Asked by: Lord Morris of Aberavon (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the remarks by Lord Morris of Aberavon on 17 October (HL Deb, col 198), when they will be in a position to reply to the issues raised about agricultural support after Brexit, particularly in relation to Wales.
Answered by Lord Gardiner of Kimble
In the Agriculture Bill introduced in the previous session, broadly similar powers were conferred on the Welsh Ministers as on the Secretary of State for England. This was done at the request of the Welsh Ministers and included the powers in clause 11. This means that the Welsh Ministers would have powers to modify retained EU legislation relating to the financing, management and monitoring of Common Agricultural Policy schemes.
The Welsh Government have also announced that they will bring forward their own Agriculture Bill in the National Assembly at a later date. The Welsh Government have informed me that this will be preceded by a White Paper, intended to be brought forward during the current Assembly term.
Asked by: Lord Morris of Aberavon (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Wales Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether agreement has been reached with the Welsh Government on which parts of the European Union (Withdrawal Agreement) Bill require the Welsh Assembly's consent in accordance with the Sewel Convention.
Answered by Baroness Bloomfield of Hinton Waldrist
The UK Government has strengthened and enhanced devolution in Wales. We are fully committed to abiding by the Sewel Convention and associated practices. We have sought legislative consent from the National Assembly for Wales for certain provisions of the European Union (Withdrawal) Bill in line with this. We will continue to discuss with the Welsh Government the clauses for which Assembly consent is sought.
Asked by: Lord Morris of Aberavon (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Wales Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment has been made of the proposed "Henry VIII" clauses in clause 21 of the European Union (Withdrawal Agreement) Bill; and whether the views of the Welsh Government have been sought on the powers within that Bill to amend the Government of Wales Act 2000 by regulation as opposed to primary legislation.
Answered by Baroness Bloomfield of Hinton Waldrist
Clause 21 of the European Union (Withdrawal) Bill would allow the UK Government to meet fully the obligations set out in the Northern Ireland Protocol. The “Henry VIII” power in the clause could be used where necessary to amend primary legislation to ensure arrangements required in the Northern Ireland Protocol are operational and to implement the requirements set out in the Protocol.
In response to concerns raised by the Devolved Administrations, clause 18 of the Bill (Main power in connection with other separation issues) has been restricted so that powers under this clause cannot be used to amend the devolution acts, including the Government of Wales Act 2006.
The Government is working to establish whether restricting the powers in clause 21 in a similar way would mean the obligations in the Protocol could still be met. Subject to the outcome of this work, the Government would be open to imposing the restriction by amending the Bill during its passage.
Asked by: Lord Morris of Aberavon (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask Her Majesty's Government why the British steel industry is paying more for electricity than its counterparts in Europe; what is the average megawatt price for steel producers in the UK; and how it compares with the cost of electricity for steel producers in France.
Answered by Lord Henley
Between 2005 and 2010, industrial electricity prices rose by 64 per cent. Including taxes, industrial electricity prices rose from 4.77 pence per kWh in 2005 to 7.84 pence per kWh in 2010.
The steel sector has received more than £295 million in compensation since 2013 to make energy costs more competitive, including over £53 million during 2018. In addition, between 2017 and 2019, the Government has introduced policies that provide eligible steel producers with an 85% reduction in renewable energy policy costs in their electricity bills. Last year we announced the Industrial Energy Transformation Fund worth up to £315 million to support businesses with high energy use to transition to a low carbon future and to cut their bills through increased energy efficiency.
Between 2010 and 2017, industrial electricity prices (including taxes) have risen from 7.84 to 9.79 pence per kWh, an increase of 25%.
Asked by: Lord Morris of Aberavon (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the case for devolving greater infrastructure powers to the Welsh Government, in particular powers over rail services.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
We are working closely with Welsh Government to divest the Core Valley Lines from Network Rail to Transport for Wales, which will give the Welsh Government ownership and responsibility for the infrastructure. Furthermore, the Williams Rail Review is exploring different industry structures including devolution and will produce a set of recommendations in autumn.
Asked by: Lord Morris of Aberavon (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Attorney General:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the answer by Baroness Williams of Trafford on 8 May (HL Deb, col 1220), whether the Attorney General will personally supervise the review of the digital evidence consent form; and whether the views of police and crime commissioners were taken into account in the development of that form.
Answered by Lord Keen of Elie
The digital evidence consent forms are overseen by the National Police Chiefs’ Council and the Crown Prosecution Service, and they will continue to engage with victims’ groups and the Information Commissioner’s Office to ensure that the right approach is being taken. A draft of the form was issued to a number of stakeholders during development, and this included the Association of Police and Crime Commissioners. The Attorney General will be issuing new Attorney General’s Guidelines on Disclosure in the winter. These Guidelines will assist prosecutors and investigators in ensuring that privacy and data protection considerations are properly considered in disclosure practice and procedure.
