Draft Public Procurement (international trade agreements) (amendment) regulations 2021

Fleur Anderson Excerpts

Wednesday 16th June 2021 General Committees

[Fleur Anderson (Putney) (Lab)]

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Mr Pritchard. I am grateful to the Minister for her opening remarks on why we are using this measure to ensure continuity of procurement as we now trade independently of the EU.

Public procurement is so much more than just buying the best products for the best price. It is intimately connected to social value, to supporting our pandemic recovery, to international human and labour rights, to environmental standards and to delivering quality public services at home in the public interest and free from mandatory marketisation and outsourcing. As the Minister said, it is also crucial in relation to access for UK business to markets around the world.

The past year has served as a reminder of the critical importance of public procurement and of strong procurement regulations. In the face of an unprecedented global crisis, we have witnessed a global scramble for finite resources such as personal protective equipment; in their attempt to meet the sudden demand, this Government have pursued a procurement strategy that has wasted millions of pounds on poor-quality products and raised serious concerns about transparency and cronyism. It is therefore so important that we learn our lessons and ensure that public procurement is done correctly. For that reason, I recognise that this is an important statutory instrument to provide both businesses and consumers with continuity and certainty as we leave the EU, and to prevent legal challenges from being brought against us at the WTO by third countries.

I met businesses in my constituency last year in the run-up to Brexit—to leaving the EU—and many had actually begun to liquidate their businesses due to the uncertainty caused by the lack of a trade deal with the EU at that time. It is more important still, given how catastrophic the four-week delay to the ending of restrictions will be for many businesses, that we endorse and support continuity. To support businesses and help provide that all-important continuity, Labour will not oppose the motion. However, I have five questions for the Minister and I would be grateful for clarity.

First, why are the regulations only coming in now? The powers under the Trade Act 2021 have just commenced, but could the instrument have been passed before the respective trade deals were ratified, in the previous parliamentary Session? We are now five years since the referendum vote.

Secondly, in what form will the separate legislation required for trade agreements with countries that did not have an agreement in place with the EU before exit day be brought forward? Can we expect further statutory instruments or will we be given the opportunity to debate the legislation on the Floor of the House?

I and many other colleagues have been simply astonished and concerned by the Constitutional Reform and Governance Act 2010 process used thus far to roll over trade agreements without agreement from the House. We have felt disempowered as MPs to scrutinise important trade agreements—a point I made in this very room during debates on the Trade Bill Committee.

Given the critical importance of procurement to public life, I would hope procurement arrangements agreed with nations in the future would be subject to proper parliamentary scrutiny on the Floor of the House. Only this week we have seen another major free trade agreement, with Australia, without any parliamentary scrutiny. Will a Minister be coming to the House to make a statement on that? We have learned more about that deal from the Australian Government briefing their press than from our Government telling Parliament.

Thirdly, will the Minister be taking steps to ensure that any future trade deals are rooted in the “Transforming public procurement” Green Paper? The Trade Justice Movement and a number of trade unions are quite critical of World Trade Organisation rules on public procurement because they make it harder for Governments to regulate in the democratic interest and are designed to force developing countries to hire western multinationals, potentially at the expense of domestic providers, so undermining our own aid agreements. It is therefore important that we develop a UK social partnership approach to procurement, based on the recognition and enforcement of international, regional and local labour, social and environmental standards and goals, including transparent and sustainable global supply chains and fair and transparent artificial intelligence and digital technology practices in public services. Public service workers will be central to that transformative recovery process—that will be building back better.

Fourthly, as the Minister is no doubt aware, we cannot separate international procurement and labour and human rights, particularly in a global supply chain. For instance, the Minister may have seen reports that £150 million of personal protective equipment was procured during the pandemic from Chinese firms linked to Uyghur human rights abuses. There are similar concerns about environmental standards in the supply chain.

As the UK begins to shape its procurement framework and trade policy post Brexit, can the Minister assure me that safeguarding human and labour rights in supply chains will always take priority over purely economic imperatives? Will she, for instance, consider including mechanisms such as a new corporate “failure to prevent” regulation based on human rights and due diligence for all goods and services, and incorporating joint and several liability?

Fifthly and finally, as we move forward and begin pursuing international trade agreements with countries not already trading with the EU, will the Minister tell us how our approach to procurement will diverge from EU regulations? If so, will those differences be published and made clear? Will the Minister commit to ensuring that any divergence in public policy will be subject to an impact assessment, as these regulations are not?

Labour will not oppose the draft regulations today, but I would be most grateful to the Minister for her response on the points I have made, today or in writing.