let us remind ourselves, make up around 13.5% of global GDP—UK businesses will have improved access to the fast-growth Asia-Pacific region and the ASEAN trading bloc, while increasing the resilience and diversity of UK supply chains in this area.

The deal has huge economic significance. If you compare the UK-Japan CEPA with the EU-Japan JEEPA, the agreement has, broadly, secured continuity of the existing agreements with the EU, with some additional provisions that address business asks. The key areas where it goes further include e-commerce, rules of origin, IP and financial services. UK business sees this Japan CEPA as an opportunity to increase market access in services, reducing obstacles to mobility and leading to the development of a more inclusive labour market. This is particularly important for financial services, which of course are the UK’s biggest export to Japan, accounting for 28% of all UK exports.

The main gain for business in this area is that CEPA contains some new mode 4 provisions, which broaden the scope for obtaining business visas for intra-transferees. UK business also saw this agreement as an opportunity to tailor provisions to address UK-specific concerns and data standard protection, bearing in mind the slightly different approaches to data taken between JEEPA and the CPTPP. Improving intellectual property rules will tackle the counterfeiting of UK products and allow free bilateral data flows to take advantage of the UK Japanese partnerships in R&D innovation and technologies. In these areas, UK businesses will benefit from commitments such as prohibition of data localisation for stricter regulations on IP infringement.

I congratulate the noble and learned Lord, Lord Goldsmith, and his committee on this report. It mentions that the SMEs chapter of CEPA, while welcome, does not in itself offer significant benefit to UK SMEs. Unlike SME chapters in many other trade deals, including the EU-Japan agreement, it simply offers facilitation. As I have said, this is where the Government need to work to encourage businesses to take advantage of FTAs. As president of the CBI, I can say that it stands by to help do this.

The CEPA does not offer a comprehensive stand-alone investment chapter, which would have been of benefit to the UK once it is no longer a member of the EU. The UK-Japan agreement is also important because it sets a baseline for the EU and US agreements.

The noble Lord, Lord Darroch, whom we welcome—particularly as a fellow Chelsea supporter—and the noble Lord, Lord Kerr, in their excellent speeches, stated the importance of the EU, as did the noble Lord, Lord Hain. It accounts for 47% of our trade. If we look at it in perspective, Japan is much smaller. America is our biggest trading partner with 15%, Germany is number 2 with 9% and Holland number 3 with 7%. The whole of the Commonwealth accounts for 10%. This rollover is very important. We nearly did not roll over the Canada deal. It has been rolled over now, but the main point is that the Canada deal rollover is the basis for building on a super-duper bespoke deal for the UK and Canada going forward. Let us hope that we get an EU deal now that can be the basis on which we can build for the future.

Canada-UK Trade Deal

Lord Bilimoria Excerpts

Tuesday 17th November 2020 Lords Chamber

[Lord Grimstone of Boscobel (Con)]

I thank the noble Baroness for her comments on the Japan agreement, but I am pleased to be able to assure her that the Department of Trade has the capacity and bandwidth to do a number of these agreements simultaneously.

[Lord Bilimoria (CB) [V]]

Securing continuity of the CETA deal before 1 January is absolutely crucial; in fact, UK exports to Canada increased by 14% in the first year of implementation. Will the Minister agree that, assuming we secure this and roll it over, we can then have a brand new, bespoke, super-duper new trade deal to strengthen both economies, in their best interests and best of class, including issues such as climate change? Would he also agree that we can see the CPTPP as a future opportunity for the UK’s trading future and to broaden investment ties between the UK and Canada?

[Lord Grimstone of Boscobel (Con)]

The noble Lord is completely right. The focus of our present discussions with Canada has been on continuity of trade and I am very confident that an agreement will be continued. The next priority will be to use that as a launchpad from which we can then deepen and strengthen our very important relationship with Canada in the future.

Covid-19: Vaccine Taskforce

Lord Bilimoria Excerpts

Tuesday 10th November 2020 Lords Chamber

[Lord Callanan (Con)]

The noble Lord is making baseless accusations there. The first thing to point out is that Dominic Cummings had no role whatever in any of these procurement processes or appointments. The specialist communications support was contracted by the Vaccine Taskforce. Details of all arrangements and all firms and contract labour used by the task force will be published in due course with the usual transparency arrangements.

[Lord Bilimoria (CB) [V]]

My Lords, the whole world is delighted with the news of the Pfizer BioNTech vaccine announced yesterday. Does the Minister agree that credit needs to go to Kate Bingham and the Vaccine Taskforce for operating at such speed to procure, at scale, a range of vaccines in development around the world, including the Pfizer BioNTech vaccine? Does he also agree that business should have a prominent and critical role in rolling out and distributing the vaccines across the UK in the months to come?