Asked by: Lord Morris of Aberavon (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many Judge Advocates sit in civilian courts; and how many are licensed to try (1) murder, and (2) rape cases.
Answered by Lord Keen of Elie
All six currently serving Judge Advocates are eligible to sit in the Crown Court and do so regularly. The Judge Advocate General is a Senior Circuit Judge and the Vice-Judge Advocate General and one Assistant-Judge Advocate General also hold appointments as Recorders. The other three Assistant-Judge Advocate Generals are entitled to sit under the Armed Forces Act 2011 s26.
The Judge Advocate General is ticketed to try murder cases in the Crown Court. The Judge Advocate General, the Vice-Judge Advocate General and one Assistant-Judge Advocate General are ticketed to try rape cases.
Judge Advocates attend the same training as a Circuit Judge sitting in the Crown Court.
Asked by: Lord Morris of Aberavon (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the answer by Lord Young of Cookham on 25 March (HL Deb, col 1612), when they will respond to the concerns raised by the Delegated Powers and Regulatory Reform Committee on their approach to delegated powers in the Agriculture Bill, as set out in that Committee's Thirty Fourth Report, published on 17 October 2018 (HL Paper 194).
Answered by Lord Gardiner of Kimble
Defra acknowledges the concerns raised by the Delegated Powers and Regulatory Reform Committee. The department is considering all elements of the Committee’s Report and how these might be addressed. The Agriculture Bill is to be scheduled for Commons Report Stage in due course.
It is the Government’s intention to respond to the Delegated Powers and Regulatory Reform Committee, before Commons Report stage, as indicated in our letter to the Committee dated 17 January.
Asked by: Lord Morris of Aberavon (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Her Majesty's Government why they granted a bilateral loan of £3.2 billion to the government of the Republic of Ireland in 2010.
Answered by Lord Bates
As the then Chancellor said at the time, the government agreed in 2010 to provide a bilateral loan to Ireland because it was overwhelmingly in the UK’s national interest to have a strong Irish economy and stable banking system. The links between our financial systems, particularly in Northern Ireland, mean that there was a strong economic case to provide financial assistance to Ireland. By being part of the international financial package, the UK indirectly supported the very many businesses across the UK that trade with Ireland.Asked by: Lord Morris of Aberavon (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the answer by Baroness Williams of Trafford on 7 March (HL Deb, col 711), whether they will ask the Attorney General to invite the views of inspectorates of the police and the Crown Prosecution Service on the problems of prosecuting cases of FGM.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
Female genital mutilation (FGM) is a crime and it is child abuse. The Government will not tolerate a practice which can cause extreme and lifelong physical and psychological suffering to women and girls. We strengthened the law in 2015, including through the introduction of Female Genital Mutilation Protection Orders (FGMPOs), which are often issued with the purpose of preventing FGM from happening. 296 FGMPOs were issued between Octo-ber 2015 and September 2018. The Government works closely with the police and the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) to ensure a robust and effective response to FGM.
Cases of FGM involving very young and vulnerable victims are among the most complex referred to the CPS. The CPS has appointed lead FGM prosecutors, and local investigation and prosecution protocols between the police and CPS are in place to ensure that robust cases for prosecution are built. A joint police and CPS focus group for so-called honour-based abuse (HBA), forced marriage and FGM is pushing for continuous improvement in the handling of HBA cases and an increased level of support for complainants and witnesses.
There are a number of specific issues with the prosecution of these crimes. They can involve victims being hurt and coerced by members of their own families and communities, making it difficult for them to feel confident to report the crime. Additionally, in many instances when cases are referred to the CPS, it does not have jurisdiction to prosecute, if the procedure was carried out overseas before the victim moved to the UK. Further, medical evidence alone cannot prove all the elements of the offence.
In 2015 Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary published a report – “The depths of dishonour – Hidden voices and shameful crimes” into the police response to so-called honour-based violence, forced marriage and FGM. This made 14 recommendations for improvement. Progress against those recommendations is monitored by the Home Office, including at a meeting on 27 February 2019 of the National Oversight Group for Domestic Abuse, Stalking and Harassment, chaired by the Minister for Crime, Safeguarding and Vulnerability.
The Government is working with communities and stakeholders to emphasise the adverse health consequences of FGM and the fact that it is illegal, including through a recent awareness-raising campaign and through ongoing outreach work by the Home Office’s FGM Unit.