Asked by: Lord Hamilton of Epsom (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Sharpe of Epsom on 17 November 2022 (HL3192), what assessment they have made of the reported involvement of the Police Federation in the transfer of police officers suspected of links to organised crime, or found guilty of sexual crimes to other police forces without vetting.
Answered by Lord Sharpe of Epsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
The government expects police forces to carry out their vetting in line with the College of Policing’s vetting statutory code of practice and vetting authorised professional practice (APP) guidance.
With regards to transferees, the APP states that the receiving force must request the full complaint and misconduct history of the officer or staff member from the parent force and from any other forces where they have served. Other relevant information such as corruption intelligence and notifiable associations should also be collated. The APP does not provide for the Police Federation to have any influence over this process.
His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services’ (HMICFRS’) report of 2nd November into vetting, misconduct and misogyny in the police service recognised that the inspected forces were complying with the APP in respect of transferees but recommended inserting further safeguards into the vetting process. All of the relevant bodies have committed to addressing the recommendations from the report in full.
Asked by: Lord Hamilton of Epsom (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the report by the His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services An inspection of vetting, misconduct, and misogyny in the police service, published on 2 November, which found that some police officers suspected of links to organised crime, or found guilty of sexual crimes, were transferred to other police forces without vetting; whether the Police Federation was involved in the transfer of these officers; if so, on how many occasions; and whether the Federation were aware of the issues that these officers may have faced if a vetting process had been carried out.
Answered by Lord Sharpe of Epsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
The report from the Inspectorate has raised some serious questions for policing about vetting and culture. We expect policing to address its forty recommendations in full, including those relating to transferees.
The Home Office has no involvement in individual vetting decisions – this is an operational matter for forces – and does not collect this data.
The College of Policing, who set and maintain training standards for policing, published the Code of Ethics in 2014 which sets out clear standards of professional behaviour. The College of Policing’s foundation training for all those entering the service includes substantial coverage the Code of Ethics. In addition, we have funded the College to develop a National Police Leadership Centre to create a strong professional framework and standards across policing at all levels.
Asked by: Lord Hamilton of Epsom (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the answer by Lord O’Neill of Gatley on 5 September (HL Deb, col 849–50), what assessment they have made of the impact of immigration on wage rates and productivity in the UK.
Answered by Lord O'Neill of Gatley
As noted in the 2012 report by the Migration Advisory Committee (MAC), the empirical literature suggests that the impact of migration on productivity may be mixed and heavily dependent on the type of migrant coming to the UK. Migrants may increase productivity either through a simple ‘batting average’ effect if they work in higher productivity roles relative to the average for non-migrants, or through increasing the productivity of UK workers through greater specialisation and knowledge transfer. In this report, the MAC established the key role played by skilled migrants in raising productivity. Further, the 2014 MAC report, ‘Migrants in low-skilled work’, found low skilled migrants have a neutral impact on UK-born employment rates, GDP per head and productivity. The impact of immigration on wage rates is also mixed, although a 2015 working paper by the Bank of England found an increase in the immigrant to native ratio has a small negative impact on average British wages.
Asked by: Lord Hamilton of Epsom (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether the Decision of the Heads of State or Government, meeting within the European Council, concerning a new settlement for the UK within the EU returns to the UK Parliament any competences that are presently conferred on the EU by Title 1 of Part One of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union.
Answered by Baroness Anelay of St Johns
The deal agreed at the February European Council delivers a binding commitment that the Treaties will be changed in the future so that the UK is carved out of ‘ever closer union’. It ensures that the UK will not be liable for eurozone bailouts or discriminated against in the Single Market, and that the Treaties will be changed to reflect that. It establishes a new mechanism for the European Council to review EU legislation every year to see what can be done better at the national level and what can be dropped altogether. It ensures that Parliament will be able, acting with others in Europe, to block unwanted new EU laws. The deal also secures new powers to tackle the abuse of free movement and reduce the unnatural draw of our benefits system, to meet our aim of reducing immigration, by creating fairer rules, while protecting our open economy.
Asked by: Lord Hamilton of Epsom (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of whether the Decision of the European Council concerning a new settlement for the UK within the EU will affect the application of the Charter of Fundamental Rights to the UK.
Answered by Lord Faulks
The Decision of the Heads of State or Government, meeting within the European Council, concerning a new settlement for the UK within the EU will not affect the application of the Charter of Fundamental Rights in the UK.
Asked by: Lord Hamilton of Epsom (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their policy with regard to the payment of child benefits to EU migrants (1) who have been resident in the UK for fewer than four years, and (2) whose children are also resident in the UK.
Answered by Lord O'Neill of Gatley
I refer the honourable member to the recent UK White Paper ‘The Best of Both Worlds: the United Kingdom’s special status in a reformed European Union’, available on the gov.uk website.
The UK’s settlement will mean that Child Benefit paid to EU nationals living here, but whose children live outside the UK, will no longer be paid at UK rates but be paid at a rate that reflects conditions – including the standard of living and Child Benefit paid – of the country where the children live.
Eligibility rules for Child Benefit for individuals moving to the UK can be found on the gov.uk website.
Asked by: Lord Hamilton of Epsom (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of whether it would be consistent with the policy and objectives of the European Communities Act 1972 to notify the European Council of their intention to withdraw from the EU without prior approval by an Act of Parliament.
Answered by Baroness Anelay of St Johns
The European Communities Act 1972 does not require prior approval of actions by Act of Parliament. The European Union Act 2011 does define some circumstances where this is required, but these do not include a notification under article 50. As the Prime Minister, my right hon. Friend the Member for Witney (Mr Cameron), said on 22 February, “if the British people vote to leave, there is only one way to bring that about, namely to trigger Article 50 of the Treaties and begin the process of exit, and the British people would rightly expect that to start straight away."Asked by: Lord Hamilton of Epsom (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether Section A of the Decision of the Heads of State or Government, meeting within the European Council, concerning a new settlement for the UK within the EU imposes an obligation on the UK not to veto the new EU Treaty planned as part of the Five Presidents’ Report <i>Completing Europe’s Economic and Monetary Union</i>, published in June 2015.
Answered by Baroness Anelay of St Johns
Any Treaty revisions to implement the proposals for reform in the Five Presidents’ Report would have to be concluded in accordance with the provisions in the Treaties, which require unanimous agreement by Member States. The agreement of and ratification by the UK and any new EU treaty or of any revision to the existing EU Treaties would be subject to the provisions of the European Union Act 2011.Asked by: Lord Hamilton of Epsom (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether a decision under Article 9 of Protocol (No 15) to the EU Treaties would require approval (1) by an Act of Parliament, and (2) by a referendum.
Answered by Baroness Anelay of St Johns
Under the EU Act 2011, a decision by the UK under Protocol (No 15) leading to a decision by the Council under article 140 (3) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union would require an Act of Parliament and a referendum result in favour before a Minister of the Crown could support it.
Asked by: Lord Hamilton of Epsom (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of whether a member state can withdraw from the EU under (1) a Treaty agreed to under the ordinary revision procedure pursuant to Article 48 of the Treaty on European Union, or (2) under Article 54(b) of the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties.
Answered by Baroness Anelay of St Johns
As the Government noted in its publication “The process for withdrawing from the European Union” (Command Paper 9216), the rules for exit are set out in Article 50 of the Treaty on European Union. This is the only route available in the EU Treaties to withdraw from the EU.