[Lord Callanan (Con)]

I agree with the noble Lord; I think the Vaccine Taskforce has done a great job, and I think the announcement this morning is testament to that. Let me reiterate that she has taken on this role of chair in an unpaid capacity in the true spirit of public service. It has invested in something like six vaccines— 350 million doses have been secured—to try to pick one of the vaccines that will be effective. The task force is doing a great job, and we will see that in due course.

United Kingdom Internal Market Bill

Lord Bilimoria Excerpts

2nd reading & 2nd reading (Hansard): House of Lords
Monday 19th October 2020 Lords Chamber

[Lord Bilimoria (CB) [V]]

My Lords, the UK internal market operates across England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, and it is the economic glue that binds our four nations. It is key to helping increase prosperity and raise living standards and opportunities for people and businesses across all parts of the UK. The internal market is critical for the UK to remain attractive to foreign investors and to maximise opportunities from new trade deals.

Firms across the UK have operated with the devolution settlement for more than 20 years. The United Kingdom Internal Market Bill must provide certainty that products made in one part of the UK will not face additional barriers to the market in another part of the UK and, with this, ensure that consumers in one part of the UK are not disadvantaged by having access to goods and services limited.

The UK is a highly integrated market. For the internal market to continue to operate effectively, firms across the UK have been clear that three principles must guide its implementation: first, that there should be no new barriers to trade; secondly, that there should be collaboration across the UK; and, thirdly, that there should be fair, independent and trusted adjudication.

The CBI, of which I am president, welcomes the Government’s plans to give powers to the Competition and Markets Authority to establish the Office for the Internal Market, which will also have the responsibility to report to the devolved Parliaments and Administrations. Where Northern Ireland is concerned, a free trade deal with the EU would minimise the need for strict controls on a range of goods entering Northern Ireland from the rest of the UK, bolstering the Northern Ireland protocol, maintaining the integrity of the UK internal market and respecting the all-island Irish economy.

The United Kingdom Internal Market Bill must work in lock-step with the implementation and operation of the Northern Ireland protocol. England, Scotland and Wales—that is, Great Britain—are Northern Ireland’s biggest market for external sales, being larger than all export sales combined. Over 7,000 businesses in Northern Ireland rely on the GB market, which is worth over £11 billion annually. For this to work effectively, the Bill must work in lock-step with the Northern Ireland protocol and respect the all-island economy between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. Firms in Northern Ireland have always been clear that they want to see the protocol work. In respect of trade flows from Northern Ireland to Great Britain, the protocol provides that nothing in it shall prevent unfettered access to the GB market for trade in goods.

On 16 October, the noble Earl, Lord Kinnoull, the chair of the EU Select Committee, and the noble Baroness, Lady Taylor of Bolton, the chair of the Constitution Committee, wrote in the Times:

“It is clear that the Internal Market Bill authorises violations of the UK’s obligations in international law. Setting out explicitly to break international law in this way is unprecedented and undermines the rule of law. The bill also risks destabilising devolution arrangements when it has never been more important for central and devolved governments to work together effectively.”


Today, the UK’s five most senior Anglican churchmen joined forces to denounce the Government’s new legislation, claiming that the internal market Bill could set a “disastrous precedent”.

Across the UK, firms are clear that the UK internal market is an essential aspect of how they operate their businesses. Yesterday, the CBI and 71 trade associations and professional bodies, representing 190,000 businesses and 7 million employees, called for politicians on both sides to carve a path towards a deal. The automotive, aviation, chemicals, creative industries, farming, food and pharmaceuticals sectors are united: securing a quick agreement matters greatly for jobs and livelihoods. Clarity on an ambitious deal would turbocharge business preparations, increase confidence in the UK as a place to invest and help to ease the sustainable implementation of the Northern Ireland protocol. This follows an intervention earlier this week by leading European businesses from France, Germany and Italy calling for a solution. Now is the time for historic political leadership. After four years of debate, there must be resolution; 2021 can then be a year to rebuild rather than regret.

Debate adjourned until tomorrow.

Health Protection (Coronavirus, Restrictions) (Obligations of Hospitality Undertakings) (England) Regulations 2020

Lord Bilimoria Excerpts

Friday 9th October 2020 Lords Chamber

[Lord Bilimoria (CB) [V]]

According to the British Beer and Pub Association, up to 12,000 pubs could close next year, with the loss of 291,000 jobs. This is really serious. Could the Minister please give us the evidence on which the 10 pm curfew is based? We are hearing that the scientific evidence is that less than 5%—in fact, 3.6%—of new infections come from pubs, restaurants and the hospitality sector. This is according to Public Health England data. Could we see the evidence? In the trade, declaring my interest, we are told that only 10% of drinking takes place after 10 pm, so why have this curfew when we could have normal rules? Restaurants, bars and pubs have gone to huge lengths and expense to make themselves Covid-secure.

UKHospitality has said clearly that many outlets have not even opened, thanks to the pandemic, having been shut from March until 4 July. They are doing nowhere near as much trade. Some businesses are 70% down. Some 80% of hospitality businesses are SMEs and many are family businesses. They are in complete distress. One-third of the hospitality industry’s business takes place between Halloween and the new year, so we are coming to a time when they need the most help and to be able to operate as normally as possible. We have to prevent the unemployment. What measures will the Government put in place when almost 30% of the country is in some form of lockdown or restriction? This industry is suffering so much and is so vital, because it will generate one in six new jobs in the recovery and tens of billions in taxes. We must prevent economic scarring in the future.

Japan Free Trade Agreement

Lord Bilimoria Excerpts

Thursday 17th September 2020 Lords Chamber

[Lord Grimstone of Boscobel (Con)]

I thank my noble friend for her generous comments. I know that she is a great expert on Japan so it is particularly welcome that those comments came from her. She is of course right that we see this agreement as a gateway to the trans-Pacific partnership. Some 90% of global growth comes from beyond the EU, so both Japan and the wider Pacific region are vital for Britain’s future economy. We have no doubt that the finalisation of this Japan agreement will greatly help in that process, not least because Japan will hold the chair of the trans-Pacific partnership countries next year.

[Lord Bilimoria (CB) [V]]

My Lords, the signing of the UK-Japan trade deal is a breakthrough moment and is welcomed by business across the country. May I build on what the noble Baroness, Lady Bottomley, just said? How will the Government use this trade deal as a launch pad to secure accession to the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership? Given that this deal supposedly has benefits beyond the EU-Japan trade deal, could the Minister tell us how the Government will ensure that British companies, who may not have utilised EU FTAs as well as they could have, capitalise on this deal and ensure that the £15 billion of additional trade is realised?

[Lord Grimstone of Boscobel (Con)]

I thank the noble Lord for his comments. To answer the second part of his question, there is an obligation on the Department for International Trade to ensure that the benefits of these agreements—in due course, when they are signed and ratified—are well known throughout the UK. For example, the Japan agreement has huge benefits to our SMEs, which are the backbone of our economy. To put it in the nicest way, what would be the point of negotiating these agreements if we did not bring these benefits home to businesses throughout the United Kingdom? A lot is going on with the trans-Pacific partnership accession. Since July 2018, we have engaged with all 11 member countries and recently had a meeting between the Secretary of State and her counterpart in Mexico, attended by all heads of missions of the CPTPP. The tone of the meeting was warm. We are very much encouraged by the members of the CPTPP to pursue our contact with them, and I have no doubt that that contact will in due course lead to an accession request being made to the trans-Pacific partnership.

Science Research Funding in Universities (Science and Technology Committee Report)

Lord Bilimoria Excerpts

Wednesday 9th September 2020 Grand Committee

[Lord Bilimoria (CB) [V]]

My Lords, the UK’s universities are internationally recognised as some of the best, along with America, in the—[Inaudible]—scientific research. The dual funding system that people have spoken about, including QR funding since 2010, has led to a deficit in funding that universities have had to make up by cross-subsidising, as the noble Lord, Lord Patel, said in his excellent introduction. I thank him and his committee for this superb report. We have seen a decrease in the percentage of research costs that universities have been able to recover from funders, including research councils and charities. The report says right up front that the Government need to address this deficit and commit to

“increasing QR funding each year by at least the rate of inflation.”

Can the Minister say whether this will happen?

I am proud to say that Cambridge University is the recipient of the highest number of Nobel prizes in the world. The University of Birmingham, of which I am proud to be Chancellor, has 11 Nobel prizes. We are fantastic. However, the international student fees that we are so dependent on need to be addressed, which I will come to.

The report also examines the Augar review’s recommendations. I was really surprised that the Augar review did not look at research. The report again says right up front that the committee is

“sceptical about the impact of many of the proposals made by the Augar Review on research funding in universities.”

Brexit is of course key, and the report highlights how much of a benefit Horizon 2020 has been for the UK and recommends that

“the Government should commit to associating the UK with Horizon Europe”.

Will the Minister commit to this, and that we will continue to receive the same amount of funding the we currently receive from the EU?

To date, we have spent 1.7% of GDP on research and development, compared with Germany at 3.1%, America at 2.8% and Israel at 4%. It is wonderful news that the Government have a target of 2.4% of GDP on R&D by 2027, but this will happen only if there is enough funding for the research. That needs to be addressed.

I have seen time and again how much more powerful collaborative research between universities is, with the weight of impact increasing by two or three times. Professor Alice Gast of Imperial College has said:

“The EU is the UK’s largest and fastest growing collaborator in research; over half of the UK’s international publications are with European partners.”


The report Brexit: the Erasmus and Horizon Programmes, published last year, says:

“The UK is the second largest recipient of Horizon 2020 funding and has received 15.2% of grants”.


It is therefore paramount that now we have left the European Union we continue to partner with Horizon Europe even as a third country.

On international students, I am president of UKCISA, which represents the interests of all 450,000 international students in the country. International students include EU students, who have brought in almost 15% of total income for UK universities. Could the Minister assure us that the EU students will still come in the numbers that we have had—130,000 of them—with the Immigration Rules being changed?

That brings me to immigration. We have to have Immigration Rules that are friendly to students. I am delighted with the reintroduction of the post-graduate work visa, which is wonderful news. I thank the Government. Could they make sure that the Immigration Rules are also fair and attractive for researchers, academics, academic staff and laboratory staff? Can he reassure us that those will also be good, let alone the fees that noble Lords such as the noble Lord, Lord Willetts, have spoken about?

International students bring indirectly or directly £26 billion into our economy, so there is no question about it—we need to invest in our R&D and we need to have that commitment from the Government that, if this investment shortfall is going to be there, we retain the fact that, with 1% of the world’s population, we produce 16% of the world’s leading research papers.

Trade Bill

Lord Bilimoria Excerpts

2nd reading & 2nd reading (Hansard) & 2nd reading (Hansard): House of Lords
Tuesday 8th September 2020 Lords Chamber

[Lord Bilimoria (CB) [V]]

My Lords, the UK is one of the greatest trading nations in the world. It is an open economy and one of the largest recipients of inward investment, often in the top two in the world. The Bill is extremely important to maintain that. First, I welcome my noble friend Lord Grimstone. We have known each other for many years, and I congratulate him on his excellent maiden speech.

There are those who wish that the Bill had been wider in scope and said more about trade strategy, linking to other policy areas and to sustainability, with maybe more consultation. On the other hand, we recognise that time is limited and that there is more work to be done. It is essential that trade defence measures are in place and that we are in a position to roll over a trade deal.

I am president of the CBI and our members have expressed concerns around the scope of the NDAs, which seems to go far wider than just texts for negotiating—perhaps the Minister could comment on that. There are also concerns about the restrictions on sharing information outside the UK, the length of application, and obligations for organisations to ask for confidentiality clauses with employees. On rollover and replicate, the issue is not the Bill but the real-world challenge of negotiating trade agreements—these still have to be negotiated. The DIT has negotiated a number of trade deals—I believe up to 20 now—but some still need to be completed.

Then there is the aspect of business involvement. There should be more explicit language about consultation. While the Government have been keen to roll over some trade deals, in some cases rolling over is difficult; for example, in matching EU deals. Would the Minister comment on a country such as Switzerland, for example? Business basically wants continuity of trade; we do not want a cliff edge, in any way. So far as the Bill does that, we wholeheartedly support it.

We welcome the setting up of the Trade Remedies Authority. The role of business is to submit benefits of experience and to have an integrated view. Will the manufacturing sector and others be represented on the TRA to build confidence and widen the circle of expertise?

We can make international comparators. Many countries, such as Australia and the United States, give clearly defined roles to their legislatures as part of the process of negotiating and concluding treaties, whereas the UK Parliament provides nothing near that.

The CBI has developed 10 recommendations on how to build a world-leading UK trade policy: build a strong mandate underpinned by business engagement; secure comprehensive buy-in for the negotiations by publishing mandates; set up a high-level Strategic EU Trade Advisory Group (SETAG); establish a series of thematic working groups to tackle cross-cutting issues; expand the remit of ETAGs; appoint a new chief business trade envoy to co-ordinate the gathering of business intelligence, ensure coherence of policy, and provide businesses with a single point of contact; take business delegations to negotiating rounds to strengthen the UK’s presence and give negotiators easy access to technical expertise; publish proactively the membership of advisory groups; release summaries of negotiating rounds as they are completed; and use non-disclosure agreements only when essential.